Unite as a team to achieve the first victory of the season in J1

J1 League 1st Stage Matchday 2 was an away game against Vegalta Sendai. Ogawa, the left full-back, was named in the starting lineup again after the ACL Bin Zoun game, and Tanabe also made his first start as the right midfielder.

Sendai won the opening match of this season, with MF Mita, who is on loan from Tokyo, scoring the winning goal and defeating Yokohama FM.
The MF Mita is unable to play in this round due to his contract with Tokyo.

Tokyo, aiming for their first victory of the season in J1, approached the match as a united team. As the kickoff time approached, the match started at 15:30 with Tokyo's kickoff at the Yurtec Stadium Sendai, where it began to get colder.

Equalize with an own goal and go into halftime with a 1-1 tie

6 minutes: Sendai MF Yanagi receives a pass on the left side and enters the area. Tokyo DF presses aggressively and Sendai gets a corner kick.
7 minutes: Sendai MF Yanagi's left corner kick. It was headed by DF Watanabe in front of the goal, resulting in a goal against, making it 0-1.
9 minutes: Ogawa takes a free kick from the left side. Morishige on the far side receives it and shoots from a difficult angle. The ball hits an opponent player and becomes an own goal, equalizing the score.
15 minutes: Tanabe on the right side crosses with his left foot. Maeda heads the ball in front of the goal, but the shot narrowly misses the target.
17 minutes: Abe, who dribbled in from the right side, took a shot-like cross from a deep position. It didn't connect with his teammate in the penalty area, but they are showing a wave-like attack centered around the right side.
31 minutes: Sendai DF Ishikawa cuts in from the left side and shoots from about 25 meters in front of the goal. The shot that flew into the frame was deflected by Akimoto with one hand.

After that, both teams aggressively launched attacks, but lacked the finishing touch and the first half ended in a 1-1 draw.

With the first victory in the league and two consecutive wins in official matches!

51 minutes: Hashimoto, who broke through with a one-two with Higashi, crosses from the left side of the area to the center. Maeda scores on the near side! Tokyo takes the lead!
54 minutes: Sendai pushes back into their own territory, connecting passes and aiming for a shot, but Sendai also defends stubbornly to counter.
80 minutes: Sendai GK Rokutan injures his right foot and stops playing. When Sendai GK Rokutan kicked the ball with his left foot, he slipped his supporting foot and injured his right ankle. Substituted by GK Seki.

FC Tokyo, who was trying to hold on, substituted Takahashi Hideto for Ogawa in the 88th minute. Sendai, who aimed for a draw in the 6 minutes of additional time, but FC Tokyo managed to hold on well and the game ended with a score of 2-1. FC Tokyo achieved their first victory in the league and also won their second consecutive official match.

[Player Comments]
"Maeda"
"Good balls were coming from both sides, so I believed that a good ball would definitely come. As a result, Fistman gave me a good ball, so all I had to do was connect."
(Q=Regarding the fact that we achieved solid results)
After losing to Omiya, we talked about various things together, and I think that was the result of it. However, it's only one game so far, so I want everyone to continue this and do their best.
(Q=What is the current condition?)
"Not only today, but my condition has been good overall. I think having a clear role has led to victory more than anything else."

《Tanabe》
"We were able to approach the game with high tension as a team. I think that was a factor that led to victory. We want to continue to face the future with the whole team, focusing only on the current game without thinking about what comes next."

[Summary of Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference]
"In the opening match, we disappointed many fans and supporters who came to the stadium with high expectations. Considering our goals for this year, today's game was a must-win game where we had to secure 3 points. We need to reflect on how the game started, but from there, the players executed the measures for the Sendai match on the pitch. I think we were able to play a grounded game for the remaining 85 minutes. It was great to have many fans and supporters come to Sendai and be able to share the joy with them after the game."

[Sendai - Coach Susumu WATANABE's Press Conference Summary]
"First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the fans and supporters who exceeded 16,000 people in the home opening game. Last year, we had a hard time winning at Yurtec.S, so this year, I talked with the players about wanting to prove that Yurtec.S is the place where we can win, and today was the start with the feeling of wanting to make it such a year. It's frustrating that we didn't get the result and it's disappointing for the fans and supporters, but the season is still long and we have no intention of looking down here. We will continue to build together with the players, one by one, and establish our style. We want to achieve victory and share the joy of more and more victories with the fans and supporters."