A match that we want to end the series of consecutive battles with a victory

In the 11th round of the league, we played against Montedio Yamagata away. In the previous round, we managed to keep a clean sheet for the first time since the 4th round, and although we stopped the losing streak, we failed to score any goals in the attack. It cannot be denied that there was solidity as a team while creating chances, and Ishikawa reflects on the fact that "we are tightening our own noose." If we can seize the opportunity of "one goal," we can see signs of improvement, so we want to end the final battle of consecutive matches with a victory by playing freely and scoring goals. On the other hand, Yamagata is currently in 8th place with 14 points from 4 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses. They have accumulated points by winning close matches, despite conceding more goals than they have scored, with a total of 10 goals scored and 12 goals conceded. In last season's match, we struggled against Yamagata's solid defense and sharp counterattacks, but this season, FW Tashiro, MF Masuda, South Korean striker FW Kim Koon-an, and Han Don-won have joined, adding depth to the squad. Coach Shirofuku describes the team as having "a high defensive awareness as a whole, with no players slacking off, and both individually and as a team, their defensive unity is top-class in the J-League." Tokyo made changes to the lineup, with Kajiyama on the bench due to his foot condition. Tokunaga returned to the defensive midfield, Kim Yong-gun and Nagatomo played as left and right full-backs respectively. Matsushita played as left midfielder, and the two forwards were Hiraoka and Shigematsu. As Coach Shirofuku says, it is expected to be a tense match where we cannot afford to let the opponent's chances slip away, but the key to victory will be to suppress Yamagata's ball distribution and take control of the game from the sides. We want to break through from the sides, create many chances in dangerous areas, and increase the possibility of scoring goals. On the day before the match, we focused on preparing for Yamagata and some tactical training was closed to the public. Although the preparations for the match were the same as usual, Coach Shirofuku explained that it was done to achieve unity among the players and to consider the best approach in the current situation. He continued, "We may have caused inconvenience to everyone who came to Kodaira, but we want to instill something in the team that surpasses that and express it on the pitch today." The match started at 16:04 at NDsoft Stadium Yamagata with Tokyo's kickoff.

Take the lead with Shigematsu's skillful shot! Continuing with Hanyu, they go into halftime with a 2-point lead

　From the beginning, we avoided Yamagata's press and dominated the ball, attacking from the sides. In the 10th minute, we quickly restarted the game in the opponent's half. Ishikawa chased after an early cross and won a left corner kick. Matsushita kicked the ball and Imakawa headed it back, but Hirayama couldn't take a shot. In the 14th minute, Tokunaga, Nagatomo, and Ishikawa penetrated deep into the right side and made a negative pass. Hirayama received the ball with his back to the goal in the area and turned around to take a shot, but it was blocked. Hayashi tried to score with a follow-up shot, but it went wide. In the 23rd minute, we passed the ball along the defensive line, and Hayashi fed the ball to the front line from Tokunaga's vertical pass. Hirayama dropped the ball in the area, and Ishikawa took a shot with speed! But it went over the crossbar. Then, in the 25th minute, Hirayama dropped the ball after receiving a vertical pass from Hayashi, and Matsushita sent a through pass to Shigematsu in the left area, shifting the timing of the shot. Shigematsu neatly scored a shot that went through the opponent's goalkeeper's legs and GOAL! We achieved the long-awaited opening goal with a calm play in front of the goal. After that, we calmly passed the ball among the defensive line and midfielders, and Hirayama in the front line received the ball well, especially attacking from the right side. In the 38th minute, Shigematsu kept the ball after a counterattack and passed it to Hayashi, who had advanced. Hayashi's shot from the left area just inside the goal on the lower right side! His strong determination to score paid off, and we scored the second goal. Towards the end, Yamagata's midfielder Kitamura broke through the gap between the defenders and was able to take a decisive shot from a close distance in the center of the area, but Konda made a great save to save us from the pinch. We ended the first half with a 2-goal lead.

They also scored additional points in the second half and achieved a complete victory with a score of 3-0.

　After the start of the second half, Yamagata aggressively attacks. In the 51st minute, Yamagata's FW Furuhashi directly aims for a free kick just outside the left area, and although he takes a sharp shot, Gonda saves it just barely off the bar! It goes out for a corner kick. In the 52nd minute, a quick attack sends a through pass to Yamagata's FW Tashiro at the front line. Tokyo's DF closes in tightly, preventing momentum, and Gonda catches the shot. There were moments when they were pushed back due to sharp counters and side attacks from intense pressing, but Tokyo's DF remained focused and responded, transitioning to attack. In the 55th minute, Kajiyama is brought in to replace Matsushita. They calm the game again and take control of the ball. In the 64th minute, Kajiyama receives a return pass from Ishikawa, who is positioned centrally, and moves forward, passing to the right to Jūmatsu as he enters the area. Jūmatsu boldly takes a shot, but there’s no angle, and it goes wide. In the 68th minute, Tokyo launches a quick attack, with Jūmatsu dribbling in from the left side. Drawing in the opposing DF, he makes a last pass to Hirayama, who finds himself one-on-one with the opposing GK and shoots! However, the GK saves it, missing a great opportunity... After that, Suzuki and Akamine are brought in to replace Hanyu and Jūmatsu, maintaining their attacking efforts. There were times of counter exchanges, but they still aimed for additional goals with their own style of football. In the 78th minute, they win a corner kick from Hirayama's shot. Then, in the 79th minute, Kondo pushes in a left corner kick taken by Ishikawa to score the third goal! They continued to create chances starting from Hirayama. Although they couldn't score a fourth goal, thanks to Gonda's good saves, they kept Yamagata from scoring. They achieved their first three goals of the season and secured a victory in the league since Sec. 4. 【Player Comments】《Jūmatsu》“(About the goal) I was aiming for the opponent's back from the moment I kept the ball on the left front line. From there, Hanyu's pass went to Sōta, and it connected to Wan-chan, so I thought it was a shot. However, I also ran behind, so when I called out loudly, Wan-chan switched at the last moment and gave a good pass. There was no angle, so I trapped it with my right foot and aimed for a strong ground shot with my left. I thought that if I hit it hard, it might spill somewhere. I was happy that it went in and that we could take the lead. But I wasn't satisfied with just one goal; I wanted to score another. I was substituted because my leg cramped a bit. Still, it was significant that the team scored three goals and won without conceding. I want to continue having matches like this. 《Hanyu》“Honestly, I feel relieved right now... Up until now, I think I was too nervous about scoring. To create a relaxed atmosphere, we prepared mini-games in practice and discussed how to score goals among the players. Today, the coach told us, 'It doesn't matter whether we score or not. The biggest point is whether we can be dynamic.' It was tough all along, but I thought we just had to keep shooting even if we didn't score. I'm happy that it led to results. (Did you consciously aim to shoot whenever you had the chance?) Considering my shooting power and accuracy, I'm not a player who can score a dozen goals a year. But I wanted to instill the awareness of aiming to shoot as a team. Instead of being stiff and not shooting, I wanted to have the attitude that it's okay to shoot and miss. It's important to be in a position where you can shoot, and I wanted to keep expressing that. 【Coach Jōfuku's Press Conference Summary】“The situation our team is in is very tough, and it seems that the players' sense of despair has outweighed their dynamism in recent matches. Today, I sent them out asking them to clearly show their dynamism. I think it was very good to win 3-0 against a wonderful team like Yamagata, but the difficulties we have experienced in the last few matches are far from being resolved. I strongly believe that if we don't achieve three points next time, today's victory will mean nothing. 【Yamagata Coach Kobayashi's Press Conference Summary】“My first impression was that the players were more fatigued than I expected and couldn't move. Because they couldn't move, they had to defend with a lowered line, and I felt they were able to defend at key points. If you don't move, it means you're tired. Even so, if there is quick judgment and accurate technique, there are things you can do without moving, so we need to demand that. It won't change suddenly, but I think we need to improve our precision through experiences like this. All three goals started from mistakes, so it's a bit disappointing. It's not that FC Tokyo pressed from the front; rather, when the ball circulated a bit, the line dropped, so both full-backs could take quite high positions, but we couldn't circulate the ball enough to get there. I think it would have been better if we could distinguish between quick counters and ball circulation. I was wondering how it would be with just one goal conceded, but it's disappointing that we conceded the second goal from a mistake. Honestly, I felt it was heavier than I expected, and I wondered if it would have been better to bring in refreshed members. I had received reports that the condition was good, and I had judged that as well, so that's disappointing. I felt that I could have used the players who came on more actively from the second half.