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

　A match between both teams who suffered losses in the previous round and want to break the bad streak. Especially for Tokyo, they have not won in the league for about a month since the 3rd round against Tokyo V, and have suffered consecutive shutout losses in the last 2 matches, making it a tough situation where they need a win at all costs. Although they narrowly won against Kashima in the Nabisco Cup on April 29th, preventing "early goals" within the first 5 minutes, which has happened in all 3 matches including that one, will be the key to breaking the losing streak.

　On the other hand, Kobe Univ has updated their "home unbeaten record" with 3 wins and 2 draws in home games this season, despite losing in the previous away game. In addition, at Kobe Univ, the venue for this day, they have continued their undefeated streak with 3 wins in the past league games against Tokyo. In order to ride the rising momentum again, it is expected that they will aggressively attack from the beginning of the kickoff with absolute confidence in their home victory.

　Tokyo's starting lineup will face the same members as the previous match, except for Fujiyama who replaced Wu at left back. On the bench, Miyazawa replaced Miura who was suspended, and Baba replaced Kurizawa. It was expected that the performance of 18-year-old Kajiyama, who has played the top role in four consecutive matches including the 6th round against Iwata in the Nabisco Cup, and the midfielders Imano and Asari who formed a double pivot in the previous match, would have a significant impact on the outcome. The match kicked off at 2:04 pm under perfect sunny conditions.

Another early goal conceded...

　Kobe, the home team, showed momentum right after the kickoff. Kobe targeted the tall Brazilian striker, FW Leandro, with long balls from the defense line, and FW Hato, who formed a two-top, made sharp movements to get involved and head towards the goal. Jean was with Leandro and was not losing in height, but Kobe was quicker to react to second balls, and not only Hato but also right MF Kojima and left MF Fujimoto picked up the ball with sharp starts, supplied passes to the front line, or attempted to break through with dribbles and put pressure. In the 4th minute, a fine pass was connected in the center of Tokyo's goal, and Hato, who was free on the left side of the penalty area, received the last pass and took a shot, but Kaji barely blocked it. In the following 6 minutes, the ball came out behind the DF line from the chaos in front of Tokyo's goal, and Hato broke through alone, but GK Doi jumped out bravely and caught it a moment earlier. It seemed that they had survived the "devil's time right after the kickoff" without conceding a goal, but it was only a brief moment of relief.

　11 minutes, when a floating pass from MF Tsubouchi on the left side reached Leandro in the center, he skillfully trapped it with his right foot while blocking the marker with his left foot and took a low, powerful shot that grazed the hands of Doi and went into the goal. Once again, they allowed a goal in the early stages of the game due to a lack of concentration, despite having taken enough care, and were put in a difficult situation from the beginning.

The first half was marked by passive play.

　The difference in "temperature" between Tokyo, who had a lack of fighting spirit from the start against a spirited Kobe, and the result of the game was evident early on. Even after that, Tokyo did not wake up and continued to be pushed by Kobe's power play. The atmosphere was heavy. Did the early goal conceded again, despite being well prepared, take away the players' confidence? Even though they were not being broken down, were they not satisfied with conceding such a cheap goal? In the midst of all this, the ones fighting on the pitch were the defensive midfielders, Imakano and Asari. Imakano used his cheetah-like intense chasing to win back the ball. Or Asari would put his body on the line to stop the opponent's pass when Imakano pressed. Because of the impact of these two defensive midfielders, it seemed like the opponent was avoiding the midfield battle and relying on long balls. However, even when they managed to win back the ball and connect passes, there were many instances where they were cut off before they could bring the ball to the front line, resulting in counterattacks against them.

　Finally, the chance came in the 27th minute. Ishikawa kept the ball in the center and passed it to Lucas, who flew out to the space on the right side. Lucas put a low cross between the opponent's GK and DF from just near the goal line, and Toda jumped in from the head, but couldn't push it in and the ball went just outside the goal. It was the first decisive moment of the day after breaking the side. On the contrary, in the 35th minute, after receiving a counterattack from Fujiyama's kick mistake, Shigeta was passed by Leandro on the left side and faced Tohi one-on-one. He was hit by a powerful shot from his right foot just as he entered the penalty area, but Tohi stopped it with his right leg in a super play. In the 37th minute, Tokyo broke through the right side from a counterattack. Kajiyama → Ishikawa → Kaji crossed and Lucas shot in the center. In the 40th minute, a CK from the right side became a melee in front of the goal, and Imakawa, who was filling the loose ball, took a powerful shot, but it hit the opponent's DF and became a CK again. Ishikawa kicked the CK from the left to the far side, and Imakawa was free to trap and take a powerful shot from a close distance, but it was blocked by the opponent's DF again and did not become a goal. In the stoppage time, Ishikawa aimed directly at the FK he got from about 30m to the left of the center of the goal, but it was escaped by the good save of the opponent's GK, and the time was up here. The first half ended 0-1, and the game was carried over to the second half.

Konno's One-Man Show! Incredible 2 Goals Lead to a Comeback Victory!!

　At halftime, Manager Hara said, "Instead of worrying about how we play, we need to have a fighting spirit. Ishikawa, take more chances vertically. If we keep attacking from the outside in the second half, we will definitely score. We are creating chances from set pieces, just like when Imakano took a shot. The game starts now," and gave a passionate speech.

　30 seconds into the second half, a pass from Lucas' post to the right to Ishikawa was crossed, and the ball that was contested in the center flowed to the far side. Kajiyama ran in and took a volley shot from an angleless position. The ball missed above the bar, but Ishikawa, who didn't have many chances in the first half, immediately showed his strengths.

　Tokyo, which became more aggressive like a different team in the first half, started to steal the ball in a high position on the front line and created chances. In the 50th minute, Imakano received a pass on the right side and quickly passed it through the vertical space, with Ishikawa catching up and getting a corner kick despite being surrounded by two opposing DFs. Ishikawa took the corner kick and Imakano dived for a header while competing with the opposing DF, sending the ball into the goal with a powerful trajectory. Imakano's first J1 goal was a priceless goal for the team at the best time.

　Tokyo, who gained courage from Konno's goal, became even more aggressive. In the 53rd minute, Abe was substituted for Lucas, who was not in good condition. They were determined to win. On the other hand, Kobe, who was tied, became more aggressive in order to score an additional goal, and the game became more intense. In the 56th minute, Kobe's Kojima stole the ball on the left side and sent a long pass to Hado in the space behind Tokyo's shallow defense. Hado broke through and faced off against Doi in a 1-on-1 situation. Doi rushed out and managed to punch the ball away, avoiding a dangerous situation. In the 59th minute, Leandro, carrying Jean on his back, skillfully used the sole of his foot to make a reverse shot with his left foot in front of Tokyo's goal. The ball narrowly missed the left side of the goal, but it was a dangerous moment.

　Tokyo is not losing either. In the 60th minute, a pass was made behind the shallow Kobe DF line, and Toda broke through to a 1-on-1 with the GK. Against Toda, who had entered the penalty area on the right, the opposing GK also came out, but Toda chose to send a last pass to Abe, who was running in the center instead of shooting. Abe made a sliding attempt, but the opposing DF cleared it a moment earlier. It was a decisive moment that should have been a shot. In the following 63rd minute, Kaji made a perfect one-two with Ishikawa on the right side and broke through to make the best cross of the day. Kajiyama ran in on the far side and headed it, but the shot went just above the bar. In the 64th minute, Kajiyama cut the ball in the midfield. At this timing, Imakawa rushed fiercely to the space on the left side, and Kajiyama pulled the opposing DF enough before passing to Imakawa at the perfect timing. Imakawa calmly swung his left foot around the edge of the penalty area and the powerful ground shot grazed the opposing GK's hand and went into the right side of the goal. He himself was surprised and scored his first two professional goals to add to the score.

　Afterwards, with effective plays that exploited the space on the left side by Konno, they created numerous chances and despite a desperate comeback from Kobe towards the end, they were able to hold on with high concentration and physical plays, and the time was up. They stopped their losing streak in the league at 2 and obtained a valuable 3 for the first time in about a month.

【Player Comments】《Imano Player》"(The first goal was) lucky because I happened to be free. The second goal was also easy to score because Yohei KAJIYAMA drew the opponent away. I felt like the ball was coming to me today, and I think I was lucky."《Asari Player》"We talked about it together after losing in the previous game... but we conceded the same kind of goal and struggled in the first half. I think we were able to turn it around with the instructions from the coach at halftime. In terms of defense, we just need to aim for the loose ball after Imano's shot, and we're improving, but we still need to work on moving the ball better in attack, so that's our challenge."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the past three games against Jubilo, Antlers, and Marinos, we have conceded goals within 5 minutes, so today we focused on not conceding early on and raising our concentration. However, we were scored on in the 11th minute. The first goal was a ball that the GK could have saved. We weren't broken down, but that goal made the whole team nervous. Shigetaka also lost confidence after being beaten by Leandro once. At halftime, I told them, 'Don't try to make good plays, just fight more.' I also told Ishikawa to play more aggressively, and the second half was better. In the first half, only Konno and Asari were playing well. In the second half, the whole team started to attack aggressively, and that's our style of soccer. We found a good rhythm and Konno scored two goals for us. Today, I paired Konno with Asari, and Asari being behind him allowed Konno to confidently move forward. He showed his true aggressiveness and led the team. It's true that it's difficult without Kelly and (Kanazawa) Jou, but everyone is playing well. Today's game was a crucial one that could have sent us into a downward spiral if we lost. We want to carry this momentum into the next game against Reysol."

[Kobe Hasek's press conference summary] "Our players did well. Leo was playing brilliantly and I wanted to watch him in every game. However, it's a shame that we couldn't score another goal in the first half. In the second half, Hato had a decisive chance to go one-on-one with the GK, but it was stopped by the GK's hand. That was a 100% red card play. We lost two games in a row, so we want to switch our mindset and focus on the next game against Hiroshima. It was also painful that Tsuchiya received his third yellow card."