In the 25th match held at home at the Japan National Stadium, let's aim for victory this time!

　On October 3rd, we will face Shonan Bellmare at home in the National Stadium for League Sec. 25, held on a Sunday. In the previous match against Omiya, we lost without capitalizing on our chances. Under Coach Okuma's leadership, we couldn't secure our first victory, leaving us winless in 10 league matches. Particularly, despite taking control in the first half, conceding a goal led to anxiety and a decrease in our activity level. However, the players collectively mentioned that they felt they had grasped some positive aspects. In this match, we want to connect that feeling to scoring and aim to take all three points. With a week since the last match, we have prepared thoroughly. Coach Okuma stated about the lineup, "If we fix the starting 11, we won't be able to respond to accidents, so we tried various combinations in practice. However, since the previous match wasn't bad, I decided to go with the same members today. The condition of the substitute players has also improved. We want to enhance our team strength together," leading to the same lineup as the last match. Additionally, Hanyu, who had been injured, has returned and made the squad for the first time since the Sec. 22 match against Urawa. On the other hand, Shonan is currently in 18th place with 15 points. They have not won since the Sec. 13 match against Kyoto on July 18th, continuing a tough situation with 11 league matches without a win. However, they have scored a total of 26 goals so far. Moreover, they have not had any scoreless matches in their last six games, consistently scoring by utilizing the sharp movements of forward Abe to evade marking, as well as the shooting power of forward Emerson and midfielder Sakamoto. Although forward Tahara will be suspended for this match, Gonda emphasized, "Shonan has agile players in their frontline, and if we lose focus, we will be punished." Furthermore, Shonan is a team that skillfully incorporates tactical changes and countermeasures during matches. In response, Tokyo wants to take control and extend the time we can manage the game ourselves. Therefore, which team can score first will be crucial. Even if we concede a goal, it is essential to remain calm and learn from the reflections of the Omiya match. We need to maintain a strong attitude towards the goal and strive for victory. The match took place at the National Stadium, with clear autumn-like weather despite being overcast. It started with Tokyo's kickoff at 15:05.

Daikoku scores the long-awaited opening goal, and Ishikawa decisively scores in a powerful manner!!

　From the start, they displayed an aggressive attitude, launching attacks from Hirayama and creating chances through Ishikawa and Ricardinho towards the Shonan goal. In the 3rd minute, Ishikawa broke through the side and earned a corner kick. From this corner, Tokunaga in the center connected with a direct shot using his right foot. In the 6th minute, Oguro's right cross was dropped by Hirayama, and Nakamura took a shot from the middle. In the 18th minute, Ishikawa's cross found Ricardinho free at the far post, but he couldn't connect. In the 21st minute, Morishige advanced, and Hirayama took a shot at speed, but it went wide. They couldn't break through Shonan's concentrated defense, and conversely, there were moments where Shonan's FW Abe and MF Sakamoto launched powerful counters, leading to a back-and-forth development. In the 31st minute, Oguro dropped Ricardinho's cross, which reached Hirayama's feet, but as he evaded the opposing defender, his trap went awry, and he couldn't take a shot... From here, they were hit by a counter from Shonan, with FW Baba rapidly entering the area. Unable to contain this, the ball was dropped behind, and MF Terakawa followed up with a shot from the right area. This hit the bar... The rebound to the left area was met by MF Emerson. However, Kim Yong-gun blocked the shot with his body. In the 33rd minute, Shonan's FW Emerson entered the right area. He connected with MF Sakamoto, who ran inside the right area to cross, creating another decisive moment, but Gonda's save allowed them to escape a series of crises... After enduring this time, in the 38th minute, they earned a corner from Ricardinho's cross. Ishikawa's right corner was headed down by Konno in the center, and Oguro reacted to the bounce in front. He quickly turned and pushed it into the goal, scoring the long-awaited opening goal! Immediately after, in the 39th minute, Ishikawa, who quickly initiated an attack, advanced up the right side and switched sides. From the left, Ricardinho simply dropped it to Hirayama in front of the central area, and Ishikawa, who ran in perfectly, scored a magnificent goal with his right foot! They quickly added another goal, taking a two-goal lead into the second half.

Ricardinho scores his first goal in the league! Kanda makes a great save and secures the first victory in 11 matches.

　In the second half, they launched quick attacks from the start. At the 46th minute, Ishikawa advanced up the right side and delivered a pinpoint, high cross in front of the goal. Hirayama jumped in and tried to head the ball, but was challenged by the opposing GK, resulting in a corner kick. At the 51st minute, Ishikawa won a loose ball in midfield and passed from Morishige on the right to Mukuahara who had moved inside. Although Mukuahara couldn’t shoot, from a rebound off the opposing defender, Hirayama in the center front took a shot, but it went straight to the GK. At the 53rd minute, from an early cross by Mukuahara, Oguro in the right area passed in front of the goal. Although it didn’t connect with Ricardinho or Hirayama, they continued the wave of attacks by following up on the rebound.Accuracy in the final plays was lacking, and the goal remained elusive. Then, as Shonan tried to counterattack without giving up, Tokyo began to tire and faced consecutive dangerous situations. At the 67th minute, Shonan FW Abe used his speed to break through the left area. Konno, who faced him, prevented a shot but a cross was delivered, and Shonan MF Nagaki jumped in, but Gonda rushed out and caught the ball. At the 71st minute, Shonan MF Sakamoto broke behind the defense, creating a one-on-one situation with the GK, but Gonda made a save! Centered on Gonda’s great play, the defenders also put their bodies on the line and defended tenaciously.At the 72nd minute, Matsushita was brought on for Morishige, and at the 77th minute, Shigematsu replaced Ishikawa. Using substitutions, they aimed to regain rhythm through tough defense and fight on. This strategy paid off, and at the 84th minute, Nakamura passed to Ricardinho who carried the ball into the left area and scored a well-aimed shot into the far side net, securing the third goal! At the 88th minute, Maeda replaced Oguro, and by controlling the ball, they properly closed out the match until time was up. Although there remain issues with the accuracy of the final plays and stamina over 90 minutes, this was a long-awaited victory at home in the National Stadium! In the league, this was the first 3 points since the Sec. 14 match on July 25, coincidentally against the same Shonan team.Player CommentsOguro: “The opening goal came from a good ball on a corner kick, so I expected a rebound. When Konno headed it, I changed the course. I wasn’t aiming for that from the start, but reacting to rebounds like that is my specialty. Right now, there aren’t many through passes or such, but I think we can play even better soccer. We only won one match, and although we moved up one place in the standings, there’s still a long way to go. It’s important to keep this winning streak going and connect it to the next game. The supporters have been cheering us on all along, so both the players on the pitch and those without playing time want to unite and do our best to meet their expectations.”Ishikawa: “(About my goal) I saw the course clearly, so I was able to aim calmly. But I think it was a goal where everyone moved in sync and our feelings came together for one ball. It was good to score in that kind of flow. I know my shooting range and the positions where I can score, so I’ve been thinking about what I can do when I get into those spots. Ricardinho and Souta linked up well, and I was able to draw the ball out. In the first half, we created many chances but couldn’t finish, but finally scored first from a set piece. Right then, I thought, ‘Let’s get one more and go for the win,’ and I wanted to show that feeling to the team. I feel a sense of accomplishment, but we have to connect it to the next game. Also, I’m eager to play the next match soon and score goals.”Coach Okuma’s Press Conference Summary“The final result was 3-0, but in the first half there were some spaces in defense, and if we had conceded first, the outcome could have been different. However, we endured and pulled the victory closer. The players showed direction, but it’s also true that some players’ physical condition dropped in the second half, and the opponent took control. Some players lack the physicality to run for the full 90 minutes. Since we hadn’t won for a while, I think the players are happy, but the next match is important. We want to approach the remaining nine matches as if they were the first game. (Is there pressure playing at home after the opening match?) Home or away doesn’t matter, but with this much support at home, it’s the minimum to aim for victory with full effort for 90 minutes. I tell the players they must show their pride individually and as a team in the match. On top of that, we want to fix tactical issues and the parts where we lost loose balls in midfield.(How did you handle the bad periods?) Shonan’s defensive midfielder Terakawa picked up second balls and created chances. I couldn’t fix that quickly myself, and just trying hard in the pro world isn’t enough to snatch victory. But from the locker room, I felt everyone’s strong will, and mentally they hadn’t given up. (Expectations for Oguro?) He has scoring ability and works hard defensively. But ideally, I want him to run behind the defense line, pull the opponent’s line, and free up the midfield. Hirayama hasn’t shown much of that, and Oguro tends to drop back, so the midfield is vulnerable. I want to threaten the opponent with the midfield and defensive midfield setup. We have many injured players and can’t choose freely, but even in this situation, stability is necessary. Rather than fixing the lineup, we want to try various variations in practice matches and fine-tune so that team performance and individual characteristics come out.”Shonan Coach Sorimachi’s Press Conference Summary“I think it was a game where it was hard to find bad points. Despite being last place, we fought bravely. Unfortunately, we fell short, but we have no choice but to keep fighting. (About the content) Today, we had more opportunities to bring the ball into the opponent’s area than before. It was the kind of match where, as the coach always says, ‘If only that had gone in...’ There were parts that showed why FC Tokyo is struggling. When we played vertical balls, we expected to compete against their last line, so in a way it was as predicted.However, if we could create a 3 vs 2 in midfield and face forward there, managing distance and width accurately, we could have entered the vital area more. The distance was close and the sides were sloppy, which can’t be denied. Considering FC Tokyo’s condition, it was inevitable they would create chances, but we were a bit off. On the other hand, FC Tokyo has the ability to exploit a momentary gap. That concentration is where we differ. If we could block well in defense for a moment and exploit a momentary gap in attack, we could rise in the standings, but we can’t do that. I thought the opening goal would decide the match, but including the subsequent goals conceded, it wasn’t bad, so I want to play the match again.”