Defeat the tough opponent Kobe and escape from the lower ranks!

　In Sec. 6 of the league match, we face the tough opponent, Kobe. In past league matches against Kobe, Tokyo has a record of 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 losses, which is overwhelmingly unfavorable. Although we achieved our first league victory against them last year in the 2nd stage with a dramatic V goal by Miyazawa, we have never won against them in 90 minutes. Tokyo is currently in 12th place with a record of 1 win, 2 draws, and 2 losses after Sec. 5, and we want to win here to escape the lower ranks and find a clue to advance to the upper ranks.

　The Tokyo members are missing two players, DF Moniwa and MF Ishikawa, who are participating in the U-22 Japan national team for the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the Athens Olympics. Additionally, MF Miyazawa, a key player in the midfield, is absent due to a left foot injury. It was an emergency situation with three central players missing at the same time, but the starting lineup featured FW Amaral as the lone striker, Kelly as the attacking midfielder, Abe on the right wing, Toda on the left wing, and Asari along with Miura, who made his first start in 14 months, in the holding midfield role. The defense consisted of Kaji on the right, Kanazawa on the left, with Jean and Fujiyama, who made his first appearance in the league this season, as center-backs. Additionally, on the bench were MF Sakae and MF Kaji, along with DF Tokunaga, a specially designated player currently enrolled at Waseda University, making for a fresh lineup with three players making their debut in the squad.

　On the other hand, Kobe has struggled with a record of 2 wins and 3 losses, placing them 10th, and they continue to face a tough situation with no victories in home games. Additionally, at the venue for today's match, Kobe Wing Stadium, there is a bitter jinx of having never won since its opening, and they are expected to come out in full force to secure their first home victory of the season and their first win at Kobe Wing Stadium. This crucial match, where both teams cannot afford to lose, kicked off at 2:04 PM.

Tokyo's 'attacking football' overwhelms Kobe

　The "attacking soccer" showdown between Tokyo, currently ranked first in shots, and second-ranked Kobe, saw Tokyo take the initiative early in the match. In the 3rd minute, Toda broke free from a vertical pass by Kelly from midfield and charged towards the goal. He was cleared by the goalkeeper just a moment too soon, but Toda's sharp movement was enough to pose a threat to the opponent. In the 8th minute, from a scramble in front of the Kobe goal, Kelly delivered a through pass into space on the left side, allowing Toda to break free again. He returned a decisive ground pass from a tight angle near the goal line, but it was cleared by the defender, missing the opportunity. Tokyo continued their offensive efforts with Amaral's long-range shot in the 10th minute and Kelly's super long shot in the 12th minute. In the 14th minute, Abe received a vertical pass on the right side, dribbled past the Kobe defender with speed, and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot from a tight angle near the goal line, but it was deflected by the goalkeeper and did not result in a goal.

　Kobe's defense, led by Shijikurei and midfielder Allison, focused on collecting the ball for the tall and hefty FW Ozeas, with midfielder Yamaguchi and FW Bando making runs to connect with the ball dropped by the post. However, Jean tightly marked Ozeas, preventing him from making an impact. Kobe's support after passing to Ozeas was also slow, leading to many instances where Ozeas was isolated up front, making it difficult to create attacking opportunities. Additionally, Fujiyama's sharp defensive efforts kept Kobe's FW Bando from making plays, and he quickly reacted to clear the ball after competing with Jean, effectively preventing Kobe from having any real chances despite making his league debut this season.

　Tokyo's pace continued. In the 29th minute, Miura received a pass in the space on the left side, dribbled forward, and sent a superb cross to the center, where Kelly ran in and shook the goal net, but unfortunately it was offside. In the following 33rd minute, Kanazawa sent a long pass from the left side to the right side, and Abe returned the ball directly to the center, where Miura ran in and timed his volley perfectly, but was unable to shoot due to a solid defensive play. In the 34th minute, Amaral had a free header from a cross by DF Kaji, who advanced up the right side, but it went over the bar.

　On the other hand, Kobe, who struggled to create attacking opportunities, adopted a style of simply sending in crosses from the sides starting from the latter part of the first half. The aerial duels between Jean and Ozeas, which occurred repeatedly, became a highlight of the match due to their intensity, but Jean, who had just become a father three days ago, consistently headed the ball away with determination. The only real danger came in the 39th minute when Bando unleashed a powerful shot from a scramble in front of Tokyo's goal, but GK Doi deflected it right in front, and although it seemed like it could be followed up, Fujiyama cleared it decisively. This was the only major scare, but Tokyo's attacks could not break through the strength and stable play of Kobe's key defender, Shijikurei, and despite dominating the offense, they went into halftime with a score of 0-0.

Finally here! Abe scores a beautiful goal to take the lead!

　"Let's not overcomplicate things in front of the goal and just take simple shots," instructed Coach Hara at halftime, and this would later lead to a valuable opening goal. Tokyo, just like in the first half, launched aggressive attacks, with Kelly taking shots in the 5th, 6th, and 11th minutes, but none found the net.

　On the other hand, Kobe, reflecting on the first half, did not just recklessly send the ball to the front line in the second half. Instead, Yabuta in the midfield positioned himself on the left side to create opportunities, with support from Allison and Yamaguchi, building rhythm. In the 55th minute, a pass from Yabuta on the left side found Bando in front of the goal, who sharply turned to evade his marker and took a shot, but it went over the bar. In the following 59th minute, a back pass from Tokyo's defense reached Bando, who was free on the right side of the goal and unleashed a powerful shot, but it went wide to the left, crossing in front of the goal. After that, shots were taken consecutively in the 61st, 65th, 66th, and 68th minutes, but thanks to a determined defense centered around Jean, they did not allow a goal.

　Kobe's attacking rhythm improved, and as the overall balance leaned forward, a large space opened up behind the shallow line of Kobe's defense. Tokyo's counterattacks became effective after defending, and in the 69th minute, Kaji picked up an opponent's clearance mistake and charged straight towards the goal, but unfortunately shot just wide to the right.

　In the 73rd minute, Kelly intercepted an opponent's pass mistake in the front line and quickly passed to Amaral, who had moved to the right side. Amaral dribbled forward and passed to Abe, who was momentarily free just before the central penalty area. Abe trapped the ball and lifted it, then struck it with a powerful impact as it fell, sending the ball with a strong drive into the Kobe goal. After the goal, Abe celebrated with a fist pump and expressed his joy with a "backflip" performance. Although there had been a period where they were somewhat pushed back by Kobe, they successfully scored a valuable opening goal with Abe's first league goal.

In the end, we achieved a complete shutout against the tough opponent, Kobe, with a determined team defense!

　Kobe, trailing by one goal, instead of feeling down, launched a furious attack for their first home victory of the season and their first victory at Kobe Wing Stadium. In the 31st minute, a strong shot came from a ball that rolled out from a scramble just outside the penalty area, but Kanazawa threw himself to block it. Then, in the 35th minute, Ozeas and Jean competed for a vertical pass, and Ozeas fell inside the penalty area, but this was deemed a fair play with no foul.

　In the midst of this, Tokyo aimed for an additional goal in the 36th minute, with a flowing series of precise passes from Kaji to Kelly and then to Miura on the right side, breaking through. Miura unleashed a powerful shot from the right inside the penalty area, but unfortunately missed just 50cm to the left of the goal.

　Tokyo made substitutions in the 89th minute with 19-year-old Tokunaga and 17-year-old Kajiyama. In stoppage time, they responded to Kobe's fierce attack, which included DF Shijikurei joining the offense, with their trademark "all-out defense." Tokunaga cleared several cross balls coming in from both the right and left with his impressive heading, and in a moment when a shot was taken from the left side of the penalty area, Fujiyama threw himself like a goalkeeper to block it, fiercely countering Kobe's onslaught. In the end, they allowed Shijikurei to head the ball free from close range in front of the goal, but Doi reacted sharply and made a "miracle save" to keep the goal intact. Finally, the time was up. Abe scored his first league goal, they achieved their first 90-minute win against Kobe, Tokunaga and Kajiyama made their league debuts, and they celebrated their first victory in the inaugural match at Kobe Wing Stadium, making it a joyful win filled with "firsts." With this, Tokyo finished Sec. 6 of the league with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, returning to 5th place and rising to 10th in the standings. The stage is set for the next match against G Osaka on May 5.

【Player Comments】《Abe》"I was frustrated that I couldn't score in the opening match, and I really wanted to score in the league match, so I was happy. In that moment, I was able to hit the ball with a drive shot as practiced just as it was dropping. My foot is still about 80% healed, but I can manage this much. I had planned to do a backflip after my foot fully healed, but I was so happy that I ended up doing it." 《Miura》"Recently, even when the performance was good, we kept drawing or losing, so I really wanted to win today and take the 3 points. I'm really happy we won."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "With consecutive matches ongoing, Moniwa and Ishikawa are absent due to Olympic qualifiers, and Miyazawa is out with an injury, so the game development was a bit different than usual. However, even with the absence of these three, Fujiyama performed very well, and Miura, starting for the first time in 14 months, managed to control the game like a veteran and helped us through tough moments. Abe also scored a goal just like in practice, which was great. Honestly, I feel relieved. Although we scored four goals and won decisively in the Nabisco Cup, we have been struggling to win in the league, and I didn't want to have consecutive losses, so I am happy that the team fought together today and won. I believe this victory holds great significance."

[Summary of Coach Soejima's Press Conference] "We struggled with ball control due to the rough pitch conditions. However, this is the same for both teams, so it's not an excuse. In the first half, our midfield connection was poor, so at halftime, I instructed the MF players to act as a cushion between the DF and FW, which improved slightly in the second half, but we can't win if we don't score. As we have more matches coming up, I want to prepare well for the next game while considering the situation of injured players."