A battle where we want to come together as one and overcome adversity

　Sec. 25 will face Albirex Niigata at home. The team is currently suffering from 5 consecutive losses and in a difficult situation. Although there are periods of good play typical of Tokyo, they have always been in a situation of chasing after conceding the first goal. Today, with the support of the home crowd, we want to concentrate from the beginning and achieve a victory in this important match.

　However, Lucas injured his knee, Washington injured his ribs, and Ishikawa's knee condition was not ideal, so they were unable to make the lineup. Jean, whose foot condition is not perfect, and Kajiyama, who is concerned about fatigue, are on the bench. The starting lineup consists of Nakazawa, who is starting for the first time this season, as the center back. Miyazawa also starts for the first time since the Omiya game on May 6, serving as a defensive midfielder alongside Konno. Kawaguchi is on the right MF, Kurisawa on the left, and Hirayama, who is making his J-League debut, partners with Toda as the two forwards in a 4-4-2 formation. It is a match that attracts attention to Hirayama, who has improved his condition, but they will face it together as a team to overcome the difficult situation.

　Niigata, on the other hand, is currently in 11th place with 30 points. They had been on a losing streak, but they managed to secure a victory in the last match against Kofu after 6 games, and the team's situation is improving. They are only 3 points behind Tokyo, so they will also come to snatch a victory away. In this match, MF Fabinho will be suspended, but we need to be cautious of their attacking plays initiated by side MF Suzuki and Matsushita. In particular, we should be fully aware of the sharp counterattacks utilizing the speed of FW Edmilson. The match started at 15:03 with Niigata's kickoff under a refreshing climate without wind.

After taking the lead with a spectacular goal by Kawaguchi, they immediately conceded...

　In the early stages, Tokyo pushed forward. They aimed to involve Hirayama in the front line by passing him the ball and having Toda join in, and they managed to win a corner kick within the first minute. Nakazawa dropped the ball from Miyazawa's right corner kick, but couldn't take a shot. In the 5th minute, Kurizawa, who had drifted to the right, crossed the ball. However, it didn't reach Hirayama in front of the goal, and the opposing goalkeeper caught it. Immediately after, Niigata launched a quick attack, with forward Tanaka jumping out to a right cross, but it was offside. The game came alive in the 10th minute when Doi kicked a free kick from their own half to Hirayama in the front line. Hirayama and the opposing defender competed for the ball that Hirayama dropped in front of the goal. It spilled into the right area, and Kawaguchi, who had made a run, kicked it powerfully into the goal, GOAL! They scored the long-awaited opening goal from the planned setup.

　However, the joy was short-lived. 12 minutes after the 2-minute mark, Niigata DF Chiba, who entered the Tokyo camp after a loose ball scramble, headed the ball to the front line. Nakazawa was bypassed by this pass and it went to left MF Suzuki, who had rushed to the center. Fujiyama quickly jumped in, but he was also turned around, and MF Suzuki took a shot freely. He calmly put it into the goal, and in an instant, the score was tied. In the 17th minute, from a left throw-in in Niigata's own half, FW Tanaka dribbled through the Tokyo DF and passed to the right. FW Edmilson passed through the center, and the ball went to right side MF Matsushita, who then scored a precise shot. Up until this point, Niigata had only taken 2 shots, but they managed to score 2 goals, allowing an early comeback.

　In an attempt to find a way to counterattack, Niigata approached the goal with Miyazawa's pass as the starting point. In the 27th minute, Toda broke through with Miyazawa's vertical pass and reached the right goal. However, there was no angle, and the shot was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 29th minute, Kawaguchi entered a shooting position from Hirayama's drop, but the opponent's defender cut it off. In the subsequent play, Imakawa and Miyazawa launched a wave-like attack, but in the end, they were escaped by a left corner kick. The kicker Miyazawa tried to match Hirayama by "changing the way he usually kicks and kicking a liner-type ball," but he couldn't take a shot from there. In the 30th minute, the opponent's goalkeeper punched a right cross. Kurisawa's shot from the loose ball went over the bar.

　After that, we continued to dominate the ball and attack, but we couldn't score a goal. Gradually, we lost the ball due to mistakes and were hit by Niigata's counterattacks. In the 39th minute, Hirayama took a shot in front of the goal from Tokunaga's right cross, but it didn't meet the target as it overlapped with Kawaguchi. Towards the end, Niigata had more scenes of bringing the ball from counterattacks to the finish, and we entered the second half still trailing by one goal.

They were continuously scored against by Niigata's fast break and suffered a complete defeat with 4 goals conceded.

　In the second half, it was Niigata who gained momentum, but Tokyo's defense held firm and turned to attack. In the 48th minute, Tokunaga -> Kawaguchi's right cross was headed by Hirayama, but the shot narrowly missed to the right. In the 53rd minute, Tokunaga cut inside and passed to Kawaguchi on the outside. Toda headed the right cross, but it didn't meet properly. In the 54th minute, Miyazawa's shot just went over the bar. Immediately after that, Abe was substituted for Kurisawa and played as left MF. In the 56th minute, from the FK obtained by Tokunaga being fouled, Abe ran in to head the shot from Miyazawa's kick, but the GK caught it.

　In the 64th minute, Akamine was substituted for Kawaguchi. Toda moved to the right MF position. In the 65th minute, Abe moved inside and took a shot from just outside the right area. The shot flew towards the far post, but the GK caught it. Abe also took a shot from the left side in the 69th minute, but once again it was caught by the GK. Both teams continued to launch quick attacks and engage in back-and-forth battles. Then, in the 74th minute, something happened. Unable to pick up the loose ball, Tokyo's MF Silvinho → MF Matsushita took a middle shot from the center. The aimed shot grazed the crossbar and went in. Tokyo was caught off guard and suffered a painful third goal against them.

　In the 76th minute, Inoha was replaced by Baba as a top midfielder and switched to a 3-back formation to launch a counterattack. However, despite Hiraoka being the starting point in the front line, Niigata consistently picked up second balls, leading to a difficult situation. They were unable to create any decisive opportunities and their attacking play ended up being monotonous. In the 79th minute, Niigata's substitute forward Yano cut inside from the right area and Nakazawa fouled him, resulting in a penalty kick. Edmilson, the forward, confidently converted the penalty kick, making it 4 goals against... In the 88th minute, Abe's cross from the right was cleared by the opponent's defender. Hiraoka took a volley shot directly from the loose ball, but it slightly curved to the right, sealing their fate. They were defeated 1-4, marking their 6th consecutive loss.

　【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"It's disappointing to lose in my first J-League match. I think if I had scored when I had the chance, the momentum would have come. The coach told me to 'go for it'. I wish I could have scored myself or increased the score with my play. The team right now is unclear about what we want to do and how we want to defend, and the players are also confused. We need to make it clearer."《Kawaguchi》"I believed that the ball would come loose and ran in. It came loose in a good position. I was aiming for the course on the opposite side and just wanted to make contact. Everyone thought that scoring the first goal was important, and we were able to take it at a good time. It's disappointing that we were immediately countered. I think conceding a goal is a concentration issue. Even clearing the ball was half-hearted, and we stopped there and got scored on. I personally regret not being able to pick up loose balls because I was too far apart from Tokunaga. And when Tokunaga had the ball, there was no support. Hirayama was working hard, so I think it would be good if we could develop more patterns, such as making runs from the second row. There must be a reason for the 6 consecutive losses. We want to work towards getting results in the remaining 9 matches."

　[Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "The performance was a complete defeat. We were able to take the lead in a good way with Hirayama's header from a free kick, but it went downhill from there. All the goals we conceded were from counterattacks. We were able to break down the opponent's defense well when we were attacking, but we couldn't finish our chances and ended up being countered. Our transition between offense and defense was slow, so we were vulnerable to counterattacks. In particular, our marking on Niigata FW Edmilson and Tanaka was weak, allowing them to hold the ball and create opportunities from the second line, resulting in all four goals. I gave instructions, but we couldn't make the necessary adjustments. We need to firmly accept the result of six consecutive losses and think about our next steps. (What was the intention behind continuously substituting forwards?) It was to score goals. We aimed to deliver crosses to Hirayama from the sides. As you can see, Hirayama is a player with height and the ability to hold the ball. He didn't lose in aerial duels. Even if his stamina dropped, I decided to use him until the end today. The fact that we couldn't capitalize on his strengths in our attacks and reach the finish line was a major factor in our defeat."

　[Summary of Niigata Suzuki's press conference] "The players worked hard. The supporters cheered us on well, and I think we were able to win because of that. In the first half, the start was not bad, but we couldn't pick up the loose balls from FC Tokyo's long passes. Also, our defense line couldn't keep up with the movements of Tokyo's players. We adjusted the position of MF Terakawa and were able to pick up second balls. And I think it led to our victory that we were able to score a goal early on. At halftime, I talked about how picking up second balls would affect the outcome, as well as the spaces on the sides and defensive pressure, and how we should start the second half. As a result, we were able to score additional goals and finish in a very good shape. However, there were times in the middle of the second half when we had chances but couldn't score, and we faced a difficult situation. Even after scoring the fourth goal, there were some lackluster plays, but as professionals, we needed to play solidly until the end. Overall, the players worked hard, but we can't afford to let our guard down. We want to achieve victory in the next game as well."