A crucial match that cannot be lost in the pursuit of advancing to the top

　After a two-week break due to the Nabisco Cup, the league match will resume. This round, we will face Kobe one day later than the other matches. Tokyo, who rose to 5th place after a 3-1 victory against Shimizu in the previous round, has the potential to climb up in the rankings if they win today, depending on the results of other matches played yesterday. On the other hand, Kobe, currently in 13th place, is still in danger of relegation and will surely come at us with all they've got. In the past league matches, we have suffered 2 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses against them. It is expected to be a tough battle, but it is an important match that will lead us to the future. We want to secure all 3 points and seize the opportunity to move up in the rankings.

　Kobe's FW Hashido is suspended. Tokyo is without Yusuke Kondo due to injury, and Amaral starts for the first time in two games. During the league break, Shigetaka and Ishikawa, who returned from the U-22 national team's trip to Hong Kong and Qatar on the 5th, are showing their usual form. The match started with Tokyo's kickoff under a cold and cloudy sky, making it feel like winter has arrived.

Kelly takes advantage of the restart and scores the first goal!

　Shortly after the start, Amaral shoots with the lead. However, in the 3rd minute, Kagawa -> Ishikawa's pass is taken away and Kobe FW Miura Tomo shoots from the counter. In the 6th minute, a FK is given in front of the goal, and MF Shijikurei's powerful shot is saved by Doi and escapes to CK. In the 8th minute, the ball is taken back in front of the Tokyo goal, and Kobe DF Matsuo crosses. Although it went over the head of Ozeas who was standing in the center, it caused a pinch. In the 11th minute, Toda receives Amaral's through pass and breaks through from the left side to the front of the goal, but is approached by the DF and cannot shoot. In the 14th minute, Kobe's long ball is taken by Miura Tomo on the left side of the goal, but Doi catches the cross with a solid catch.

　Tokyo had some mistakes and couldn't get into the flow, but in the 16th minute, Miyazawa's FK was cleared by the opposing DF, earning a throw-in from the right side. When Kaji sent a throw-in to the right corner of the penalty area, Miyazawa appeared there and passed directly to the front of the goal. Toda acted as a decoy, and Kelly jumped into the drop point from the left side, hitting it with the tip of her foot for a goal! They broke through the Kobe DF, who were trying to hold their defense, with a set play and scored a valuable opening goal.

　With this momentum, Tokyo launches a fierce attack. In the 19th minute, Ishikawa competes for Toda's pass in front of the goal, and Kelly shoots freely from the right area. The GK makes a save, but Miyazawa picks up the rebound and shoots with his right foot. Once again, the GK blocks the shot, but they quickly win a corner kick. The attack, led by Ishikawa, is blocked by Kobe's MF Yabuta and DF Matsuoka on the right side, but they switch to attacking from the left side. In the 21st minute, Kanazawa crosses and Toda receives the return from Kelly's post, taking a powerful shot. However, it hits the crossbar and unfortunately does not go in. In the 28th minute, Kanazawa crosses on the ground from Miyazawa's side change. Toda jumps in, but cannot connect, and the wave-like attack continues.

Toda and Miyazawa score with a fierce attack! Leading by 3 points.

　30 minutes into the game, Miyazawa made a big run to the right. Kelly dribbled up and crossed the ball, which was headed in by Toda on the far side for a goal! The team successfully executed their planned attack from the side change and scored an additional point! In the 31st minute, Kobe was given a free kick in front of the goal, but Bismarck's shot was saved by Doi with one hand. In the 34th minute, Matsuo took a controlled shot towards the bottom left corner of the goal, but Doi saved it again. The goal was solidly defended.

　And 36 minutes. Tokyo gets a FK in front of the penalty area on the right. The kick by Miyazawa is headed into the left goal by the Tokyo offense, who tried to combine, and the Kobe DF, who tried to clear it, and it's in! They scored their third goal. Today, Miyazawa showed an aggressive attack and, along with Miura pressing and taking the ball, distributed passes to the front line from a low position. He showed brilliance on both offense and defense.

　The defense also struggled in the development of a 3-point lead. In the 44th minute, Kobe's Matsuo broke through the right side again and passed to the middle. MF Park's shot from inside the area was saved by Doi. Bismarck picked up the rebound and took a shot, but Jean cut it off just before the goal. He concentrated and bounced back the shot that flew into the frame, avoiding danger. In stoppage time of the first half, Toda → Kelly connected and passed to Ishikawa who broke free on the right side. However, he couldn't shoot as he lost his balance. The first half ended with a score of 3-0.

Explosive Attacking Soccer! Kobe Dominates and Rises to 2nd Place!!

　In the second half, Kobe substituted the speedy Okano for FW Ozeas. However, Tokyo did not let up on their attack, and Kanazawa, who had run up the left side, passed Amaral and played a one-two, breaking through to the goal. Although the opposing GK caught it a step ahead, they created a chance from the start. In the 47th minute, they allowed a header shot from Shijikurei from a Kobe CK, but it missed the frame. In the 52nd minute, Tokyo was given another CK from an overlap by DF Tsuchiya, but they connected with the loose ball and turned it into an attack. Kelly dribbled up and Miyazawa connected, and Toda, who had been flowing to the right, boldly entered the area and took a shot. Although it was initially blocked by the opposing DF, Toda jumped in on the rebound and the ball floated to Ishikawa, who was waiting in the center after the scramble with the opposing DF. Ishikawa sharply swung his right foot at the falling ball and took a volley shot! The ball beautifully shook the net!

　After scoring the fourth goal, Kelly received a through pass and this time Toda broke through on the left and took a shot. Amaral headed the ball from the GK's save, but it bounced back to him again. He passed it to Miyazawa, who was bombarding the goal with shots. In the 59th minute, they launched a quick attack and Amaral jumped to head in Kelly's cross from the right side. Unfortunately, it missed to the left.

　Kobe made substitutions in the 69th minute, replacing Bismarck with MF Nishitani and Park with MF Yamaguchi. Tokyo also made substitutions, considering the fatigue from consecutive games with the U-22 national team. In the 70th minute, Suzuki replaced Ishikawa, and in the 78th minute, Fujiyama replaced Shigenobu, trying to hold on until the end. In the 73rd minute, Kelly noticed the Kobe goalkeeper's position and took a long looping shot, just missing the top of the goal. But Kobe also tried to retaliate, with Shijikurei and Nishitani leading the counterattack. As they gradually allowed Kobe to attack, they gave away a free kick in the 84th minute on the right side of the penalty area. Yamaguchi received Nishitani's kick in the center and took a shot, which deflected off Tsuchiya and went into the goal. Unfortunately, they conceded a goal in an unlucky manner.

　However, Tokyo, who continued to push towards the goal until the end, launched a counterattack from Toda's cut in the 43rd minute. Kelly ran up the right side and passed to Amaral, who was free in the center. However, Amaral's direct shot went to the left of the goal. In stoppage time, Kelly dribbled up from a counterattack initiated by Amaral and took a shot, but the opponent's goalkeeper caught it. Although they couldn't score a fifth goal, they welcomed the end of the game and achieved a resounding victory over Kobe. With this win, Tokyo has accumulated 20 points. They are tied with Verdy, Yokohama F, and Iwata in points, but they have a better goal difference and have risen to 2nd place for the first time since the 2nd stage 1st round!

[Player Comments]《Kanazawa》"Scoring from the restart was a big factor in our victory against Kobe, who were defending deep. I think their game plan fell apart after that opening goal. However, the chaotic ending to the game is something we need to reflect on. It was fortunate that we had a comfortable lead, but we need to make adjustments for the future."《Miyazawa》"Our mindset of attacking aggressively from the first half led to our victory. The goal was scored with my usual aim. We have been able to score from set pieces and in the flow of the game, so we want to continue this. I think our coordination with Mr. Miura filling in for Bismarck and putting pressure on the opponent's midfield was successful."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "With yesterday's result, Kobe is once again in a tough situation and I knew today's game would be difficult. If we could score first, Kobe would become more aggressive and I wanted to score a second goal on the counter. We didn't start off well and there were some easy mistakes, making it a frustrating start, but we were able to score first at a good time and get into a rhythm. As for today's starting lineup, I was torn between using Amaral or Yusuke KONDO. In the game against Shimizu, Yusuke KONDO made his first start and was a key player, helping us score three goals and win. Amaral had been struggling with a cold, so we had been rotating them in practice matches and the Red and White game, preparing for either one to play. However, the day before the game, Yusuke KONDO injured his back in practice. Despite this, Amaral started and did well in the front line, creating space and drawing fouls, which allowed Kelly, Ishikawa, and Toda to shine. We couldn't score, but I think Amaral's strengths were on display. Everyone also had the desire to see Amaral score and his condition will continue to improve. We want to continue preparing well for the next game against Gamba."

[Kobe Vice-Manager's Press Conference Summary] "We expected Tokyo to come out attacking from the first half, so our goal today was to hold on in the first half and make our move in the second half. However, being scored on in the 16th minute only increased Tokyo's sharpness in the beginning. Tokyo's strength lies in their speedy side attacks, so we tried to contain that, but being scored on only boosted their power. Tokyo started off stiff and slow, but the first goal became the key to today's match. However, even though we conceded 3 goals in the first half, I think we were able to reset and play a game that will lead us to the next one in the second half. We can't afford to waste any games, so we want to switch our focus to the next one."