Break through Urawa's solid defense and aim for a home victory

　Sec. 15 of the league will face Urawa Reds at home. In the previous match against Shimizu, we surpassed the opponent in terms of physical fitness even in the heat and achieved a resounding victory. As Coach Hara said, "This time, it is important for the team to come together and show momentum at home and continue to play well." Today's match will be a test of strength, not only in terms of performance but also in terms of eliminating the ups and downs of form.

　Urawa, on the other hand, has finished 13 matches (Sec. 14 will be held in August) and is currently in 2nd place with 24 points. Since June, they have participated in the A3 Champion Cup held in China and have played three consecutive matches until the 13th. Although they may be fatigued from overseas trips and consecutive matches, they are still formidable opponents. In the attacking line, FW Washington, of course, and MF Ponte's ball control and speed should be noted. Additionally, FW Tatsuya Tanaka, who has been out with an injury for a long time, has returned from A3, and Coach Hara is cautious, saying, "The speed that Urawa has been lacking so far will be compensated for by him." To restrain them, it is important not to let the ball easily reach the goal area. Tokyo wants to dominate the midfield as much as possible.

　Furthermore, Urawa has only conceded 13 goals so far, showing a strong defense. Although they primarily play with a 3-back formation, midfielders Yamada and Abe can also play as fullbacks, and Coach Hara expects them to adapt flexibly. Tokyo, on the other hand, wants to attack the sides with the strong performance of Noriyuki Suzuki, but if they become predictable, they will be easily defended against. By disrupting the movement of Urawa's defense with fluid movements in the front line, Tokyo aims to create many scoring opportunities and achieve consecutive victories.

　Tokyo will face the match with the same starting lineup as the previous match. Urawa, on the other hand, has a 4-4-2 formation on the team sheet, but Soma, registered as a defender, is playing as a left midfielder. Abe, registered as a midfielder, is playing on the left side of the defensive line in a 3-5-2 formation. The match started at Ajinomoto Stadium under clear skies, with strong sunlight and heat, with Tokyo's kickoff at 16:04.

The early goal conceded had an impact, allowing Urawa to take control

　Immediately after the kickoff, there was a fierce clash and the offense and defense rapidly changed. In the first minute, Kawaguchi took advantage of the opportunity in the scramble and shot from the right side. However, in the 3rd minute, Urawa's defender, Tatsuya TANAKA, passed the ball to Washington, the forward in the midfield, from his own half. Washington turned his body around, slipped past Kajiyama's mark, and dribbled forward. The Tokyo defenders couldn't keep up with the mark, and Washington took a free shot from just outside the penalty area. Although Doi initially punched away the powerful ball, Washington reacted to the rebound once again. He quickly passed it to forward Tatsuya TANAKA, who was waiting inside the box, and he immediately took a shot. The ball, which followed its course, rolled past Doi's hand and into the right corner. They were scored the opening goal by the goal of forward Tatsuya TANAKA, who made his first appearance in J League this season.

　Urawa, who had gained momentum, took control of the pace of the game. Tokyo was unable to press from the front line and was pushed back. In the 10th minute, Urawa MF Noriyuki Suzuki made a side change, and left MF Soma crossed the ball. The Tokyo DF's clearance was weak against the dropped ball, and they were hit by a wave of attacks. After somehow defending against this, in the 12th minute, they launched a counterattack, and Kajiyama made a long pass to left Norio Suzuki. Norio Suzuki evaded the opponent's DF and took a shot with his right foot. In the 13th minute, Norio Suzuki aimed for a ground shot from a free kick just outside the left area.

　15 minutes, Urawa left MF Soma dribbles past Tokunaga and cuts deep into the area, crosses. FW Washington heads the ball perfectly, but Kanazawa blocks it with his body and it goes out for a corner kick. In the 17th minute, Suzuki Nori again receives the mark of the opposing DF, forcefully cuts inside, and swings his left foot. He unleashes a passionate shot, but fails to keep it on target. In the fast-paced exchange of attacks and defenses, Tokyo tries to score a goal from a counter-attack, but their position is low and their accuracy is lacking.

　24 minutes, Lucas on the left → Kajiyama in the middle → Tokunaga crosses from the right, but it is intercepted and countered. In the 30th minute, Urawa FW Washington demonstrates his ball retention skills in the penalty area. Tokyo DF tries to steal the ball with two players, but it is reversed and in shooting position. In the 34th minute, Kawaguchi on the right side → Tokunaga overlaps and crosses. It goes over Kajiyama in the center and Kanazawa in the far post tries to finish it, but the shot misses wide. In the 40th minute, Lucas directly aims for a free kick from slightly left in the opponent's half, but it goes over the crossbar.

　Tokyo, which allowed domination, tried to create chances from counters, but there were few scenes where they decisively broke through. In that case... they aimed from the middle range and took 10 shots, but they missed the target, and the first half ended with a score of 0-1.

Struggling to find rhythm, the goal is far away, defeated with no points

　In the second half, Tokyo made adjustments and showed aggressive movements, winning the midfield battle and launching attacks. In the 47th minute, Lucas entered the left side. He dribbled past the opponent's defender and sent a cross from the sideline to the goal, but it was cut off by the Urawa defender. In the 48th minute, Kajiyama skillfully evaded the opponent and took a shot just outside the penalty area. Then, in the 49th minute, Kajiyama in the center passed to Kawaguchi on the right, who then faked a shot and crossed the ball again. Fukunishi jumped and volleyed, but both attempts went over the crossbar.

　55 minutes, Kanazawa persistently kept the ball on the left side and connected it, and Kawaguchi, who was flowing to the left, crossed. Suzuki Nori in the center created a decisive shot, but it was blocked by the Urawa DF. In the 56th minute, Rychely was substituted for Kawaguchi and placed in the left MF position, with Suzuki Nori moving to the right. They tried to attack by utilizing speed from both sides. In the immediate 57th minute, Inoha, who had moved up on the left, launched a counterattack and crossed. However, the crosses were all bounced back by the Urawa DF, leading to Urawa's counterattack.

　At the 60th minute, Urawa DF Rian TAKARA attacked and brought it to the left CK. Lucas, who tried to clear the sharp kick kicked by MF PONTE near the goal, lost control and scored an own goal. They conceded the second goal during the attacking period without being able to score. After that, in the 67th minute, BABA was substituted for FUKUNISHI, and in the 75th minute, HIRAYAMA was substituted for KANAZAWA. Konno moved forward, Inoha formed the defensive line, and Nori Suzuki covered the left side in a formation to counterattack.

　Hirayama collected the ball and aimed for the goal by picking up the second ball. In the 79th minute, Rychely jumped into the near post to intercept the right corner kick from Hirayama's right cross, but it went wide. In the 83rd minute, Kajiyama dropped the feed from Imakawa, and Kajiyama made a right cross from the loose ball. From there, Suzuki Nori persistently attacked with a left cross, but couldn't take a shot. In stoppage time, Baba, Hirayama, Tokunaga, and Imakawa... took shots one after another, but the fierce attack did not bear fruit. They were unable to break through Urawa's solid defense and suffered a defeat with no goals.

　【Player Comments】《Imano》"I tried to observe Urawa's situation, but I conceded a goal to FW Washington. It was my own mistake in a scene where I should have gone. With this, the opponent gained momentum and we fell apart. After that, the opponent became defensive and it was difficult to break through. The early goal against us had an impact and I have regrets. I was told to play as a defensive midfielder in the latter part of the game, but I went up on my own because I wanted to score. Both individually and as a team, we have no choice but to level up through practice. We need to switch gears and work together to secure 3 points in the next match."《Kanazawa》"We conceded an early goal and it became a tough situation. We wanted to press from the front, but we lost the ball in the midfield and Urawa possessed it, making it difficult for us to press. If we had been able to overcome the early goal, the situation would have been different... In the second half, the opponent's physicality decreased, allowing us to win loose balls. We were able to win in the midfield, but not being able to do it from the first half is our challenge."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Urawa had just returned from a fierce battle in A3, so we talked about being proactive from the start. However, the start of the match was not good. In the 3rd minute, Urawa FW Washington and Kajiyama competed, but the ball was cleared, and while it was unclear who would go next, they dribbled and took a shot, which the goalkeeper saved, but then they scored again. We wanted to create that kind of situation in reverse, but Urawa got an advantage from that. Around the middle of the first half, we talked about "let's change sides more simply," and we had a good shape including the start of the second half. However, we couldn't score there. After that, we conceded a corner kick from a counterattack, and it resulted in an own goal, which made us lose our energy. We brought in players like Baba and Hirayama, who are clear types, but we couldn't score. I think the cause of today's loss is the difference in the way we entered the match and our finishing ability."

　[Summary of Urawa Ojek's press conference] "First of all, I want to praise the entire team. They showed a fantastic performance. Also, I think FC Tokyo, our opponent, played really well. We played with self-control and discipline today, and we were focused on building our attacks. What was even more impressive was that they played with passion for the full 90 minutes. In particular, the performance of FW Tatsuya TANAKA, who returned from a long-term injury, was outstanding. He showed great agility and movement, and by making runs behind the opponent's defensive line, we were able to deliver good balls to him. He also received the ball in good positions. Another thing not to forget is that he scored a goal. It is very important for him as a striker to score. We hope that he will continue to recover smoothly and be able to play as he used to in the future."