Returning to the starting point, aiming for the first victory in three league matches

Sec. 13, which comes two days after the Nabisco Kofu match. Nagoya Grampus will face off against Ajinomoto at Ajinomoto Stadium. Despite the difficulties in the Kofu match, they managed to secure a victory. While it cannot be said that they have fully regained the good flow and momentum of consecutive wins, Coach Massimo takes a positive view, saying, "It is an important result for us," and further adds, "With this victory, we want to regain the fighting spirit that we have somewhat forgotten recently." They aim to achieve their first victory in three league matches by reflecting on various points of improvement and reevaluating their own origins and the essence of soccer (Yonemoto).

However, Canini and Higashi are suspended for this match. On the other hand, Tokunaga and Kawano, who missed the Nabisco Cup, return to the starting lineup. The center-backs are Morishige and Yoshimoto. Taking into account Nagoya's countermeasures, Takahashi and Kajiyama form a double pivot in midfield, with Yonemoto and Muto on the wings. Maeda leads the line, with Kawano playing as an attacking midfielder in a 4-4-1-1 formation.

Nagoya, on the other hand, is currently in 11th place with 14 points. This season, FW Leandro Domingues and MF Taguchi have been injured and unable to gain momentum, resulting in 3 consecutive losses in the league with no goals scored in the last 3 matches. However, in the previous Nabisco match, MF Danilson and DF Honda returned from injury. FW Koyamatsu and Novakovic scored goals, securing their spot in the final tournament. In this match, although the lineup on the team sheet shows a 4-4-2 formation, FW Novakovic will be used as the foremost striker. MF Koyamatsu and MF Ogawa will be the two shadows, with DF Yano and FW Nagai on the wings. MF Danilson and MF Yada will form a double pivot in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Tokyo will aim to take 3 points with a sense of unity and cohesion as a team, in addition to their individual abilities, against Nagoya, who have high individual skills.

Cloudy Ajinomoto Stadium, the match started with a Tokyo kickoff at 19:03.

Take control of the ball and dominate, not giving Nagoya any chances

With momentum from the start, they attacked and in the 2nd minute, Yonemoto headed Ota's cross into the goal. It missed above the bar, but they displayed intensity and fighting spirit in the early stages, not allowing Nagoya to find their rhythm. In the 16th minute, Takahashi turned and positioned himself for a shot from the corner of the area after a pass exchange on the left side. It was blocked, but they won a corner kick. In the 19th minute, Muto jumped to meet Ota's early cross, but it was cleared by the Nagoya defenders just before, resulting in a corner kick.

In the 21st minute, Ota cut inside from a quick pass in the front line, earning a free kick just outside the left area. Ota sent the ball to the right area, where Morishige was left unmarked and headed the ball. However, the cross was incomplete and the ball was saved by the Nagoya GK. In the 32nd minute, Maeda jumped into the central area from a free kick on the left side-line, but couldn't get a clean shot due to his body position. In the 38th minute, Nagoya MF Yada's cross grazed the Tokyo DF and resulted in a corner kick. From this left corner kick, Koyamatsu took a shot but it was saved by Gonda. This was Nagoya's only shot in the first half, while Tokyo had 5 corner kicks but couldn't capitalize on set plays.

In the additional time of the first half, Nagoya Grampus quickly connected from their own half, with Maeda in the midfield turning forward and sending Muto to the right front line with one touch, earning a right corner kick. Yamamoto followed up on the loose ball, but the shot lacked power. Tokyo consistently attacked with a good tempo of passing, dictating the pace of the game, but Nagoya pulled back both wide players and formed a shape close to a 5-back. However, they were unable to create any decisive chances and the first half ended scoreless.

Conceded the first goal due to an own goal... and the counterattack in a full-scale battle did not bear fruit

Nagoya introduced FW Kawamata from the second half and tried to recover. However, Tokyo's pace remained unchanged. In the 48th minute, Mutoh took a powerful dribble shot from the right area, but it was saved by the goalkeeper's fingertips. Around the 55th minute, Tokyo continued to steal the ball in the midfield and prevented Nagoya from advancing, but they couldn't find a way to exploit the gaps in Nagoya's defense, which was sitting back and guarding the goal. There were several instances where crosses were blocked.

59 minutes, Nagoya MF Anderson was substituted due to injury, and MF Isomura came in. In the 69th minute, Muto jumped out in the center of the area and combined with Ota's left cross at his feet... but it was right in front of the GK. Unable to take advantage of the chance, Nagoya suffered a counterattack, and in the 60th minute, a decisive header from FW Novakovich was saved by Gonda from Nagoya's right cross. In the 61st minute, Nagoya FW Nagai allowed a breakthrough from the left side, but Yoshimoto cleared it with a sliding tackle.

Immediately afterwards, Maeda dribbles up the center. Mutoh brings the Nagoya DF along from the left and enters the area, but Kono on the left cannot provide adequate support. Maeda shoots from the crowded area in front of the goal, but it goes straight to the GK... In the 73rd minute, Mutoh dribbles through the center again. However, he is blocked by multiple Nagoya DFs and cannot finish. In the midst of the counterattack, Yada dribbles up the center from the GK's kick and develops it to Koyamatsu on the left front line. Tokyo cannot hold them back here. Koyamatsu crosses the ball on the ground to Kawamata, who has run into the area. Mori Shige tries to cut it off, but the ball goes into their own goal... They have unfortunately conceded an own goal and fallen behind.

In the 73rd minute, Mita was substituted, and in the 82nd minute, Hayashi was also brought on for Tokyo. On the other hand, in the 84th minute, Nagoya's MF Isomura received his second warning and was sent off. With Nagoya reduced to 10 men, Lassad, who made his first appearance, was brought on in the 86th minute to launch a counterattack. However, in the 87th minute, Ota on the left side passed to Mita, who broke through behind the opponent in the left area and sent a ground pass in front of the goal. Hayashi slid in from the far side, but... just missed touching the ball. It was a decisive moment, but they couldn't convert it into a goal. In the 90th minute, from a short corner on the left, Mita crossed the ball and Lassad flicked it back from the far side, but Nagoya managed to defend. In the additional 4 minutes of injury time, Yoshimoto also attempted a shot, and they continued to attack without giving up, but they couldn't break through Nagoya's defense in front of the goal. They suffered a defeat with no goals scored, marking their third consecutive loss in the league.

[Player Comments]
"Mori Shige"
"We were able to have a good game from the first half. We were creating chances from crosses but couldn't convert them into goals. However, if we couldn't score, we had to keep it 0-0. I feel very frustrated and sorry."

《Yonehara》
"We were unable to do what we were supposed to do, and the opponent did it to us. It's really frustrating. If we could have scored one goal, the outcome might have been different. It reminded me of how important 'one goal' truly is."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"It was an unbelievable defeat where words cannot be found. We sent countless crosses and continued to create chances. It was a one-sided match, and we were able to apply good pressure. However, we need to improve our accuracy in the penalty area."
(What words did you say to the players after the match?)
I told them that if we continue to play like we did today, even if we create only 10% of the chances, we can win against any team. The players showed fantastic play and didn't let the opponents play freely. We constantly pushed them into their own half for the entire 90 minutes. However, in football, if you don't score goals, you can't win. Today, the only thing lacking was the accuracy in finishing. The players gave everything and showed true team spirit, but Nagoya is an experienced team. They took advantage of the few chances they had, and luck played a big part as well.
Shouldn't we have conducted more side attacks from the first half? Soccer is all about balance. There were close chances for Yonemoto, and Tokunaga also actively moved forward, completely surpassing the opponent. There were opportunities to break through the space with speedy attacks and also chances from set plays. Despite conceding a goal from a counterattack and losing, this is the time to lift our heads and continue our own play. We must have courage and move forward with confidence."

[Nagoya - Coach Akira NISHINO's Press Conference Summary]
"I want to be happy that we stopped the losing streak, but the performance was not something I can be genuinely happy about. We had few scoring opportunities in the offense and couldn't create a satisfying attack. In the past few games, we have been creating many chances but lacking in finishing ability, and today we had even fewer chances. As for the defense, I think the players were able to unify their intentions and it was a decent performance. We were able to score while focusing on defense, but as a team, we want to continue improving."