A crucial match to make a comeback

Sec. 14 of the league, Shimizu S-Pulse played away. Due to a two-week break, Konno was absent from the national team, but everyone reflected on the previous issues and focused on training. They dedicated a lot of time to improving the movement and side changes in the front line, as well as coordinated follow-ups in both offense and defense. At the same time, they refreshed themselves both mentally and physically, and are determined to make a comeback from here with renewed spirits.

　Shimizu, on the other hand, is currently in 5th place with 21 points. FW Cho Je-jin is out due to injury, but coach Hara is increasingly cautious, saying, "There are many players who can do their job at crucial moments." In particular, FW Fernandinho, who plays as a attacking midfielder, can be considered a key player. "If the ball is passed to Fernandinho, he can attract 2-3 opponents, and during that time, other players can make runs," says coach Hara. In addition, MF Fujimoto and DM Ito also make quick runs when given freedom, so it is important for Tokyo to coordinate the midfield and defense and not allow them to play freely in the front line.

　Tokyo has been hit by a series of injuries, with Ishikawa, Akamine, and Rychely all injured, and Kurisawa out of the squad due to poor physical condition. In the attacking line, Lucas will be the lone striker with Fukunishi playing as an attacking midfielder, Suzuki Nori and Kawaguchi as the left and right midfielders, and Inonami and Kajiyama forming a double pivot in midfield. Shimizu, in particular, boasts a strong defense with only 13 goals conceded in the league, so breaking them down will be the key. First, we want to exploit the space behind the opposing full-backs who come forward aggressively from the sides and break them down from the flanks. However, simply crossing the ball will be easily dealt with by their tall center-backs, so we also want to break them down by exploiting the space behind their defensive line and making use of the runs from Fukunishi and Kajiyama.

　Fukunishi said, "If I can keep the ball in the front line, it will create time for the midfielders to attack. I want to be conscious of that and also contribute to scoring goals myself. I have a good feeling about playing as an attacking midfielder based on my training so far, so I want to see how I can translate that into a victory in this match. It's an important match where we have many injured players and we can't say that we are fully prepared as a team, but it's a crucial game that we want to approach as one unit towards the soccer we aim for." The match started at 16:04 with a kickoff in Tokyo at Nihondaira Stadium, which was blessed with strong sunlight and clear weather.

Despite taking the lead by gaining control of the game, they were equalized in an instant and the first half ended.

　From the start of the match, Shimizu dominated with their physicality and controlled the ball, taking the initiative. In the 5th minute, the ball was played from the center by Fukunishi to the left. Suzuki Norio boldly entered the penalty area and took a shot, but it was blocked by the opponent's defender and resulted in a left corner kick. In the 9th minute, Inoha passed to the left side to Kanazawa, who received a cross pass from Lucas and took a shot, but it went over the crossbar. In the 11th minute, Imamura intercepted the opponent's ball and passed it to Fukunishi. Kawaguchi on the right side and Kajiyama took a surprising shot from outside the penalty area. However, it was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper.

　17 minutes, Shizuoka also counterattacks from the left side, with DF Kodama cutting through the side and crossing in front of the goal. In the area, FW Fernandinho → MF Ito, who ran in, takes a shot, but the ball cuts to the left. Even if the marking is a little loose, they bring it to the finish. However, Tokyo's advantage remains unchanged. In the 19th minute, Tokunaga dribbles up and crosses. Suzuki Nori tries to follow up on the loose ball, but misses the hit. Lucas from the right area reverses and takes a shot. Unable to meet the ball, it goes straight to the GK. In the 23rd minute, from a throw-in on the left side, through Lucas to the right, Kawaguchi → Tokunaga crosses. Suzuki Nori closes in and shakes the net with a header, but it's offside...

　Then, in the 26th minute, Inoha stole Shimizu's ball near the half-line and passed it to Julian, who was free on the left. Julian calmly swung his left foot and the powerful trajectory slipped through the goalkeeper's hands, piercing the net to take the lead. Tokyo's momentum did not stop there. In the 28th minute, the ball was cleared once from a right corner kick, but Kajiyama dribbled into the right area from the loose ball, evaded the defenders, and took a shot. It was a decisive moment, but the shot went wide to the left and no additional points were scored.

　As the game entered the final stage, Shimizu started to send long balls towards FW Yajima and began to dominate possession by picking up the loose balls. In the 34th minute, Shimizu FW Fernandinho took a shot from the left area just outside the box. Doi made the save, but the ball was picked up and a sharp cross was delivered, only for Imakawa to clear it. In the 36th minute, a pass reached FW Yajima inside the box, but Fujiyama closed him down and prevented him from taking a clean shot. Despite a concentrated defense, they managed to hold on until the 43rd minute when MF Hyodo momentarily found himself free and took a shot from outside the left area. The ball went beyond Doi's outstretched hand and found the top right corner of the net, resulting in a goal.

　It seemed like the first half would end with a good flow almost as planned, but we were caught off guard for a moment and ended the first half with a tie.

Suzuki's goal puts us ahead, Baba also scores to secure a 3-1 victory

　Shortly after the start of the second half, Shizuoka FW Fernandinho was brought down and awarded a free kick in the center. MF Fujimoto aimed directly for it, but missed to the left. Then, in the 46th minute, from that goal kick, although the ball was initially kept by the opponent, Fukunishi took it away and passed it to Suzuki Nori on the left. He dribbled up and shot from an angleless position inside the left area without hesitation, and the ball was sucked into the right side net. It became a go-ahead goal that regained momentum for the team, more than enough to erase the unpleasant flow of the first half.

　Shimizu immediately attacks mainly through set plays. In the 48th minute, FW Fernandinho's shot from the left free kick was saved by Doi with his left hand. In the 50th minute, from MF Fujimoto's kick from the right corner kick, DF Aoyama was left free in front of the goal and was shot with a header. It was a decisive moment, but it missed the target and the danger was avoided. In the 52nd minute, MF Fujimoto made a lobbed pass in front of the goal. It hit the Tokyo DF and spilled into the right area, where Shimizu FW Yajima ran in, but Kanazawa cut it off with a sliding tackle.

　Shimizu's attacking time continues, but they respond with a concentrated defense. On the contrary, they create chances on the counterattack after stealing the ball. In the 57th minute, Inoha attacks the right side and crosses, but it doesn't reach Fukunishi in the middle. In the 59th minute, Tokunaga on the right side passes to Imano on the outside, who crosses, but it is caught by the goalkeeper. In the 62nd minute, Kawaguchi receives a pass on the left side, enters deep into the area, sends a negative pass in front of the goal, and Lucas runs into it, but is blocked by the Shimizu defenders.

　Shimizu made a double substitution. FW Nishizawa (← Yajima) and Fernandez in the front line, FW Okazaki (← Fujimoto) in the attacking midfield, and MF Edamura on the left, attempting a counterattack, but the flow is still in favor of Tokyo. In the 68th minute, tired Kawaguchi was replaced by Baba and played as the right MF. Then, in the 72nd minute, Kajiyama chased after the opponent's ball and stole it, and from this attacking move, Baba became free in the center and shot a middle shot from outside the area, grazing the crossbar and bouncing off the goalkeeper into the goal. The lead is now 2 points.

　After that, they threatened the opponent's goal with a solid defense and counterattacks. In the 81st minute, Asari was substituted for Fukunishi and Kajiyama moved to the attacking midfield position. In the 84th minute, Asari connected from an intercept and Inonami advanced up the left side and crossed. Asari jumped in with a header from the front of the goal, but it didn't connect. Baba from the far side connected and won a corner kick from the last pass. In the 87th minute, Tokunaga intercepted and dribbled forward. He entered the right area and took a shot, but it went wide of the goal.

　In the final stages, Shimizu pushed DF Aoyama forward and kicked a long feed into the center, immediately replacing Kajiyama with Shigeki. They didn't allow him to play freely by man-marking him. In the closing moments, FW Nishizawa headed a free kick from the right corner but missed the target, and all hope was lost. They consistently dominated Shimizu by playing their own style of soccer. They adorned the important match of the league restart with a victory.

　【Player Comments】《Nori Suzuki》"As for myself, I enjoyed the game. I'm happy that I was able to score, but I think it would be even better if this game becomes a turning point for the team to ride the wave. Although it happened to go in today, I was always conscious of taking shots. I think I was able to get into a rhythm by actively shooting with my right foot. The first goal was from a familiar angle. The second goal came from a good pass. In a similar situation in the first half, I chose to cross the ball. Although Lucas and Fukusan were closing in, I managed to slip between the goalkeeper and the defender. Then I heard shouting from the bench (laughs). At halftime, I was also told to 'shoot there' and I changed my mindset. So, I didn't have much of an angle, but I just went for it. But what made me the happiest was when my offside header went in (laughs). I've never scored a goal like that in an official match or even in a practice match. This season, I have played mostly as a full-back, but I was able to prepare well in two weeks. Despite the heat, I was able to play aggressive soccer from the first half and go after the ball, which I couldn't do in the Nagoya game. Nihondaira Stadium is where we broke our losing streak two years ago. I want to continue winning from here."《Baba》"It was my first appearance in a while, so I tried to play with confidence. As for the shot, it was a bit off target, so I thought it went in directly... I wasn't consciously trying to avoid spin, I just kicked it with all my might."

　[Summary of the press conference by the former coach] "Although there was a break period, I think it was lucky in a way that Kajiyama and Inoha were not called up for the Olympic representative match against Malaysia. This season, from the beginning, the Olympic representatives, including Imamura from the full national team, have been going back and forth between the national team and the club team. However, during these two weeks, we were able to train together, and we were able to make various adjustments. We moved together, ran together, and confirmed various things. Rather, I think it would have been difficult for Shimizu, where Edamura, Okazaki, and Sugiyama were called up for the Malaysia match, and players like Fujimoto and Aoyama were called up for the full national team, to train together and adjust their condition. I think that difference showed in today's match. In the first half, we were able to play almost as planned, and Suzuki Nori scored the opening goal. However, even though we hadn't been beaten much, we were equalized by a great goal from Hyodo. It felt a little unpleasant to be caught up after going so well. Looking at the data, Shimizu is a team that scores more goals and concedes fewer goals in the first half, while we are a team that has only scored two goals in the first half so far, so we tried to score from the first half. Also, we have more goals in the second half, so we tried to score again from the beginning, and Suzuki Nori's goal at the start was crucial. Baba, who came on as a substitute, also scored, and the team gained momentum. However, if we don't continue this, it will be meaningless, so we want to train for another week and prepare for the next match."　

　[Summary of Shimizu Hasegawa's press conference] "It's very frustrating to end up with a disappointing result despite having many supporters coming to our home after the break. Overall, we had few chances to win today's game. After conceding the first goal, we were able to equalize within the first half, but we conceded a goal at the start of the second half when we were ready to go. We knew that FC Tokyo often scores many goals during that period, so we focused in the second half, but they took advantage of a momentary lapse. It felt like our plans were disrupted. As a result, we couldn't regain our rhythm and conceded a third goal from a long-range shot. We need to reflect on the fact that we have been conceding goals from the middle range in the past few games. Today, we couldn't create a good shape in the midfield, and although we knew that FC Tokyo would play long balls, we couldn't avoid them. The failure of not being able to navigate through the opponent's pressure while distributing the ball between the front line and the midfield was the cause of today's defeat. Since we have more home games coming up, there's no point in getting down about it. We need to switch our mindset and prepare for the next game positively."