FC Tokyo U-23 shined in Okinawa.

Sec. 17 of the 2016 Meiji Yasuda J3 League is a match against FC Ryukyu away, following the previous round.
In the home opening match, FC Ryukyu fought against and despite a comeback with goals from Yajima and Matsuoka after being down 0-3, they lost 2-3.
I don't want to lose to the same opponent again.
Tokyo deployed the same 3-5-2 formation as the previous match. Many players who played in the previous match also made it to the starting lineup this match.
GK is Enomoto, who has been guarding the goal since Sec. 4.
The DF line consists of Okazaki, Suzuki, and Ogawa as the three backs.
The anchor and inside half of the midfield are the same as the previous match, Nozawa, Sasaki, and Tanabe.
On the left, Koyama, on the right, Mizunuma, both wings are supported, and Lins and Insoo YU are in the front line.
Ryukyu, on the other hand, adopts a 4-5-1 formation with Keita TANAKA (8 goals), who is at the top of the scoring rankings, as the focal point.
Fujieda.S comes with an aggressive playstyle, connecting short passes just like Fujieda.
Approximately 60 FC Tokyo fans and supporters rushed to the stands and united as one to challenge Ryukyu in a temperature of 31.9℃.

【First Half】
It was Tokyo that played an aggressive game in both offense and defense.
From the beginning, Tokyo players rapidly change positions and connect short passes.
The transition between offense and defense is very fast, especially the first press after losing the ball is very quick, which does not give Ryukyu any freedom.
Although there are moments when the opponent creates situations where they attack until the goal, the defensive line centered around Enomoto adjusts their bodies and defends the goal.
Tokyo took control and moved the game in the 19th minute.
Deep on the right side of the opponent's field, Lin steals the ball by taking advantage of the opponent's mistake and holds the ball inside the penalty area.
After carefully observing the opposing goalkeeper who came out, Hayashi entrusted the last pass to Insoo in the center and smoothly slid the ball into the unguarded goal, taking the lead.
After that, Tokyo continued to dominate the game without any change in the flow, even with a water break.
Ryukyu initiates build-up play from the defensive line and sends vertical passes to the forwards, but Okazaki and Ogawa do not allow freedom with their intense pressure in the ball contest.
Furthermore, Nozawa, Sasaki, and Tanabe quickly react to the second ball and continue to recover the ball.
The attacking unit, supported by such a stable defense, launches a powerful attack with depth.
34 minutes, Tanabe breaks through vertically after facing one-on-one with the opponent on the left side and crosses to the near side.
The forest jumps in here, but is cleared once.
Pick up this loose ball again and launch a wave attack by crossing from the right side, but fail to score.
Then the momentum gradually shifts to Ryukyu.
41 minutes, when the ball was played to the left side for Ryukyu, there was a momentary delay in the approach, allowing the opponent to advance to a deep position.
This cross is headed far but goes wide of the frame.
In addition, in the 45th minute just before the end of the first half, a breakthrough from the right side allowed a cross to be put in near the goal, but the defender cleared it.
This period of time is difficult as second balls are also picked up, but the defense calmly responds and leads 1-0 at halftime.

【Halftime】
Coach Yasuma's comment
"Towards the end of the first half, our build-up position was getting lower, so let's play in a higher position. To do that, we need to effectively exploit the opponent's side."
Let's be careful not to drag out the defense. Instead of just defending the first point, let's go for the second point.

【Second half】
Ryukyu brings in Pablo to add force to the attack.
Tokyo entered the second half without making any player substitutions, facing Ryukyu's kickoff.
After receiving an attack from the right side immediately after the start, the defense repels it and the attacking team responds.
50 minutes, Tanabe who broke through the right side and entered diagonally into the penalty area with a dribble.
The ball is crossed by Grander near, but it narrowly misses Lin Insoo and passes in front of the goal.
Two minutes later, Ogawa, who broke through the left side, put in a sharp cross near the goal, and Insoo YU attempted a difficult header shot, but the goalkeeper made a good save.
Picking up the loose ball, Mizunuma crosses from the right side to the near post where Hayashi takes a shot, but the Ryukyu defense blocks it and it goes out for a right corner kick.
In this right corner kick, Mizunuma connects it to the far side, and Okazaki heads it to Insoo YU who attempts a header shot but it doesn't go into the goal.
"The players chose to go for a second goal instead of just defending the one goal lead during halftime," said Coach Yasuma after the match.
At 55 minutes, Mizunuma, who received the ball on the right side, attempts to break through diagonally and enters the kicking motion from around the PA diagonally at 45 degrees.
The opponent's GK thought this was a cross and moved their weight to the far side, but I didn't miss it and broke through behind the opponent's GK, shooting near.
Tokyo, who took the desired additional point, further strengthens their offensive.
60 minutes, when we got a free kick on the left side of the opponent's field, Mizunuma and Ogawa were the kickers.
Mizunuma fakes it and Ogawa sends a big cross to the far side, where Nozawa is completely free to jump in and score with a direct volley.
Tokyo had a 3-point lead, but they will now face Ryukyu's persistent attack.
74 minutes, a shot from the cross by Grander from the left side is saved by the bar.
The relief was short-lived as in the 76th minute, a cross from the left side allowed the opponent to score in the center, narrowing the goal difference to two points.
The flow completely changed in favor of Ryukyu and Tokyo scored an additional point with Mizunuma's swing.
In the 81st minute, Mizunuma on the right side of the midfield passed the ball to Hiraoka, who had come on as a substitute and was running towards the center behind the defense.
Ryukyu stops this with a foul, and Mizunuma directly screws the FK in front of the goal into the left corner of the goal, making it 4-1.
Tokyo, who didn't want to easily let the momentum slip away, made player substitutions and Tasuku HIRAOKA scored a goal in the 89th minute with his characteristic speed and breakthrough.
Hiraoka runs up the center on the counterattack.
If the opponent's defense is slightly delayed in response to this dribble, Hiraoka breaks through the opponent with speed.
Shake the far-side net from around 40 meters away, bringing it in alone and at a right diagonal angle of about 45 degrees.
After that, the defense held on firmly during the additional 4 minutes of stoppage time, and secured a victory with a score of 5-1.

Thank you very much for your passionate support for FC Tokyo U-23 today.
Thank you for your continued warm support.

[Summary of Coach Yasuma's Press Conference]
"I am very happy to have been able to show the fans and supporters who came all the way to Okinawa in this hot weather and gave us their usual passionate support, the sight of winning and playing aggressively."
The game, when we last played, we were really no match for the opponent, but I am impressed with the players' growth in being able to play the game properly.
In every match, we were able to dominate the opponent with plays like today, but the play that decides the game. In other words, the part where we score goals didn't go well and it didn't lead to a victory.
I think that actively challenging without running away from there led to today's score.
"However, not only for this one game, but also for future games, I want to continue training with the players every day and improve the quality."

【Player Comment】
《Riku NOZAWA》
"(What are your thoughts on the game?) It was good that we were able to win with a large goal difference, but it was a shame to concede one goal. I would like to reflect on that."
In the past few games, there have been matches where the performance was good but the results did not come easily. I think it was very good to have a match with both results and performance in such a situation.
(How was your own play?) I was very happy because I scored my first goal in the J-League. However, I was even happier that the team won.
There were still things I could have done better as an individual player, and in the end, my legs cramped up and I ended up causing trouble for the team. So, I will continue to work hard from practice and strive to play better.
(Did you aim for the scoring scene?) In the pre-match meeting, my role was to not enter the goal area and instead aim for loose balls. Since I wasn't being marked in the scoring situation, I thought I could become free if I went to the far side, so I asked Insoo YU to run near me and I'm grateful to him for being able to shoot freely on the far side. I'm really happy that I was able to score.
(Please give us your enthusiasm for the next match) I definitely want to play in J1 and I am doing my best to play in the match. I want to continue to do my best here so that I can contribute to the top team with my efforts here. "

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