Enter into consecutive battles and win tough matches!

　From today until May 10th, which is the start of Golden Week, there will be 6 matches including the Nabisco Cup. In the meantime, there will also be 2 Olympic qualifying matches for the U-22 Japan national team, making it a very demanding schedule. It is expected that all of these games will be tough, but we want to focus on each match and accumulate points.

　This week's opponent is Nagoya Grampus Eight. Nagoya is still undefeated this season with 1 win and 2 draws. They are coming off a close victory against Kashima in the previous round and their spirits are high. In past matches, Tokyo has only managed 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 losses against Nagoya, so they are not a team that Tokyo is particularly good at playing against. However, they will want to defeat Nagoya at their home stadium, Ajinomoto Stadium, and gain momentum for the upcoming consecutive matches.

Dominating the game, creating numerous chances, but

　The game that started with a kickoff in Tokyo, Tokyo has been dominant from the start. In the first minute, Kaji receives a foul from a big development from left to center to right and gets a FK. In the 6th minute, Miyazawa takes a shot from a distance FK, but Nagoya GK Narazaki catches it. In the 11th minute, Kanazawa makes a move on the left side and gets a CK. After connecting the second right CK with a short pass, Amaral heads in Miyazawa's cross. They quickly press and attack, overwhelming Nagoya.

　At 24 minutes, Kelly and Amaral exchanged a one-two in the opponent's territory and charged towards the goal. Kelly managed to get past the DF and faced the GK in a one-on-one situation, but his shot was slightly off and saved by GK Narazaki. A missed opportunity. At 26 minutes, Amaral intercepted a mistake pass from the opponent in the midfield and quickly passed it to the right side. Ishikawa ran in and took a powerful shot just before the penalty area. Ishikawa then attempted a soft, looping shot for the goal, but the GK made a great save and prevented a goal. At 28 minutes, Miyazawa sent a long pass to Toda, who was running behind the DF from their own center circle with perfect timing. However, the GK's quick reaction allowed him to catch the ball before Toda could reach it.

　Tokyo, who completely dominated the game with the help of their opponent's poor coordination. However, Nagoya's final line was controlled by tall DF Panaditch, and although they tried to draw out the defense with a middle shot, they were unable to score.

Ishikawa's explosive left foot, first goal of the season to take the lead!

　However, Tokyo did not let up on their attacking strategy and in the 35th minute, Iwakawa intercepted a lateral pass from Nagoya's DF line on the right side. He then charged forward and cut towards the center just outside the penalty area. Despite being pushed by the chasing DF, he took a powerful shot from the front of the goal! The ball hit the bar with a loud sound, but it bounced off Nagasaki, the GK who made the save, and went into the goal!! Iwakawa's aggressive attitude and left-footed cannon shot broke through Nagoya's DF line, who had not conceded a goal in the past two games, and led to the long-awaited opening goal.

　In the 37th minute, Kelly took a free shot from outside the penalty area. However, in the 38th minute, a pass to Toda, who was trying to break through the DF, was cleared by the DF and fed to the front line to GK Narazaki. This pass was then passed to MF Julian, who had broken through the offside line and ran into the goal area to take a free shot. The shot narrowly missed the goal, avoiding a dangerous situation, but it was the only shot by Nagoya in the first half. They were able to take control of the game and ended the first half with a good atmosphere.

Caught up in a tie, fierce comeback but...

　In the second half, Nagoya made a substitution. MF Yamaguchi replaced Sakaigawa in the defensive midfield, and FW Hara replaced Okuyama on the right side. With Weslley, Hara, and Fujimoto as the front three, and Vastic as the attacking midfielder, Nagoya found their rhythm. In the 49th minute, Toda powerfully headed in a cross from Miyazawa on the left side, but GK Narazaki made a quick save with one hand. Nagoya continued to push Tokyo back, and in the 55th minute, Hara broke through on the right side and passed to Fujimoto in the center for a shot. The Tokyo DF blocked it with their bodies, but in the 56th minute, Weslley dribbled and took a shot from the left side. Vastic took a shot on the rebound that was blocked by the DF. In the following 57th minute, Fujimoto took a powerful shot from the left side, threatening the goal.

　And in the 59th minute, when a pass from Vastitch reached the front line, Kanazawa cleared it with a header while retreating. The ball then fell in front of Nagoya MF Nakamura, who trapped it with his chest and took a powerful shot from outside the penalty area. The ball was sucked into the top left corner, and Doi couldn't do anything to stop it, resulting in a beautiful goal that tied the game.

　Tokyo, who wants to counterattack, substituted Abe for Amaral in the 67th minute. In order to live up to expectations, Abe received a pass from Ishikawa → Kelly's post in the 75th minute and took a shot in the penalty area. In the 78th minute, Baba was substituted for Toda. In the 79th minute, Abe dropped Miyazawa's long pass and Kelly took a shot. In the 81st minute, Miyazawa took a long shot from the left side of Kanazawa's cross, but both shots missed the goal. In the 86th minute, Baba made a sharp through pass from the midfield into the penalty area. Ishikawa, who ran in from the right side, appeared to have been fouled, but there was no whistle. Despite launching a fierce attack, a free kick obtained by Baba being fouled in front of the goal in the 89th minute did not result in a goal, and the game ended. It was a frustrating draw following the previous round's match against Cerezo. However, there are still challenges, but the team's condition is improving. Four days later, they will face Kashiwa in the Nabisco Cup, followed by a tough match against Kashima in the league one week later. They want to turn this into a winning streak by utilizing their league-leading attacking power in terms of shots taken.

【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"I always had the image of shooting in mind when going for a goal, even if it was a forceful attempt or with my left foot. However, in the second half, we couldn't hold on when we needed to. I also regret the goal we conceded from my own pass mistake to Vastic."《Miyazawa》"The opponent's defense had height, so we were using both near and far free kicks. My awareness towards my own shots has definitely changed from last year. I really want to score soon."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the first half, we were able to create many good opportunities as planned. Ishikawa and Kaji on the right, Toda on the left, or Toda moving inside with Kanazawa making runs, we were able to utilize Amaral and Kelly in the center while spreading the field. However, we lacked finishing power. Even with Ishikawa's goal, it was because he had been working on left-footed shots every day. I think we are starting to see the results of that. In the second half, Nagoya made two substitutions and played with a front three. We were hoping to hold on during the time when Vastic dropped back, but we ended up dropping back too much. Amaral dropped back to receive the ball, and Nagoya took advantage of that. Nakamura scored against us last year as well, but his shot was excellent. Amaral is still not at 100% fitness, so we were considering bringing in Abe or Baba at some point. Ideally, we would like to pair Amaral with Abe, but their conditions are not aligned. Abe has the ability to drift to the side and has speed, while Baba has skill. We will continue to combine these factors and improve."

"I want to make the team that can play better soccer and earn 3 points."

[Nagoya Verdenik Coach Press Conference Summary] "Neither the content nor the results were satisfactory. If there was anything to be satisfied with, it was the last 25 minutes of the second half, where we had chances and scored points, and we were able to take control and play our own game. However, it was too short of a time to be satisfied. In the first half, we were passive. (The high temperature) weather may have affected us more than the opponent, as Tokyo played fresher and more aggressively. In the second half, I think the two substitute players brought the team back to life."