A crucial match for securing a victory to continue the opening of the season.

Preseason match to be held at Fukuoka's Level-5 Stadium with light rain falling.
Tokyo started with FW Maeda, who joined this season, as a starter. Muto and Maeda formed a two-top, with Kawano playing as a top midfielder. Kajiyama was used as an anchor, and Canini was used as a center back. Uemoto and Mita served as inside halves in the lineup.

The members who participated in the morning practice match (vs Fukuoka University) will also be on the bench. Fukuoka is listed as 3-6-2 on the team sheet, but will MF Kamekawa play as a left back in a 4-4-2 formation?

We want to win the preseason match to gain confidence and lead into the opening with a good form.
The match started at 2:03 PM with a kickoff in Fukuoka.
 

In the 9th minute of the match, Ota from the left side calculated the distance and crossed. The ball was deflected to the right and crossed again. Maeda ran into the goal area to follow up on the ball that was spilled by the opponent's GK, but it only resulted in a corner kick.

In the 11th minute, it was a period of time when they attacked mainly with set plays. From Ota's left corner kick, Morishige aimed for the goal with a high header, but it went outside the frame. In the 17th minute, Mutoh -> Ota crossed low from the left front line. Maeda, who had moved up to the center, pushed it in by hitting it with his body, GOAL!! They took the lead!
 

24 minutes, the opponent's left side dribbled into the center and connected, but Mita blocked the shot from the center → left area corner. The loose ball was connected, but the shot from the left front line was over the goal. In addition, in the 31st minute, Yonemoto's play to steal the ball was judged as a foul. Tokyo gave Fukuoka a free kick inside their own territory. Fukuoka MF Sueyoshi aimed directly from a distance, but it went over the bar.

37 minutes, Yamamoto steals on the left side of the midfield and passes to Kajiyama. However, Kajiyama's pass to Canini in the center is slightly short. Fukui FW Sakata closes in and steals the ball from Canini, who is trying to trap it, and dribbles forward.
Kanda was put in a 1-on-1 situation... but FW Hirai's shot missed to the left, avoiding danger...
The first half ended with a goal from new signing Maeda, making it 1-0.

Mutoh jumps into Ota's cross and scores a brilliant goal, leading to a 2-0 victory!

Tokyo's attack in the second half at the 50th minute. Ota's long cross did not reach Maeda. Mita tried to close in on the opponent's DF's loose ball, but the opponent's GK caught it first. In the 58th minute, the opponent's FK from the right side of Tokyo's field. MF Suzuki sent it to the far side, but DF Hamada jumped in and the ball was slightly touched and went over the line.

At the 62nd minute, a quick attack was launched, with Morishige passing to Ota on the left, who once again crossed the ball. Muto in front of the goal scored with a low header, GOAL!! GOAL!!
 

66 minutes, substitute Maeda and Kajiyama for Higashi and Takahashi. Higashi is in the top position. Kono and Muto are in the front line. In addition, Ishikawa and Yoshimoto are in at 76 minutes. Takahashi and Hanyu are the double pivot, with Ishikawa and Higashi on the sides. In the 78th minute, the opponent's left back Kamekawa moves up the center and sends a diagonal through pass to the right area. However, Ota and Yoshimoto quickly respond. The second ball is still taken away, and this time a left cross is sent in, but Ota heads it away.
 

In the 88th minute, Maruyama replaced Morishige and stayed as center back. The match ended 2-0 with the decisive power of Maeda and Muto in the FW line. They won their first official match of the 2015 season and made a good start towards the J-League opening.

[Player Comments]

"Maeda"
"(Is this your first goal in Tokyo?)
Until now, I felt that I was a little late in timing when going into crosses. Today, I was able to go in with a good shape without being late. Ota's crosses are easy to time. I can understand when they are coming up. Including before the camp, I have been conscious of fitting into the team rather than showing myself. That was the same today. I tried to play more in the team. It was good to score, but what's important is from now on. I will do my best to improve our connection and accuracy and score more goals towards the opening."
 

"Muto"
"I haven't been feeling anxious until now, but today, I was able to score in the atmosphere of an official game, so I feel a little relieved. I was aiming for a move to the near side from the beginning. In the first half, there were a lot of things that didn't go well... The pitch was slippery, and I couldn't catch up with the usual pace. At halftime, Ota-san said, 'The pitch is slippery, so it might be better to stay a little higher up,' and then the perfect ball came. It was amazing. Running for 90 minutes and not feeling tired in defense is a good indicator of my condition. I think I can improve even more from here, and I'm looking forward to it. I want to start the season without any injuries."
 

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
　"With only two weeks left until the start of the league, I think it was very important to have a match against a competitive team in J2. It was a meaningful match for us in every aspect. In regards to today's match, there were some moments in the last 10-15 minutes where we made a lot of substitutions and our performance dropped due to fatigue, but even without that, the team showed a very high level of play. We especially attacked the opponent's penalty area multiple times and created many chances. Our challenge now is to improve our accuracy in the final moments. We want to raise that accuracy as much as possible from here on out."
 

[Fukuoka - Coach Masami Ihara's Press Conference Summary]
"FC Tokyo has a very strong team in J1, and is a stable team. They have talented players in their attack, and I think their team color is particularly strong in defense. We were wondering how far we could go against such opponents. Today, we conceded two goals, but I think we were able to defend to some extent as we intended."
We were beaten by two crosses from the side that we were taking care of. It may have been due to the opponent's accuracy in attack or the fact that they were able to score with the players who should have scored. I think there may have been some weaknesses in our defense. However, I think we were able to demonstrate a certain level of team organization and balance throughout the game.