A crucial match that cannot be lost in order to advance to the top

　Sec. 29 of the league is an away match against Nagoya Grampus Eight. In the previous match against Yokohama FM, we achieved a come-from-behind victory of 2-1 despite conceding the opening goal. With a two-week interval due to national team activities, our atmosphere is good with 5 wins and 1 loss in the last 6 matches before the break, although we were defeated by Chiba. In order to improve our position from here, we want to continue accumulating victories without losing momentum, one match at a time. In addition, players who were away from the team due to national team activities, such as Konno, Hirayama, and Masahiko INOHA, have returned energetically and have also made it into the squad.

　Nagoya, who is facing them, is in 12th place with 36 points at the end of the 28th round. FW Yong-sen, MF Fujita, and DF Masukawa, who have been absent from the battle due to injury, will return. They will come to the home ground with an aggressive approach in order to improve their position even a little. Coach Hara emphasizes caution, saying, "When FW Yong-sen enters, the game changes. He also comes out from the midfield as a starting point. In the past, we have been defeated by the "one shot" of MF Nakamura and Fujita. Each player has the ability to break through individually." In response to this, it can be said that it is important to prevent FW Yong-sen from receiving the ball as much as possible, and even if the ball is received, it is important to have quick footwork and concentration to fight against loose balls without losing focus.

　The match against Nagoya at home Ajinomoto Stadium ended in a 0-1 defeat. Manager Hara reflects, "Our attacks were too focused on the center, allowing Nagoya's MF Honda and Kane to close in and quickly turn the game around." Based on this, today's battle will rely on the offensive and defensive play on the sides. It is necessary to create more opportunities by utilizing Rychely and Noriyuki Suzuki's speed from the sides and exploiting the space behind Nagoya's DF.

　Recently, Nagoya has been repeating wins and losses and has not been able to ride the wave. When they are scored against, they struggle to regain their rhythm and tend to concede goals. That's why Tokyo wants to launch a speedy attack from a solid defense and take the lead in the game. Even if they are scored against, the attacking line-up, which has scored 16 goals in the last 6 games before the break, seems to have a good chance of continuing their momentum. The match started at 14:03 with Nagoya's kickoff at Toyota Stadium.

Both teams failed to create a rhythm and the first half ended scoreless.

　From the start of the match, Nagoya Grampus passed the ball around their defensive line in response to Tokyo's defense, and sent the ball to FW Yonsen to launch an attack by picking up the second ball. In the 4th minute, Nagoya's left FW Honda dribbled up and passed the ball through to MF Kane who had run up to the front line. He was in a shooting position, but Fujiyama intercepted and it went out for a left corner kick. Tokyo also countered with composed defense and gradually launched attacks. In the 7th minute, Akamine competed and won a free kick on the left side. From this, Inomoto -> Suzuki Nori broke through the left side with a quick restart. Lucas met the cross with a header, but it went straight to the goalkeeper.

　At 10 minutes, Lucas persistently fought on the front line and won a left corner kick. On the second corner kick, Inamoto dropped Noriyuki Suzuki's kick with his chest and attempted a shot, but it was quickly closed down and cleared. At 12 minutes, Noriyuki Suzuki directly aimed for a free kick from a distance in the opponent's central area, but it curved to the upper right. At 15 minutes, Inamoto chased the ball on the front line, stole it on the right side of the opponent's area, and quickly passed it to the free Akamine. Akamine dribbled up and took a shot from just outside the penalty area, but it curved to the left of the goal frame. It was a decisive chance, but they couldn't convert it.

　On the contrary, in the 17th minute, Nagoya's forward YONSEN crossed from the right with a direct play. Honda, the forward from the left, jumped in and created a decisive opportunity, but the header missed the target and avoided danger. After that, both teams pressed fiercely in the midfield and made mistakes, unable to create clear chances. In addition, in the 32nd minute, there was an accident where Fukunishi injured his left foot when colliding with an opponent player. As a result, Asari came on as a substitute.

　As time passed, Nagoya Grampus became slightly more defensive and kept the ball for the most part. In the 37th minute, they suffered a counterattack, but Fujiyama made a sharp interception. In the 40th minute, Tokunaga cleared the ball intended for Nagoya FW Yonsen. The ball went to Nagoya and reached FW Yonsen who broke through the front line. He entered a shooting position in the left area, but Fujiyama and Shigeta blocked with a sliding tackle. In the 42nd minute, Nagoya quickly restarted the game from a ball dispute and passed it to FW Honda in the front line. Honda aimed for a middle shot without hesitation, but it lacked power and Shioda caught it. In the end, the first half ended scoreless.

The team came together and defended Lucas' one goal, earning 3 points

　At halftime, he was instructed to "defend more from the front" and entered the second half. At the beginning, there were scenes where Nagoya was pushed back, but they started to create attacking opportunities. In the 50th minute, Akamine made a run to the front line and crossed from the left. Lucas attempted to score near the goal, but couldn't find the target. In the 55th minute, Akamine played tenaciously on the front line and won a corner kick. Noriyuki Suzuki's second kick was punched by the goalkeeper. Kanazawa chased after the loose ball and took a shot, but couldn't find the right position and hit the crossbar.

　Then, in the 57th minute, Kanazawa kept the ball on the left side and made a perfect through pass to Imano, who ran inside after going around the opponent's defender. Imano made a deep cut and delivered a minus last pass from the goal area. The ball passed through the gap between the opponent's defenders, and Lucas, who was closing in, managed to score with his right foot despite falling down! They took the desired opening goal.

　However, immediately after that, Nagoya's counterattack begins. In the 60th minute, FW Honda's left corner kick is headed by FW Yonson, but Shibata catches it. In the 61st minute, DF Abe advances from the counterattack to the left side of the area and passes it in front of the goal. MF Kane jumps in, but fails to shoot properly. In the 63rd minute, Tokyo substitutes Rychely, who showed signs of fatigue, with Ishikawa. However, Nagoya also substitutes FW Ogawa and MF Yamaguchi with FW Sugimoto and MF Fujita, further increasing their attacking momentum and aiming for a goal. Tokyo is completely dominated by Nagoya and the game progresses in the Tokyo area.

　76 minutes, Nagoya's right cross is cleared by Tokyo DF. It is picked up by someone, and in the end, FW Sugimoto's right cross is perfectly headed by FW Yonson, but Shioda makes a super save with his left hand in the upper right corner of the goal. In the 77th minute, a free kick is awarded to Nagoya from just outside the left area. MF Fujita -> MF Nakamura's shot is blocked by Fujiyama, who throws his body forward, and it goes out for a corner kick.

　In the 74th minute, Hirayama, who replaced Akamine, took the ball on a counterattack and finished it. In the 82nd minute, after Fujiyama's interception, Ishikawa crossed from the right side and chest-trapped it on the left side of the area. He brought it vertically and shot from an angleless position, but the ball hit the post. This time, he headed Doenaka's right cross, but it lacked power and went straight to the goalkeeper. In the final stages, Nagoya put a long ball to forward Yonson and launched a power play. However, Fujiyama and Shigeki concentrated and responded, and Asari also fiercely competed for loose balls, preventing shots. The team held off Nagoya's fierce attack until the end and secured valuable 3 points away.

　【Player Comments】《Shioda》"We were able to win because everyone worked hard on defense. (Were there any fine plays?) Moni and everyone else were putting their bodies on the line, so it was easier for me to focus on my targets. I was able to anticipate where the ball would come to a certain extent. I also expected FW Yonson's header to come in that situation. In the first half, our rhythm was off, but the FWs were also chasing and helping us out. In the second half, we were able to take the lead and it was the result of everyone's hard work. Coach Doi also gave us instructions from the bench and was definitely a big help for the team. I think this victory was achieved by everyone working together. We want to continue to push each other, improve our level, and carry it over to the next game."《Asari》"When the opponent attacked through the middle, their wingers were using the space left behind by our fullbacks. When our defensive midfielder went to cover, they were able to find MF Kin in the middle, so we wanted to fix that. We focused on building a connection between our DF line with Moni and Fuji-san, and making our roles clear. However, in the second half, the opponent just kept kicking the ball, so I ended up getting absorbed into the DF line. If I had gone forward, they would have exploited the space, so I had to stay back and use my teammates to defend. But Lucas also did a great job chasing after them, which was a big help. (Next is the Kawasaki game?) In the first half of the season, I wasn't able to play my game and was substituted out. If I get the chance to play, I want to be more proactive and play aggressively."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "Nagoya lost to Shimizu S-Pulse in the previous match, but I think their performance was better than Shimizu's. We changed our system to a four-back, and the pressure from the front was very good, and I felt we had momentum. There is a significant difference when FW Jönsson is on the field and when he is not; when we can get the ball to him, he can hold it well in deep space, allowing midfielders like Kan and Nakamura, and FW Honda to play facing forward. What is also concerning is the players who break through from the second line. We talked about not just sending two or three players to FW Jönsson, but to be cautious of those who break through against him. In the first half, the opponent often pushed forward, and we were pressed back. Conversely, even when we regained the ball, it went to Lucas, but Akamine was a bit slow to move compared to usual, and he couldn't hold the ball, which led to us not creating good opportunities in the first half. As a result, fast players like Norio Suzuki and Rychely couldn't play facing forward, which was not good. At halftime, I told Akamine to move more dynamically and to receive the ball while moving. Once he started doing that, we were able to create a point of attack in the front line, and the scenes of Norio Suzuki and Konno breaking through increased. Fukunishi got injured in that way, and we brought in Asari, which turned out to be better. Fukunishi is excellent in attack, but when the opponent's midfielders Kan and Nakamura were aggressively moving in and out, he managed to maintain balance when Tokyo's defense was lagging behind. As expected of Asari. The defense stabilized with Konno and Asari. Rychely showed signs of fatigue, and we were being pushed back from the left side, so we brought in Ishikawa to also push out from the right side. We also brought in Hirayama not to fall back to defend but to hold the ball in the front line. Hirayama had several chances, and it would have been great if he could have converted one of those. It was a tough match, but everyone held on well. Shigeno has also improved, and the combination with Fujiyama was good. Shiota made some fine saves. Dohi had been away for a while due to back pain, but I think his return increased Shiota's concentration even more. It was a tough match, but everyone worked hard without losing focus until the end. (What is your evaluation of today's defense?) I think the combination of Shigeno and Fujiyama was stable. Also, Kanazawa and Tokunaga were able to fight in good condition. Moreover, Konno in the midfield was excellent. His strength in ball duels was remarkable. He can win headers, break forward in attack, and even provided an assist. Asari also managed to calm the midfield well even in such situations. We had the option of Inoha, but since he had been playing as a left back for the Olympic team, he had less time to adapt, so I chose Asari. It is undeniable that everyone defended well, including the defense from the front line."

　[Nagoya Vergoossen coach press conference summary] "Today was not a lucky game. FC Tokyo has been in very good form recently. Like the previous game against S-Pulse, we dominated the game. It wasn't perfect, but we played good football and were able to control the game against a defensive opponent. We were only able to create a few scoring opportunities, but I think we had chances to score two goals. It's a small detail, but if we had 5% more speed or if the ball had gone 10cm further forward, it could have made a difference in the outcome. There were close moments in front of the opponent's goal and also unlucky moments. In games like this, the result can be decided by one defensive mistake. After conceding a goal, we had to take risks and push forward, but FC Tokyo had a strong defense and we couldn't break through. The opponent became defensive and at times had 8 players defending inside the penalty area. We didn't create 10 clear-cut chances, but we had a chance to equalize and maybe even win. We lost, but I want to praise the team for showing a fighting spirit. There was confusion within the club this week, but the players fought well and I think they went for the 3 points. The team was in turmoil due to the coaching issue, but the players prepared well and there were no issues mentally. We couldn't get the result."