Break the struggle of not being able to win

　As we reach two-thirds of the 2nd stage, in Sec. 10 we will face Yokohama F.Marinos away. Tokyo has struggled to gain momentum in the league and has not been able to secure wins. However, the 1st stage champions, Yokohama F.Marinos, are in a similar situation. Currently in 5th place, they have been suffering in their last five matches with one win and four losses due to a series of injuries. To remain in the upper ranks as we approach the end of the stage, both teams will be fighting for three points today.

　In this match, goalkeeper Doi achieved a tie for the Thai record of 145 consecutive appearances in the J1 League, matching Shimizu S-Pulse player Masanori Sanada. Coincidentally, this great record, which has continued since the 2000 Sec. 1 match against Yokohama F.Marinos, is something we definitely want to celebrate with a victory.

Dominated and allowed the opening goal from a difficult situation

　The game, which started with a kickoff from Yokohama F.Marinos, began with both teams focused. As the battle for the ball continued, in the 4th minute, F.Marinos MF Oka took a mid-range shot. To break the frustrating development, in the 14th minute, FW Sakata aimed for a ground shot from a distance. However, gradually F.Marinos picked up the loose balls and took control, launching aggressive attacks starting from the right side with MF Tanaka. In the 19th minute, Tanaka picked up a clearance from Tokyo DF and took a shot with speed, but Doih caught it firmly.

　In the 20th minute, Kaji crossed from the right to Ishikawa, and Kelly attempted a header shot, but it went over the goal. Although they finally showed some attacking play from the sides, they were often pushed back by F. Marinos, who set up in a 3-5-2 formation, and could not gain the upper hand. In the 21st minute, Tanaka from F. Marinos broke through, but Baba managed to deflect it for a corner kick. Then in the 25th minute, Dudu, the left MF for F. Marinos, picked up a clearance from Tokyo and exchanged a vertical pass with Oku. It was directed to MF Yanagi, who returned it directly, and the advancing Oku took a shot. This resulted in the opening goal, as they failed to catch Oku, leading to a defensive lapse and a conceded goal. The team continued to struggle with the positioning of Dudu, Oku, and Yanagi. They lost the second ball and could not create an attacking shape.

　Finally, in the 36th minute, Kelly launched a quick attack, and Lucas evaded the DF to get into a shooting position, but was stopped by the opposing DF. Next, Ishikawa dribbled past two opposing DFs from the right side and passed to Lucas in the center. Miura was involved, and in the end, Kaji delivered a right cross, but this was also cleared by the DF. Just as the counterattack began to take shape, Suzuki was brought on for Baba in the 40th minute. Meanwhile, F. Marinos brought on MF Sato in the 42nd minute to replace the injured Dutra. In first-half stoppage time, Jean attacked the goal area from a free kick, but could not finish. Tokyo went into halftime trailing by one goal.

Suzuki and Ishikawa set the rhythm, and Jean scores the equalizer!

　The instructions from Coach Hara at halftime were, "Do not lose in one-on-one situations for the ball and in battles for loose balls. When attacking, do not be afraid to move forward." Following these instructions, Tokyo showed a remarkable change from the start of the second half. Just after the start, a combination play on the right side saw Kaji's pass not reach Ishikawa, but they regained possession and earned a free kick after some persistence. Then, in the 46th minute, Jean perfectly connected with Ishikawa's high kick, evading the marking of the opposing defender, and scored a goal! They equalized early in the second half, raising hopes for the subsequent developments.

　In the 49th minute, Kaji and Ishikawa worked together to win the ball, and Suzuki, who broke free to meet Ishikawa's cross, was fouled, earning a free kick just outside the area. Suzuki took a powerful bullet liner with Lucas as a decoy, but the opposing goalkeeper made a nice save. Miura reacted to the loose ball but couldn't push it in. With Konno and Miura at the center, Tokyo, now able to win the ball in midfield, continues to create chances.

　In the 58th minute, Suzuki connected with a clearance from the defender and dribbled forward. The cross was caught by the opposing goalkeeper. In the 59th minute, Suzuki's through pass to Lucas was called offside. In the 61st minute, Konno fiercely went to steal the ball from the opponent and was fouled, resulting in a free kick. Suzuki aimed directly from about 30 meters, but the shot went over. In the 66th minute, Ishikawa's lob pass reached Kelly, who broke free in front of the goal, but his trap was too heavy, and he couldn't take a shot. In a fast-paced sequence, F. Marinos also launched a counterattack, and in the 68th minute, Sato's right cross led to a header shot by forward Sakata. However, it missed the upper left corner of the goal.

A penalty was awarded in the final stages, and it was already too late for a counterattack...

　In the 70th minute, Miyazawa came on for Miura. F. Marinos also brought in FW Shimizu for Yanagi, moving Oku back to the defensive midfield position, trying to disrupt Tokyo's rhythm with the substitutions. In the 77th minute, from FW An's hold-up play, Tanaka advanced into the area and combined with Sakata for a shot, but it went just left of the goal. In the 78th minute, An's shot from a quick attack was caught by Dohi. In the 79th minute, after stopping a counter, Tokyo's defense allowed Sakata to pick up a loose ball and take a mid-range shot, which went over the bar, escaping a dangerous situation. In the 79th minute, Tokyo substituted Abe for Kanazawa, who was carrying an injury. Suzuki was brought in as the left back to go for the win.

　As the intense offense and defense continued, in the 83rd minute, Miyazawa spread the ball to the right, and Ishikawa's cross attacked the goal area. In the 84th minute, from a quick restart by F. Marinos, Tanaka's shot aimed at the lower left of the goal was nicely saved by Doi. In the 87th minute, F. Marinos DF Nakazawa advanced, and Shimizu broke through with a through pass, but the shot went wide to the right. Tokyo attempted to exploit the space behind the DF line with a long feed from Moino, but was ruled offside.

　It was right after that. After an indirect free kick, Yasu entered the area via Sakata. In a play where he tried to evade the defender with a feint, Jean was judged to have committed a foul, resulting in a penalty kick awarded to Yokohama F.Marinos. This was converted, allowing Tokyo to concede a lead in the 88th minute. There was no time left to score another goal. In stoppage time, Suzuki made a bold attempt, but his shot from the left area was saved by the GK. Just one more goal, just one more step... was not enough, leading to a frustrating time-up. Tokyo suffered a defeat of 1-2 at the away Yokohama International Stadium.

　【Player Comments】<Doi> "Tokyo had to play the first half like F. Marinos did. The rhythm improved gradually in the second half, but conceding a goal from a penalty left a bitter taste. I'm happy to have tied the record for consecutive league appearances, but I believe it wouldn't be possible without the support of my teammates and staff. Since I started playing in 2000, the team has shifted from a defense-focused style to a more attacking one, and younger players have developed, making us truly 'one team.' While it is important for me to play, winning was the priority. Although today leaves some frustration, I want to reset and aim for consecutive wins from here." <Ishikawa> "I think F. Marinos had more chances, but it was good that we endured and connected to our attacks. What remains is to finish those chances and score when we have the rhythm... Defensively, I coordinated with player Kaji to defend as a unit, trying to avoid one-on-one situations. Offensively, since the opponent's defensive line was high, I delivered crosses early, but we couldn't push deeper. To do that, we need to regain possession higher up the pitch. I'm in good condition and want to be involved in more and more chances."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the first half, F. Marinos set the pace from the start. They played more long balls than we expected, and we struggled to connect passes. Even when we tried long balls, they were cleared, and the second balls were picked up by them. In the goal conceded, a cleared ball was picked up, flicked forward, and finished after it dropped. In this situation, Baba's strengths did not come through well. Due to fatigue, Hayato TANAKA got the upper hand early on. Normally, he is a player who can hold the ball, but he was chasing and defending. So we brought in Norio SUZUKI, who has power and momentum, and he tried to break through from the left side, adding an accent. Long passes from Ishikawa to Norio also started to connect, and the momentum shifted to us. However, since we couldn't fully attack and remained forward, we created several dangerous situations. We kept Norio on the field and brought Abe forward to take a chance. But we conceded a penalty at that time, and although we tried to recover, there was no time left. (In the first half, we couldn't pick up second balls in midfield because) F. Marinos' defenders plus Yanagi and Nasu are, I think, the strongest in heading in the J League. We should have connected passes with a better tempo, but we lost most of the aerial duels. Also, we were afraid of the attacks from F. Marinos' two forwards plus Oku, so we couldn't push up. We made adjustments midway and created chances from the sides with Ishikawa or SUZUKI... The content was by no means bad. We created chances against a strong F. Marinos and did not concede due to being broken down. Losing in this way makes it hard to switch mindset, but without looking down, we want to stay positive and make one more effort to earn points."

　[Summary of Coach Okada's Press Conference] "Recently, the content of our play has not been bad, but we have been unable to secure victories. Today, we played wonderful football in the first half. However, we could only score one goal, and due to a slight lapse in concentration in the second half, we conceded a goal, making me wonder if we would again fail to win. Nevertheless, the players truly did not give up and fought for the ball until the end, finally achieving victory. I once again realized how difficult it is to earn three points. The reason we couldn't replicate our first-half performance in the second half was primarily due to the absence of Dudu. He is an irreplaceable player, and when he is missing, the balance inevitably falls apart. In the next match, Dudu will be injured, and Oku will be suspended, but we want to come together as a team and do our best again."