League match resumes, facing Yokohama F.Marinos at home

　Entering the Golden Week consecutive games. From the Nabisco Cup on April 29th, with only 2 days in between, we will face Yokohama F.Marinos in the 1st stage of the league, Sec. 7. In the previous Nabisco Cup, Tokyo achieved a come-from-behind victory with a fresh lineup. Today, Tokyo will have the presence of Japan national team players Doi and Kaji, as well as U-23 national team players Mogi, Konno, and Ishikawa. With that momentum, we want to challenge last season's champions Yokohama.

　However, Kanazawa was injured during the previous day's practice. As a result, Kure will take over as left back. In midfield, "we took Miura's condition into consideration. The combination of Imano and Asari is also good" (Manager Hara) and they will face the match with a double pivot of Imano and Asari.

　On the other hand, Yokohama had key defenders Dudu, Matsuda, and Nakazawa suspended. Japan national team forward Kubo was also absent, so coach Okada said, "(With Dudu suspended) we didn't have any players who could play on the left side of the 4-back." As a result, Nasu played as libero, Yanagi and Ueno played as defensive midfielders, and Endo played on the left outside in a makeshift 3-back formation.

Despite conceding the first goal, they seized the rhythm and attacked Yokohama's goal.

　It was once again about the start. In the first minute, Tokyo DF escaped from Yokohama's FK and Yokohama picked up the loose ball from this CK and persistently launched an attack from the right side. In the second minute, MF Tanaka received a pass from MF Endo and crossed from the right. Doi tried to catch the high ball, but was closed down by Yokohama FW Yasu from the far side, causing him to lose balance and unable to receive the ball that hit Yasu's head. Yasu kicked the loose ball into the goal, scoring. We conceded the first goal in just two minutes.

　Tokyo falls behind due to a goal just as they were trying to find their rhythm, and they struggle to keep up with Yokohama's quick start. Their first shot comes in the 9th minute, as Kajiyama is fouled in front of the goal while dribbling and they are awarded a free kick. Ishikawa takes the shot, but it is blocked by the DF wall. In the 15th minute, Lucas makes a run and passes to Toda, who cuts into the left area with great speed, but is stopped by the opposing DF's sliding tackle. In the 16th minute, Inoue receives a pass from Kajiyama and takes a shot, but it goes wide to the right.

　Tokyo gradually regained control of the game at a fast pace. In the 17th minute, they created a decisive chance. Ishikawa picked up a clearance from the opponent's DF and sprinted down the right side. Lucas took a direct cross and Toda, who had moved into the center, was free to shoot. However, the opponent's GK made a nice save and stopped the shot. In the 22nd minute, Yokohama's GK Enomoto cleared the ball to the front line and Yasu kept it. From MF Yanagi's cross, Endo took a shot from the left side of the area. However, in the end, Yokohama only managed to take two shots in the first half.

Continuing to create opportunities in Tokyo soccer...

　Tokyo, who dominates the game by grasping the rhythm. In the 25th minute, they took back the counter from Yokohama and Ishikawa ran up the right side. Lucas → Kajiyama connects and the last pass goes to Shigetani, who was attacking the front line, but is blocked by the defender and escapes to a corner kick. In the 26th minute, Lucas takes a forceful shot in front of the goal. In the 29th minute, Inamoto sends a last pass from Ishikawa's interception and Toda takes a shot. In the 30th minute, Jean scores with his foot on Kaji's early cross. However, the opponent's goalkeeper saves both shots.

　At 32 minutes, there was another decisive scene. When Kaji and Ishikawa stole the ball from the opponent on the right side of their own field, Ishikawa ran up the right side and passed to Lucas, who had drifted to the right area. Lucas sent a fast ground cross to the center, but the opponent's defender made a full-body sliding tackle just before it reached Toda, who was closing in. Unfortunately, they were unable to finish the play.

　At 38 minutes, a fierce attack was launched using the wide field from the right Ishikawa, center Kajiyama, and an intercept from Konno on the left side. At 41 minutes, Ishikawa, Lucas, Toda, and Kajiyama attacked the goal and passed the ball, but Konno's shot went over the goal. Ishikawa was repeatedly the starting point on the right side, creating many chances from Konno's attacks and Kajiyama's passes. However, it could be said that the inability to score here was the cause of the defeat.

Unable to suppress the counterattack, bitter defeat

　The second half also saw a fast-paced game. However, both teams attacked the opponent's goal, but were unable to create any decisive opportunities. In the 52nd minute, Yokohama DF Kawai took a shot, marking the first shot of the second half. In the 53rd minute, Yokohama MF Oku made a through pass to FW Sakata, who broke through Tokyo DF's defense, but Toda, who had returned to defend, made a last-minute clearance. In the 55th minute, Tokyo's Doi saved a shot from FW Yasu from the right side of the box. On the other hand, in the 57th minute, Kaji overlapped. In the 59th minute, Robert made a cross and attacked from the right side, but was unable to finish.

　Substituting Miura for Asari at 60 minutes. It was just after an attempt to turn the game around. At 61 minutes, Tokyo cleared Yokohama's corner kick. However, Kajiyama's play collided with a DF and resulted in a foul, giving Yokohama a free kick. The ball kicked by MF Oku from a distance of about 20 meters in front of the goal went over the wall and into the right side of the goal. They were easily scored an additional point from a set play.

　Substituted Toda for Abe in the 63rd minute. In the 64th minute, Lucas → Kajiyama dodges a one-two in the area and attacks. In the end, Lucas was slightly offside, but he didn't give up and headed towards the goal. However, in the 66th minute, Miura was judged to have committed a rough play when he tried to avoid the opponent's check in the Yokohama camp. This was Miura's second warning today and he was sent off, forcing Tokyo to play with 10 men.

　In an attempt to break through the situation where they were constantly being pushed back, in the 69th minute, Ishikawa takes a powerful middle shot, but it goes straight to the GK. In the 70th minute, Abe tries to break through in front of the goal on Kajiyama's through pass, but the opponent's DF cuts it off a step ahead. In the 71st minute, Kurizawa is substituted in for Ishikawa. They continued to push towards the goal until the end, but ultimately they were unable to change the tide against Yokohama's 11 players. They were forced to defend and the game ended. They suffered a bitter defeat of 0-2, their first home loss of the season in the league.

【Player Comments】《Asari》"(It was my first start in a while, but) I was desperate. I was conscious of making simple passes forward. I think I was able to play with the defense by communicating with the DF. Konno is strong up front, so I was trying to let him take the ball as much as possible and then follow up. In the first half, we needed to score during our attacking period. We should have attacked more calmly."《Toda》"This season, I'm trying to open up on the side and then enter the goal area. If I can time it right, I should be able to create more decisive scenes. (Today, I had a few chances by getting into the goal area, but) it's still too late for me to do that."

[Summary of the press conference by former coach] "We conceded the first goal, and then Asari and Wu received consecutive warnings, which caused the players to be unsettled and confused. In the first half, we were able to use the sides well and created several decisive scenes from crosses from the right, but we wanted to score there. At halftime, the content was not bad at all. Yokohama aims for counterattacks, so we talked about continuing to attack while taking care of that. We brought in Miura in the middle of the second half and tried to thoroughly enforce it to everyone again. We tried to connect passes and use Ishikawa and Kaji on the right side or the left side. However, it was a miscalculation that he was sent off. It became tough at this point. Today, to be honest, we were confused because we couldn't understand the criteria for the decisions. Yokohama is a good team, and it became a boring game for the fans who came to watch because it became a 10-man battle. It's a shame that it ended while we were frustrated. However, since the game continues, we want to switch to the next one as soon as possible, including the condition of the players who returned from the national team. We can't just keep going like this."

[Yokohama Okada's press conference summary] "We scored a goal in the beginning of the first half and had a good start, but gradually became passive and stopped making passes. The atmosphere became more and more afraid of the ball and we were under intense pressure. However, our 3-back and GK were very persistent and defended well. We were able to maintain our concentration and always put our bodies on the line. I think that was the key point of today's game. At halftime, we talked about whether we should just defend and drag out the game... but we didn't want to do that, we wanted to try without fear. In the second half, we were able to play well and the situation became easier when the opponent's player was sent off. Considering our current team situation and players, it was a huge achievement to earn 3 points here. We are still picking up points, but we are not satisfied with our performance. However, I think we are gradually improving. Since we have consecutive games, we want to use players who are in good condition."