Celebrate the final home match with a victory and advance to the top ranks

　Sec. 14 will be the final home game of this stage, where we will face Kyoto Purple SANGA at the Japan National Stadium. The match will be held on Sunday, one day later than other matches, and the slim hopes for the championship that remained as of yesterday have been extinguished. Additionally, today we are in a difficult situation with Kelly and Baba suspended. If we lose easily here, we won't be able to aim for higher rankings or hope for battles that lead to the future. With Amaral at the top, Ishikawa on the right, Abe on the left, and Toda in the second line, we aim for victory.

　On the other hand, Kyoto is currently at the bottom with 7 points, in a difficult situation. However, with the arrival of new coach Pim, the mood has been refreshed. A desperate counterattack is expected to rise. However, they cannot afford to lose in order to respond to the cheers of many people at home. During the day, it was clear and sunny for the first time in a while, but as evening approached, a coolness was felt, and the game started with a kickoff in Tokyo.

Break through the DF, and take the lead with Toda's looping shot!

　In the first minute, a pass from Miyazawa reached Abe, who broke through behind the left side defender, and Abe charged into the penalty area. He sent a sharp ground pass towards the goal, and Toda jumped in from the center. Although Toda just barely missed connecting with the ball, Tokyo had a big chance right from the start. Kyoto earned a goal kick from this play, but Tokyo picked up the ball in their own half and connected it to Amaral. Although they were blocked by the opposing defense, Miyazawa picked up the loose ball and quickly sent a lob pass to the front line. This ball perfectly reached Toda's feet, who had started running behind the defender, and Toda executed a looping shot over the head of the advancing goalkeeper. The ball traced a trajectory that seemed to carry the hopes of the stands and went into the goal! Following today's strategy of "breaking through behind the opposing defenders," they scored the opening goal.

　With an early lead, Tokyo aggressively pushed the match forward, hinting at a potential high-scoring game. In the 3rd minute, Ishikawa received a free kick from the left side by Miyazawa and took a shot. In the 8th minute, Toda and Amaral dashed forward after a long pass from Kanazawa. Amaral picked up the cleared ball from the GK's header and attempted an overhead shot. In the 9th minute, after winning the ball in midfield, Ishikawa made a well-timed through pass from his own half. Toda broke free in front of the goal for a one-on-one big chance against the GK, but unfortunately, he was thwarted by the GK's save.

　Tokyo repeatedly sent the ball between the GK and DF, aiming for the goal. In the 12th minute, Ishikawa's early cross was mishandled by the opposing DF, and Amaral picked up the loose ball and shot. However, it went wide to the left of the goal, and after this shot, Kyoto took control of the game.

Despite losing control, Doi made a series of fine plays.

　In the 16th minute, Kyoto MF Matsui made a tricky pass from the left side of the midfield. This reached the free MF Ishimaru in the center, who then played a through ball to MF Suzuki Shin, who had made a run into the goal area from the left side. The danger was averted by Dohi's brave advance, but in the 25th minute, Matsui sent a cross to DF Kakuta, who overlapped on the right side, forcing Dohi to concede a corner kick. This corner kick spilled to the feet of DF Hayashi, who was in close proximity to the goal, resulting in a decisive shot. However, Dohi managed to block it with one hand.

　Thanks to Dohi's fine play, Tokyo does not allow a goal. However, in the midfield, they fail to apply pressure, allowing Kyoto to dominate and push them back for extended periods. Until the 12th minute, they managed to take 6 shots while keeping Kyoto at 0, but by the 37th minute, they had conceded 6 shots. Finally, in the 42nd minute, Abe ran into the right side of the penalty area from a goal kick and took a shot. In the 43rd minute, after stealing the opponent's goal kick, Ishikawa sprinted down the right side. He cut back inside to shoot, but the opponent's defender blocked it. They only managed to score one goal and went into halftime.

　In the second half, Tokyo replaced Miura with Asari, positioning Toda on the left and Abe up front. Kyoto brought in midfielder Ohno to replace Matsui. Shortly after the start, Ohno sent a through pass to forward Machida, who ran into the area, but Doih caught it. In the 47th minute, Miyazawa took a long-range shot for Tokyo, but it missed the target. However, Kyoto maintained their dominance by moving the ball around effectively, and in the 54th minute, Ohno passed to the right side, where a free Angleda shot. In the 56th minute, midfielder Nakabaru delivered a grounded cross from the right side, which Machida received in the center, trapping it and turning around. In an instant, he became free and took a shot from close range, but Doih made a brave save to avert a critical danger. In the attack, in the 63rd minute, Amaral's drop led to a long pass from Miyazawa to Asari, who had made a run forward. Asari brought the ball into the penalty area and took a shot, but it was blocked by the defender.

Crowned with victory despite the struggle, rising to 4th place!

　In the 64th minute, Kyoto substituted DF Kazuki Suzuki for FW Kurobe, who returned from injury after about two months. They adopted an attacking formation of 3-4-3. In the 65th minute, Kyoto launched an attack using Kurobe's post from a quick counter, but Kanazawa snuffed out the danger and countered. Ishikawa took a shot from the right side, earning a corner kick. In the 70th minute, Suzuki came on for Abe. In the 73rd minute, Ohno from Kyoto took a mid-range shot, and in the 74th and 75th minutes, they faced consecutive corners but defended well. From Doih's throw-in, they initiated a counterattack, with Suzuki dribbling up the right side and shooting as he entered the right area. However, the ball veered to the left.

　Asari put his body on the line, and Shigeno showcased unwavering defense. In the 86th minute, Fujiyama was brought on for Miyazawa, successfully halting Kyoto's attacks. However, in the final stages, including 4 minutes of stoppage time, they couldn't create any chances, leading to the final whistle. Although the match progression was not particularly favorable, they held on to their one-goal lead, achieving a clean sheet victory with five consecutive matches without conceding in the league. Their ranking also rose to 4th place, finishing the 1st stage home games with 5 wins and 2 draws, remaining unbeaten.

　After the match, all the players gathered to express their gratitude for the passionate support from the stands throughout the stage. Coach Hara stated, "We only managed to score one goal today. However, we will work hard to utilize our current defensive strength to score more goals. We always appreciate your enthusiastic support, and we hope for your continued encouragement in the future," as he vowed to strive for success in the final match against Iwata and in future battles.

【Player Comments】《Fujiyama》"My aim was to win the ball in midfield. Whether as a defensive midfielder or in the center, my role was the same and it wasn't difficult. Kyoto's attacks were okay in that they allowed shots from a distance. However, while it wasn't scary, there were dangerous moments. Not losing here is significant. I believe this is a factor in our current ranking." 《Suzuki》"When Ishikawa has the ball, I thought about moving quickly, picking up the ball near Amaral, and running into the space created by Toda. I wanted to keep challenging once I received the ball. (There were some close shots, but) it was a situation where I should have scored, so I can't be satisfied. I think I could have shot with my right foot as well."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "It turned out to be a very tough match. Kyoto welcomed the new coach Pim, and I thought that if the ball got behind the defense, it would create a chance, and indeed, we scored quickly. Today, Kelly was suspended, and it was difficult to find someone to replace him. We simply had Toda burst into space from the second line and had Abe run as part of our strategy. At first, we were able to apply pressure and win the ball to create space effectively. If we could have scored another goal at that time, there was a possibility of a large score. Kyoto was compact, and when they got the ball forward, their support was quick, and we were countered while trying to make short passes. We struggled with the midfield development and switching sides. Miura was not in his best condition due to a foot injury, so in the second half, we brought in Asari to pick up loose balls and focused on delivering crosses to Amaral from both sides. Of course, Doi was solid in defense, but we managed to secure three points despite the difficulties without Kelly and Baba. However, we need to improve the quality of various plays. I believe our true worth will be tested in the next away match. We aim to win, including a payback for last year. I think that will push the team one step forward."

[Summary of Coach Pim's Press Conference in Kyoto] "Considering that we are at the bottom of the standings and the away situation, we had to do something completely different from the play we fought today. We conceded a goal in the second minute, and fighting for 88 minutes while taking risks is not something we should do given our current situation. For the first 15 to 20 minutes, it seemed we forgot the tactics we discussed before the match, which was very disappointing. There was no organization at all, but it was lucky that we only conceded one goal. In the last 20 minutes of the first half, we managed to keep the ball and control the game, creating a few chances. In the second half, we were able to push most of the time into the opponent's half. I substituted Ohno for Matsui to maintain possession. In the last 25 minutes, I brought in Kurobe to put pressure on the Tokyo defense. We took risks to score and exhausted all possible means, but unfortunately, we couldn't find the goal. Perhaps luck is also needed to score. However, we are playing in a way that allows the opponent to score too easily, and we need to fight more professionally."