Worst ground conditions!?

The stadium in Yamagata City, which was the venue for the match on this day, was far worse than we had anticipated. The players who arrived at the venue were speechless at the extremely "harsh environment" that lay before them, questioning whether they could play here. About 50% of the pitch had no grass and the bare ground was exposed, and it was also uneven and hard. Just 30 cm outside the touchline, there was no grass, only a hard dirt track, making intense play near the lines seem dangerous. There were voices everywhere asking, "Is it really okay to hold J-League matches here?" The terrible stadium, which was dealing with an overcrowded schedule of league and cup matches, was far too "harsh" for the Tokyo Eleven, who were at their physical and mental peak of fatigue. Away games are inherently disadvantageous for the away team, but the conditions on this day were extraordinary, even dampening the players' "fighting spirit."

Yamagata, well-versed in the ground

The match started in a chilly 22°C with occasional strong winds. As expected (?), the game quickly turned into a kicking battle right from the start. The uneven surface made dribbling unpredictable as the ball bounced uncontrollably, and stopping the ball required more than twice the usual effort, causing Tokyo's style of carefully connecting passes through midfield and building attacks from side-back dribbles to fall silent. Naturally, it was impossible to play "normal football" on such a pitch, but the ground conditions were far worse than anticipated, and Tokyo could not find a way to attack. On the other hand, Yamagata struggled with the sensation of chasing a rugby ball as the bouncing ball rolled in unexpected directions, but having apparently practiced on this pitch several times, their "tactics (?)" were well executed. They completely skipped passing through midfield and, upon gaining possession, launched long balls into the space behind the defenders. This was exactly like rugby tactics, prioritizing forward progress and aiming to exploit opponents' mistakes in handling the bouncing ball. What was even more impressive (?) was their awareness of kicking the ball while it was still in the air. Indeed, on this pitch, stopping the ball took time and care, increasing the chance of errors. Therefore, kicking the ball in the air was less risky and effective for passes that did not require precision. It was natural that Yamagata, familiar with this pitch, took control of the match.

2 Goals Conceded

While understanding it in my head, Tokyo is struggling to switch from their usual style of soccer. Left back Fujiyama has a dribbling skill that usually allows him to easily get past two or three defenders, so he tries to consciously kick the ball forward, but when pressured sharply by the opponent, he reflexively resorts to dribbling. In the midfield, Almir attempts to break through with his usual image in combination with forward Amaral, but the ground passes lack precision and are easily cut off by the opponent. Tokyo, anxious about their inability to create rhythm, sends passes targeting Amaral and Okamoto, who are positioned up front, but these passes are simple and lack creativity, making them predictable for the opponent. Yamagata's defensive line is deep, and they were unable to exploit the space behind the defenders.

Meanwhile, Yamagata, well-versed with the field, repeatedly employed a thorough long-ball strategy. Yamagata's powerful two-top attack consisted of Masushita, the current J2 top scorer, and Mutairu, a former Nigerian national team player who previously played for Kawasaki Frontale, while the midfield with speed and technique, Hirama, moved actively upfront to establish their base. Sandro marked Masushita, Komine covered Mutairu, and Asari was assigned to Hirama, perfectly containing them, but they failed to fully catch Bautel, who surged from deep midfield to the front line, occasionally causing dangerous situations. At the 16th minute, Bautel unleashed a fierce shot that GK Suzuki brilliantly saved, leading to a Yamagata corner kick. However, the ball kicked by Yoshida from the left corner seemed too long but slowed down due to strong wind, sharply curving and slipping just past GK Suzuki's desperate jump into the far post. This boosted Yamagata's momentum even more, speeding up the overall movement and dominating the pace. At the 42nd minute, Fujiyama's dribble was cut off, and during the counterattack, a cross was delivered, allowing Hirama's shot to be pushed in by Masushita for the second goal. Tokyo failed to find their rhythm and went into halftime trailing 0-2.

The fierce counterattack in the second half fell just short

In the second half, Tokyo began their counterattack by substituting defensive midfielder Shinjou with forward Kaburagi. At halftime, the coach instructed the team to focus on side attacks, and Tokyo confirmed this strategy. On the right side, Kaburagi, Yukihiko, and Umeyama combined, while on the left side, Almir and Fujiyama got involved, establishing strong bases. When they recovered the ball in midfield or defense, they thoroughly expanded play to the sides, delivering crosses or driving through the center, causing Yamagata's defensive line to start breaking down. However, while the increased participation of fullbacks in attacks created more chances, it also exposed them to counterattacks down the flanks, leading to dangerous situations. Especially on the left side, Hirama broke free from a perfect pass by Vautel, creating a clear scoring opportunity. The intense back-and-forth battle continued until the 22nd minute of the second half, when an attack from the right side ended with Yukihiko being fouled just outside the central penalty area by a Yamagata defender, resulting in a free kick. Almir took the free kick directly, and the ball, struck with his left foot, curved sharply over the wall and thundered into the top right corner of the goal. Following his artistic goal in the previous match against Oita (9/25), Almir once again scored, narrowing the gap to one goal, and Tokyo launched a fierce offensive. When Yamagata was reduced to ten men after a player was sent off in the 25th minute of the second half, Tokyo dominated the game. Riding the momentum, Tokyo controlled the ball and repeatedly broke down the sides to create chances, but lacked the final cross accuracy to convert them into clear scoring opportunities. In the 36th minute of the second half, Umeyama was replaced by forward Enomoto, shifting to an ultra-attacking three-forward formation, but Tokyo ultimately failed to score the equalizer and suffered a narrow defeat. With Kawasaki Frontale winning against Niigata this round, Tokyo relinquished the top spot and dropped to second place.

Director Okuma's Comments

A ground like today does not suit Almir. Since he couldn't be the starting point, we couldn't build our attacks. Overall, we fought with the image of a normal ground and ended up being defeated. The second goal conceded in the first half is a typical example of that. Compared to Yamagata, who adapted to this ground, we were slow to switch our mindset. However, since we were able to move so much in the second half, I don't think our condition is bad, so I want to quickly switch our mindset and prepare for the match against Kashima on the 6th.

Warning Accumulation Status

Komine… (2) → (3) <Next match (10/11 vs Tosu) suspended>

Sandro…(1)→(2)