8月最後のリーグ戦、ホームで勝利し浮上を狙う

　The league has consumed two-thirds of the matches, and in Sec. 24, Oita Trinita will play at Ajinomoto Stadium. Although August is coming to an end, the team has not won a match since the Omiya game on July 18th, and it can be said that they are in a difficult situation. In this match, they must win at home by any means necessary and seize the opportunity to rise in the following Nabisco Cup and the final stages of the league.

　Oita, who will face us, is currently in 18th place and in a difficult situation. They have welcomed new coach Popovic since the 19th round, but they have continued to struggle with 1 win and 4 losses. Nevertheless, they aim to escape from the bottom with possession football, moving the ball and connecting passes. Coach Jofuku says, "They have good players in the front line, including the outside. When the ball enters them in a good situation, it is quite scary. We are cautious," he said, expressing his impression.

　However, Tokyo should have an advantage in playing attacking football by connecting passes. By surpassing Oita in ball possession and taking control, Tokyo wants to minimize "Oita's time" and prevent their attacks. In the offensive, scoring the first goal will be crucial. If Tokyo can score first, they can take advantage of Oita's forward movements. It will also make it easier to control the game.

　In the past 5 matches, we have struggled to score with only 2 goals, but in this match, Ishikawa made a long-awaited comeback and started as a starter for the first time since the Kawasaki match on August 1st. Coach Shirofuku explained the current situation, saying, "The point is whether we can bring out the best as a team, rather than the combination of players or fixed positions," and we aim to stop the losing streak with a style of play that maximizes each individual's strengths and complements each other's weaknesses. The match started at 19:04 with the kickoff by Oita at the humid Ajinomoto Stadium.

Unable to break down Oita's defense, the first half ends scoreless

　Initiating coordinated play from the beginning and heading towards the goal. In the first minute, Oita passed the ball inside the Oita team and Hayabusa sent a lob pass into the area. Ishikawa was entering there, but he couldn't receive it due to the opponent's defender blocking him. Oita also demonstrated their strengths, and in the second minute, from a quick pass, FW Fernandinho took a shot from the left area but it went across the goal. In the fifth minute, Tokyo intercepted Oita's pass inside the opponent's half. Then Ishikawa evaded a one-two with Hirayama in the center and broke into the area, but he couldn't get into a good position and couldn't finish.

　As we connect passes and look for opportunities, we try to develop our own style of soccer. In the back and forth battle, in the 19th minute, Tokunaga passed a lobbed ball to Cabore just outside the right area. Cabore controlled it with one touch and Ishikawa followed up by taking the ball to the center and shooting. This was Tokyo's first shot of the day, and it was a well-controlled ball, but it hit the goalkeeper straight on.

　In the 25th minute, Cabore passed to Ishikawa in the right area, who then passed to Yonehara who was free in the center. However, Yonehara's shot was blocked by the Oita DF. In the 27th minute, Hayashi sent a cross from the left side, Ishikawa and Hirayama jumped in to challenge the opposing DF in the center, but the ball hit the opposing DF and headed towards the goal. It almost looked like an own goal, but the GK caught it.

　On the other hand, Oita also solidified their backline and occasionally launched sharp counters. However, in the 34th minute, FW Fernandez was caught offside by MF Kanazaki. In the 39th minute, Oita FW Fernandez broke through Tokyo's right side, and left MF Fujita took advantage of the open vital area to take a shot, but the DF blocked it at the last line. In the 41st minute, Kajiyama dribbled into the left area and attempted a shot, but missed the target. Nevertheless, Ishikawa closed in on the goal, but the GK caught it. Both teams defended with concentration, not allowing the opponent to move freely. The first half ended with a scoreless draw.

Cabore takes the lead! Oita is pushed back by Yonemoto's powerful shot!

　In the 47th minute of the second half, Konno joined in and connected with a left cross from Hayu. Cabore jumped in front of the goal, but the Oita GK caught it. In the 55th minute, Cabore persistently won the ball on the right side and dribbled to the left in the center. Nagatomo, who had advanced into the middle, aimed for the goal but missed by a wide margin. Although they carried the ball to the front line, they couldn't create any decisive chances for a while. In the 63rd minute, Ishikawa broke free into the left area from Hirayama's post. He created a great opportunity, but was closed down by the defenders and couldn't take the shot...

　In the 68th minute, Otake was substituted for Hayu. This immediately paid off, as in the following 70th minute, Hirayama dropped a pass from Tokunaga to the front line, Ishikawa on the right passed to the middle to Otake, who then passed it back to Ishikawa in the area. From the flowing teamwork, the final pass went to Cabore in front of the goal, at a very close distance. Cabore evaded the jumping goalkeeper with a right foot trap and scored with his left foot!! Ishikawa, Otake, and Cabore's well-coordinated decision-making led to the opening goal.

　Tokyo takes control of the ball on this occasion. In the 78th minute, Cabore dribbles forward from a quick attack. He is fouled and brought down, but Hirayama is there to support, so the play continues. Hirayama breaks free on the right side, while Suzuki also pushes forward from the opposite side. However, Hirayama's cross doesn't reach the center... it is cut off by the opposing defender. In the 82nd minute, Cabore passes to Suzuki, who runs down the left side and sends a negative pass to Otake, who has entered the left area. Otake carries the ball forward with speed and takes a shot, but it goes straight into the goalkeeper's face...

　Oita tried to launch a strong attack, chasing one point, but Tokyo shut down the counterattack by connecting passes. In the added time, Oita calmly passed the ball while trying to counterattack, and Suzuki kept the ball, passed it to Nagatomo, and then Yonemoto unleashed his right foot when he saw no pressure ahead! The shot from a position about 30 meters away crossed over Oita's goalkeeper Nishikawa's hand and pierced the net for a goal!! Yonemoto scored his first goal in the league and secured the second goal to seal the victory just before the end of the game. They obtained 3 points for the first time since the Omiya match on July 18.

　【Player Comments】《Yonemoto》"I don't remember much because I was completely absorbed in scoring. However, I'm glad it went in because I practiced many times this week. I was happy, but my performance wasn't very good until then, so it felt like I rewarded myself with a goal. But when it's a one-point difference like this, getting an additional goal made it easier. We talked about how we couldn't break into the top if we couldn't win here. So we all worked hard to get 3 points while helping each other. I think it was good that it led to the Nabisco Cup as well."《Ishikawa》"I think when the team couldn't win, we also lost our momentum. Today, I was conscious of that and approached the game by paying attention to the timing and way of turning on the switch for the attack. The scene where Cabore's goal was born was a good moment to turn on the switch. We tried various things to break Oita's solid defense. We couldn't score for a while, but it was good that we could score in the second half. I wanted to create more situations like that in the first half. I think we can build on the good image by producing results with powerful attacks. We should be able to play even better soccer."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "We have gone through a tough August without winning for over a month, but it feels great to celebrate victory with everyone today. It has been a while since I felt deeply moved by the fact that we can celebrate victory together with the supporters who came to cheer us on. In terms of the game, Oita established an even more compact defense and created a solid block of 11 players, making it difficult for us to break through in the first half. We were trying to find the timing to disrupt the opponent's defense and penetrate vertically, but in the first half, our attempts were half-hearted both in terms of disruption and vertical penetration. In the second half, we confirmed some defensive adjustments and discussed how to increase our vertical penetration and establish a common understanding. The players' desire to earn 3 points and score goals transferred onto the ball, and it was good that we scored 2 goals. We want to learn from this experience, including areas for improvement, and move on to the next game."

　(Regarding Yonemoto's goal) In the first place, there should have been more shooting chances for Kajiyama, the other defensive midfielder. However, he had a problem with his ankle, and when that is resolved, he should be able to shoot more than Yonemoto. We have been keeping in mind the mid-range shots and breaking down the opponent's side while shaking them up. They have also been practicing every day. So Yonemoto was also shooting shots like that in practice. However, shooting in practice and shooting in a game are not the same. Being able to express that is a confidence booster, and if we can try not to miss chances like that, including Kajiyama, I think this team can go up one level. (Regarding the effect of Ishikawa's return) Even during the period when we were not winning, we were able to bring the ball to the attacking third, but it was a vicious cycle of not being able to score and not being able to hold the back. In today's game, I think there were methods to change the lineup. I don't think the lineup is a designated seat, but when it became clear that Ishikawa was coming back, we reflected on what elements we were able to bring out as a team when we were doing well. It was significant that we were able to return to the starting point once the lineup was complete."

　[Summary of Oita Popovich's press conference] "Recently, we have had the same results in several matches. I don't think the performance was that bad, but we couldn't convert our scoring opportunities and the opponents did. At the end of the first half, DF Uemoto was hit by an elbow from a Tokyo player and couldn't play in the second half, which was unexpected. In the first half, we played very well and created more chances than the opponents. I think we created bigger chances than the opponents. We were dominating the game and fought brilliantly. We had a chance to score when the score was 0-0, but we couldn't convert it into a goal, which was the biggest factor in our defeat. We had a period of fatigue while dominating the game, and that's when Cabore scored a goal against us. It was a time when our concentration and physical strength temporarily dropped. As for the second goal, it was a very beautiful goal, and I think the fans were satisfied to see such a goal. However, we also had several chances like that, but they didn't go into the goal. Still, there will definitely come a day when our shots will go into the goal. We must continue to train well for that. I believe we must continue to do what we can do in our own style and find a way out of this situation. The day will come when we can score goals, so until then, we must prepare ourselves well."