Aiming for victory this season, we will head to the away game against Urawa.

　The league's Sec. 2, held on a Sunday, will see us face Urawa Reds away. In the previous match, Hirayama scored a dramatic goal in stoppage time to secure the victory. Coach Jofuku reflected, "The team's defensive awareness was high, but as a result, we ended up sitting back a bit too much." However, he continued, "The fact that we fought without impatience for 90 minutes and were able to accumulate points is a positive outcome," making this match a key battle to see how patiently we can fight and secure points. On the other hand, Urawa faced Kashima Antlers in the last match. Despite dominating possession, they conceded two goals due to defensive lapses and lost. However, this match is also their home opener, and they will surely aim to secure all three points. In the last match, they deployed Edmilson at the forefront in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but this time they have changed to a two-top formation with forwards Tanaka and Edmilson. In response, Tokyo will need to address the issues that arose in the last match and apply pressure from the front to prevent Urawa from easily taking control, which will be a key point. In last season's league Sec. 2, we faced Urawa and suffered a heavy defeat. Above all, we have not won against this matchup since 2004, so it is understandable to say we have a "weakness" here. Coach Jofuku stated, "Urawa is undoubtedly the biggest club in Japan, including the atmosphere of the stadium and supporters. We haven't been able to win against them for years, but there must be a reason for that. Our strength and mentality also play a role in football, but I want to build something strong that is not easily influenced by such an atmosphere. Still, there is no shortcut to victory. We must be conscious of not showing any gaps and express our football. If we cannot do that at a high level, it will likely be difficult to win at Saitama Stadium," he resolved with a strong determination. Demonstrating the resilience shown in the opening match and a commitment to further growth through our play, we aim to secure points! Although the shade remains cold, Saitama Stadium is well-lit. The match started at 14:02 with Tokyo's kickoff.

In the early stages, Urawa was pushing but conceded the first goal from a PK.

　From the start, Tokyo seized the rhythm. In the 5th minute, Nakamura dribbled into the open space in the center of the opponent's half and took a shot from distance, but it went wide. In the 6th minute, Nakamura again advanced down the right side and sent a through pass to Suzuki, who had broken free behind the defense. However, it was just a bit too long and was caught by the goalkeeper. In the 9th minute, they launched a quick transition attack, with Suzuki breaking through the right area. He sent a last pass to Hirayama in the center, but the shot could not be taken. In the 12th minute, Suzuki sent a cross to Mukuhara. It was cleared by the defense once, but Hayabusa seized the loose ball and sent a floating ball to the front line. However, this too lacked precision and coordination in the final play, and was caught by the goalkeeper. As time passed without capitalizing on the early chances, Urawa sent a series of passes from the defense line to the front line, launching a counterattack. In the 18th minute, Urawa's left back Ugajin broke into the area, and Morishige fouled him, giving away a penalty kick. In the 19th minute, Urawa's MF Ponte converted this penalty, allowing them to take the lead. Urawa gained momentum from this opening goal. In the 23rd minute, they connected passes in front of the goal and allowed an attack into the area, but in the end, Konno stole the ball from Urawa's FW Edmilson and held firm. In the 27th minute, Urawa's right back Hirakawa advanced and received a cross, with FW Edmilson taking a shot. In the 34th minute, a pass was sent behind Tokyo's defense, and Urawa's FW Tanaka ran onto it and managed to shoot, but both times the ball went wide. In the 38th minute, Urawa's MF Kashiwagi directly aimed for a free kick from just outside the right area, hitting the left post. The rebound was followed up by FW Tanaka, who took a decisive shot, but was saved by the right post... Thanks to the opponent's mistakes, they managed to avoid conceding another goal, but in the 39th minute, Morishige fouled Urawa's FW Edmilson to stop his advance. He received a second warning today and was sent off, forcing them to play with ten men. As a result, Tokunaga moved to center back, Matsushita shifted to a holding midfielder, and in the 44th minute, Ishikawa came on for Nakamura. They aimed to counterattack with Hirayama at the top, Suzuki on the left, and Ishikawa on the right.

Sent off a player and faced a counterattack in a numerical disadvantage situation...

　However, in the second half, although we were able to circulate passes against the deep-lying Urawa defense, we lacked a decisive edge. On the contrary, the ball was lost while advancing to the front line, leading to Urawa launching counterattacks. In the 52nd minute, Hanyu sent a long ball from our half to Ishikawa making a forward run, but he could not catch up. In the 53rd minute, we circulated passes in the opponent’s territory looking for a chance, but the pass from Mukuhara to Hirayama was intercepted, resulting in Urawa possession. In the 56th minute, we successfully stopped Urawa’s quick attack and went on the offensive, but the vertical pass from Tokunaga to Hirayama could not get through. At the 60th minute, Akamine was brought on for Mukuhara as an attacking midfielder, followed by Kajiyama replacing Hanyu. With Matsushita playing right back, we aimed first for an equalizer. However, in the 69th minute, from Nagatomo’s forward run, Ishikawa, who had shifted to the left side, cut inside and passed to Hirayama inside the area, but Hirayama was judged to have been fouled and could not finish. In the 73rd minute, from Hirayama’s pass, Akamine broke behind the defenders and shot, shaking the net, but it was ruled offside. In the 77th minute, Nagatomo dribbled up to the line and crossed, with Hirayama diving in, but the GK caught it. In the 78th minute, Ishikawa ran into the left area to meet Hirayama’s layoff and shot, but the GK caught it. Then in the 79th minute, Hirayama contested a long feed from Matsushita, creating a decisive chance for Akamine, but he could not score. We solidified our defensive block and did not allow Urawa’s counterattack to add another goal. Even while down a player, we showed an attitude of connecting passes and attacking, but ultimately only managed four shots total—two in the first half and two in the second. We could not capitalize on chances and the final whistle blew, once again failing to secure a victory at Saitama Stadium. Player Comments Nakamura: “In the early stages, the team played as planned. Personally, I received passes where I wanted and was able to attack. I think we should have scored during that period. For Urawa, it was their home opener, so it’s natural that scoring first would give them momentum. That’s what’s frustrating. After going down to 10 men, it felt like Urawa took advantage of their numerical superiority. It’s even more frustrating because it doesn’t feel like we were outplayed.” Hanyu: “At the start of the first half, we had to get results during our time on the ball. The reason we lost was mainly because we couldn’t score during that good period in the first half. Also, there was some defensive confusion around the time we conceded the penalty. Urawa kicked the ball and we lost control. Morishige’s sending off was also a hole the team created. This season, I strongly want to avoid dropping any matches and have been focused on grinding out points. So it’s very frustrating to end today with zero points. But I see this as a chance to work harder so the team can grow stronger and mature.” Coach Shirofuku’s Press Conference Summary “FC Tokyo had not been able to beat Urawa for a long time, so today the players showed strong determination on the pitch. I think they fought well aiming for three points. It’s disappointing to end with zero points, but I told the players there’s no need to hang their heads. We want to use this reflection for the next game. In terms of content, the start of the first half was good, but then the back line was left behind. The forwards and midfielders tried to win the ball back, but the defenders stayed back too much to cover Urawa’s free runners, which created space for them. We tried to adjust, and although it was tough with only nine field players, everyone responded well and in the second half we were able to win the ball higher up and play our style to some extent. Morishige’s sending off worsened the flow and caused the team to struggle, which we must reflect on. However, if that play, which almost saw the ball cross the goal line, is judged a penalty, I need to study it again and instruct the players accordingly. It’s important to use today’s reflection for the future.” Urawa Coach Finke’s Press Conference Summary “Of course, we wanted to secure our first win of the season today, and we achieved that result. However, I think the game was better when it was 11 vs 11. When the opponent had a player sent off, we had a numerical advantage, but as a coach, that created a difficult situation. Because in such situations, players can unconsciously lose concentration. Today, I had to point that out to several players. It’s common that the game flows better when the teams are even. Overall, we showed excellent play, but we should have scored additional goals. In the second half, the fighting spirit was good, but I was dissatisfied with the breadth of vision, game control, transitions after winning the ball, and attacking play. But we must not forget that the first half was very good and the content was strong. Today was an away opener and we suffered that defeat, so it was important to take three points in the following home game. We achieved that, so I have no complaints based on the result.”