Battle for Consecutive Wins

　Sec. 10 will face 10th place Hiroshima at home. This round will have a one-week interval from the previous round and will be held on Sunday. Depending on the results of other matches played yesterday, if we can earn 3 points today, we can expect to move up in the rankings. It will also be a match where we aim for a 3-game winning streak and aggressively attack at home.

　Kelly, who had been absent due to injury, finally returned to this battle. Although he is not yet in top form, Manager Hara said, "Even if he can play for 45 minutes," and he will start the game and bet on the first half. In addition, Kajiyama will play as left MF and Tokunaga, a specially designated player, will play as right SB.

　Hiroshima, on the other hand, has been in good form since the 5th round without a loss. They have been extending their points with attacking from the sides and solid defense, and are currently on a winning streak after 3 draws. This round will be a battle to aim for 3 consecutive wins. The match started with Hiroshima's kickoff as the foggy rain began to fall from the cloudy sky.

Both teams have a strong defensive mindset, resulting in a back-and-forth match.

　Both teams are pressing each other from the start, trying to steal the ball. The ball stays in play and the back-and-forth battle continues. In the 4th minute, Tokyo's persistent Ishikawa wins a corner kick on the right side. In the 5th minute, Hiroshima connects a goal kick and midfielder Morisaki Hiroshi takes a shot from the front line. In the 12th minute, Tokyo's Ishikawa → Kelly → Konno connect and Konno sends a shot from the middle range to the front line, but it is offside.

　At 16 minutes, Ishikawa, who had drifted to the left area from a free kick, took Tokyo's first shot. At 20 minutes, Asari sent a long ground pass to the right space, and Ishikawa, who had jumped out, took a right corner kick. In the 21st minute, after winning the ball on the right side, Lucas → Asari in the center → Kajiyama on the left used the field widely, and in the end, Ishikawa jumped into the right area freely on Fujiyama's cross, but due to the slippery pitch, the timing was off and he couldn't take the shot.

　Ishikawa often starts the attack and Tokyo tries to add an accent, but the decisive scene did not come as time passed. In the 22nd minute, Jean headed a free kick. In the 31st minute, Kelly competed for a header in front of the goal from Konno's early cross, but both were above the goal. In the 32nd minute, Ishikawa boldly headed towards the goal from a quick attack, but the cross was out. They couldn't break through Hiroshima's thick midfield and the defense that was sometimes reinforced with 5 backs.

Revival! Kelly's header takes the lead...

　Hiroshima passed to Morisaki Hiroshi when MF Komano dribbled up the midfield at 33 minutes. Morisaki Hiroshi, who was keeping the right area, made a strong cross shot that caught the defense off guard, but Doi saved it. The momentary lapse in concentration could lead to a goal, so they can't let their guard down.

　However, Tokyo cuts the ball in the opponent's territory in 37 minutes and attacks the Hiroshima goal. Although it is initially repelled by the DF, Asari calmly picks it up and connects it to Ishikawa on the right. Ishikawa cuts back to the center and crosses with his left foot. Kelly then heads it in for a goal! With Ishikawa's beautiful trajectory and Kelly's goal that leaves an impression of a comeback, they take the lead in the midst of the flow!!

　Tokyo, who wanted to ride the momentum, couldn't grasp the rhythm. Shortly after taking the lead, Lucas injured his right foot. In the 43rd and 44th minutes, Hiroshima continued to attack, taking corners from crosses and shots, and pushing Tokyo's DF line back. And it was in stoppage time. Hiroshima connected with MF Hattori from FW Thiago on the left side from a throw-in, and crossed. Although Tokyo's DF cleared it, the loose ball was picked up and passed to Komano on the right side. Fuyama checked Komano, but the play was judged as a foul as they collided. This resulted in a penalty kick, which FW Thiago scored to tie the game. It was a regrettable time to be caught up in the game.

Before Hiroshima's organized play, it is brought to a draw.

　The game returned to the starting point and the second half became a battle, but Hiroshima sealed Tokyo's attacks by having Kazu Mori enter as a defensive midfielder and Lee take care of the sides in a 4-back formation. They also had clear plays in mind, pressing and quickly passing the ball to Thiago up front, with both sides moving up and players coming out from the back. In the 48th minute, Kazu Mori received a side change from the right and passed it back to Hattori who ran up the center and took a shot. The final accuracy was not quite there, and while it was not an absolute crisis for Tokyo, they were unable to create the desired attacks.

　Substituted Abe for Lucas at 50 minutes. However, at 54 minutes, Hiroshima had a chance. After receiving Morisaki Hiroshi's through pass, Tiago's shot from in front of the goal hit the bar. At 57 minutes, Tokyo's Ishikawa → Kelly combination again broke through to the right with a fast ground cross. Abe tried to score in front of the goal, but was blocked by the defender. At 58 minutes, Abe, who had attacked from the left side, created a chance from a sharp cross, and immediately after that, Abe headed Kajiyama's cross. However, it hit the goalkeeper's face. Tokyo began to gain momentum, but their final touch was lacking and they were unable to score.

　Hiroshima made a substitution in the 68th minute, replacing Lee with FW Ogi. In the 75th minute, Tokyo made a substitution, replacing Ishikawa with Kaji, and in the 80th minute, Kelly was replaced by Baba. Tokunaga was moved up to MF, with Baba on the left and Kajiyama in the center, in an attempt to score a winning goal. However, in the 82nd minute, Kaji's cross was blocked by Abe and Kajiyama, preventing a shot. In the 88th minute, Kajiyama narrowly missed a header from Inano's cross. In the 89th minute, Inano's shot from the left side, after receiving a pass from Kaji to Baba, was caught by the GK. Despite a strong attack towards the end, they were unable to score and the match ended in a draw, earning them only 1 point.

【Player Comments】《Kelly》"I'm happy to score in the game I came back to, but it's disappointing that we couldn't win. I still have a lot to improve physically and I couldn't get into the rhythm of the game. (There were also many scenes where I was marked in front of the goal) On the other hand, there may have been issues with my condition and it may have been difficult to move around in the midfield."《Tokunaga》"I wanted to produce a result (a win). Throughout the 90 minutes, I tried to create opportunities from the side, but there were also moments where I struggled to combine with my teammates in the midfield. I wanted to move the ball and switch sides, and then cross from the outside..."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We were booed from the stands, but the problem was that we didn't have enough shots. The rain made things slippery, but overall our ball control wasn't good. We wanted to break down the sides more simply, like we did when we scored, but Hiroshima was solid and stable. They can tighten up their defense if we take too long, so we wanted to attack earlier. Kelly is still not in top form, but we decided to use him because the team is aiming for higher goals. Considering his track record and skills, we wanted to start him from the beginning and he even scored for us. However, we haven't had much time to practice together this season, so the rhythm of the ball getting to him was a bit slow. I think this goal will be a turning point for the team to improve. As for the goal we conceded, if we had played more clearly after the corner kick and throw-in, that penalty wouldn't have happened. Kajiyama is normally a central player, but today he showed movement like passing to Abe and cutting into the penalty area, so I don't think he can't play on the left side. We want the ball to go to him and Kelly, and then have the others join in. Today, Lucas was substituted due to a bruise, but he was involved and on the right side we had Ishikawa, Kaji, and Tokunaga moving up. We need to value the ball more and play simple, and thoroughly execute our attacks from the sides. It's important to continue working towards scoring in a good way. I believe it's crucial to combine our combinations."

[Hiroshima Ono coach's press conference summary] "I wanted to get 3 points somehow, but unfortunately I couldn't. It may have been a disappointing result for both FC Tokyo and us, but I think it was a great game today. This is because most of the opponents we have faced so far have been teams that focus on defense and aim for counters with 2-3 players. Of course, they have the ability to score with that, but Tokyo is different and they also attack from the DF line. We also attacked with multiple players, and both teams kept attacking and attacking until the end, with intense concentration. In that sense, the result was disappointing, but the players did their best until the end."