A battle aiming to resolve the lack of scoring ability and secure 3 points

At Naruto Otsuka, which is POCARI SWEAT.S for Tokyo for the first time in three years, they played against Tokushima, who will be competing in J1 from this season. In the previous match, they pushed Omiya throughout the game but conceded a goal in additional time, resulting in their third consecutive loss. MoriShige said about the goal conceded, "It was my mistake. I can't make excuses," but it would be harsh to solely blame the defensive line, which has kept the number of goals conceded to a minimum, for the cause of the defeat.

Coach Massimo also said, "I think we created the most chances in the previous matches against Omiya. In order to earn points, we need goals, and we focused on that in our training for the past three days." He aims to resolve the lack of scoring ability and secure 3 points in this match. This is the last match of the 5-game series, but Hayashi, who was carrying an injury, and Kwak Hee Ju have fully joined the training. The coach continued, "It's a consecutive match, but I don't think the players' recovery is affected by the heat. Hayashi and Kwak are important players for us. Without a doubt, our choices will increase." Tokyo's attacking lineup aims to score with Watanabe and Hirayama as the top two, and Kawano as the attacking midfielder.

Tokushima, who currently has 3 points and is in 18th place. Under the guidance of coach Shinji KOBAYASHI, Tokushima is the first J1 team in Shikoku to compete in the top league this season, but they have only won one league match so far. It can be said that they are facing a difficult situation. In the midst of consecutive matches, there have been some changes in the lineup since the last match. On the lineup sheet, it is a 4-4-2 formation, with FW Takasaki leading the front line and FW Sasaki playing as an attacking midfielder. MF Kojima is on the right side of the midfield, and MF Hamada is on the left. MF Saito is in the defensive midfield position, and MF Oosaki and DF Lee are on the wings. The defense consists of Fujihara, Fukumoto, and Hashiuchi as the back three.

Tokushima in particular is a team with a strong determination to never give up until the end, and they will be aiming for their first victory at home. On the other hand, Tokyo will maintain their usual strength in winning the ball and quick transitions, and they want to create chances by connecting good attacks from good defense.

The match started with a kickoff in Tokushima at 14:04, under clear skies, a slight breeze, and perfect weather.

Ball possession and attacking, but no goals as we head into the second half

The match started with Tokyo quickly switching gears and Kawano breaking through the left area. He took a shot with speed, but it missed to the upper right. In the following 8 minutes, Kawano near the area made a through pass to the right area. Hirayama broke through to the right front and calmly passed back to the center and behind. Yonemoto boldly aimed for a shot, but it hit the opponent's defender and resulted in a corner kick. Near the corner kick, Takahashi headed the ball into the center, but they couldn't finish it.

13 minutes, pushing up the whole team, Tokunaga in the right area near the goal shoots the ball. Watanabe collects it at his feet, turns around and takes a shot... but it goes wide to the left. Right corner kick in the 14th minute. From Ota's kick, Morishige in the far area couldn't finish it, but persistently connects and Yamamoto meets the ball that spilled in the center and takes a middle shot. He tried to drive the well-controlled shot into the goal... but it is blocked by the goalkeeper's save.

15 minutes have passed. In the early stages, there was a back-and-forth battle for the ball, and there were moments where Tokushima was attacked from the right side, but they calmly defended. From there, they quickly switched and pushed forward, coming close to the Tokushima goal, but they still haven't been able to capitalize on their chances. In the 26th minute, Kono on the right side sent a heel pass to the front line, and Yonemoto, who had moved up from the outside, crossed the ball. Higashi in the far post tried to head the ball, but he was contested by the opponent and couldn't finish, sending the ball wide. In the 29th minute, Tokunaga went up the right side and crossed the ball from Yonemoto's pass. Hirayama in the far post struck a header, but it was caught by the goalkeeper's feet...

30 minutes have passed without being able to score a goal. The temperature is rising on the pitch and there is no wind. Despite this, Tokyo is running well and trying to connect their attacks. However, they often lose the ball in the front line against Tokushima's 5-back formation, but there are also moments where they are able to connect to the front line. In the 36th minute, Hirayama on the right side of the area → Kono in front of the area floats the ball, and Hirayama again sends a floating ball into the middle from a chest trap, and Azuma enters a shooting position but is contested by the defender... They were able to create a chance from a brilliant idea and good teamwork, but they couldn't convert it into a goal.

40 minutes, Ota's cross does not pass to Nakano in the center. Here, it is cut by Tokushima, and MF Saito expands to the left. FW Sasaki once bypasses Tokunaga and dribbles forward, but Tokunaga cuts it off as he tries to go around and shoot inside. The persistent defense did not allow the shot to be completed. As time passed, they dominated the ball and attacked, but Tokushima's 5-back eliminated space and they often lost the ball in the front line. Among them, they created chances from crosses from the left and right, and passes from Kono, but they couldn't score. Scoreless into the second half.

Unable to score, it ends in a scoreless draw

Tokushima introduced DF Alex from the start of the second half. In the 52nd minute, Kono on the right area passed to Hiraoka in the center, who then went around and passed to Higashi who had moved to the left area. However, the ball was not cleared and resulted in a left corner kick. Higashi connected the short pass and Ota crossed the ball. Yonemoto in the far post headed the ball down, but it was blocked by the opponent... In the following 54th minute, Alex, the left winger of Tokushima, advanced and passed to the center. MF Hamada's short cross was headed by FW Sasaki in the center, but it went wide of the goal.

55 minutes, Edu came on as a substitute for Hirayama. In the 56th minute, Takahashi moved up to the right and passed to the center. Edu, who received the ball with his back to the goal, turned around and took a sharp shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 60th minute, Ota's left corner kick couldn't be finished. However, they picked up the second ball, but Tokunaga was robbed when he tried to bring it forward from the midfield... Tokushima FW Takasaki dribbled forward desperately, with Higashi also rushing to defend. The shot from just outside the area narrowly missed the target, avoiding a dangerous situation... In the 63rd minute, Matsuda replaced Tokunaga and changed the system to a 3-back. And in the 69th minute, Kono → Muto came on as substitutes.

After 70 minutes, despite attacking, they were unable to score and gradually started making mistakes. There were also moments where Tokushima created chances, but the defense calmly responded. Using three player substitutions, they aim for a goal. In the 83rd minute, they faced Tokushima's counterattack, but Ota held them back with a foul. The resulting free kick from the center of Tokyo's defense was blocked by the wall, but Tokushima pressed them by connecting with the second ball. Yonemoto's clearance went to Tokushima, and a pass was played behind the defense, but they responded by raising the line.

In the 87th minute, Edu in the area reacts to a pass from the right. He tries to get into shooting position, but it's blocked. However, he persists and connects with Higashi who follows from behind. But even the shot from just outside the area is blocked, resulting in a right corner kick. From Higashi's kick, Morishige jumps in near the goal and heads the ball, but it grazes the bar and goes wide. As additional time begins, Muto, who competed for Morishige's feed, is fouled and a free kick is awarded from almost directly in front of the goal, slightly to the left of the penalty arc. Edu aims for this free kick and sends it into the right side of the goal, but it is saved by the goalkeeper... Time's up.

From the middle of the second half, both teams' physicality decreased and the game became stretched out. Mistakes started to occur and counterattacks were launched. Despite that, no goals were conceded, but we just couldn't score a goal... 4 consecutive games without scoring. The match ended in a draw, giving Tokushima their first home point.

[Player Comments]
"Edu"
"It was a long time since I played for a long time. I didn't have many shooting chances myself, but I tried to fulfill my minimum role. There were also moments when I made the last pass, and the feeling and coordination of the play were not bad... but I think my job is to score goals. It's very disappointing that I couldn't do that."
（Is there any sense of urgency as a team?）
Everyone definitely has the desire to score goals quickly and the strong desire to win. However, I don't think that is a bad thing at all. It is necessary to believe in oneself, practice to create more opportunities from here, and want to score goals in a better way when participating.

"Kanda"
"This season, everyone is conscious of defense. We have been able to keep the number of goals conceded to a minimum because everyone is defending in the front line and midfield. Today, when Tokunaga was dispossessed of the ball, Higashi, who is not usually there, came back to the defensive line and covered him one-on-one. Ota also did a great job winning headers against the opponents. Everyone is really working hard. It's tough to go on the attack when we put so much effort into defense. So I can't say to the attacking players, 'You can't score goals,' and they themselves are definitely feeling frustrated. Rather than that, I want to reflect on the fact that we only got 4 points in this 5-game series with 1 win, 1 draw, and 3 losses. If we had turned those 3 losses into draws, we would have had 7 points. Even if we couldn't score, we should have been able to hold on to 4 draws with our defense. As a team, we may start working on more efficient ways to score from here, but as a defensive player, I want to continue making efforts to reduce the probability of losing."
"We were able to fight well and created so many chances, but not being able to convert them into goals makes me realize the difficulty of soccer. I think it naturally affects the players' mental state when the results don't come, but they are running hard and continuing to play wonderfully, so I hope they continue like this. As for the second half, there were a few instances where we were vulnerable to dangerous counterattacks, possibly due to the desire to win causing the game to drag on. However, even considering that, I think it was a game that we dominated."

[Tokushima - Coach Shinji KOBAYASHI's Press Conference Summary]
"I think it made the system work well, even though we hadn't done it in three days. In the tough situation of five consecutive games, Tokyo's performance was a bit sluggish, but we were able to create chances. In the first half, we were able to steal the ball as planned on the right side, although the left side was a bit shaky, we were able to defend well and connect to the attack. In the second half, we were able to break through the ball side from the attack, but we couldn't expand the game significantly and sometimes we were countered. Even though our performance was a bit sluggish, if we can move and circulate the ball smoothly, I think the players can rest while the final line and the defensive midfielder are attacking, but we couldn't do that. It was good to earn 1 point at home and see that we are gradually fighting and making efforts."