Welcoming the final home game of the 1st stage

Sec. 16 of the 1st Stage, which will be held as a home game following the Hiroshima match. We will face Albirex Niigata at Ajinomoto Stadium.
The last two matches ended in a draw, but in the league matches since the Shonan game on May 8th, we have not lost in five matches. This represents what we have built up as a team's advantage, and we want to seek to take three points in this match.

This section, Kono will be suspended due to accumulated warnings. In addition, from the Hiroshima match, the lineup will be changed and Hirayama will start. As a starter, it will be the first appearance since the Fukuoka match on April 29th and the Tosu match on May 13th, forming a two-top with Muriqui. In the double pivot, Yonemoto and Hashimoto. Tanabe on the right side, Higashi on the left. Tokunaga returns as the right back, and Ogawa serves on the left in a 4-4-2 formation. Additionally, Nakajima, who has recovered from injury, will be on the bench for the first time since the Omiya match in Section 1.

Niigata, who will face us, is currently in 16th place with 14 points under the command of coach Yoshida from this season. Although FW Rafael SILVA will be absent this round due to injury, their attack, centered around MF Leo SILVA, is sharp, based on the hard work of all members. We want to suppress the attacking power of FW Yamazaki and the attacks initiated by both side backs, and connect good defense to good offense.

In this round, which will also be the final home game of the 1st stage, we want to seize victory with the support of the stands.
During the day, the temperature exceeded 30 degrees, but in the evening, the heat eased slightly, and the match started at 19:03 with the kickoff in Niigata.

Allowing Niigata to take the lead in an unexpected way...

From the beginning, they showed a high defensive awareness and did not allow Niigata to create any real chances. They then connected their attacks and demonstrated a strong attitude towards scoring goals.

15 minutes past: An accident occurs in Niigata. Niigata DF Maiko Ryu, who had hit his head in a previous play, is forced to be substituted, and DF Masuda comes in at the 18th minute. Immediately after, Tokyo's Muriqui breaks through the left front line from a pass by Higashi and crosses with a negative angle. Just before it reaches Tanabe, who was closing in on the goal, the opponent clears it and earns a left corner kick. Ogawa's kick is cleared by the opponent, and Hasegawa attempts a volley on the loose ball, but it hits Higashi, who was in the front line, and does not result in a goal.

23 minutes: Niigata's FW Yamazaki, who brought the ball in from the left front line, aimed for a shot, but Tokyo blocked it and Akimoto caught the ball. However, Akimoto was preparing to send the ball to the field from here, but the holding time was judged to be too long, resulting in an indirect free kick for Niigata inside Tokyo's area. Niigata FW Yamazaki quickly restarts. Sending an indirect free kick from the right area to the center, it is passed to Tokyo's goal by MF Naruoka... With Niigata's first shot, they conceded the first goal, 0-1.
The game frequently stopped due to intense back-and-forth plays, and we couldn't grasp the momentum.

32 minutes: From a quick pass, Muriqui tries to break through the left area, but falls between the Niigata defenders and fails to finish.
34 minutes: East in the left area drops the ball, Muriqui on the inside swings it to the right with a direct pass. Tanabe on the far side reacts and takes a controlled shot that goes through the opponent's defenders, but it is blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper.

Additional time in the first half: Ogawa, who came up from the left side, dribbled forward and passed it back to the left side again. From there, East passed the ball to Muriqui near him and attempted a shot from a difficult angle, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. They ended the first half trailing by one goal.

平山 scores the equalizer with Muriqui as the starting point! However, the second goal is far away...

In the second half, Tokyo substituted 東 with Nathan BURNS as the left MF and aggressively approached the Niigata goal.
54 minutes: Nathan BURNS breaks through the left front line and Ogawa crosses from here. It flowed far, but Tokunaga followed up. However, he was pressed by Niigata DF Cortes and the ball was taken away by Niigata once. However, when Niigata MF Naruoka tried to attack from the side, Yonemoto pressed and Tanabe chased after the back pass from there. The loose ball leads to Muriqui in the right area, Muriqui controls the ball by pulling his instep and reverses. He carefully assesses the surroundings and makes a last pass to the center. Hirayama, who received the ball, calmly slots it into the lower right corner of the goal while facing the opponent's DF, equalizing the score to 1-1.

61 minutes: Hirayama, who is right in the left area, controls the pass at his feet while carrying the opponent's DF on his back. He sends it back with his heel, and Muriqui, who has escaped to the left area, becomes 1-on-1 with the Niigata GK... but there is no angle, and the shot is blocked.

69 minutes: Muriqui is replaced by Nakajima. Nakajima reacts to a loose ball inside the Niigata team's territory. He dribbles, makes a move, and takes a powerful shot from just outside the penalty area, but it goes over the goal...

75 minutes: Maeda is substituted for Hirayama. Tokyo continued to move forward at a fast pace and threatened the Niigata goal, but they were unable to take advantage of set-piece opportunities and gradually turned into a counterattack battle. However, they did not allow Niigata to finish.

81 minutes: Nakajima jumped out in front of the goal to meet Ogawa's early cross, but his extended leg just couldn't reach...
83 minutes: Burns sent a cross that hit the opposing defender and went to Maeda in the right area. Maeda dropped it to the near side to Tanabe, but Tanabe was blocked by the defender and couldn't move forward. The ball passed between the opposing defender and goalkeeper and headed towards the goal... but it narrowly missed to the left.

Additional time: Earned a free kick inside the penalty area. Morishige took the shot aiming for the top right corner, but it was blocked by a great save from the goalkeeper...

We aimed to take the lead until the end, but we couldn't score any additional points and the time was up. Niigata had 0 shots in the second half. Tokyo had 10 shots but only managed to score 1 goal, resulting in a draw for the third consecutive game.

[Player Comments]
"Hirayama"
"I was conscious of displaying my strengths, jumping into crosses, and making plays that lead to goals."
(Regarding the goal)
It was from the opponent's mistake, but Muriqui turned it around nicely and sent me a good ball. I calmly judged the shooting course and hit it. In the first half, there were many situations where the team didn't take risks, but still Muriqui and others were connecting the ball from the left side. Passes also came out from the midfield, but I think it would have been better if I could have been more of a starting point in the front line."

"Nakajima"
"The fact that I came on as a substitute means that I wanted to go for a goal. So I didn't forget to go towards the goal and tried to play actively to score. My body was able to move and there was no pain in my legs. However, I couldn't score as a result. I wanted to bring something that the team was lacking, but I also think I could have done more. I have regrets about that."

[Summary of Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference]
"It was a game that we had to win. The players prepared well in just two days. We wanted to turn that into 3 points, but the players' efforts did not match the points. We are filled with frustration. We allowed Niigata to take the lead, but despite the difficult situation, the players did not fall apart and did not allow any more goals. In the second half, we managed to keep the number of shots to 0 and showed a strong attitude to go for the points. In the open game, we were able to confirm the core part that we have built up so far, which is not allowing shots. Considering the players' emotions, we really wanted to get 3 points..."

[Niigata - Tatsuma YOSHIDA Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"Hirokawa, who has been fighting with us until now, has become seriously ill and announced that he will leave the front line. Today, many Niigata supporters came to support us and also conducted a heartwarming fundraising activity in Tokyo. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the fans and supporters of both teams. The game started with a somewhat emotional atmosphere, but we scored a goal and the game became even more emotional, with players from both teams playing with their fighting spirit exposed. As a result, we broke the organization we had maintained until then and played with a focus on running and fighting. It may sound negative, but because we have the foundation of running and fighting, it is possible. The goal we conceded was unnecessary, but I want to commend their efforts in fighting through. The game was ugly, but next time we will go for an ugly win and further improve and control the game. I want to cherish today's 1 point and make adjustments for the next game."