2nd stage begins, Cerezo's attacking soccer is turned back!

　The 2nd stage begins today. The first match will be against Cerezo Osaka at home. Cerezo finished 5th in the 1st stage with 8 wins, 1 draw, and 6 losses. Their total goal difference of 29 goals scored and 29 goals conceded truly reflects their "attacking football" style. Despite missing FW Nishizawa today, they still have the height of Baron, the Japan national team's Yu OKUBO, the speed of Morishima, and other talented players to threaten the opposing team. In the previous match of the 1st stage, they only managed a scoreless draw, so they will do everything they can to contain their strong attacking force and make a good start in this stage.

　Tokyo's starting lineup includes Ishikawa and Tokunaga, who returned from Egypt three days ago after participating in the U-22 Japan national team expedition, and Amaral leading the line as usual in a 4-5-1 formation. The match started with Tokyo's kickoff in heavy rain and a surprisingly low temperature of 21.5℃, not at all like summer.

Amaral's first goal of the season, long-awaited!!

　Concerns about the condition of Ishikawa and Tokunaga, but Ishikawa enters the area from a pass cut inside the opponent's territory in the first minute. Then, although it was offside, he boldly jumps out to the front line. In the second minute, he aimed directly for the goal from the left FK and showed an aggressive attitude. In the fourth minute, Cerezo's FW Okubo shoots after clearing the cross from left MF Sato. In the seventh minute, the defensive midfielder Akeu takes a long shot. In the twelfth minute, Tokyo's Kelly heads a cross from Kanazawa on the left, but fails to time it well and misses the goal by a large margin. In the fourteenth minute, Cerezo's Baron heads a free kick, but neither team is able to reach a decisive chance in the back and forth attack. The game continues with a back and forth battle.

　At 20 minutes, Kelly, who received Ishikawa's pass on the left side, was brought down in the left corner of the penalty area. Miyazawa's FK was pinpointed and met Amaral's head on the far side, but the ball was hit too hard and went outside the goal, cleared by Cerezo DF. Furthermore, Kanazawa picked up this cleared ball and shot, but the opponent DF blocked it. Cerezo also created opportunities with Okubo and Morishima in front of the goal, and at 22 minutes, MF Hisato connected the ball that was sent to the right side, and midfielder Nuno shot. It missed the meat and went far outside the goal, but showed an attacking form. At 24 minutes, Shigeno dropped the left CK with his head, and Miura picked up the DF's leftovers and shot. He aimed from a close distance, but it was just outside the frame.

　Both teams had many fouls and the game was interrupted by passing mistakes, but in the 26th minute, Tokunaga went up the right side and entrusted the ball to Ishikawa in the opponent's territory. Ishikawa returned the pass to the right side with a one-two, sending Tokunaga running. Tokunaga broke through the tackle of the opposing defender with a one-touch and sent a sharp low cross from the goal line. Amaral, who had dived near the goal, headed the ball in! The ball shook the net and went in!! From the perfect combination of Ishikawa and Tokunaga, who seemed to have decided the right side of the U-22 Japan national team, to the perfect cross and near-side shot, it was a beautiful goal scene that could be seen in a soccer textbook. With the long-awaited first goal of the season by Amaral, Tokyo took the lead.

Although they took the lead, they were dominated by Cerezo and it was a difficult situation.

　At 38 minutes, Cerezo's Yu OKUBO passed to Sato, who ran into the center and passed to the left side, despite being surrounded by Tokyo DF players. Sato cut back inside the area and took a shot, but Doi made the save. In the final minutes of the game, Tokyo used the width of the field to attack, but they were unable to create any additional scoring chances and the game ended in the second half.

　In the 46th minute of the second half, Ishikawa received a right throw-in and turned inside to shoot. However, after that, both teams often lost the ball due to pressing in the midfield. In the 53rd minute, Cerezo substituted Sato for MF Hara. In the 54th minute, Accel shot from outside the area after clearing a free kick. It was a well-controlled ball, but Tsuchi controlled it with his right hand. In the 56th minute, Tokyo's Kelly shot from Kanazawa's cross, but DF cut it off. In the 60th minute, Kelly passed to Amaral in the center from the right, then to Toda on the left, and Kanazawa picked up the rebound from the DF and passed it to the front line. Kelly, who had run into the goal area, took the corner kick.

　61 minutes, Cerezo substitutes DF Koga for Accel. Moving DF Yanagimoto to defensive midfielder, they pick up loose balls and attack. Tokyo substitutes Chan (Wu) for Ishikawa in the 65th minute, and Asari for Miura in the 68th minute. However, the flow of the game remains the same with Cerezo on the offensive. In the 76th minute, Chan avoids Yanagimoto's dribble on the left side and earns a corner kick. However, after clearing the corner kick, Yanagimoto crosses the ball again and Fube heads it in from the right side of the goal. The soft ball is sucked into the left side of the goal, and Tokyo is quickly tied up.

Abe's superb goal changes the flow and puts Cerezo in the lead!

　Tokyo, who wants to win, sends a neat pass to Chan in front of the goal at 82 minutes, with Miyazawa passing on the right side. Toda, who picked up the loose ball with his back to the goal, took a one-touch and turned around to shoot, but was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 84th minute, Abe was substituted for Miyazawa, who said, "I wanted to use Abe as a super sub in a crucial moment" (Manager Hara). It happened right after that.

　After Amaral won the header at the front line from Doi's goal kick and sent it back, Abe ran in at the drop. He quickly broke through the defense and slid the ball into the goal with his right foot, just a moment faster than the opponent's tackle. As the goalkeeper jumped out, Abe's shot followed the beautiful arc he had envisioned. All eyes in the stadium followed the trajectory, but the ball firmly found its way into the net, causing the stands to erupt in cheers and applause for Abe's super goal just after coming on as a substitute. The excitement continued for a while as the stands shook with cheers.

　After Amaral, the team gains momentum by taking the right people. Chan moves to the defensive midfield, Toda, Abe, and Kelly show quick movements up front, and in the 87th minute, Abe once again heads a pinpoint cross from Tokunaga, but it does not go in. Abe then runs up the right side and takes a daring shot, but it is saved by the GK. In the 89th minute, Kanazawa picks up a clearance from the opposing DF and passes it to Kelly. Kelly sends a back header to the front line, where Toda cuts in between the DF and takes a decisive shot, but it is unfortunately blocked by the GK. Tokyo runs around the field with vigor and shows a fierce attack. In defense, Amaral returns to the final line to stop Cerezo's attack, and in the end, the game ends 2-1. Amaral and Abe's beautiful first couple goal secures a close victory and earns their first win in the 2nd stage.

【Player Comments】《Amaral》"I am happy for both my goal and the team's victory. I always had the feeling that I had to score, but I also believed that I would eventually score. But more than that, I am happy that the team is improving. We were tied in the second half today, but we had a strong desire to win. We need to continue to have that strong mentality and improve even more."《Abe》"It was tough not being able to score for a long time. I wanted to come on in the second half, but time passed on the bench. But I never gave up until the end. If you give up, nothing will come of it. I just focused on scoring and wanted to do my job for the team. I think anyone can play for themselves. I want to continue to score for the team in the future."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "I am most happy that Amaral scored a goal today. He hasn't been able to score in the league matches, but I think this will lead to more goals for both Amaral and the team in the future. I was worried about the rain, but it was great that he scored the opening goal. However, just like in the Nabisco Cup match against Urawa, we were caught up by a corner kick today and it made me feel uneasy. That's when Abe scored at a good time. Recently, his strength of "not knowing what he will do" has been fading, but today he played like himself even in a short time on the field. In the Nabisco Cup match against Urawa, Kaji made a great assist, and I think that motivated Tokunaga to assist Amaral today. We saw the strength of our defense in various places, and Fujiyama also did well. Chan (=Wu) is great at winning the ball and not being afraid to go into challenges with his whole body. Usually, Amaral, Kelly, and Jean are on the field, so there aren't many opportunities for other young players, but they are playing like this in practice. That's why I think other young players are also improving. There are still areas that need improvement in terms of content, but we scored 2 goals at home and got 3 points. We want to continue playing an attacking style of soccer where we can score 1 or 2 goals. Even when the opponent is attacking in the second half, if we can connect the ball well after winning it back, or finish with a counterattack, I think we can play in our own rhythm and score another goal or two. It's a challenge for us to move up to the next level."

[Summary of Cerezo Osaka Manager Nishimura's Press Conference] "We had the desire to win, but our performance was too poor and we couldn't show our strength. However, we won't become negative, and we'll review what went wrong while talking with the players, as we made some changes since the 1st stage. Our basic formation is 3-back, but when we mark both sides of Tokyo, we drop too deep, so we shifted one side back. There weren't any major problems, but the first goal was beautifully broken down from the side. However, in the first half, the opponent was good, but the offense was half-hearted and the way we were taken was the problem. Having good players alone won't score points. It's about how the ball will circulate to them. In that sense, each decision was slow. The image of what we want to do is the same for everyone, but there was no movement. To express our desire to win and go up, our first touch was weak and the engine started late. However, this one game is not everything, it's about what we do in the next game. I also want to do my best and expect from the players."