Defeating the battered Iwata, advancing to the top

　In the 7th round of the 2nd stage, we will face Júbilo Iwata at home. With a tough schedule of only 2 days since the last round, there are concerns about the team's condition, but the same can be said for the opponent. Iwata's record in the 2nd stage is 1 win, 3 draws, and 2 losses, and their team's state is far from good. In the previous match of the 1st stage, we lost 0-1 with a goal from MF Fujita, but he has also transferred overseas and it is generally believed that his absence has not been filled. On top of that, today's top scorer, Grau, is suspended. Nakayama, Hattori, and Namba are also injured, and it can be said that they are in a state of complete exhaustion.

　However, it is the Iwata match without a win since the victory in 2000. Against a dominant team, we must challenge them no matter what kind of members they have. Today, Amaral will start for the first time in 5 league matches. Without a GK on the bench, we will go for the victory with an attacking lineup and attitude.

Despite dominating Iwata, they conceded the first goal from a free kick.

　The game that started with a kickoff in Tokyo saw Toda taking a corner kick in the first 30 seconds, and Ishikawa taking one in the first minute. Then, Miyazawa aimed for a direct goal from a free kick, and in the third minute, Ishikawa was fouled by Amaral's dribble breakthrough, earning a free kick, and Miyazawa headed towards the goal again. Tokyo's aggressive attitude of moving forward from the start is noticeable. In the 10th minute, Miura took a middle shot. In the 11th minute, Miyazawa took the Iwata ball in his own half and Kelly attacked, forcing a shot. In the 14th minute, Amaral and Toda created chances by attacking the goal from Kaji's cross.

　Iwata is good at building up calmly from the DF line, but Tokyo puts pressure on key points and doesn't create any chances. In the 17th minute, Ishikawa received a return from Miyazawa's shot in front of the goal. In the 20th minute, Toda made a sharp through pass from Ishikawa, but was slightly offside. Iwata, who was on the defensive, made their first shot in the 20th minute when right side MF Nishi dribbled into the middle and took a shot. In the 22nd minute, Nishi cut back from the right end line and sent a through pass to the front of the goal, but it was cut off by Mogi. Tokyo's DF is not in danger at all.

　However, it was the 24th minute. Iwata, who got a FK inside the Tokyo team, passed the ball to FW Nishino in front of the goal with a ground pass. Then, Maeda appeared from the right side, circling around Nishino's post, and switched with him to break through in front of the goal, scoring easily. Just a moment of marking error... but Iwata did not miss the moment when Tokyo's concentration was broken and took the lead.

Tokyo's beautiful attack brings the game to a tie!

　Tokyo, who fell behind, did not let up on their attack. In the 27th minute, Toda seemed to score from the rebound of Kanazawa's powerful shot, but it was offside. In the 30th minute, Ishikawa crossed directly from Kelly's persistent keep. Amaral attempted an overhead shot. In the 35th minute, Amaral received Kelly's pass with his back to the goal and turned to shoot. However, it lacked power and missed the target, but it was only 2 minutes later.

　Ishikawa runs through with Kaji's pass in the center. Amaral, who was positioned behind, makes a good decision and sends it to the right goal. Ishikawa, who charges without hesitation, crosses to the center. Toda meets this ball and scores with his left foot! A fast attack that connects everything directly from Kaji's pass, and in Tokyo's favorite pattern, they quickly equalize!!

　Tokyo had a big chance in the 41st minute. Kelly sent a long pass to the right side and Ishikawa used his speed to catch up and pass to Amaral in the center. Amaral was initially surrounded by Iwata DF, but he showed persistence and the ball fell in front of the goal. Kelly ran in between the stopped Iwata DF and took a shot... But the shot from the center of the goal missed the post and Kelly was left holding his head. However, in the first half, Tokyo had 9 shots compared to Iwata's 2. Despite being tied, Tokyo dominated Iwata and headed into the second half.

Before Iwata, who embodies the skillful player...

　However, it was Iwata who attacked at the start of the second half. They moved midfielder Kawamura to right back and changed their formation to a 4-back. They picked up second balls and connected them to their attacks. In the 48th minute, MF Jivkovic took a shot from a persistent keep in front of the goal. In the 50th minute, Tokyo tried to score from a right FK by Miyazawa, but Kelly couldn't hit it. In the 55th minute, Iwata substituted rookie Kikuchi for injured DF Tanaka and put him in as center back. Immediately after that, Tokyo created another decisive scene. Kelly charged into the left penalty area and Amaral, who had moved to the outside to support, dribbled into the center again and sent a sharp last pass to Toda in front of the goal. However, his shot from close range, with a defender on his back, was saved by the GK.

　In the 62nd minute, Tokyo aimed for the Iwata goal from a series of 34 consecutive CKs, and in the 64th and 66th minutes, they tried to score from an FK, but they couldn't shake the net. As Iwata's passing game, which was getting older, gradually fell behind and was pushed in. In the 70th minute, Iwata took the chance to counterattack and replaced Jivkovic with speedy FW Kawaguchi. Then, in the 74th minute, when Tokyo was preparing to replace the visibly tired Miura with Abe, Iwata connected the ball from their own half and passed it to the right side with Fukunishi. Kawaguchi dribbled past Miura and broke through the right side, then passed it again to Fukunishi, who was free in the penalty area. Fukunishi evaded Shigetaka with a one-touch and entered the right area to take a shot. This shot pierced the net, and they were scored against with a go-ahead goal.

　Tokyo, who substituted Abe for Miura in the 75th minute and Kondo for Ishikawa, who collided with an opponent and bruised his left thigh in the 82nd minute, tried to score a goal. However, they lost their attacking power against Iwata, who pulled back their side and created a solid defensive line, and took their time passing the ball around. In the 83rd minute, Amaral headed a free kick and in the 89th minute, Kanazawa took a direct shot from a long cross from the right, but both failed to hit the target. In stoppage time, Doi also joined the attack, but they couldn't score. Tokyo suffered a painful defeat at home for the first time this season against the persistent Iwata.

【Player Comments】《Miyazawa》"Not being able to score on our chances really affected us until the end. In the second half, we should have stayed calm and attacked more on the sides, but we ended up focusing too much on the center and could only rely on crosses from our fullbacks and defensive midfielders. I think the fact that Iwata can still get results with that lineup and style of play shows the strength of the team. We need to aim to be able to play like this as well."《Kanazawa》"In the second half, the opponent changed to a 4-back system, which made it difficult for us to play our own style of soccer. We ended up adjusting too much to the opponent, our spacing was off, and we were easily controlled in the midfield. In times of struggle, we need to come together and use a variety of tactics, such as quick attacks and possession, to turn things around. We wanted to win and gain confidence, but..."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Iwata had players missing due to injuries and suspensions, but we were able to move the ball more than usual and create good opportunities. We dominated for a long time. In the first half, there were no dangerous situations except for when we conceded the first goal. We were able to create good opportunities, especially from Ishikawa's side, by attacking through the gap between the three backs and wing backs, and we were able to equalize. We repeated this kind of attack and had chances for Kelly and Toda to score, but we couldn't convert them and ended up conceding a second goal. However, Iwata was able to escape even with young players filling in for the missing regulars. It's a shame that we couldn't hold on by using our time wisely and keeping possession. Even when we were behind, we should have calmly broken through from the sides like we did in the first half, but it's a fact that we couldn't do that in that period and in that flow. It will take time for us to be able to do that. We had the attitude of not being afraid and going forward from the first half, so maybe we were too anxious. We need to win these kinds of games, and as our style, we want to become a team that can score and win while gaining experience like this. We won't give up and will prepare to go into the remaining 8 matches and get 3 points."

[Iwata・Yanagishita's Press Conference Summary] "I think the fact that we ended the first half with a 1-1 tie led to this result. In the first half, Tokyo had more speed and momentum going forward, and their movements were fast, so we couldn't do much. Even when we took the ball, our movements were slow and our physicality was low, and our two top players couldn't keep the ball in the front line and create attacking opportunities. The game progressed at Tokyo's pace, but scoring one goal in one chance was a relief. Since Tokyo's wings were stretched and they had four players in the front line, we responded by having four players in the back line in the second half. The opponent's physicality and speed also decreased, so we were able to move the ball. We didn't have many chances, but we were able to take a good shot at the end and ultimately win 2-1. I think it was Tokyo's game if you look at the total of 90 minutes, but I'm very happy that all the players showed their determination to win and expressed it on the field until the end. We switched to a four-back formation to consider both offense and defense. With a three-back formation, the midfielders tend to drop back to cover the wings, which delays our pressing and support. By switching to a four-back formation, the outside players can play one step ahead and create space inside, reducing the defensive burden and making it easier to attack."