Defeating Nagoya, J1 reaches 50 wins in total

　FC Tokyo will play against Nagoya away in the 2nd stage, 2nd match. The past record against Nagoya is 1 win, 2 draws, and 4 losses, with the only win being in extra time. Therefore, Nagoya is the only team in J1 that FC Tokyo has not yet defeated in 90 minutes.

　However, there are not few bright materials in Tokyo at present. In the opening match of the 2nd stage of the previous section, FW Amaral and Abe's first Abeck goal, which was long-awaited, defeated C Osaka. It proved that they are maintaining their good performance in the 1st stage. In addition, DF Jean, who has been absent from the front line due to injury since today's Nagoya match, has returned, and the team situation is improving.

　On the other hand, Nagoya, despite changing coaches from the 2nd stage, has suffered consecutive losses in the quarterfinals of the Nabisco Cup and the opening game of the league, and is still struggling since the end of the 1st stage. However, today is Nagoya's 2nd stage opening game, and they cannot afford to lose easily in their first home game under the new coach. Their motivation for their first victory should be very high.

　The total record of the Tokyo J1 league is 49 wins, 12 draws, and 45 losses so far. The milestone of "50 wins" can only be celebrated with a satisfying victory. Even as the sun sets, the whistle for kickoff sounded at 7:03 PM in the tough environment of Mizuho, with temperatures close to 30℃.

First Half of Nagoya Pace

　The match started with Nagoya taking the initiative. With the home crowd behind them, Nagoya used their strength in the midfield and persistent pressing to win the ball, creating a wide rhythm through the use of midfielders Fujimoto and Takizawa on both sides. In the 5th minute, they created a chance from a corner kick on the right, and Takizawa took a powerful shot from near the right penalty area corner. The ball went over the bar, but it was a dangerous moment.

　On the other hand, Tokyo often falls into a defensive position and struggles to create chances from counterattacks utilizing the speed of Ishikawa and Toda. Amaral plays in the center, while Kelly also makes efforts to receive the ball on the side, but there were many instances where they were left isolated without support. In the 10th minute, Miura briefly found himself free in the center and took a shot from about 30m away, which became Tokyo's first shot of the day.

　The reason why we couldn't make a flowing attack was also due to the rough pitch condition where the ball bounced irregularly. Although Nagoya had the same conditions, there was a big difference between being used to it and not. In addition, the oppressive hot and humid environment made the players' feet heavy.

　After that, Nagoya continued to attack. While defending against attacks from the side, the center back combination of Shigenobu and Jean showed great concentration and were able to repel most of them, but there were many instances where Weslley's individual skills were able to get past them and take shots. In the 16th minute, a shot was taken from about 20m in front of the goal, but Tsuchio made a super save and the ball was cleared for a corner kick. In the 20th minute, a shot was taken by Sakai from the right side, but Tsuchio caught it firmly. Then in the 23rd minute, the right side was broken through and Weslley was left free to take a shot. The ball was on target, but Tsuchio caught it securely.

　Tokyo's counterattack was at 24 minutes, when Tokunaga was fouled and received a direct free kick from the right penalty area corner, but Miyazawa aimed it over the goal. At 25 minutes, Kelly took a powerful middle shot from about 25m in front of the center, but Nagoya's guardian, Narazaki, made a super save and escaped with a corner kick. At 32 minutes, Miyazawa aimed for a direct free kick from the left side, but it hit the top of the bar again. At 33 minutes, Wesley and Marques scored a goal from a counterattack, but it was ruled offside. Tokyo, who had overcome the decisive moment, tried to score at 35 minutes with a free kick from the right side by Ishikawa, but it was also blocked by GK Narazaki's super save. In the following 38 minutes, when Toda passed to Ishikawa who came to support from the front line, Ishikawa cut inside and took a shot, but it hit the top of the bar. In stoppage time, Toda dropped a long pass from Shigetaka, and Miura ran in and made a perfect through pass to the front line, where Kelly made a run. Despite being sandwiched by Nagoya's defenders, Kelly took a sharp direct shot, but unfortunately it went to the left of the goal. The game was dominated by Nagoya, but Tokyo made a comeback towards the end and the decision was postponed to the second half.

Jean, with Kelly's goal, Tokyo quickly takes the lead.

　Tokyo, who wanted to change the rhythm in the second half, faced an early pinch. The ball was connected inside the penalty area, and Jean cleared the ground cross from the right. The clearance was small and the ball rolled in front of the Nagoya player, who took a powerful shot, but it hit the Tokyo DF and did not allow a goal. Tokyo survived the pinch and in the 49th minute, Ishikawa made a sharp low pass to the center from a free kick on the left side. The ball passed through the crowd and reached Jean, who was waiting in the center, and he shook the Nagoya goal net with a powerful volley shot.

　Kelly's first goal of the season changes the rhythm. Tokyo's feet start moving, while Nagoya's feet stop. Nagoya, in a hurry, loses balance on the side, creating large spaces for Tokyo to exploit as per theory. In the 58th minute, Miyazawa and Ishikawa create a flowing rhythm on the right side, with a deep cross from a pass cut by Tokunaga. The ball is cleared by Nagoya's defenders, but the momentum is completely with Tokyo. In the following 59th minute, Miyazawa sends a precise long pass to Toda on the left side from a deep central position. Toda holds onto the ball and passes it to Kanazawa, who has moved up to support. Kanazawa dribbles through the center and sends a perfect through pass to Kelly, who has just barely beaten the offside line. Kelly dribbles past the oncoming GK and calmly shoots to score. The ball rolls into the goal, finally giving Tokyo a much-awaited second goal to put Nagoya behind.

Suffering a devastating mistake, we collapsed and suffered a major comeback loss with our second 3-point loss of the season.

　When Kelly scored the second goal, most of the people watching the game should have been able to imagine FC Tokyo's victory. Even by watching the flow of the game and the players' movements, it was clear as day. However, in sports, you never know what will happen until the final whistle blows. And this game was a result that reminded us of that.

　After Kelly's second goal, Nagoya immediately made a move. They substituted one midfielder for a FW, put in Haraguchi, and paired Marques with a 2-top, with Weslley playing as an attacking midfielder. However, the momentum was still with Tokyo, and in the 64th minute, Amaral headed back a free kick from the left side, which Kelly attempted to volley but missed the goal by a large margin.

　At the 70th minute, Asari, who came on for Miura, carelessly sent a back pass to Doi, who couldn't handle the irregular bounce and made a mistake. The ball fell in front of Marques, who was alone in front of the goal, and he easily scored, bringing the score to 2-1. It was a sudden and unbelievable sight, but the players had no choice but to accept this reality.

　The game suddenly turned around. Nagoya, who had been sleeping until then, woke up again and began to overwhelm Tokyo with a rhythmic attack. Tokyo was completely on the defensive and had lost control on both offense and defense. In the 77th minute, Marques broke through the left side and sent a final pass into the penalty area, but it hit Jean's hand as he slid to defend, resulting in a handball call. Weslley then scored the penalty kick and the game was tied.

　The excitement in the venue had reached its peak. Tokyo made a move by sending in Abe and Fujiyama in the 79th minute, but the momentum was completely in Nagoya's favor. In the 81st minute, Doi barely managed to punch away Weslley's powerful free kick. In the following 85th minute, Tokyo's defense was able to clear the ball in their own penalty area against Nagoya's relentless attack, but the ball bounced off a teammate's back and turned into a shot. Doi was flustered, but he managed to catch it and prevent a dangerous situation.

　However, in the 89th minute just before the end, Kelly connected from a CK, and in the end, Marquez's cross from the right side was headed in by Lori in the center, and we finally allowed a comeback at the last minute. In the end, the game ended 2-3. I don't remember ever losing a comeback after leading by two points like this, but we have to quickly switch our mindset for the upcoming cup and league matches.

【Player Comments】《Jean》"I was able to score a goal myself, but I'm disappointed because we lost the game. We have to switch gears. In the next Nabisco Cup match against Reds, we all have to come together and fight. We only have winning on our minds. We will definitely win."《Miyazawa》"It's a shame. Until 2-0, everything was going according to plan, but we couldn't switch gears when we conceded a goal. We need to change as a team in those moments. We have the Nabisco Cup against Reds coming up soon, so we want to switch gears and face the next challenge."

[Summary of the press conference by the former coach] "It's a shame that we ended up with a disappointing result even though we were able to score in a good way by making adjustments at halftime. It was a game that we had to win. Today, the flow changed with that back pass. We knew that the ground was bad, but we lowered our position and it led to a missed kick. It's true that we were caught off guard and conceded a difficult goal, but as a team, we have to hold our ground in that situation. We have the Nabisco Cup coming up soon, so we want to switch our mindset and approach it with determination."

[Nagoya NELSINHO coach press conference summary] "The first half was a good performance according to our plan, and Tokyo's chances were only due to our mistakes or free kicks. In the second half, we conceded a goal from a free kick we were cautious of and also lost an additional goal, but based on today's performance, we couldn't afford to lose easily. The first goal was also partly lucky, but the substituted players used their imagination well and changed the rhythm for us. I think today's Nagoya victory was a natural result based on the performance. The team gained confidence from this."