A battle that we absolutely cannot lose, and a way to escape from consecutive losses!

　Sec. 3 of the 2nd stage, which was greeted with two consecutive losses. The last game of August will be an away game at the Japan National Stadium against Tokyo Verdy 1969. From this round, the U-23 national team players who fought in the Athens Olympics will return to the team. Ishikawa was absent due to a bruise on his left knee, but Shigetani and Konno were named in the starting lineup. On the other hand, Verdy won against Niigata in the first round, but suffered a defeat against Urawa with 7 goals conceded in the previous round. Improving their defense is considered urgent.

　A crucial game between two teams based in Tokyo, not only to determine the outcome of the 2nd stage, but also to avoid any further losses. The cold rain poured down on the National field, and the unexpected chill of August could be felt, but the voices from the away stand echoed, "We cannot lose to Verdy," creating an atmosphere as if it were a home game. The match started with Verdy's kickoff.

Unable to create rhythm, the first half ends in a slump.

　Due to the rain, both teams had a cautious start. In the 4th minute, Kelly passed to Miura who had advanced up the right side, and crossed the ball in front of the goal. Baba picked up the DF's clearance and crossed again. They were able to win a corner kick with their attack from the side, but were unable to score with their subsequent shot. Around the 10-minute mark, Verdy's DF Yoneyama intercepted Inokoshi's pass. In the 11th minute, Doi's long kick went to the side and Baba was unable to trap it. They were unable to find their rhythm and gradually allowed Verdy to dominate possession. In the 12th minute, Kelly was fouled off the ball and they were awarded a free kick. Jean took a direct shot from a distance of about 20 meters, but missed the goal by a large margin. In the 15th minute, Inokoshi attempted to head Baba's free kick, but missed the ball.

　Verdy, who presses from the front line, cuts the Tokyo ball in the 16th minute, and MF Yoshiyuki KOBAYASHI shoots a middle shot from a free position in the midfield. However, when Doi catches this ball, he quickly connects it with a feed, and Baba shoots freely from Lucas' post. In the 23rd minute, Jean is surrounded in his own field, and when he is unable to pass the ball, Verdy FW Sakurai shoots. In addition to short passes, Verdy dominates the ball by connecting long balls from the right side by MF Yamada and DF Yoneyama, who attack at the right time, and side changes and DF lines. However, although they shoot from a distance, they are unable to create a decisive chance to break through the Tokyo DF.

　At 34 minutes, Jean heads a left CK from Baba, but it goes slightly to the right. At 37 minutes, Kurisawa, who entered the right area, passes to Kaji who came up from the outside. Baba heads Kaji's cross in the center, but the shot has no power. Immediately after at 38 minutes, Kelly and Kurisawa combine again, with Kelly entering the right area. He cuts past the DF and crosses. Kurisawa connects with his head, and Baba heads the shot at the goal, but it goes too high. At 39 minutes, when Verdy's Yoneyama crosses from the right, FW Hiramoto and Jean both jump in, but the ball grazes the post. Tokyo tries to create chances from CKs and FKs, but at 44 minutes, Lucas competes for a left CK and Kanazawa tries a direct volley, but it goes to the right of the goal. Despite a back-and-forth battle, the first half ends with an overall lackluster performance.

Abe's entry helped us gain momentum and launch a series of side attacks.

　In the second half, it was Tokyo who took the initiative. They started picking up second balls as instructed at halftime, and in the 49th minute, they launched a quick attack. However, Kelly's final pass was cut off by the opposing DF. In the 52nd minute, Baba sent Lucas running into the space on the right side with a one-touch pass, and Lucas crossed the ball. Miura picked up the ball after the opposing GK deflected it, and crossed it again. However, it was cleared by the DF, and although they started to find their rhythm, they couldn't create any clear chances. In an attempt to break the deadlock, Abe was substituted for Kurisawa in the 54th minute. This would prove to be a game-changing move. Abe aggressively challenged from the left side, completely taking control of the attacking rhythm.

　56 minutes, Kaji dribbles past the defender on the right side and crosses the ball into the space. Abe heads the ball but misses the target. In the 60th minute, Abe receives a pass from Kaji and dribbles towards the goal, but Miura picks up the loose ball and passes it to Kanazawa on the left side. Although they couldn't finish, they were able to create a wave of attacks by picking up the second ball. In the 62nd minute, they had a clear chance. Lucas drops the ball from a throw-in and Baba picks it up for a powerful shot. The goalkeeper saves the ball, but Abe picks it up again and takes a shot from the left area. Unfortunately, it misses just above the goal, but it was a good attacking play.

　At 64 minutes, Kaji, who had dribbled from the side to the center, saw an opening and took a middle shot. The ball flew to the lower left corner of the goal, but the GK made a save and earned a CK. Despite Verdy's declining physicality, Tokyo repeatedly approached the goal from crosses and won CKs, but failed to finish. In the 71st minute, Yusuke Kondo was substituted for Baba.

Kajiyama's powerful shot that saved the team!

　In the 75th minute, Verdy continuously took two CKs, but countered with Lucas -> Kanazawa -> Abe, and Kanazawa picked up the opponent's clear and shot from inside the area. However, it missed above the goal. In the 78th minute, Verdy MF Miura's FK aimed at the lower left corner of the goal was saved by Doi and escaped to CK. In the following 79th minute, Tokyo cut off this Verdy's short corner and made a quick attack. Yusuke Kondo -> Kelly and Kelly passed to Yusuke Kondo who had jumped out to the front line. Yusuke Kondo avoided the GK who had jumped out and directly flowed into the goal! Everyone followed the trajectory of the ball, thinking it was a goal. However, the rolling ball was cleared by Verdy MF Kobayashi at the goal line. With a determined sliding, they were unable to cross the goal line.

　In the 81st minute, Kajiyama was substituted for Miura, who showed signs of fatigue. Using the last substitution slot, they pushed for a Verdy goal with all their might. In the 86th minute, Kajiyama took a shot with his left foot from mid-range, but it went wide. However, his bold attacking attitude paid off afterwards.

　88 minutes, Lucas receives the ball from a left throw-in in the center, and passes it to Kajiyama who is free in the midfield. Kajiyama takes one touch and strikes with his right foot. The ball, with great control and speed, hits the left side of the goal and goes in! The goalkeeper couldn't even move a step with this eye-opening shot. Kajiyama had also scored a goal from a similar position in the Nabisco Cup match against Kashima, but this shot had even more power. "When the pass came from Lucas, I initially thought of passing to the right side and took a touch to the right. But there was space in front of me, so I decided to take the shot," said Kajiyama. He showed his precise technique and boldness, and his first goal in the league became a "big achievement".

　The remaining time, including 3 minutes of stoppage time, was skillfully used by Kelly and Lucas to keep the ball and prevent Verdy from making a comeback. The time was up. In defense, they managed to keep Verdy's attacks from scoring, and with Kajiyama's strike, they were able to get the much-needed 3 points. This valuable win breaks their losing streak and they will now aim for a comeback from here on out!

【Player Comments】《Jean》"I've been thinking about shooting more and more since I entered the game. (Because it was raining), I thought that the goalkeeper might deflect it if I hit it towards the frame, so I decided to shoot without hesitation. With player Imakawa, we tried to balance each other out when we had a chance. We had lost two games in a row, but the team atmosphere wasn't bad, so I think we can win more from today on."《Imakawa》"I was thinking about balancing first, but there were some mistakes in my first game back with the team. In the midfield, we were able to pass the ball around, but we didn't let them score in the final line, so I think it was good. It's tough to switch from the Olympics, but it's important to do our best in the J-League now. It was a tough game, but the most important thing is for the team to win, so I'm glad we were able to get results."《Lins》"To be honest, I might still be a little tired, but I think our defense was stable. There were no problems with our combination with Jean. In the attack, I believed that our front players would eventually score."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We had two consecutive losses at the start of the season and the results weren't there, but the performance wasn't bad. The Olympic representatives have returned and we have scaled up our training this past week. Ishikawa got injured during Thursday's practice match, so we've been monitoring him until today, but we decided to prioritize his health and start Kurisawa instead. We knew that we would have to give up some control to Verdy today, so we focused on defending well and then attacking quickly, with the second half being the deciding factor. I thought that if we brought on attacking players like Abe, Yusuke Kondo, and Kajiyama, we would have a chance to score at some point. Abe is the type of player who can jump into the box and also take on defenders on the left side. He has also scored as a substitute in the past two matches, so we wanted to bring him on as a key player. Next, we brought on Yusuke Kondo, who has a strong shot, and finally Kajiyama. We also considered Miura's fatigue and wanted to spread the ball around and utilize the wings, or even give Kajiyama a chance to score. When Yusuke Kondo's shot was cleared, I thought we might end up with a draw, but the players never gave up and we were able to secure a crucial 3 points. We played well against Deportivo and Roma, but couldn't get results, so we talked about raising our level of play. The Olympic representatives have joined us and we were able to see the results of our training. It was great that we were able to keep a clean sheet. We were a bit too focused on attacking, so we made sure to defend well and try to score within that. Kajiyama has a fantastic shot, but he always chooses to pass, so I've been telling him to shoot more. His shot against Deportivo was amazing, and today's shot was also amazing. I want him to become a player with a big impact. These 3 points are huge for us. G Osaka is also in good form, but we want to focus on the next Nabisco Cup match."

[Summary of Verdy Ardiles' press conference] "I think the previous game against Reds still had an impact, and today was very bad. There are many players whose confidence has decreased. From our perspective, it was a very poor game. In the first half, there wasn't much of a difference, but we were still satisfied because we were better than the opponent. However, the second half was poor and it became a worrying development. We only had two shots, including Miura's free kick. We could also see that the players were tired. It may all be due to a loss of confidence. Our team is either white or black. When we are white, we can beat teams like F. Marinos and Kashima. But when we are black, we become really deep black and leave bad results. Today's result may have been a call to be cautious. Next is the Nabisco Cup, but we need to go back to basics. Our basic passing is not working well, so we need to focus on that in next week's practice. We may need to come up with something, including changes in the system and players. We cannot break through this situation in our current state."