A decisive battle against Cerezo in a total war approach

After Sec. 11, Tokyo is in 4th place. This match is a top battle against 3rd place Cerezo Osaka. Cerezo, maintaining good form this season, poses a threat with explosive attacking power from players like Nishizawa and Morishima, but neither team can afford to lose here; it will be a battle of pride.

Tokyo has the same starting members as the previous match, with TUTO and Kamino as the two forwards. Amaral is absent, and Kinama is not in top form due to injury, but they approached the match with Kagawa, who made his J1 debut, on the bench.

Kanno's opening goal! But there was an accident...

Both teams are evenly matched from the first half. Cerezo's defensive midfielder, Tasaka, uses his stamina for dedicated defense to win the ball, supplying quick passes to forwards Nishizawa and Morishima from midfielder In. However, they face tough checks from Tokyo's backline and cannot bring the ball to a finish. In the 9th minute, Tokyo's Yukiho takes the first shot of the day from a cross by Naito, who attacked down the right side, but it goes left of the goal. After that, Kamino's return to TUTO from the post leads to attempts to launch attacks from the side, but they end up making forceful breakthroughs and passing exchanges in tight spaces, struggling to mount effective attacks. The side changes are also read by the opponent, and they cannot find a breakthrough. However, in the 22nd minute, as Cerezo was slightly dominating the match, Koike, seeing space ahead, dribbles in and delivers an exquisite pass behind the retreating Cerezo defenders. Kamino, competing with the defender, breaks free a step faster and shoots! Although initially saved by the goalkeeper, he pushes the rebound back in with his body, hitting the crossbar but still scoring!! They secured a valuable opening goal.

Tokyo seemed to gain momentum here, but then an accident occurred when Kamino injured his foot. He was forced to substitute, leading to the introduction of Kaburaki. Just after that, in the 29th minute, Cerezo connected a clearance ball from Tokyo's defense, and Morishima, who ran in, made a header shot. GK Doi cleared it with his left hand, but Nishizawa was unable to score. In the 38th minute, Nishizawa unleashed a powerful shot from a through pass by MF Ru, putting Tokyo on the back foot. There was also a moment when TUTO connected with a cross from Naito, but they couldn't secure an additional goal and ended the first half.

Overwhelmed by Cerezo's powerful attack

Overwhelmed by Cerezo's powerful attack

Cerezo coach Fukushima said, "Tokyo immediately puts the ball forward the moment they cut it, but we haven't contained their source. Our attack hasn't shown the way we usually push towards the goal. Let's have more courage and try harder," as he made adjustments and prepared for the second half.

Following that instruction, immediately after the start of the second half, Cerezo seized a pass mistake from Tokyo, and Morishima shot while free. This was saved brilliantly by Doi, but afterwards, Tokyo would be troubled by Morishima's quick movements running diagonally into the goal area. In the 47th minute, they lost a loose ball, connected quick passes, and a cross from Yun was scored by MF Nishitani, leveling the score unexpectedly. Then in the 58th minute, perhaps due to a momentary lapse in concentration after a break in play, a pass was circulated from a free kick, and Morishima's mark was delayed as he ran behind Tokyo's defense. Asari chased him down and made a sliding stop, but this play resulted in a penalty kick. Nishizawa confidently converted it, giving Cerezo a 2-1 lead.

From here, Tokyo replaced Koike with Kina. They tried to make it to a shot somehow, but Yukihiko's well-judged mid-range shot and header both missed the target. In the 76th minute, KAGAMI was brought in to replace Masamitsu KOBAYASHI and positioned as an attacking midfielder. Sandro was also pushed up, establishing an ultra-offensive formation. However, they were often countered by exploiting the thin defensive spaces, taking on risks, but Tokyo continued to show an attacking stance. Nevertheless, they ultimately could not score a goal, resulting in being overpowered by Cerezo's attacking strength.

Director Soejima's Comment

Today's game is extremely important in terms of remaining in the competition for the top spots. The players were aware of this, but in the first half, their movement was very poor, and there were loose areas in marking TUTO and preparing for counterattacks. I pointed out the areas for improvement at halftime, and the players responded very well. Being able to secure a tough game is very significant. However, while we created opportunities from our intended counterattacks and quick attacks, we were unable to finish. The fact that we couldn't score additional goals is a challenge for the next match.

Director Okuma's Comments

"Due to Kamino's unexpected injury, we couldn't fill his role, both as a team and individually. This disrupted our balance in offense and defense. In the future, Kamino may not be able to play soon, and with Amaral also absent, we must somehow cover the remaining matches with other members and ensure we maintain our balance in offense and defense as we have until now."