Match Review
The ultimate showdown of the J-League's strongest "spear" and "shield." Tokyo, which has scored the most goals in the league with 26, faced off against Gamba Osaka, known for its solid defense with only 11 goals conceded, at Ajinomoto.
After a five-match series that continued with two days and three days in between starting from May 11, Tokyo, which had begun to aim for a higher position in the league, was unable to accumulate points as desired with two draws and one loss. However, in the J.League YBC Levain Cup 3rd Round, they secured advancement with a win at the challenging away match against Tosu and returned home to Ajinomoto Stadium.
G Osaka, our opponent for this match, is currently in 4th place in the league. In order to re-enter the competition for the top spots and to turn our performance into results for a resurgence, this match is crucial to secure a victory at all costs.
Tokyo has the same lineup for the goalkeeper, defense line, holding midfielders, and both wings as in the previous match against Yokohama F. Marinos. Ryotaro ARAKI is positioned as an attacking midfielder, and Diego OLIVEIRA is placed at the forefront. The match was approached with both ARAKI and OLIVEIRA in a vertical arrangement, marking their first appearance together since the match against Vissel Kobe in Sec. 3.
1st HALF - Both teams failed to capitalize on big chances
From the beginning, Tokyo will create a block to defend against G Osaka, who will hold the ball and push forward, while aiming for sharp counterattacks.
The first big chance came for Tokyo. In the 9th minute of the first half, Soma ANZAI made a through pass into the space on the right front, and Diego TABA won the race against the opposing defender while keeping possession near the goal. From there, Kota TAWARATSUMIDA aimed with his right foot at a precise cross, but his shot from close range was met with a fine save by the goalkeeper, preventing the opening goal.
In the 19th minute of the first half, Yuto NAGATOMO, who became the starting point in the center of the pitch, moved towards the goal. There, he received a vertical pass and connected it to the left, where Araki received the ball near the corner of the penalty area and cut in. From here, Diego TABA, who had made a run from behind, aimed with a direct shot using his left foot, but unfortunately, the shot went straight to the goalkeeper.
Against G Osaka, who set up a compact formation, Tokyo will not only aim for counterattacks targeting behind the high line but will also engage in a solid ball possession game.
In the 42nd minute of the first half, after a left corner kick, a powerful mid-range shot by player Nagatomo was blocked by the opponent, leading to a long counterattack as the loose ball was picked up. Player Yamashita was allowed to break away near the halfway line, but standing in his way was Taishi Brandon NOZAWA. With a super save, he deflected the opponent's fierce shot with just his left hand, protecting the goal.
Both teams created big chances but couldn't shake the net. The first half ended scoreless.
2nd HALF - Taishi makes a series of fine saves but cries over the late goal conceded
Shortly after the start of the second half, Nozawa made a fine save to block Usami's long-range shot, and from here, Tokyo's left side quickly became more active.
In the 6th minute of the second half, a through pass from Kei KOIZUMI, who connected in a narrow area on the left side, allowed Takaaki TAWARAMIZU to break free and make a cross near the goal line. Then, in the 8th minute of the second half, Takaaki TAWARAMIZU dribbled and made a cutback, but Yuto NAGATOMO jumped in only to have the cross deflected by the opposing goalkeeper. Furthermore, in the 9th minute of the second half, Kashif BANGNAGANDE delivered a sharp cross, but it just missed Anzai. Continuously creating chances from the left side, the blue-red eleven pressed towards the goal in pursuit of victory.
Tokyo, wanting to take the initiative, brought in both players Keita ENDO and Teruhito NAKAGAWA in the 18th minute of the second half. For ENDO, who had made his comeback in the Levain Cup 3rd Round against Tosu, this marked his first league appearance in about a month since the match against FC Machida Zelvia in Round 9.
As numerous chances were created, the guardian's save shone once again. In the 67th minute of the second half, a left corner kick from the opponent was met at the near post, but Nozawa made a fine save from Dawhan's close-range header. He quickly deflected it with his right hand and escaped danger.
Tokyo makes two substitutions in the 32nd minute of the second half. Kuryu MATSUKI is brought in as an attacking midfielder, and Jája Silva is brought in on the left side, moving Nakagawa to the front line and Anzai to left back in an attempt to break through.
However, in the 40th minute of the second half, we allowed the opponent to take the lead. From a significant switch to the side, Ewerton kept the ball on the right side. It was then passed to Yamada, who had just been brought on.
In the final stages, Tokyo aimed for a comeback, threatening the goal with Nakagawa's bold dribbling breakthrough into the penalty area and Takahiro KO's shot. During the second half's added time, it seemed that Henrique TREVISAN had equalized with a left corner kick, but the preceding play was ruled offside, and the goal was disallowed. Unable to catch up after conceding in the final stages, it resulted in their second scoreless defeat of the season.
MATCH DETAILS
<FC Tokyo>
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Taishi Brandon NOZAWA
DF Yuto NAGATOMO/Yasuki KIMOTO/Henrique Trevisan/Kashif BANGNAGANDE (substituted at 33 minutes: Jaja Silva)
MF Takuto UHIRO/Kei KOIZUMI/Ryota ARAKI (substituted at 18 minutes: Teruhito NAKAGAWA)
FW Diego Oliveira (substituted at 33 minutes: Kuryu MATSUKI)/Kota TAWARATSUMITA (substituted at 18 minutes: Keita ENDO)/Soma ANZAI
SUBS
GK Go HATANO
DF Masato MORISHIGE/Shuhei TOKUMOTO
GOAL
―
<Gamba Osaka>
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Jun IIMORI
DF Shota FUKUOKA/Riku HANDA/Keisuke KUROKAWA/Shinnosuke NAKATANI
MF Tokuma SUZUKI/Ryoya YAMASHITA (39th minute: Aki KURATA)/Dawan (27th minute: Netta RAVI)/Welton (45+2 minute: Shoji TOYAMA)
FW Takashi USAMI (45+2 minute: Riku MATSUDA)/Isa SAKAMOTO (39th minute: Kota YAMADA)
SUBS
GK Masaaki HIGASHIGUCHI
FW Issam JEBALI
GOAL
40 minutes into the second half: Kota YAMADA
[Peter CKLAMOVSKI Coach Interview]
Q, please review the game.
I think it was a match where both teams gave their all, and from a football perspective, there were various challenges in the game. However, I don't think there were many significant events that occurred. As for the outcome, it ended up being a result that hurt the club, the fans, and us all.
While we may not have been able to fight our best today, I believe we created opportunities to earn 3 points or at least 1 point in a tight match. From here, we will reflect on ourselves, analyze our performance, and aim to become stronger with this pain. There were times when things did not go well for us, but I think the players have overcome such situations many times this season. Today, we ran out of time in the challenge to overcome those difficulties.
Q, please review the offside situation of Henrique TREVISAN during the additional time.
It was a disappointing moment, and I thought it was a goal. However, the decision did not go our way, and that is also football. The important thing is that we were able to create chances during such moments.Regarding the opponent's scoring scene, it may not have been a good decision for us, but that is also football. It is necessary to overcome that. I believe there are things we cannot control. The players have been fighting this season while overcoming those challenges. I think the players showed today that they are moving forward and heading in the direction they believe in, and I believe they have been fighting through difficult situations.
Today's results are not what we hoped for, but the important thing is to turn this pain into something that fuels us and to make ourselves stronger.
[Player Interview]
＜Takahiro KO＞
Q, please review the game.
There were many scenes where the center-back stepped up to win the ball effectively. I also had the intention to push the ball forward after winning it, but I think there were few scenes that led to chances from that. I believe it was necessary to differentiate between sending the ball behind the opponent or maintaining possession and pushing forward.
Q: I think the pace picked up more in the second half. How were you trying to break through Gamba Osaka's solid defense?
In the first half, there were chances and scenes where we broke through behind the defense, but if we could have scored during that period, I think the result of the match would have been different. Conceding a goal at the end was our weakness.
Q, it was a goal that seemed to catch us off guard for a moment.
I think the team momentarily stopped to question whether that moment was a foul or not. I believe we needed to maintain our focus and defend properly even in such situations.
Q: I think we were able to showcase our strengths even in a difficult match.
There were many scenes of recovering the ball, and I felt a sense of achievement. As an individual, I want to continue recovering the ball and increase the scenes where I can pass it to the forwards. Since there are players with momentum in the front line in Tokyo, my priority when winning the ball is to focus on passing it forward first. There were many scenes where I passed to Ryotaro ARAKI and Diego OLIVEIRA, but I want to improve our coordination afterwards.
<Soma ANZAI>
Q, please review the game.
A, it is very frustrating that we could not win a match that we had to win in terms of ranking, especially since we had not been able to achieve victory in the league. There is no time to look down, so I believe that switching gears and absolutely winning the next match is the most important thing.
Q: You changed positions during the match. What was your mindset while playing?
A, since I am playing in the front line, I have not been able to achieve the most sought-after numbers, and I am aware of this sense of crisis myself. Since we have not produced results, I believe that a team cannot win if the wingers do not contribute to scoring, so we must first achieve results. As a full-back, I was conscious of not conceding goals at all costs. It was disappointing to lose after conceding a goal in that context.
Q: The team has been conceding goals continuously.
A. Overall, we never defend by falling back; instead, we focus on applying pressure while pushing the opponent back. Since the matches are ongoing, we don't have time to fine-tune things in practice, but there are areas where we can improve during the game through discussions among the players. However, I want to be more conscious of how we start the match. The position of the wingers tends to be a bit low, so I think I need to push them forward more. Just because we concede a lot of goals, I want to apply pressure from the front and maintain an attacking defense right from the start of the match.
It is true that the entire team's movement stopped during today's conceding scene, and I believe it is the result of neglecting what we should do as a team. When we concede goals like that, we can lose matches that we should win, so I think we need to sharpen our focus and eliminate any instances of the team stopping during the match.
Q: How will you prepare for the next match?
We haven't won 4 matches in the league, but there's no point in dwelling on those games, so we are only thinking about “winning” the next match. It will be a tough away game, but I want the team to fight as one.
