Temperature 34.5℃!

The third match of the season against Kofu was held at Nirasaki Chuo Park Athletics Stadium, with a scorching temperature of 34.5℃. According to Kofu officials, it was considered a "cool" day, but the heat was unlike anything experienced in Tokyo at this time of year, causing concern for the physical exhaustion of the Tokyo Eleven. Furthermore, the location of the match, a stadium surrounded by mountains with a capacity of about 2000 people (all grass seats for the goal end and back stand!), made us feel like we were truly playing "away". Despite the harsh conditions of a weekday 2pm kickoff in Nirasaki, about 100 fans from Tokyo came to support. With no shade to shield them from the strong sunlight, the fans supported us with their energetic cheers, and we couldn't afford to lose in front of them in such a challenging environment, just like the players.

Only one point was scored in the first half (?)

As soon as the match started, Tokyo aggressively started their attack. Tokyo's ace player Amaral, who missed the previous match due to accumulated warnings, showed stable post-play in the front line with energetic movements as if to vent his frustration. Along with Amaral, Almir, who showed active post-play in the front line, Okamoto, who persistently aimed for the back of the opponent's defense with forceful rushes, and Yukihiro, who made sharp dribbles and crosses from the right side, all contributed to Tokyo's overwhelming attack. In particular, Okamoto, who has started in two consecutive matches since the previous match, showed his "strength" by relentlessly chasing long passes from the back with his abundant physicality, and in the 20th minute, he broke through with a vertical pass from his teammate's defense and created a scoring opportunity. On the other hand, Kofu occasionally took advantage of Tokyo's mistakes and aimed for a simple "one-shot" by having speedy players such as Horii, Yoshida, and Oshiba run behind Tokyo's defense. However, they were unable to create scoring opportunities as they made inaccurate passes at crucial moments despite getting into good positions. Although they were able to get behind Tokyo's defense a few times, they were unable to overcome the "final wall" of Komine and Sandro.

Tokyo took the lead. In the 27th minute, Almir broke through the right side and crossed the ball. Amaral took a shot, but it hit the opponent's defender and the ball floated to Yukihiro in the center, who took a direct shot. Although the shot didn't have much power, it had a good trajectory and went into the bottom left corner of the goal. Tokyo continued to dominate possession with a 70-80% rate, but their attacks lacked intensity and they seemed to have become too comfortable with their one-goal lead against a defensive Kofu. They were unable to score another goal and ended the first half with a 1-0 lead.

Suddenly, the game took a turn and became a difficult situation.

In the first half, Tokyo, who had been worried about the heat, maintained their lead through their physicality. In the second half, they continued to dominate the game. In the 48th minute, Amaral took a volley, followed by Okamoto in the 49th minute and Almir's diving header in the 52nd minute, but Tokyo couldn't seem to score another goal. In the 59th minute, Tokyo, who had shifted their focus to attacking through corner kicks, faced a dangerous counterattack from Kofu. Kofu took advantage of a momentary lapse in Tokyo's defense caused by a foul, quickly restarting the game from the left side. They then made their way to the halfway line and played a perfect through pass to the speedy Kofu forward, Hori. Hori broke away from his marker, Tokyo defender Komine, and calmly scored the equalizing goal, leaving Komine behind in his desperate pursuit. With this goal, Kofu gained momentum and just one minute later, in the 60th minute, they intercepted a sloppy pass from Tokyo in the midfield. They quickly moved the ball to the right and sent a cross into the box, where forward Yoshida dove in and scored a powerful header, completing the comeback for Kofu.

4 goals in a furious 15 minutes remaining!

Tokyo, which was reversed in an instant, is moving here. In place of Okamoto, who has decreased in physical activity due to fatigue, speedy FW Go KABURAKI is put in. KABURAKI showed a fierce chasing from the front line and brought back energy to Tokyo. The game became a back and forth battle, with Tokyo threatening with Amaral's aggressive charge and Kofu with Hori's sharp movements and ball control. The game changed in the 75th minute, when Fujiyama broke through the left side with a persistent dribble and passed to Amaral in the center from a deep position. Amaral got an equalizer with a powerful left-footed shot from a one-touch (without a step) before the Kofu defenders could tackle him. With this, Tokyo regained momentum and launched a fierce attack. In the following 78th minute, KABURAKI, who received a pass from Koike (substituted in) in front of Kofu's goal from the right 45-degree angle, quickly turned around and shot. Although there was no angle, the ball went through the goalkeeper's left and shook the goal net, finally succeeding in a comeback (3-2). Two minutes later, in the 80th minute, Fujiyama sent a long pass to the front line and Almir dashed forward. The Kofu defenders, panicked by this, passed back to the goalkeeper with a header from a close distance, but the goalkeeper fumbled it. Almir took the ball and kicked it into the empty goal, getting the fourth goal. Tokyo, who was pushing hard, got an unnecessary goal back in the final minutes of stoppage time, and the game ended 5-3. Although there was a moment of uncertainty, Tokyo got a valuable 3 points away in a tough environment.

<Coach Okuma's Comment>

(Just like the Sapporo match on 8/29), it's not good to keep conceding goals in succession without being able to switch the mindset after conceding. It's a challenge for the future, and I want to ask the players for mental strength. Overall, I'm satisfied that we were able to surpass (Kofu) in terms of physical activity and control the game at our pace in this heat. Regarding the (5 goals) attack, we need to be able to do it from the first half instead of making aggressive moves like that when we're in a desperate situation. This is also a challenge for the future.