We cannot afford to lose, our first J1 match against Oita!

　The 1st stage has reached the 9th match, and we are entering the second half of the season. This match will be against Oita Trinita, who has been promoted to J1 this season. Although this is their first match in J1, Oita is currently in 14th place, but they showed resilience in their last match against Kashima, resulting in a draw. Coach Kobayashi has expressed that he is looking forward to today's match, which has boosted their confidence. Their solid defense and powerful counterattacks make them a formidable opponent that should not be underestimated.

　However, as a "senior in J1," we cannot afford to lose. We want to celebrate the last home game before the break of the 1st stage with a victory. This match will see Asari suspended due to accumulated warnings. We will approach the game with a double pivot of Miyazawa and Miura. Additionally, Ishikawa returns to the starting lineup for the first time in four matches as the right midfielder. We set up with Amaral and Abe as the two strikers, ready for kickoff.

Abe scores from Ishikawa's through pass, taking the lead!

　From the start, the midfield battle continued fiercely, and the first chance came to Oita. In the 4th minute, after building up the attack with a series of passes, a through pass was played to MF Yoshida who broke behind Tokyo's defense. However, Tokyo's defenders quickly responded and blocked the shot. Tokyo also had a chance in the 6th minute when Abe headed a cross from Ishikawa to Kanazawa, but the shot went over the goal. In the 11th minute, Ishikawa dribbled swiftly through the midfield and passed to Abe on the right side. Miyazawa ran in from behind to shoot the cleared cross, but the ball curved to the right. In the 16th minute, Ishikawa’s cross from the left side found Abe making a free run inside the penalty area, but his trap was too large and the goalkeeper blocked the shot. Then, immediately after that, Tokyo regained possession in their own half. Passing from Kaji to Ishikawa, Ishikawa delivered a perfectly timed through pass from near the center circle to Abe, who broke through between Oita’s defenders. Receiving the ball near the penalty arc, Abe calmly advanced into the area and scored with his right foot! With an outstanding combination play between Ishikawa and Abe, Tokyo took the early lead.

Additional goal by Kelly with a skillful shot!

　In the 24th minute, Kelly made a perfect header shot from a cross by Kaji, who cut in from the right side, but it just missed to the left of the goal. In the 28th minute, Abe made a run from a long pass by Kelly but was caught offside. Tokyo aimed to take the lead and sought to widen the pitch for additional goals, but they did not fully seize control of the game. However, in the 36th minute, a ball connected to the free MF Umeda in front of the area from Oita FW Takamatsu's post, but Kanazawa quickly blocked the shot with his body. After that, Jean cleared Oita's cross, and Shigenobu and Kanazawa showed concentrated defense against the runs behind. In first-half stoppage time, they allowed MF Terakawa to enter the penalty area freely, but Shigenobu made a sliding cut. They did not allow Oita to create a decisive chance and ended the first half with a one-goal lead.

　Tokyo wants "one more goal." They aggressively press from the front to win the ball and push Oita back. Then, in the 47th minute, Kelly received a throw-in from Kaji on the right side near the penalty area, forcefully charging into the box and evading two opposing defenders. He took a shot with a toe kick from just in front of the right side of the goal area. The ball pierced the left corner and scored!! Kelly's magnificent shot reminded everyone of Ronaldo's skillful goal against Turkey in last year's World Cup Semifinal Round, securing an additional goal at the perfect moment!

　Tokyo gained momentum with this goal. From here, the match became fast-paced and intense for both sides. In the 59th minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Kaji and broke through to the front line. He picked up speed and delivered a cross, but it was cut off by the defense and did not reach Abe. Following that, Ishikawa received a pass from Kanazawa's attack and took a grounded mid-range shot. In the 63rd minute, Ishikawa received a long ball from Miyazawa and continued to create chances with another cross from the right side.

Oita scored a goal in response, but victory at home

　However, Oita was not silent either. In the 67th minute, they substituted DF Yamazaki for MF Uchimura. They changed to a three-back formation, placing Uchimura as left MF to face Ishikawa, and moved left MF Terakawa to a defensive midfield position to strengthen the midfield. In the 71st minute, Terakawa took a long-range shot, which seemed to signal a counterattack. In the 73rd minute, MF Komorita picked up a clearance in front of the goal and unleashed a powerful long-range shot, but Dohi made the save. Umeda's follow-up shot was blocked by Kanazawa, who threw his body in the way. Conversely, in the 75th minute, Tokyo's Abe drifted to the right side and became a target, and Ishikawa, who ran in from the right, took a shot. Unfortunately, it hit the crossbar and missed the goal.

　Oita brought on FW Andrazinha in place of FW Rodrigo in the 76th minute, while Tokyo substituted Baba for Abe in the 78th minute. Immediately after, Tokyo seized a loose ball in midfield and quickly transitioned to attack, with Ishikawa sprinting up the right side and delivering a perfect cross in front of the goal. Baba was free at the far side and headed the softly floated ball, but his first touch shot went just to the right, missing a crucial chance.

　Then, one minute later, Tokyo cut off Oita's attack in their own half and launched a counterattack, but Oita intercepted Baba's pass on the right side. They connected to Andrajina in the center, who passed forward. FW Takamatsu received the ball in front of the goal, evaded Jean with one touch, and scored. It was a truly frustrating goal conceded. In the 84th minute, Ishikawa received the ball from Miyazawa on the left side and unleashed a powerful dribble shot, but it went just wide to the left. However, Oita quickly advanced from goalkeeper Okanaka, pushing forward rapidly. Andrajina held firm in the penalty area, and Uchimura, running in from behind, took consecutive shots, but both were blocked by Jean and Moiniwa in front of the goal. In the 86th minute, Andrajina shot from Takamatsu's post but was blocked. In the final minutes, the situation was tense with no moment to relax, but at the 89th minute, Fujiyama was brought on for Miura to strengthen midfield defense, and they held on until time was up. Unable to convert chances and struggling against Oita's counterattack, Tokyo's two early goals made the difference, securing 3 points.

【Player Comments】《Abe》"I need to be able to play on the side or anywhere, but playing as a forward in a two-top formation made it easier because I was closer to the goal. I was offside, but I think it's important to keep making those runs behind the defense." 《Ishikawa》"(The pass that led to Abe's opening goal) was because Abe had the same vision as me and led the play, so I just had to deliver the pass accordingly. It was a tough game at 2-1, but I think the build-up to the goal was good. If I had scored there, it would have made things easier."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Oita is a team that defends well as a unit and launches counterattacks. Since we expected them to sit back, we started with Amaral and Abe as the two forwards, and Kelly as the attacking midfielder. Until the previous match, we had the ball to some extent with Amaral as the lone forward, but while holding the ball too much, the opponent would recover and we faced difficulties, so we tried to keep it as simple as possible. Ideally, we wanted to move the ball more and break down their defense from the sides. Abe scored the opening goal in his strongest style early on, but we wanted to score an additional goal, preferably in the first half. Recently, we had many shots and corners, but today we only had 12 shots and 1 corner. It wasn't an outstanding performance, but it was good to secure the 3 points we desperately needed. From now on, Baba and Ishikawa must finish their chances and help us get the third goal. When Amaral scores, the team’s momentum will surely rise. We will prepare well for a week and face Ichihara, currently said to be the strongest, in the next match."

[Summary of Oita Coach Kobayashi's Press Conference] "Tokyo has many attacking players, and since it's a home game, we expected them to apply pressure from quite early on and play attacking football. Because of that, I thought there would be space in the midfield, but they started very solidly. The pitch was deep, and maybe both teams were heavy on their feet, so it was a cautious start. In that situation, Oita made many mistakes, but I think we managed to get off to a good start. However, we conceded the first goal due to a momentary lapse. Good moments appeared from the middle of the first half, and even after conceding, I thought the opponent would tire in the second half, and bringing in attacking players might create opportunities. Just then, conceding the second goal through Kelly's individual skill was a big blow. However, down 0-2, we changed the system to try to score, and dribbling in midfield spread to the sides, allowing for simpler play. The urgency to score at least one goal and Tokyo's mindset to defend worked in our favor. We wanted to play like that from the start. It was a rather heavy game, but I want to praise the players for not giving up and scoring one goal."