<Match Review>
In the previous match against Kashima Antlers, the team fell into a lack of scoring ability again, and this game was about breaking through that and strongly securing 3 points. Tokyo, facing Shonan Bellmare at the away Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka, changed 5 starting players from the previous match.
In goal, Kim Seung-gyu, who has been in the starting lineup for six consecutive matches since his Tokyo debut, was selected. The back line from the right consisted of Yuto Nagatomo, Alexander Scholz, Henrique Trevisan, and Kashif BANGNAGANDE. In the midfield, Kento HASHIMOTO, who celebrates his 32nd birthday today, paired with team captain Kei Koizumi. The attackers featured academy graduates Leon NOZAWA on the right and Kota TAWARATSUMIDA on the left. The formation chosen was a 4-4-2 with Motoki NAGAKURA and Teruhito NAKAGAWA as the two forwards.
Also, Maki KITAHARA, who signed a professional contract in July, was on the bench for the first time wearing number 77. Go HATANO was also named as a substitute member for the first time in about a month and a half.
1st HALF—Showing composure in both offense and defense as the first half ends
The match suddenly moves. The player wearing number 26, who said the day before, "We need to be dangerous in front of the goal. I want to achieve results with the quality of finishing," struck a powerful right-footed shot into the Shonan goal.
At 6 minutes into the game, Nozawa, who made a sharp move on the right side, was fouled and earned a free kick opportunity. Tawara Tsukida delivered the ball in front of the goal with his right foot. Although it was initially deflected by an opponent, Yoshifu picked up the rebound and sent it again in front of the goal, where Henrique headed it down. The one who aimed at the ball was Nagakura. He struck a well-aimed direct shot with his right foot, and Tokyo succeeded in scoring the opening goal early in the match.
Tokyo continues to control the game by connecting passes. The players add creativity to their attacks by carefully exchanging short passes to find openings between the back line and midfield, making large side changes from player Koizumi, and sharp ground passes cutting into the front line from right-side player Nagatomo, all while observing the situation on the pitch.
A sharp counterattack was launched in the 20th minute of the first half. Nagakura directly aimed at the goal from a through pass by player Tawara Tsukida, who dribbled through the center of the pitch, but unfortunately, it went just over the top left of the goal.
The defense also showed focused play. As Coach Rikizo MATSUHASHI said that "play in front of the goal is the key to winning" in both offense and defense, the players quickly closed down and limited the opponent's options even in scenes that seemed to become dangerous, not giving the opponent any freedom.
Tokyo continued to increase their possession and press forward. Nakagawa, who moved to the left side, repeatedly tried to break down the Shonan defense with a variety of direct plays involving Tawara Tsukida and Yoshifu, but they were unable to create any decisive chances.
By alternating between quick attacks and slow attacks while concentrating players on the same side, even if the ball is lost, immediate recovery at a high position is pursued to extend playing time in the Shonan territory. When defending against the opponent's attack, a solid block is formed, and a flexible style of play aiming for counters from there is also demonstrated. The first half was closed skillfully by advancing the game advantageously and tightening up where necessary. While aiming for additional goals, risks were carefully managed, and the first half ended with a one-goal lead.
2nd HALF—Failed to maintain the 2-point lead, conceding a regrettable goal near the end
Tokyo dominated the game in both offense and defense during the first half. That’s why they want to score an additional goal early on to bring the match into a comfortable position.
For the second half, Coach Matsuhashi made a move at halftime. Ewerton Gaudino was brought in as the right attacker, replacing player Tawara Tsukida, and Nozawa moved to the left side. The number 98, who came out of the locker room, was welcomed by the fans and supporters behind the goal with loud cheers of "Ewerton."
Although Shonan came out with momentum to counterattack at the start of the second half, Tokyo, showing a strong attack on the left side, scored the next goal.
In the 7th minute of the second half, player Nozawa sharply turned after receiving a pass from player Yoshifu inside the area, and was fouled the moment he faced forward, earning a penalty kick. Scholz calmly converted it with his right foot, bringing Tokyo's score to 2-0. For Scholz, this goal was a redemption for the penalty kick he missed in the match against Yokohama FC.
Coach Matsuhashi, who extended the lead, makes another move. In the 12th minute of the second half, Nakagawa is substituted off and Hian is brought onto the pitch. Anticipating Shonan's likely aggressive push forward while trailing by two goals, he sends in Hian to target the space behind the defense.
However, the momentum of Shonan's counterattack broke through the goal. In the 22nd minute of the second half, although Sungyu saved a middle shot from Matsumoto, Suzuki kicked the rebound ball in, reducing the lead to one point.
Tokyo wants to manage risks while aiming to get behind the opponent. In the 27th minute of the second half, RIAN broke away on a counterattack and ran alone, cutting inside to evade an opponent and striking with his right foot, but unfortunately the shot went just wide to the right of the goal. Then, in the 29th minute, from a sharp grounded cross by Yoshifu, RIAN rushed to the far side but just missed. Although neither resulted in a goal, they continuously created a sense of threat in attack as planned.
After that, Shonan gained momentum with player substitutions and a counterattack mood. However, Tokyo endured despite creating dangerous scenes, with player Sungyu making fine saves using only his right arm.
At the 42nd minute of the second half, Teppei OKA came in replacing Nozawa. To respond to Shonan's fierce attack, the system was changed to a three-back with Shorutsu and Henrique.
Shonan continued their fierce attack. In the 7 minutes of added time in the second half, just as it was about to end, they conceded a regrettable goal from a corner kick. Unable to hold on until the very end, they missed the victory right before their eyes and ended with a draw.
MATCH DETAILS
<FC Tokyo>
STARTING XI
GK Kim Seung-gyu
DF Yuto NAGATOMO/Kashif BANGNAGANDE/Alexander Scholz/Henrique Trevisan MF Kento HASHIMOTO/Leon NOZAWA (42nd minute 2nd half: Teppei OKA)/Kota Tawara (0 minute 2nd half: Ewerton Gaudino)/Kei Koizumi
FW Motoki NAGAKURA/Teruhito NAKAGAWA (12th minute 2nd half: Marcelo Hian)
SUBS
GK Go HATANO
DF Kanta DOI
MF Keigo HIGASHI/Kouta TOKIWA/Maki KITAHARA
FW Keita YAMASHITA
MANAGER
Rikizo MATSUHASHI
GOAL
6th minute of the first half: Motoki NAGAKURA / 7th minute of the second half: Alexander SCHOLZ
<Shonan Bellmare>
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Pope William
DF Koki Tachi (40th minute second half: Kazuki OIWA) / Kazunari OHNO
MF Yuto SUZUKI / Akimi BARADA (0 minute second half: Kosuke ONOSE) / Kohei OKUNO / Taiyo HIRAOKA (31st minute second half: Hisatsugu ISHII) / Daiya Matsumoto
FW Akito SUZUKI / Yutaro ODA (31st minute second half: Rio NITA) / Shusuke OTA (19th minute second half: Senagi ISHIBASHI)
SUBS
GK Shun YOSHIDA
MF Tomoya FUJII / Ze Ricardo
FW Luiz PHELLYPE
MANAGER
Satoshi YAMAGUCHI
GOAL
21st minute of the second half: Yuto SUZUKI / 45+7th minute of the second half: Akito SUZUKI
[Interview with Coach Rikizo MATSUHASHI]
Q, Please give us a review of today's match.
A, It was truly a frustrating match, but since we earned 1 point instead of 0, we want to build on this for the next game.
Q. Please tell us the intention behind the halftime substitution and the factors that caused the significant change in the game between the first and second halves.
A, the halftime substitution was made considering physical condition. This was also the case in the second half, but from the first half, when we moved the ball, there was no sense of trying to lure the opponent out, and the way we moved the ball, allowing the opponent to easily mark us, made the match development difficult.
Even during the preparation phase, this was highlighted as a key point, but I believe the reason was the inability to effectively coordinate pressing that exceeded the opponents' pressure and the decision-making of the players on the field.
Q, you struggled with substitutions during the period when the players' legs stopped, and ultimately decided to use three center backs.
A, the reason for having five players in the last line is partly to figure out how to shut down the long balls that tend to increase eventually. Even when there were four players, the defensive midfielders worked closely with the center backs to firmly contain the opponents running from the sides.
However, we anticipated that they would launch long balls in the final moments. Our failure to fully counter in the last phase led to conceding a goal just before the end.
[Player Interview]
＜Alexander SCHOLZ＞
Q. The end of the match was very frustrating.
A. It’s our own fault. I feel the opposing team was better than us, and we need to improve ourselves further. Especially in defending corner kicks, we should have handled it better. Also, in the scenes where we conceded corner kicks, the defensive line dropped too far back, and we need to work on improving that.
We did not allow the opponent many clear-cut chances, but ultimately, we created situations ourselves that could have led to conceding goals.
Q, please review your own play.
A, I feel that my own performance was never good. The 2-0 score should have been a sufficient result, but I think the content and performance of the match were better in previous games. Today, we couldn't take control, and rather, the opponent controlled the match.
Q. What factors do you think made the second half of the match more difficult?
A, I think the reason was that we often lost the ball because we couldn't effectively avoid the opponent's press in low positions. There were also moments when we created chances from counterattacks, but I believe we need an offense that can reliably capitalize on such decisive opportunities and secure the outcome of the match.
Q, you missed the penalty kick last time, but this time you scored. Please review the penalty kick, which was your first goal since coming to Tokyo.
A, because of the failure in the previous penalty kick, I thought that if I missed this time, I wouldn't be allowed to take penalty kicks anymore. This time, I changed my kicking style a bit and kicked after confirming that the goalkeeper dived in the opposite direction at the moment of the kick. I'm glad I was able to score.
It was good to be able to score my first goal in Tokyo, but it's unfortunate that we couldn't secure the victory.
<Yuto NAGATOMO>
Q. I think the individual performance was good, but how does the team perceive this result?
A, Even if an individual's performance was good, it has not led to the team's victory. It's a difficult situation, but we definitely want to connect it to a win. However, as an individual, I think the only thing to do is to continue this level of performance.
I felt there was a lack of intensity in both attack and defense in the final phase. In attack, we need to improve the final quality, and in defense, there were moments where we failed to fully commit our bodies when it was necessary. These might be simple things, but they caused us to concede two goals today as well. I believe that if we cannot do the basics properly, it will be difficult to advance to a higher level.
Q, In the final stages, there were more instances of being pushed back, making it a difficult time. What do you feel was necessary?
A,I believe intensity changes with mindset, and if you blame your body, the heat, or the environment,then I think there is no point in playing the match. It comes down to whether you have a strong will, both in one-on-one situations and in pressing back.Intensity changes through a continuous series of intentions, so that high awareness was necessary for eachand every individual.
Q, shifting focus to individual performance, I feel the quality in the last two matches has been excellent.
A, I will return to the level of playing intensity I had during my prime at Inter Milan (Serie A). I am still not satisfied, and when I reviewed my highlights from my Inter Milan days, I felt that my speed and intensity were still lacking. I will definitely improve from here.
Q, how do you want to build on this 1 point for the next match?
A, today was a match where we could earn 3 points. I think we couldn't connect anything. We really need to have a sense of crisis, and each individual must continue with strong will and high awareness. I want to keep showing that through my play. There is still much more to demonstrate.
<Kento HASHIMOTO>
Q. I think we were playing a good game until we took a 2-0 lead, but looking back, how do you feel about it?
A, regarding today's match, we were not able to play the game throughout the 90 minutes as we intended. Even so, there were some good moments on the counterattack after winning the ball, and it was very good that we scored the first two goals, but after that, we continued to be pressed. Besides the goals conceded, there were many dangerous situations, so it was a match with a lot to reflect on.
Q. Especially in the second half, it seemed that the defensive intensity from the front line dropped, which led to this kind of result. What was necessary in this situation?
A, we had talked about "holding firm," but including myself, gaps appeared in various situations. Somewhere along the line, there was a part where we thought, "If we just keep defending like this, we'll probably win," so being in this position made me painfully realize once again that everyone must play with full effort aiming for 3 points.
Q. You did not lose all the points and were able to bring back 1 point. How will you work to build on this for the next match?
A, not all matches allow us to play from a position of advantage. We believe that we must once again have the entire team reflect on how to hold our defense in difficult situations and work on improving that aspect.
