Keep the momentum of winning in the league and move on to the next battle!

　The Emperor's Cup 3rd Round will face off against Giravanz Kitakyushu. In the 10/3 Shonan game, they achieved a long-awaited victory with 3 goals from a stable defense. After that, they held a 3-day training camp in Gotemba. The theme was to strengthen the team's unity and "not only the starting members, but also to raise the condition and awareness of all members, including the substitute members (Coach Okuma)", and they have been training hard. In order to continue the team's momentum, they want to not only win, but also have a fight that leads to the next one.

　Tokyo, on the other hand, has advanced to the 3rd round by defeating Zaspa Kusatsu in the Emperor's Cup, and has only won one game in the J2 league, currently sitting at 19th place. Under the guidance of coach Jorge YONASHIRO, the team aims to play aggressive soccer while also being able to endure defensively. They have the most draws in the league at 12, which can also be seen as a sign of their tenacity and ability to not lose. For Tokyo, the key will be to score early in the game. Even if Kitakami tightens their defense, Tokyo will look to break through with attacks from the midfield and wings.

　Tokyo, Kono and Gonda are absent for the activities of the Japan national team, and Kim Yong-gun of the South Korea national team is also absent. In addition, Okubo is absent due to pain in his foot. However, Ishikawa, who had been injured, and Kajiyama and Hanyu have returned to the front lines. Starting with Tokunaga and Morishige as center backs, Matsushita and Kajiyama as defensive midfielders, and aiming to "make the most of individual strengths," they will face the game with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Hirayama at the forefront and Otake below. If the team can continue to show strength in ball control, quick transitions between offense and defense, and not lose out in physical battles, they should have a chance to win this game as well.

　Ishikawa says, "With Aita at the top and Yohei at the top, we can put even more pressure on the front. We have to consider the risks, but we should be able to raise the team's awareness of scoring goals. Personally, I want to think about when and where to enter the goal area, and use different tactics on the side to create chances," said coach Okuma. "We need to prepare for Kitakyushu, but the most important thing right now is to build a solid foundation for the team," he added, showing his determination to not only focus on today's match, but also to aim for future league matches. With that in mind, they will aim for victory and turn it into confidence and momentum. The match started at 1pm in Tokyo at Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma.

Ishikawa scores the first goal, but unable to score an additional point and the first half ends.

Took control of the game from the beginning and progressed the game within the Kitakyushu team. Utilizing the movements of Hirayama and Otake in the front line, as well as the bold plays of Ricardinho, and with the help of the midfielders pushing forward, they created chances. In the 8th minute, Ishikawa broke through on the right side and dribbled along the sideline. He brought the ball into the box and won a corner kick. This right corner kick was initially cleared, but the ball was connected and eventually Ishikawa in the center took a shot. However, it was blocked and resulted in another corner kick. Despite creating multiple chances from the sides, the Kitakyushu defense held strong and the wall could not be broken down.

　In the 20th minute, Nakamura made a wide attack and Kajiyama dropped a wedge from the center, and Ishikawa ran from the right to the center and created a decisive opportunity, but the ball went straight to the GK. In the 24th minute, Kajiyama and Hirayama broke through the right front line, dribbled into the right area, and took a shot, but it was caught by the GK again. The time of not being able to score continued, but in the 28th minute, Kajiyama sent a long pass to Mukuhara who ran up the right side. Mukuhara connected with Ishikawa who ran into the near side, and Ishikawa took advantage of his speed to bring the ball into the goal! They took the lead with a speedy combination play.

　After that, they continued to grasp the rhythm, and in the 35th minute, Kajiyama slid in to meet Ricardinho's cross from the left side, but narrowly missed. In the 39th minute, Ricardinho volleyed from Ishikawa's right cross, but it went over the frame. In the 43rd minute, Kajiyama, who had moved up from the right area, faked a shot and made a heel pass. Ishikawa followed up perfectly and took a decisive shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper and escaped as a corner kick. In the end, they couldn't score another goal and went into the second half with a one-point lead.

Victory secured by Hirayama's goal in the final stage

　In the second half, it was Kitakyushu who came out attacking first. In the 46th minute, right back Sato advanced into the area. Nakamura made a sliding tackle, but the ball was picked up and a shot was taken from inside the area. This was a lucky escape for Tokyo, but they also started to become sloppy in the final moments, gradually losing their rhythm. In the 56th minute, Hayashi was substituted for Kajiyama, and in the 65th minute, Shigematsu was substituted for Otake, in an attempt to revitalize the attack.

　In the 68th minute, after a floating pass from Hayashi, Shigematsu broke through the front line and made a last pass in front of the goal after cutting back two DF players on the left side. However, Hirayama's decisive shot was blocked by the Kitakyushu DF... As they missed the opportunity, the line gradually became stretched and Kitakyushu, on the other hand, started to use player substitutions to launch a power play, resulting in more scenes where they were able to bring the ball to the shot.

　Still, calmly defend on the final line and connect to the counterattack. In the 81st minute, Shigematsu, who received the ball with his back to the goal, turned around and shot, hitting the bar off the DF. Although he couldn't score, in the 88th minute, Matsushita broke through on the right front line and sent a sharp cross to the center, where Hirayama had a great chance. Although he initially lost control, he tenaciously regained possession and forcefully passed two opposing DFs to score!! Despite taking 21 shots and scoring 2 goals, the issue of lack of finishing remains, but they secured a solid victory and advanced to the 4th round (against JEF United Chiba).

　【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"The goal, the cross came to my feet and at first I made a mistake. However, I decided to turn it around and go for the shot in my own way. Today I was playing as a lone striker, but each player tried to make the most of their role. Especially Naosan was making a lot of runs, so I wanted to use that. We were able to maintain a good distance from each other, and when I made a run, Naosan would start moving and it made it easier for me to play and create chances. I wanted to score more goals, but..."

　《Ishikawa》"(3 goals in the last 4 games in official matches?)... But I'm missing more than that... But, I have a stronger desire to take more in a good way. Today, not only Aita but also Yohei, Kaji (Kajiyama), and Wan-chan (Matsushita) had a good distance between players. When Aita entered, he moved and when Aita pulled back, Kaji moved forward, so I think we were able to create a sense of urgency and shape. We couldn't take advantage of our chances, but Aita plays with intention, so it's easier for me to follow. After the game, we talked about having an image of shooting and the surroundings and playing with that in mind. The number of times I go out wide and send crosses and the quality of my movements inside have improved. Of course, accuracy is still an issue, and in the future, scoring will be the focus."

　[Manager Okuma's Press Conference Summary] "In the game where we couldn't score, we had many chances for the second goal, but in soccer, you never know what will happen if you keep missing, so I want us to score solidly. However, instead of relying solely on individual finishing, as a team, we want to score like Ishikawa did in the Shonan game even if Hirayama can't. There were also moments where we missed while being free, so we want to think about it as a team once again. There is also my intention to unify our defense, but when the opponent team comes aggressively, we need to make sure our midfield is creating a solid block and passing marks. Especially on the right side, there have been situations that were not intended. We want to fix the parts where we are still giving openings and continue on to the league games."

　(Evaluation of attacks on both sides) The number of times is good, so it's just a matter of accuracy. I think we were able to penetrate the target DF line and GK very well. Also, in terms of ideas and ingenuity in front of the goal, I think there are more variations such as pulling back and taking long shots. Can we finish it? As I mentioned earlier, I want to work on it as a team challenge and connect it to points. The number of times has gradually increased in the last three games, and I think the ideas have also increased compared to the Omiya game, so I want to connect that to the league game."

　[Press Conference Summary of Jorge YONASHIRO, Manager of Kitakyushu] "I think we had a good start to the game. We were able to gradually break through our left side and there were some close calls. Our left side was a bit unsettled, but in the second half, we tried to connect our passes better and I think we were able to do that. As a result, we were able to create more chances, which is a positive. Overall, there were some good moments throughout the 90 minutes, so I think the team did well. I also felt that the players gave their all until the end. (This was your first match against a J1 club?) We were focused on attacking from the beginning. We wanted to see what would happen if we kept pushing forward. But there were times when we couldn't keep up the pressure. So we had to pull back at times and it was a busy 90 minutes, but I think we handled it well overall."