Stop the losing streak with a victory in the league for the first time in a month

　Both teams suffered losses in the previous match and are looking to break their bad streak. In particular, Tokyo has not won in four league matches since the match against Tokyo V in Sec. 3 about a month ago, and they have faced back-to-back shutout losses in the last two matches, resulting in a tough situation without any results. They desperately want to secure a win. Although they narrowly won against Kashima in the Nabisco Cup on April 29, they have conceded goals within the first five minutes of the first half in all three of their last matches, and preventing these "early goals" is believed to be the key to breaking their losing streak.

　On the other hand, Kobe has lost away in the previous match, but this season, they have achieved 3 wins and 2 draws in home games, continuing to update their "home unbeaten record." Additionally, at the venue of Kobe Univ, they have maintained an undefeated record against Tokyo in past league matches, winning all 3 encounters. To ride the upward momentum again, it is expected that they will fiercely attack from the kickoff with absolute confidence in their home victory.

　Tokyo's starting lineup will be the same as last match, except that Fujiyama has replaced Wu at left back. Miyazawa has come in for the suspended Miura on the bench, and Baba has replaced Kurizawa. The performance of 18-year-old Kajiyama, who has played a key role as an attacking midfielder for four consecutive matches including the Nabisco Cup since the match against Iwata in Sec. 6, along with Konno and Asari forming a double pivot, is expected to have a significant impact on the outcome of the match. The match kicked off at 2:04 PM under perfect conditions with clear skies.

Once again, conceding a goal early...

　From the kickoff, the momentum was shown by the home team Kobe. Kobe targeted their tall Brazilian striker FW Leandro with long balls from the defensive line, and the two forwards, including FW Harito, who dropped the ball there, made sharp movements toward the goal. Jean was marking Leandro and was not losing in height, but Kobe reacted faster to the second balls. Not only Harito, but also right MF Kojima and left MF Fujimoto aggressively recovered the ball with sharp tackles, supplying passes to the front line or attempting breakthroughs by dribbling to apply pressure. At 4 minutes, a quick pass sequence was made in front of Tokyo's goal center, and a last pass was delivered to Harito, who was free on the left side of the penalty area, and he took a shot, but Kaji barely blocked it. Then at 6 minutes, from a scramble in front of Tokyo's goal, the ball was played behind the defensive line, and Harito broke through alone, but GK Doi bravely rushed out and caught the ball a moment earlier. This series of dangers was prevented, and it seemed they had survived the "dangerous period right after kickoff" without conceding, but the relief was short-lived.

　In the 11th minute, a floating pass from left-side midfielder Tsubonai reached Leandro, who was positioned centrally. He skillfully trapped the ball, blocked the marker with his right foot, and shot with his left foot. The powerful shot, kept low, grazed Doih's hand and went into the goal. Once again, they allowed a goal due to a lack of concentration in a crucial early moment, putting them in a difficult situation from the start.

The first half was marked by passive play

　From the beginning, the match unfolded with Kobe showing fierce fighting spirit, while Tokyo entered the game without any sense of urgency, creating a clear "temperature difference" that quickly reflected in the early score. Even afterward, Tokyo did not wake up but continued to be pressed by Kobe's power play as the match progressed. The atmosphere felt heavy. Did conceding a goal so early, despite careful preparation, take away the players' confidence? Although they were not being broken down, were they frustrated by conceding such a careless goal...? Amidst this, the midfielders Konno and Asari were the ones fighting on the pitch. Konno used his characteristic cheetah-like intense chasing to win the ball back. Or when Konno's pressing disrupted the opponent's pass, Asari physically blocked it. Because these two midfielders were effective, the opponent seemed to avoid battles in midfield and relied on long balls. However, even when they managed to regain possession and connect passes, Tokyo's frontline often played passively, losing the ball before reaching the goal area and instead facing counterattacks.

　The long-awaited chance came at the 27th minute. Ishikawa held the ball in the center and persisted, passing through Kajiyama to Lucas, who burst into space on the right side. Lucas delivered a low cross from just inside the goal line between the opposing GK and defenders, and Toda dove in with his head but couldn’t push the ball in, which went just outside the goal. This was the first decisive chance of the day after breaking down the flank. Conversely, at the 35th minute, after a kick mistake by Fujiyama, they were caught on a counterattack; on the left side, Monyo was beaten by Leandro and faced a one-on-one with Doi. When entering the penalty area, a powerful low shot was fired from the right foot, but Doi made a super save with just his right leg to stop it. At the 37th minute, Tokyo broke through the right side on a counterattack. The ball passed from Kajiyama to Ishikawa to Kaji, and Lucas took a shot from the center off the cross. At the 40th minute, a corner kick from the right caused a scramble in front of the goal, and Konno, who was following up on the rebound, unleashed a powerful shot, but it hit the opposing defender and resulted in another corner. The corner kick from the left by Ishikawa reached a free Konno at the far side, who trapped the ball and fired a powerful shot from close range, but once again it was blocked by the opposing defender and no goal was scored. In stoppage time, Ishikawa directly targeted a free kick from about 30 meters slightly left of center, but the opposing GK made a great save, and the half ended there. The score remained 0-1, and the match was carried over to the second half.

Konno's one-man show! A stunning comeback victory with 2 incredible goals!!

　During halftime, Coach Hara urged, "It's not just about the play; have a stronger fighting spirit. Ishikawa should take more vertical challenges. If we keep attacking from the outside in the second half, we will definitely score. Just like Konno's shot, we are creating chances from set plays. The real battle starts from here."

　30 seconds into the second half, a pass from Lucas to Ishikawa on the right goes through, and as he delivers a cross, the ball contested in the center flows to the far side, where Kajiyama runs in and takes a volley shot from a tight angle. The ball went over the bar, but Ishikawa, who had not shown much in the first half, quickly showcased his skills.

　Tokyo, playing aggressively like a different team from the first half, started winning the ball in high positions up front and created chances. In the 50th minute, Konno received a pass on the right side and immediately sent a through ball into the vertical space, which Ishikawa chased down. Despite being surrounded by two opposing defenders, he managed to earn a corner kick. When Ishikawa took the corner, Konno competed with the opposing defenders in the center of the goal and executed a diving header. The ball struck with tremendous force and pierced the goal net. Konno's joyful first goal in J1 was a priceless strike during the team's best period.

　Tokyo, inspired by Konno's goal, became increasingly aggressive in their attack. In the 53rd minute, Abe was brought on to replace the underperforming Lucas. They were going for the win. Meanwhile, Kobe, having been equalized, became more aggressive in their pursuit of a second goal, intensifying the game. In the 56th minute, Kojima stole the ball on the left side and sent a long pass into the space behind Tokyo's shallow defense line, where Bando broke free and faced Dohi in a one-on-one situation. Dohi charged out fiercely and managed to escape danger with a punch just in time, but it was a decisive moment. Furthermore, in the 59th minute, Leandro, while holding off Jean in front of Tokyo's goal, executed a clever play using the sole of his foot and took a shot with his left foot. The ball narrowly missed the left side of the goal, creating a dangerous scene.

　Tokyo is not losing either. At the 60th minute, a pass was played behind the shallow defensive line of Kobe's defenders, and Toda broke free for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Toda entered the right side of the penalty area, and although the opposing goalkeeper came out, Toda chose to send a final pass to Abe running through the center instead of shooting. Abe slid in, but the opposing defender cleared the ball just a moment earlier. It was a decisive moment where a shot would have been better. Then at the 63rd minute, Kaji made a breakthrough on the right side after a perfect one-two with Ishikawa and delivered the best cross of the day. Kajiyama ran in at the far post and headed the ball, but the shot went just over the bar. At the 64th minute, Kajiyama intercepted the ball in a midfield contest. At this timing, Konno fiercely rushed into the space opened on the left side, and after Kajiyama sufficiently drew the opposing defender, he passed to Konno at the perfect moment. Konno calmly swung his left foot as he entered the penalty area, and his powerful ground shot grazed the opposing goalkeeper's hand and went into the right side of the goal. Surprising even himself, he scored his first two professional goals and added another point.

　After that, they created several chances with effective plays exploiting the space on the left side by Konno, and although they faced a desperate counterattack from Kobe in the final stages, they repelled it with high concentration and committed play, leading to the time-up. They stopped the consecutive losses in the league at 2 and secured a valuable 3 points for the first time in about a month.

【Player Comments】《Konno》 "(For the first goal) I was lucky to be free and was able to score. For the second goal, Yohei KAJIYAMA attracted the defender, making it easy for me to score. It felt like the ball was coming to me today, and I think I was fortunate." 《Asari》 "After losing in that manner in the previous match, we discussed it as a team... but we conceded a similar goal again and struggled in the first half. I think we were able to regroup thanks to the coach's instructions at halftime. Defensively, we can aim for the loose balls after Konno goes in, and we are improving, but we are still not moving the ball well in attack, so that is a challenge."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "In the last three matches against Jubilo, Antlers, and Marinos, we conceded goals within the first five minutes each time, so today we were determined to stay focused and avoid early goals, but we conceded at 11 minutes. The first goal was a ball the goalkeeper could have caught. Although we weren't broken down, that goal made the whole team nervous. Even Moiniwa seemed shaken and lost confidence after being beaten once by Leandro. At halftime, I told them, 'Don't think about playing well, just fight harder.' I also told Ishikawa to challenge more vertically, and the second half was better. In the first half, only Konno and Asari were really fighting. In the second half, the whole team pressed aggressively from the front, which is our style of football. We found a good rhythm, and Konno scored two goals. Today, I paired Konno with Asari, and having Asari at the back allowed Konno to confidently push forward. His natural aggressiveness came out, and he led the team. It's true that it's tough without Kelly and Jo KANAZAWA, but everyone did well. Losing here today would have been a turning point leading to a downward spiral. We want to carry today's momentum into the next match against Kashiwa Reysol."

【Summary of Coach HASEK's Press Conference】 "Our players worked hard. Leo displayed wonderful plays that I want to see every match. However, it's unfortunate that we couldn't attack to score one more goal in the first half. In the second half, there was a decisive chance when Bando was one-on-one with the GK, but it was stopped by the GK's hand. That was a 100% red card play. Now that we've lost two matches in a row, I want to switch our mindset and focus on the next match against Hiroshima. It also hurt that Tsuchiya received his third yellow card."