Defeat the tough opponent Kobe and escape from the bottom!

　In the 6th round of the league, Tokyo will face a tough opponent, Kobe. In the past league matches against Kobe, Tokyo has a record of 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 losses, overwhelmingly disadvantageous. Although they achieved their first victory in the league last year with a dramatic V goal by Miyazawa in the 2nd stage, they have never won against Kobe in a full 90 minutes. Tokyo is currently in 12th place with 1 win, 2 draws, and 2 losses at the end of the previous round (=5th round), and they desperately need to win here to escape the bottom and potentially move up in the rankings.

　Tokyo's members, MF Shigenoba and MF Ishikawa, who are participating in the U-22 Japan national team for the second round of the Athens Olympics Asian qualifiers, are absent, as well as MF Miyazawa, who is a key player in the midfield, due to a left foot injury. It was an emergency situation where three key players were missing at the same time, but the starting lineup consisted of FW Amaral as the lone striker, Kelly as the attacking midfielder, Abe as the right MF, Toda as the left MF, Asari as the defensive midfielder, and Miura, who made his first start in 14 months, as the center back, with Kaji on the right, Kanazawa on the left, and Jean and Fujiyama, who made his first appearance in the league this season, as the center backs. In addition, the substitutes included MF Sakoi, MF Kajiyama, and DF Tokunaga, who is a special designated player while studying at Waseda University, making it a fresh lineup with three new players joining the team for the first time.

　On the other hand, Kobe has not been performing well with only 2 wins and 3 losses, ranking 10th. They are also facing a difficult situation of not having won a home game yet. Furthermore, at the Kobe Wing Stadium, where the game will be held, there is a bitter jinx of not having won since its opening. Today, they will surely come out with a winning mindset, aiming for their first home victory of the season and their first victory at the Kobe Wing Stadium. This important match, which will determine the future for both teams, kicked off at 2:04 PM in a heated battle.

Tokyo's "Attacking Soccer" Dominates Kobe

　The "attacking soccer" showdown between Tokyo, currently in first place for shots, and Kobe, in second place, saw Tokyo dominate the early stages of the game. In the 3rd minute, Toda broke through on a vertical pass from Kelly in the midfield and charged towards the goal. Although the GK cleared it just a moment earlier, Toda's quick movements were enough to threaten the opponent. In the following 8 minutes, Kelly once again passed through the space on the left side from the chaos in front of Kobe's goal, and Toda broke through again. He crossed a decisive ground pass from just near the goal line, but it was cleared by the DF and the chance was missed. Tokyo continued to attack with Amorao's middle shot in the 10th minute and Kelly's super long shot in the 12th minute. In the 14th minute, Abe broke through the Kobe DF with a speedy dribble and charged towards the goal from the right side. He took a strong left-footed shot from a difficult angle near the goal line, but it was saved by the GK and did not result in a goal.

　Kobe has taken an attacking style of play, with DF Shijikurei and MF Allison as the starting point, collecting the ball to the tall and bulky FW Ozeas, and then MF Yamaguchi and FW Haruto jumping in to create chances. However, Jean marked Ozeas tightly and did not allow him to do his job. Kobe also struggled to create attacking opportunities as their support for Ozeas after passing the ball was slow, resulting in Ozeas being isolated on the front line. Additionally, Fujiyama's sharp defensive play prevented Kobe's FW Haruto from doing his job, quickly reacting to the ball after Jean's challenge and clearing it. Despite making his first appearance in the league this season, Jean did not give Kobe any chances to score.

　After that, the Tokyo pace continued. In the 29th minute, Miura received a pass on the left side and dribbled to send a perfect cross to the center, where Kelly ran in and shook the goal net, but unfortunately it was offside. In the following 33 minutes, 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 a volley, but was unable to shoot due to the DF's brave play. In the 34th minute, Amaral headed a cross from DF Kaji, who had moved up on the right side, but it went over the bar.

　On the other hand, Kobe, who couldn't create attacking opportunities, started to adopt a style of simply crossing from the sides towards the end of the first half. The aerial battles between Jean and Ozeas, which occurred multiple times, became a highlight of the match with their impressive power. However, Jean, who had just become a father three days ago, repelled them all with his determined headers. The only dangerous moment was in the 39th minute, when Haji's powerful shot was blocked by GK Doi, but Fujiyama cleared it away. This was the only major threat, as Tokyo's attacks were unable to break through the strong and stable defense of Kobe, led by their key DF, Josip KUZE. Despite dominating the game, Tokyo was unable to score and the first half ended with a 0-0 scoreline.

Finally out! First goal with Abe's beautiful goal!

　"Let's keep it simple and shoot in front of the goal," instructed coach Hara at halftime, which would later result in a valuable first goal. Tokyo continued their aggressive attack in the first half, with Kelly taking shots in the 5th, 6th, and 11th minutes, but none of them found the net.

　On the other hand, in the second half, Kobe learned from their mistakes in the first half and not only aimlessly hit the ball up front, but also created a rhythm by having Yabuta in the midfield provide support on the left side, with Allison and Yamaguchi also joining in. In the 55th minute, a pass was made from Yabuta on the left side to Hato who was positioned in front of the goal, and he quickly turned around, evading his marker and taking a shot, but it went over the bar. In the following 59th minute, a back pass from Tokyo's defense was given to Hato, who took a powerful shot from the right side, but it went wide to the left. After that, in the 61st, 65th, 66th, and 68th minutes, they continued to take shots, but thanks to Jean's determined defense, they did not allow any goals.

　Kobe's attacking rhythm improved and the balance became more aggressive overall, creating a large space behind Kobe's shallow defensive line. Tokyo's counterattacks became more effective after defending, and in the 69th minute, Agaki picked up the opponent's clearance mistake and made a run towards the goal, but unfortunately missed to the right of the goal.

　In the 73rd minute, Kelly, who picked up a missed pass from the opponent on the front line, quickly passed to Amaral who had moved to the right side. Amaral dribbled up and passed to Abe, who was momentarily free in front of the central penalty area. Abe controlled the ball and shot with a powerful impact as the ball dropped, and the ball was sucked into the Kobe goal with a strong drive. After scoring, Abe expressed his joy with a gutsy pose and a backflip performance. Although they were pushed back by Kobe for a while, Abe successfully scored a valuable opening goal in the league.

Complete shutout of tough opponent Kobe with a passionate team defense in the end!

　Kobe, who was trailing by one point, not only did not feel down, but also launched a fierce attack in order to win their first home victory of the season and their first victory at Kobe Wing Stadium. In the 31st minute, a strong shot was taken from the ball that rolled in front of the penalty area in a scramble, but Kanazawa threw himself in front of it and blocked it. In the 35th minute, Ozeas and Jean competed for a vertical pass, and Ozeas fell in the penalty area, but this was a fair play and no foul was given.

　In the midst of that, Tokyo also aimed for an additional point, and in the 36th minute, Kelly from the right side passed to Miura with a delicate passing play, but Miura's powerful shot from the right side of the penalty area narrowly missed the goal by 50cm.

　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 desperate attacks by involving even defender Shijikurei in the attack and using their trademark "all-out defense". Tokunaga also cleared numerous crosses with his impressive headers, and in one instance where a shot was taken from the left side of the penalty area, Fujiyama threw himself in front of the ball like a goalkeeper to block it. They showed great determination in the face of Kobe's fierce attacks. In the final moments, they allowed Shijikurei to have a free header from close range, but Tsuchi had a sharp reaction and made a "miracle save" to protect the goal. And finally, time was up. With Abe's first league goal, Tokyo's first 90-minute victory against Kobe, Tokunaga and Kajiyama's first league appearances, and their first victory at Kobe Wing Stadium, it was a happy victory full of "firsts". With this, Tokyo finished the 6th round of the league with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, returning to 10th place in the rankings. They are now ready for their next match against G Osaka on May 5th, on the best stage possible.

【Player Comments】《Abe》"I was frustrated that I couldn't score in the opening game, so I was happy to finally score in the league game. In that situation, I was able to shoot with a drive shot just like I practiced. My foot is still about 80% recovered, but I can still play at this level. I was planning to do a "backflip" after my foot fully healed, but I couldn't help but do it out of happiness."《Miura》"Even though we've been playing well lately, we've been stuck with draws or losses, so we really wanted to win today and get 3 points. I'm really happy that we were able to win."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the midst of consecutive games, Moshino and Ishikawa are not in the Olympic qualifiers, and Miyazawa is also absent due to injury, so the game development was a little different from usual. However, even though those three were not there, Fujiyama was very good and Miura, who started for the first time in 14 months, showed his veteran game control and helped us overcome difficult situations. Abe also scored a goal as he practiced, which was great. To be honest, I am relieved. In the Nabisco Cup, we scored four goals and won comfortably, but in the league games, we have been unable to win and have been on a losing streak. We didn't want to continue that, so today the team fought together and it's great that we were able to win. I think this one win is very meaningful."

[Kobe Vice-Manager Imajima's Press Conference Summary] "We struggled with ball control on the rough pitch. However, this is not an excuse as it is the same condition for the opponent. In the first half, the connection in the midfield was poor, so at halftime, I instructed the MF players to act as a cushion between the DF and FW, and in the second half, it improved a little, but we cannot win if we cannot score. As the game continues, we want to prepare well while considering the situation of injured players for the next match."