Defeat Kobe at home and aim for qualification in the preliminary league

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

　Tokyo, who currently stands at the top of the group with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 7 points, will face their tough opponent Kobe. They not only want to break their bad record against Kobe and secure their first victory in 3 years, but also need to win this crucial match to advance to the final round. However, for Kobe, losing this match would mean the end of their hopes to advance to the final tournament. With a tough schedule that continues in just 2 days, the obstacle they must overcome is formidable, but they are determined to defeat their opponent with united soccer.

　Tokyo has the same starting and substitute members as the previous match. On the other hand, Kobe is missing their key midfielder Daniel due to accumulated warnings, and has changed to a 4-back DF formation for this match.

Attacking from the start, but...

　Tokyo, who had been on a roll since the start of the first half. In the 3rd minute, Toda jumped into the goal and took a shot. In the 4th minute, Kelly passed to Hoshi, who ran into the right side of the penalty area and aimed for the goal from a close distance, but the shot hit a defender and the opposing GK saved it with one foot. In the 5th minute, they won a corner kick from Hoshi's sharp cross, but Jean's header shot went over the frame.

　Tokyo, who are attacking with an advantage, bring it to the finish, but on the other hand, Kobe also connects a left CK in the 10th minute and FW Jean heads the shot. In the following 11th minute, FW Castle receives the ball on the left side and dribbles up, feinting Jean and entering the penalty area. Tsuchi also draws attention and then sends a pass to the front of the goal. Receiving this, Jean takes a decisive shot from just before the goal area, but it goes over the goal, and Tokyo avoids a big pinch.

　Tokyo, who couldn't score in the opening minutes, may be feeling the effects of consecutive games as they gradually start to slow down and defend. In the 23rd minute, Kobe's SB Hirano connected with MF Nishitani and finally DF Castle broke through and took a shot. However, Tsuchi showed courage and made a fine save, avoiding another dangerous situation.

　Tokyo, who couldn't create an effective attack with crosses and final passes due to a decrease in play accuracy, were unable to take a single shot after the first 5 minutes. The play on the right side of Tokyo was concentrated, resulting in a back and forth battle within a narrow range, and the first half ended.

Tokyo, who has regained their breath, dives from an excellent combination play by Fukuda.

　The game remained in a stalemate from the middle of the first half, but in the second half, it picked up again and became an exciting match with many highlights.

　Kobe substituted FW Miura for Hado in the second half. However, in the 49th minute, Fukuda received a pass from Toda and took a powerful shot from an angleless position in front of the right goal. Although it was blocked by the GK, in the 51st minute, Hoshi feinted past a DF and cut into the penalty area, delivering a final pass in front of the goal. Kelly, who was waiting, took a decisive shot that went well over the bar and was unable to score. However, they showed an aggressive attacking style.

　Here, Tokyo substituted Amaral for a star. Riding the rhythm, in the 52nd minute, Shimodaira saw a chance and took a middle shot. Kaji also boldly challenged Kobe's Hirano in a speed battle face to face.

　There will also be a chance for Kobe. In the 55th minute, Hirano took a powerful middle shot. Tsuchi was able to save it and escape to a CK, but from this CK, CB Tsuchiya turned his back to the goal and took a looping shot. However, Tsuchi once again saved the shot with his right hand.

　And in the 62nd minute, Miyazawa sent a long pass to the right side where Toda kept the ball. Then, he passed it to Kaji who overlapped and sent a sharp cross with speed. Fukuda then made a diving header in front of the goal! The ball pierced into the goal, and the long-awaited first goal was born!!

Holding off Kobe's fierce comeback, we are one step closer to advancing to the qualifying league!!

　Tokyo took the lead in an unbeatable way, but afterwards there was a fierce back-and-forth battle.

　At 65 minutes, Kobe's newly entered MF Yabuta made a header shot in place of the castle. In the 71st minute, Tokyo connected interesting passes in front of the goal with Kelly, Toda, Amaral, and Kaji, but could not finish. In the 73rd minute, Toda received a pass from Shimodaira and ran into the penalty area, but it seemed like he was fouled, but there was no whistle.

　In the 74th minute, Tokyo substituted in Suwaen, who made his first appearance in the J1 League, for Fukuda. Kobe also substituted in DF Yasutoshi MIURA for Nishitani, who had been the starting point of their attacks. They placed MIURA as a defensive midfielder and pushed Shijikurei one step forward to launch a counterattack. However, Tokyo's Jean marked Shijikurei, winning all aerial battles and not allowing any chances. On the contrary, in the 84th minute, Amaral connected with Suwaen, and after Toda returned the ball from a post play, Suwaen broke free in front of the goal and took a shot! They showed a combination and boldness that did not seem like a first appearance. In the 88th minute, Amaral received a long pass from Suwaen, shook off the DF, and charged towards the goal in a 1-on-1 with the GK. However, the shot was unfortunately blocked by the opponent's GK's fine save, and there was no additional point.

　Kobe tries to counterattack with a power play, with Tsuchiya, the CB, moving forward. In the final moments, Miura Kazuyoshi heads a shot from a free kick, and there is a scene where the loose ball almost gets pushed into the goal, but Tokyo manages to repel Kobe's counterattack without letting their guard down, until the final whistle.

　Fukuda's goal became a valuable final point, holding back archrival Kobe and achieving a particularly joyful victory. Also, undefeated at home games this season. Truly a fighting style that can be felt to be supported by the home team, putting them in a strong position to advance to the qualifying round.

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "If we lose today, Kobe will have no chance, so before the game I told the players that the start will determine the outcome and the first goal will make the difference. The start was quite good, we had chances including set pieces, but we lacked finishing and then Kobe took control of the game. Kobe changed their system and we were used to playing against it, so we wanted to put more pressure but we were also tired. On the attacking side, I was dissatisfied with the many back passes that disrupted our rhythm. So at halftime, I told them not to be afraid and to push forward. Also, instead of trying to steal the ball from the front and being half-hearted, I instructed them to pull back and compact the team before making a solid attempt to steal the ball."

　It was a tense situation where we couldn't score easily, but the goal was fantastic. That formation is the ideal for our team. Starting from the right side, Kaji overlapped and we had two or three players in front of the goal. We want to continue scoring in that way and playing that kind of soccer.

　Now, as a coach, I am most happy that the entire team is approaching with high motivation. Toda still has some rough edges in his final work, but he moves really well and his earnestness and speed are attractive. Fukuda's "feelings" can be seen and Amaral also has the attitude of "for the team" even though he came on as a substitute. Suwazono is a player with good technique, but he did well. We have now reached 10 points, but the games are still ongoing and especially in the next Verdy match, we cannot afford to lose. We want to switch our mindset and move on to the next one."

[Summary of Manager Kawakatsu's Press Conference] "Today, Daniel was unable to play, so we started with two attacking midfielders. In the first half, we allowed the opponent to attack to a certain extent, while keeping players like Mochizuki and Nishitani in free positions to create opportunities. Nishitani was able to receive the ball in good positions and had two big chances. However, not being able to convert those chances had a big impact on the game, which we ended up losing by one goal. Throughout the league season so far, we have been able to create several chances within the flow of the game, but we have not been able to produce results in the end. As a team, we are still struggling to win individual battles against the opponent, even though we are starting to come together as a group. That is our current challenge. We don't want to make too many changes and confuse the players, so going forward, we will make adjustments through substitutions and try to maintain our overall flow."