Stop the Jubilo

　Sec. 6 will challenge Júbilo Iwata away. Júbilo is currently in first place with 5 consecutive wins. Their strength in matches stands out and they seem to be one step ahead. However, they cannot continue to dominate like this. And for Tokyo, they have not won against them since the 1st stage of 2000. It is a big wall that they must overcome.

　Tokyo's starting lineup saw Fujiyama make his first appearance of the season at right back. Miura and Konno formed a double pivot, with Kajiyama playing as a number 10 in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Manager Hara, who has previously stated his intention to use players in good condition, has made the bold decision to rest Kaji and Miyazawa. As for Kajiyama, Hara expressed his hopes for the midfielder to play freely in a more advanced role, stating "He is naturally a defensive midfielder, but we have been trying him out in this position during training camp. We want to see him play with more freedom up front."

　Will each member have high motivation, and will the fresh players be the key to stopping Jubilo's winning streak? The temperature is high at 22.4 degrees, but the humidity is 43% and it's a perfect sunny day for soccer. The game started with Jubilo's kickoff.

Despite starting with a mistake, we fall behind early on.

　1 minute, Toda receives a long pass from Konno and aims for a shot from the right area. He was challenged by the opposing DF and missed to the right, but showed great determination early on. However, in the 3rd minute, Jubilo launches a quick attack and MF Nishi takes a free shot from the right side. In the 4th minute, they aim for a middle shot from a quick restart and Tsuchi avoids it with a CK. In the 5th minute, Tsuchi catches a right CK from MF Fujita, but drops it. It is picked up by DF Tanaka and sent as a floating pass to the center of the goal, where FW Grau's shot grazes the right post and bounces in for a goal. From a costly mistake, they are already behind in the game.

　Jubilo, who has strong ball control and fast passing, created many chances after Tokyo took the ball back. In the 7th minute, Toda crossed from the right corner kick and Shigetaka Nishikawa shot from the left goal area. However, they couldn't score. In the 9th minute, they connected a loose ball from a corner kick and Toda broke through the defense with a looping pass from Lucas, facing the GK in a 1-on-1 situation. However, his shot was blocked by GK Sato, missing a crucial chance to score and remain tied.

　The game progresses with a back-and-forth of press, but Jubilo's passing accuracy is not quite good and there are scenes where the play is interrupted. However, there is a clear contrast between attacking and defending, and in the 13th minute, Fukunishi connects a clear ball from Nishi's shot with a header. In the 14th minute, Lucas receives Kajiyama's pass and sends it to the right side, where Ishikawa crosses it back and Lucas jumps into the center of the goal to aim with a header, but is met with a tough mark from the opposing defender and misses above the goal. In the 17th minute, Konno runs up the right side from Kajiyama's development and Toda receives the cross and takes a shot, but it goes far to the right. In the 27th minute, Konno aims for the goal with a middle shot as soon as he sees an opening in front.

There is a great chance for a counterattack

　At 30 minutes, Lucas made a pass cut and attacked the left area, then passed to Kajiyama on the right. From there, Miura took a volley shot from the center. Despite being troubled by Jubilo's passing, they regained possession with focused defense and aimed for the goal from the side. The flow of the game is evenly matched. The highlight was at 39 minutes, when Lucas received a pass from Konno and made a direct pass to Kajiyama. Kajiyama then made a sharp through pass with his right foot, which was chest trapped by Ishikawa and shot from just outside the goal area, but was contested by the opposing DF and hit the side net. At 40 minutes, Kajiyama jumped into the goal from Toda's ground cross, but was blocked by the DF at the last moment. Kajiyama was a key player in the attack and had several decisive moments, but ultimately could not score and the game went into the second half.

　In the second half, Jubilo tried to break the bad flow and attacked, trying to end with a shot, but did not reach a decisive pinch. In the 47th minute, Tokyo took a right corner kick. In the 49th minute, Kanazawa's big side change went to Ishikawa and headed towards the goal. In the 50th minute, Shigetani, who was waiting for the loose ball from the left corner kick, took a free shot from the far side! However, the left foot shot hit the bar. It was another decisive moment, but they missed the chance to score.

　In the 52nd minute, Júbilo launched a quick attack and FW Maeda received a pass from Grau on the left, but his shot from a close distance in front of the goal was saved by Tsuchi. In the 53rd minute, the defense was caught off guard and Grau received a long pass, allowing him to take a free header shot in the center of the goal. Tsuchi caught it and Júbilo showed their fearlessness in attacking the goal at any opportunity.

Before Jubilo's strength in the game...

　At 60 minutes, Toda received Kajiyama's through pass and took a shot, but the goalkeeper caught it without much power. Tokyo is waiting for a chance to counterattack, but their overall push is slow and they end up relying on Lucas, Ishikawa, Toda, and Kajiyama on the front line. In the 61st minute, Baba was substituted for Miura. Baba was placed as an attacking midfielder and Kajiyama was moved down one line. However, right after that, in the 62nd minute, Jubilo's corner kick was cleared by Tokyo's defense. But they lost the ball when trying to connect it to the front line and a long ball was sent to the goal. At the left side of the penalty area, Fujita caught up to the ball near the end line and passed it back to the minus side of the left penalty area. Jean tried to block Grau, who was free, but Grau didn't hesitate and took a skillful shot with a strong curve, which was sucked into the right side of the goal.

　Unable to grasp the flow, Tokyo fell behind by two points. In the 64th minute, Abe was substituted for Toda. However, in the 68th minute, Jubilo's Maeda's middle shot was saved by Doi for a corner kick. In the 70th minute, Kanazawa advanced and received a pass from Lucas, but the GK caught the ground shot. After the 73rd minute, Jubilo continued to attack from corner kicks. In the 75th minute, Wu was substituted for Lucas. With Abe, Baba, and Wu as the front three, and Kajiyama as the attacking midfielder, Inokuma's one-man midfield attempted a final counterattack, but the overall movement decreased and they spent more time defending.

　Jubilo defended well against the pinch and did not allow an additional goal, but in the 80th minute, Jean's FK from the front of the goal was blocked by the DF, and Kanazawa's shot from Kajiyama's pass in the 42nd minute went over the goal. In the end, they were unable to create any decisive opportunities and the game ended. Ultimately, they showed their strength by moving the ball and not letting any chances slip away, but unfortunately suffered a bitter defeat with no goals scored.

【Player Comments】《Imano》"(Miura) Fumi-san and I talked and I went forward aggressively, thinking that if I could crush myself, it would be a chance. I think the combination with the people around me has improved. Today, I didn't think about Jubilo, I just wanted to win, but unfortunately we lost by two points."《Kajiyama》"At first, I couldn't touch the ball and couldn't create a rhythm, but when I faced forward and had the ball, I was able to do what I wanted to do. I wish I could have given a more accurate final ball... Jubilo is good at controlling the game, and personally, I want to learn from them. I will continue to do my best to play in the games from now on."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We conceded a goal early on due to a mistake, so it was tough against Jubilo. However, after conceding, we actually had chances in the first half. We were able to create counterattacks and build up from the right side, with Toda breaking through. The difference was whether we could convert those chances. We had several one-on-one opportunities with the keeper and had chances, but our current challenge is not being able to finish them. Jubilo were able to convert their chances. However, we also made some discoveries. Kajiyama has come on as a substitute for short periods before, and I thought he could play to a certain extent, but I didn't expect him to play this much. I think he still has the ability to play and it's a big asset for the team that he was able to play against Jubilo for 90 minutes. I also think he can continue to grow. We are able to create shooting opportunities, so we need to add one more touch or improve our technique and composure. Also, even if the ball gets into the box, there is not enough support, so we need to increase our options and variations, including providing support. We have played six games so far, with Kelly's injury and national team players missing, so we have tried various players like Kajiyama today and used players in good condition. Our defense is not bad, so we want to address our challenges before the next game. We want to pursue scoring goals and break through one more time."

[Jubilo Kuniyoshi Kuwahara's press conference summary] "I am always worried because things do not always go as planned in scouting, but in the beginning, we were attacked by FC Tokyo's soccer while scouting. However, I think we were able to have a stable game flow from the middle. The final line was confused by FC Tokyo's second row and their movement from outside to inside, so I gave instructions on balance and positioning. I told Suzuki to watch Toda, who is outside of Lucas on the inside. I gave Fujita instructions on defending Ishikawa, but he worked hard with great stamina. Kikuchi was too cautious in the first half and gave too much possession to Ishikawa and Kajiyama, so I told him to show more strength in 1v1 situations. Well, I tried to create a pause with Nishi and Fujita before making the final attack. However, the players' determination was strong. I think they showed great concentration and a desire to win for 90 minutes without losing their physicality. They have a desire to keep winning and a strong will."