With a fresh lineup, secure the first home victory

　The 2nd round of the Nabisco Cup will be played at home, Ajinomoto Stadium, against Oita Trinita. This season, we have yet to win at home, but in every game, including league matches, there is a feeling of "missing out on 3 points". That's why we desperately want to secure a victory in this match. However, Tokunaga will be suspended for this round. Evaldo, who was not in good condition, and Kurisawa, who injured his left leg in the Iwata match, will also be absent. On the other hand, Hirayama, Inoha, and Kajiyama will leave the team from June 23 (Fri) for the activities of the Olympic representative team, so today we will use a fresh lineup.

　In the right back position, Ikegami, who will make his first appearance in the J-League, will be paired with Fujiyama and Yoshimoto in the center back position. Bamba, who will start for the first time this season, will be in the left midfield. Hata and Rychely will also be on the bench for the first time this season. It will be a total team effort, but Coach Hara expressed his expectations, saying, "We knew from the beginning that the Olympic representatives would be absent. That's why we have been training together all along, and it's a chance for the new members. If the fresh players can bring new energy and a new breeze, the team will further scale up."

　Oita started this season with 1 draw and 1 loss, but they have won in the 3rd section of the league and the 1st section of the Nabisco Cup. They have accumulated points by solid defense in the midfield, starting from the sides and utilizing the speed and height of the FW. Pay attention to the lively attacking lineup centered around FW Takamatsu and FW Matsuhashi, who was selected for the Japanese national team. Following the previous Nabisco Cup match against Iwata, starting player Shioda said, "If we concede a goal at the beginning, the damage will be significant as it is a home game. If we can get through the early stages, even the players making their first appearance can play calmly, so we especially want to focus at the beginning." If they can dampen Oita's momentum with solid defense and gain an advantage in the midfield, it should be Tokyo's time. And they want to seize victory by capitalizing on their chances.

Despite being dominated by Oita, the defense fought hard

　The intense rain in the morning subsided at Ajista, and the match started with Oita's kickoff at 14:04. Oita took control of the rhythm from the beginning. Shortly after the start, MF Augusto attacked from FW Takamatsu's post and made a decisive shot to FW Takamatsu, who broke through in front of the goal. Shioda saved this shot, and the Tokyo DF gradually settled down and started attacking from both sides. In the 10th minute, Baba, who had drifted to the right from the combination with Ishikawa, crossed and won a CK. From the right CK kicked by Baba himself, Wanchope in the far side persisted and passed it to Lucas in the center. Baba, who had entered the right area from here, skillfully turned the opponent's DF and took a shot! However, it narrowly missed to the right.

　In the 14th minute, there was a clear from Ikegami's right cross in front of Wanchope. Wanchope dropped it at his feet and took a shot without hesitation, but it went over the bar. Unable to convert the early chance, Oita regained their rhythm instead. In the 16th minute, they allowed MF Augusto to run freely on the counter, but Yoshimoto in the last line made a sliding tackle to cut it off. In the 20th minute, Tokyo was attacked from the left side, and Inokoshi's clearance, who had come to cover, fell short and went to MF Augusto inside the box. He took a shot from close range, but Ikegami cleared it just before the goal line!　

　Lost the ball halfway, and Oita continued to launch a counterattack. In the 28th minute, Fujiyama fouled to stop Oita FW Takamatsu's breakthrough into the area. Penalty kick is given. However, FW Takamatsu's PK was saved by Shioda with his right hand! After that, it bounced off the right post, but Yoshimoto did not allow MF Nemoto's shot to hit by leaning his body. Although there were some decisive moments of danger, they put their bodies on the line in the end and did not allow a goal.

　The flow seemed to lean towards Tokyo. However, in the 33rd minute, Ishikawa broke through the side and crossed the ball to Wanchope, but the trap was too long and he couldn't take a shot. Unable to grasp the rhythm of the attack, Tokyo continued to pass the ball to Oita and spent time on the defensive. In the 41st minute, Ishikawa, who had drifted to the left from Tokyo's counterattack, broke through deep into the area. He sent a negative pass into the area from the goal line. Baba, who received the ball, skillfully evaded the opponent's defender and took a shot, but narrowly missed the target... Although they couldn't convert the chance, the defense fought hard and kept Oita's attack scoreless to end the first half.

Conceded a goal from a counterattack, lost the match with no goals against the opponent's solid defense...

　In the 50th minute of the second half, Ishikawa ran into the cross from Baba, who ran up the left side, but failed to meet it. In the 52nd minute, Rychely was substituted for Wanchope and attacked with speed. In the 58th minute, Konno jumped from the head to the right corner kick from Ishikawa, but it went outside the frame. From here, the combination did not work well and there was a continued period of time where they couldn't create chances. In the 67th minute, Lucas persisted in the front line and had a left corner kick. Baba's kick was cleared by the Oita DF and led to a counterattack. MF Moto Moto rushed up with tremendous speed and was swung to the left side. While the Tokyo DF approached FW Takamatsu, he passed to the free MF Augusto in the right area. He easily scored this, and finally conceded a goal.

　In the 70th minute, Kanazawa was brought in and Suzuki Nori was pushed forward for a counterattack. In the 76th minute, Akamine was substituted for Ikegami, and they aimed for a goal with a 3-back formation, but there were few movements and they were countered after launching sporadic attacks, allowing Oita to advance. In the 79th minute, Suzuki Nori boldly aimed for a goal from the left side, but it hit the crossbar. In the 85th minute, Akamine had his pass stolen by Suzuki Nori on the left side, and Oita MF Augusto was in front of the goal. The shot hit Yoshimoto's foot and changed direction, resulting in the second goal conceded.

　Still trying to score a goal, in the 88th minute, Noriyuki Suzuki connected from a throw-in and took a shot, but the opponent's defender blocked it. In stoppage time, Noriyuki Suzuki's clearance from a free kick on the left side found Ishikawa on the right side of the box. Ishikawa took a shot after trapping the ball, but missed the target. Time's up. In the first half, we were too cautious and couldn't take advantage of our chances. In the second half, our teamwork was inconsistent. We couldn't show our "style" as Tokyo had 14 shots compared to Oita's 19 shots, resulting in a defeat.

　【Player Comments】《Ikegami》"I thought about what I could do and tried to play as usual. After about 15 minutes, the tension eased, but I still felt some stiffness. Today, I focused on positioning to make it easier for Ishikawa to attack. I watched Oita's left midfielder Nemoto, and Ishikawa charged at the opponent's three-back. (Ending without scoring) I realized that we can't break through unless we charge at the opponent, and chances won't be created. That's also a challenge for me. Today, I felt that 'there's no meaning unless we win,' and I regret the loss. I will do my best to ensure we can definitely win next time.《Shioda》"At first, the flow was bad, but I thought that if I prevented the crisis, like stopping a penalty kick, chances would come. I had watched the previous videos, so I knew the direction of the penalty kick, but I was nervous when it hit the post. It was good that I stopped it, but it means nothing if the team can't win. Today, I lacked the desire to win at home. It was an incomplete performance. Even if I'm tired, I need the will to break through. The opponent is also tired. We need to discuss these things as well. Despite the rain, many children came to watch, and I feel sorry that we couldn't deliver a good match. However, I must lift my head. (In the Nabisco Cup) we still have an away game against Oita and the next match against Iwata. I want to win this one." 【Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference】"Today's performance was not good. With Inoha absent and Tokunaga suspended, I considered taking Konno off. However, due to the short preparation time, I tried not to change things too much and used players like Ikegami and Yoshimoto who play in those positions in the back line. I also used Baba in Kurizawa's position, trying to maintain the shape from the previous match against Iwata as much as possible. I knew Wanchope wasn't in good condition, but we managed to fight through the first half. Since Ishikawa was lively, I instructed to attack using him and Baba, and I think we created several chances from that development. However, we couldn't connect the ball in the back line, making it difficult to create chances. In that situation, we conceded a goal from our corner kick flow. I had warned that the opponent would counterattack from an irregular position. After conceding one goal, we lost our energy. Lucas and the other players became frustrated and couldn't show our strengths. We must overcome issues like the absence of Olympic representatives, suspensions, and injuries. We need to quickly identify the best way to utilize Wanchope, the relationship between Fukunishi and Konno, and the balance in the midfield, and I want to regroup within a week before the away match against the in-form Reysol."

　[Summary of Oita Shamusuka's press conference] "We knew it would be a tough match against a big club like FC Tokyo, and it was indeed very difficult. Today's game was one of the best this year, competing for the top 1 or 2 spots. With today's victory, I think we have put ourselves in a favorable position in this qualifying league. The way we marked and the speed and dynamism led to this result. The substitute players who came on in the second half also played their roles well, and everyone showed movements deserving of a win. We had good movements on both sides with the ball today, but we couldn't take advantage of the speed of our weapon, FW Yuan Matsuhashi. The pitch was slippery, and the balls that could have penetrated behind the defense didn't quite reach him. That was unfortunate."