Aiming for 3 consecutive away wins in a high humidity environment

Entering the 8th match of the 2nd stage, facing Vissel Kobe away.
In the previous match against Iwata, Muriqui recorded the team's "J1 Home Total 400 Goals" and Insoo YU, who made his first appearance in J1, scored the winning goal, leading the team to a come-from-behind victory. The home crowd was ecstatic with this dramatic win, and now the focus is on whether they can maintain this momentum and secure a victory away from home in this round.

Coach Shinoda said, "We were able to achieve consecutive victories thanks to the efforts of the players, but I told them, 'Victory is in the past. Please forget about it.' The most important thing is how we fight during the 90 minutes against Kobe. We need to concentrate on that, give our all once again, and show a more dynamic play and aggressive attitude."

This round, Takahashi is suspended from playing. With multiple absences in the midfield position, Nozawa and Tanabe, who came on as substitutes in the previous round, were selected.
Nathan BURNS will also enter as a substitute and sit on the bench.

Kobe's 2nd stage is 8th place with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses. Although they have improved their ranking from 12th place in the 1st stage, they have been alternating between wins and losses in the recent few matches. In addition, they have only scored 1 goal in the last 3 matches, and their attacking power has been somewhat lacking, making it difficult to ride the wave. However, they changed to a 4-3-3 system in the previous match.
Despite losing 0-1, it seems that there is a sense of accomplishment in the way the midfielders Tanaka and Mihara, as well as the attacking power of the side backs Takahashi and Hashimoto, were utilized. In this match, we should be cautious of the attacking power of FW Pedro JUNIOR and Leandro, who are returning from suspension, as well as the attacking power of left side MF Watanabe.

The match started at 19:05 with Kobe's kickoff at the humid and muggy NOEVIR Stadium Kobe.

Maeda scores the opening goal with his 150th J1 goal and the first half ends

4 minutes: Tokyo, who won a free kick inside the center circle, expanded to the left side with Tanabe. Muriqui trapped the ball behind the defensive line, but the opposing goalkeeper Kim Sung Gyu came out and caught it.
6 minutes: Muriqui breaks through the left side behind the defense, following Maruyama's through pass. Muriqui's cross was deflected by the opponent's defender, but the second one reached Kono, who was running into the area. However, his volley shot didn't connect properly and didn't result in a goal.

Intensely competing for the ball and continuing the offensive and defensive battle in the midfield.
13 minutes: Muriqui → Higashi → Ogawa attack the left side. In the end, Ogawa sends a ground cross to Kawano just outside the area, but it narrowly misses.

19 minutes: Tokyo earns a free kick from a position approximately 20 meters in front of the goal. The shot taken by kicker Maruyama with his left foot is deflected by the opponent's goalkeeper Kim Sung-gyu, resulting in a right corner kick for Tokyo.
21 minutes: Muriqui on the left side dribbles past the opponent alone. The opponent's goalkeeper Kim Sung Kyu comes out and clears it.
25 minutes: Muriqui moves from the left side to the inside with Higashi. Higashi plays a one-two with Maeda and breaks through the defensive line, entering the left area. He takes a shot, but it is saved by the opposing goalkeeper Kim Sung Kyu.

35 minutes: A pass from Muriqui on the right side reaches Higashi, who runs up. Higashi immediately returns the ball to Muriqui, who runs into the area. Although Muriqui, who received the pass, is brought down from behind in the area, it is not judged as a penalty kick.
38 minutes: DF line keeps high and does not give Kobe a chance to attack. They continue to press fiercely from the front line.
40 minutes: Muriqui and Nozawa break through the left side with a one-two. Muriqui sends a cross from the edge of the line, and Maeda, who is free on the far side, calmly scores a goal to make it 1-0. With Maeda's 150th J1 goal, Tokyo takes the lead.
42 minutes: Kobe is attacked from the right side and a cross is sent to the center. The shot by the opponent FW Leandro, who headed it, narrowly misses the goal and nothing happens.

Tokyo took the lead with Atsushi Maeda's 150th J1 goal and will go into halftime with a one-point lead.

Allowed consecutive goals in the second half and lost with a score of 1-4

Kobe makes a substitution at halftime, with MF Nakasaka replacing MF Tanaka. The second half starts with Tokyo's kickoff.

48 minutes: Kobe's MF Nakasaka, who came on in the second half, dribbles past and enters the area, but is blocked by Tokunaga before taking a shot.
50 minutes: Tokyo launches a counterattack from their own half. Muriqui dribbles from the left to the center and passes to the east on the left near the area. East chooses a minus pass to Tanabe, who runs into the area, but the pass doesn't connect.
56 minutes: From FW Pedro JUNIOR, who kept the right cross in the area, a pass to MF Watanabe on the right side. Watanabe released an accurate shot from outside the area in front of the goal, allowing a goal and making it 1-1.

61 minutes: Tokyo makes its first substitution. Insoo YU, who scored the winning goal in the previous final round, replaces Higashi.
62 minutes: Kobe changes their system from 4-1-4-1 to 4-4-2 in order to break through.
64 minutes: Chance created by Kobe's left side DF Hashimoto's cross, and a goal is scored by MF Niuuton with a header in front of the goal, allowing a goal, 1-2.
65 minutes: FW Pedro JUNIOR, who drifted to the left side, crossed to FW Leandro in front of the goal. He headed it in and we conceded a goal... 1-3.
67 minutes: Tokyo makes its second substitution. Shun HIRAYAMA is brought on to replace Satoru KAWANO.

72 minutes: Tokyo makes their final substitution. Hanyu replaces Maeda.
74 minutes: Kobe lost the loose ball in the midfield, and FW Pedro JUNIOR, who reacted to it, dribbled past Morishige. GK Akimoto was also beaten and conceded a goal, making it 1-4.
75 minutes: Tokyo has Insoo YU on the right side, Muriqui on the left side. Shun HIRAYAMA and Insoo YU are positioned in the front line.
76 minutes: Hirayama shoots from outside the box aiming for the bottom left corner of the goal. However, it is saved by the opposing goalkeeper Kim Sung-gyu.

Atsushi MAEDA scored the opening goal with his 150th goal in J1, but then allowed consecutive goals and lost 1-4.

[Player Comments]
"Maeda"
"The moment I scored was the opening goal, so I was happy, but now I only feel regret because it ended up like this."
Q=Looking back on the goal scene.
"Muriqui's ball was fast, and the opponent couldn't catch up at all, so I thought it would go in if I could connect. There were people on the near side, so I was waiting for the ball to flow to the far side and come out."
Q=Was there a time when you couldn't score a little before scoring 150 goals today?
"As a forward, I understand that scoring goals is the top priority, but I always believed that the team's victory comes first. I played with the belief that if the team wins, chances will surely come."

《Tokunaga》
“The opponent changed their system to a two-striker formation in the second half, and our midfielders positioned themselves inside, causing some gaps. We couldn't adapt to that and were pushed back. It was unclear whether to go for the ball or create a block, and we ended up conceding a goal in the ambiguous situation. We were trying to press from the front, but it wasn't clear who to mark in midfield, so the opponent's side players started taking up higher positions. There may be some things that can only be understood by watching the footage, but that might be why we dropped back a bit.”

[Summary of Coach Yoshiyuki SHINODA's Press Conference]
"First of all, everyone needs to firmly accept this loss. As for the game, the start was very good. We were able to exploit the opponent's weaknesses and score goals, which was the result of the players' efforts. However, in the second half, we seemed to hesitate a bit and gradually dropped back to fill the spaces. As a result, we couldn't reach the ball and the players worked hard but ended up giving everything they had. I think there are still many things that the team needs to work on. I had the image of increasing the output through player substitutions, but it only created more space. Anyway, we need to switch gears and focus on recovering and preparing well for the next week."

[Kobe NELSINHO coach's press conference summary]
"The first half was a very poor performance. I was watching the game thinking it wasn't our usual team. We couldn't even pick up second balls, and the players' control of the ball was also poor. We couldn't create our own opportunities and couldn't even take the ball away. At halftime, I told the players to put pressure on the ball holder and asked for improvement. As we started the second half, we changed tactics to a 4-4-2 formation with MF Nakasaka and FW Leandro and FW Pedro JUNIOR as the two top players. Then, the second half turned into an unbelievable development and score for those who watched the first half. The difference between the first and second halves was the players' awareness and attitude. In the second half, we were able to play the game with our quality and rhythm. We were able to make fast attacks and create our own opportunities."