Defeat Kobe at home and aim to advance past the qualifying league

　Sec. 4 will be a consecutive match against Kobe, which ended in a draw in the previous section.

　With 2 wins, 1 draw, and 7 points so far, Tokyo stands at the top of the group. Against the formidable opponent Kobe, they aim to achieve victory for the first time in three years and dispel their poor record against them. This is, of course, a crucial match for advancing past the qualifying league. However, for Kobe, losing this match would extinguish their hopes of progressing to the Final Round. Coupled with a tough schedule with only two days in between, the challenges they must overcome are formidable, but they want to defeat them with united football.

　Tokyo has the same starting and backup members as the previous match. On the other hand, Kobe is missing their key midfielder Daniel due to accumulated warnings and has switched from a three-back to a four-back defense for this match.

They put pressure from the start, but...

　Tokyo gained momentum from the start of the first half. In the 3rd minute, Toda jumped in front of the goal and took a shot. In the 4th minute, Hoshi ran into the right side of the penalty area to meet Kelly's pass and aimed for the goal from close range, but the shot hit the defender and the opposing goalkeeper saved it with one foot. In the 5th minute, although they won a corner kick from Hoshi's sharp cross, Jean's header went over the bar.

　Tokyo is pushing forward with an advantage, but on the other side, Kobe also connected a left corner kick in the 10th minute, with FW Bando heading the shot. In the following 11th minute, FW Jo received the ball in space on the left side, dribbled up, faked out Jean, and entered the penalty area. After drawing in Dohi, he sent a pass in front of the goal. Bando received this and took a decisive shot just in front of the goal area, but it went over the goal, allowing Tokyo to escape a major crisis.

　Tokyo, unable to capitalize on their early chances, seemed to be affected by fatigue from consecutive matches, gradually slowing down and going on the defensive. In the 23rd minute, Kobe's full-back Hirano connected with midfielder Nishitani, and finally, Jo broke through behind the defenders to take a shot. This was saved by Doih, who made a courageous dive, once again escaping a critical situation with a fine play.

　Tokyo's play accuracy has dropped, and there have been no effective crosses or final passes, making it impossible to create attacking formations. After the first 5 minutes, they were unable to take a single shot. The play concentrated on the right side of Tokyo, with the ball going back and forth in a narrow range, resulting in a defensive struggle that ended the first half.

Tokyo revived, Fukuda's diving header from excellent combination play

　The game remained in a stalemate from the middle of the first half, but the second half saw a resurgence, leading to a more exciting development.

　Kobe brought in forward Kazuyoshi Miura in place of Bando in the second half. However, in the 49th minute, Fukuda received a pass from Toda in front of the right goal and unleashed a powerful shot from a tight angle. This was blocked by the goalkeeper, but in the 51st minute, Hoshi faked out a defender and cut into the penalty area, delivering a final pass in front of the goal. Kelly's decisive shot, which was waiting, went well over the bar, and they were unable to score. However, they displayed an aggressive attacking shape.

　Here, Tokyo replaced a star with Amaral. Getting into the rhythm, in the 52nd minute, Shimohira took a chance with a mid-range shot. Kaji also boldly challenged the speed duel against Kobe's Hirano.

　Kobe will also have their chances. In the 55th minute, Hirano took a powerful long-range shot. Dohi saved it and it went to a corner kick, but from this corner, center-back Tsuchiya took a looping shot with his back to the goal. However, the inventive shot was once again saved by Dohi with one hand.

　Then, in the 62nd minute, Miyazawa sent a long pass to the right side, where Toda kept possession. He then passed to Kaji, who made an overlapping run, and Kaji, gaining speed, cut into the side and delivered a sharp cross. Fukuda made a diving header in front of the goal! The ball pierced the net, and the long-awaited opening goal was scored!!

Suppressing Kobe's fierce counterattack, on the verge of advancing past the qualifying league!!

　Tokyo took the lead in an unparalleled manner, but after that, there was a fierce back-and-forth battle.

　In the 65th minute, Kobe's MF Yabuta, who had just replaced Jo, made a header shot. In the 71st minute, Tokyo connected passes interestingly in front of the goal with Kelly, Toda, Amaral, and Kaji, approaching the Kobe goal, but could not finish. In the 73rd minute, Toda received a pass from Shimohira and ran into the penalty area, appearing to be fouled, but there was no whistle.

　In the 74th minute, Tokyo brought in Suwazono, who made his J1 League debut, replacing Fukuda. Kobe also substituted DF Yasutoshi MIURA for Nishitani, who had been the starting point of their attacks. They placed MIURA as a defensive midfielder and moved Shijikurei one position forward to launch a counterattack. However, Tokyo's Jean marked Shijikurei, winning all aerial battles and preventing any chances. Conversely, in the 84th minute, Amaral connected with Suwazono, and when Toda returned the ball from a hold-up play, Suwazono broke free in front of the goal and shot! He displayed a combination and decisiveness that belied his debut. In the 88th minute, Amaral received a long pass from Suwazono, broke free from the DF, and found himself one-on-one with the GK. However, his shot was unfortunately denied by a fine save from the opposing GK, and no additional goals were scored.

　Kobe pushed up CB Tsuchiya and attempted a counterattack with power play. Just before the end, there was a scene where Kazuyoshi Miura headed a shot from a free kick, and the loose ball almost got pushed into the goal, but Tokyo, without letting their guard down, repelled Kobe's counterattack, and the final whistle blew.

　Fukuda's goal became a precious final round point, securing a particularly joyful victory over our rivals, Kobe. Additionally, we remain unbeaten in home games this season. It was a performance that truly felt supported by our home crowd, putting us on the brink of advancing past the qualifying league.

【Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference】 "Kobe would lose all chances if they lost today, so I told the players before the match that the start would be crucial and that the first goal would determine the outcome. The start was quite good, and we had chances, including set pieces, but we lacked decisiveness, and after being held off by Kobe, the pace shifted to the opponent. Kobe changed their system, and since we are used to our way of playing, I wanted us to apply more pressure, but fatigue was a factor. What I was dissatisfied with in our attack was that we had too many back passes, which disrupted our rhythm. So at halftime, I instructed them not to be afraid and to push forward. Also, rather than trying to win the ball back too high up and becoming half-hearted, I instructed them to drop back, compact the team, and then win the ball back properly.

　It was a frustrating situation where we couldn't score, but the goal was wonderful. That shape is the ideal form we aspire to as a team. Starting from the right side, Kaji overlapped, and there were two or three players crowding in front of the goal. I want to continue scoring in that way and play that kind of football.

　As a coach, I am most pleased that the entire team is approaching with high motivation. Toda still has some rough edges in his final job, but he is really moving well, and his earnestness and speed are appealing. Fukuda also shows his "spirit," and Amaral, although he came on as a substitute, has the attitude of "for the team." Suwazono is originally a player with technique, and he did well. We have now reached 10 points, but the matches continue, and especially in the next match against Verdy, we cannot afford to lose. I want to switch our mindset and move on to the next challenge.

[Summary of Coach Kawakatsu's Press Conference] "Today, since Daniel cannot play, we started with two players in the attacking midfield position. In the first half, we allowed the opponent to attack to some extent, aiming to create opportunities for Mochizuki and Nishitani to be in free positions and become the starting points. Nishitani was able to receive the ball in a good position, and we had two significant chances. However, not being able to convert those chances had a major impact on the game, which we lost by one goal. Up to this point in the league, while we have been able to create several scoring opportunities during the flow of the game, we have not been able to achieve results in the final moments. Even though we are developing as an organization or group, we still cannot win individual battles against the opponent. That is the current barrier for the team. If we make too many changes, the players will become confused, so moving forward, with Kaz returning to form, we want to respond with personnel changes while not significantly altering the overall flow."