Unbeatable. Verdy match at home.

　The 1st stage will face the 3rd section after a 2-week interval, playing against Tokyo Verdy 1969 at home. As teams based in the same Tokyo, it is natural that we cannot afford to lose, but after the 2nd section Oita game and the Nabisco Cup Kashima game, we cannot allow any more consecutive losses. Even in the two games we lost, we did not fall behind in terms of content, so we hope to see attacking soccer that leads to goals.

　Tsuchihi achieved his 200th appearance in the J1 League with today's match. He just returned from Singapore for the Japan national team's World Cup qualifiers, but showed a lively presence on the field. On the other hand, Kaji, who played the full match against Singapore, did not make the bench due to his condition. On the right side, Tokunaga, who played in the Nabisco Cup, and Shigeki, who played in the center back, will form a new combination for the first time this season. In addition, Kurisawa (currently a fourth-year student at Ryutsu Keizai University), who has been registered as a special designated player for the JFA and J-League since the end of February, made his first appearance on the bench.

　Verdy, who broke the record for the youngest appearance in the J-League at the age of 15 years and 10 months, is attracting attention with their "monster" striker Morimoto. In addition, Emboma has returned from injury. With a strong front two, and skilled players such as Hirano, Nejima, Hayashi, and Kobayashi Daigo in the midfield, their fast passing game should be a threat to Tokyo. They will want to control the ball and disrupt Verdy's attacks.

Allowing the first goal due to not being able to grasp the rhythm

　The match started with Verdy's kickoff. Tokyo took advantage of the game against Verdy, who couldn't connect passes well from the start. After taking two consecutive right corner kicks, Toda broke through the left side in the 6th minute and Abe took a shot on the last pass. In the 7th minute, Ishikawa took a powerful shot from the left FK in the area. Jean followed up on the rebound from the GK, but couldn't hit the target. In the 11th minute, after Inoue's interception, Toda → Inoue → Kanazawa connected and Inoue received a pass in the penalty area. Although he couldn't take a big touch and shoot, Inoue showed his typical play of stealing the ball and attacking.

　Verdy had a chance in the 14th minute when MF Ohashi passed to FW Morimoto on the right side. However, MF Emboma was waiting in the center, but Shige and Tokunaga blocked his shot. This was Verdy's only clear chance in the early stages. However, in the 18th minute, Tokyo was caught offside and Verdy had a restart. Jean cut off the pass to Emboma on the front line, but the ball ended up with Verdy MF Hirano on the right side of Tokyo's defense. Hirano dribbled forward and took a powerful shot. The ball looped over Tsuchi's head and was sucked into the right side of the goal. A small mistake led to Verdy's "one shot" and they conceded the first goal.

　With this momentum, Verdy, in the 19th minute, received a through pass from Emboma and Morioka shot past two Tokyo DF players in the area. It was a decisive scene, but it was saved by Doi's left foot. In the 21st minute, Emboma broke through from a counter and took a shot in front of the goal, but it missed the frame. Tokyo fought back with Ishikawa as the starting point. In the 26th minute, Ishikawa, who had drifted to the right side from Kanazawa's cross from the left, took a powerful volley shot directly, but it was saved by the GK and resulted in a CK. In the 29th minute, Ishikawa picked up a loose ball from a cross and aimed with his left foot, but it went over the goal. In the 30th minute, from a quick attack, Lucas → Ishikawa crossed, and Inoue picked up the ball and passed it to Kanazawa. Toda and Ishikawa connected with the cross, and Lucas took a shot from the front of the goal. It seemed that they had regained the flow with a wave of attacks, but it did not go into the goal. On the contrary, towards the end of the first half, they lost their momentum and went into the second half with a one-point deficit without creating any chances.

Despite being behind, they showed their strength and caught up!

　In the first half, Tokyo, who had been caught offside seven times while trying to break through Verdy's shallow DF line, reached the 50th minute. When Jean's long ball reached the front line, Toda used his right foot to make a clever trap and broke through the defense, shooting one step ahead of the chasing DF. The ball rolled to the left of the goal and went in! The coach Hara's plan of "getting behind one step earlier" was successful and they equalized. Tokyo, who wanted to score a second goal immediately, substituted Baba for Abe in the 51st minute. They went for an additional goal with Baba in the attacking midfield position. In the 54th minute, Lucas aimed for a free kick just outside the box due to the opponent DF's handball, but it went over the bar. In the 57th minute, Lucas stuck to the right side and Toda connected, and now Kono took a shot, but the GK saved it. Tokyo continued to dominate and attack, but they couldn't quite find their rhythm.

　In the 63rd minute, Robert caused a dangerous situation from Konno's back pass, and MF Hugo, who came on as a substitute, was able to get a shot off in front of goal from Emboma on the left side. The pass went to Hirano in front of goal, but Konno, who had come back to cover, cleared it with a header. However, the current challenge for Tokyo is to continue to invite danger. In the 64th minute, Kanazawa and Emboma collided in the area. Taking advantage of Kanazawa's injury, Yoneyama passed to the left side where he was attacking in the area. Hirano received the cross and Emboma scored with a header, once again allowing the lead to slip away.

　Tokyo, who was pushed aside by Verdy, couldn't give up easily. In the 70th minute, Kurisawa was substituted for Toda. Verdy also substituted Morimoto for FW Sakurai, and both teams went for "one more goal". And in the 71st minute, just after the substitution, Tokyo got a free kick on the left side, and Jean, who shook off his mark, jumped into the far side and scored a diving header from Miyazawa's kick! This goal brought the game back to square one in an instant.

Dramatic Comeback Victory with Baba's Final Round Goal!

　At the 80th minute, Tokyo made their final substitution, replacing Miyazawa with Miura. In a back-and-forth match, their focus never wavered. Immediately after, they pressed in the midfield and won the ball, passing it to Lucas up front. He then connected with Ishikawa on the right side, who crossed it to Kurisawa, who was free on the left side of the goal. Kurisawa calmly sent a precise pass to Baba, who had made a perfectly timed run into the box, and he easily headed it in for a goal. From the combination of Lucas and Ishikawa, and the new heroes Kurisawa and Baba, Tokyo took a commanding 3-0 lead.

　In the 82nd minute, Lucas flew straight to the front line with Kurisawa's pass, avoiding the GK and facing an open goal. However, Verdy's DF Ubeda's determined sliding stopped him and prevented an additional point. Verdy's subsequent counterattack was also defended as a team until the time was up. It was a difficult situation to allow two goals, but they never gave up and ultimately achieved victory as a team. They were able to turn a tough game into a win and earn 3 valuable points for the future!

【Player Comments】《Kurisawa》"In the scene of the winning goal, I made eye contact with Ishikawa before the cross came. I thought about aiming for a direct goal, but I knew Baba would come in, so I switched to a pass. There was some tension, but I was conscious of being involved in the goal in front of the goal, and I was thinking that if I could play my own game, it would be good. I think it's just the beginning. The university games will start next week, but when I participated in practice, I did my best and I want to continue to improve my level."《Baba》"Before I came on as a substitute, Coach Hara instructed me to not only shoot, but also to pass to the side and jump into the goal area. I had a break due to injury since the end of last year, and my foot still hurts. But the ball is also attached to my foot, so I feel like I'm in good shape. Personally, not being able to participate in the World Youth last year was the most regrettable, but I want to continue to appeal in the J-League from now on."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We had a strong desire to not lose against a team from the same hometown, both players and staff. Verdy had also lost in the opening match against Iwata and the second match against Kashiwa, so we expected them to come with a high level of motivation today. However, we thought they would come with more ball possession, but they surprisingly easily put the ball into the front line with Mori and Emboma. And there were many scenes where they were able to pick up the ball after Emboma's strong header. The first goal was a great goal by Hirano from Jean's mistake, which gave Verdy, who had not scored in the league, momentum. In the first half, Tokyo was actively shooting, but lacked ingenuity. They were shooting from a distance without really breaking through, so I instructed them to try one-twos or one-on-ones to break through. I also talked about how Verdy's defensive line was shallow, so if they could put the ball behind the defense one step earlier, Abe and Toda would definitely be able to break through. I expected that the use of Baba and Kurisawa would create a completely different rhythm from Abe and Toda. It became a dramatic match (laughs) maybe because of this year's slogan, but with Kelly's return, we want to pick up the pace and improve our form. The absence of various national team players will continue, but we still have to win and we want to give more chances to our players. If we can overcome this, we will become a stronger team."

[Summary of Verdy Ardiles' press conference] "It was the best game since the start of the season, and there were some satisfying aspects. Emboa played a big role in that, as he was a threat to the opponent whenever we attacked. The combination with Morimoto was also very good, and Morimoto himself remained a dangerous presence. However, there was a situation where if we could score one more goal, we could have won the game, but we couldn't score the goal to give us a two-goal lead. And as our attack improved, our defense became a little worse. We were supposed to counterattack, but we ended up losing the ball in the midfield and allowing the opponent to counterattack. We made three careless mistakes, and the consequences were significant. We are dissatisfied with conceding goals from seemingly harmless situations. There are still many areas for improvement."