Regain balance and win at home!

　In the previous match, we were thoroughly studied by Kashiwa and suffered a defeat without being able to play our style of football. Coach Hara pointed out the correction points, stating, "We need to keep our formation compact. Everyone must defend well and attack together. It is important to regain balance." To gain an advantage in the qualifying league, we definitely want to achieve victory at our home with a balanced attacking style of Tokyo football. In this match, Japan national team players Doi and Kaji are absent. Fujita will make his first start as the right side back. Additionally, Kaji-yama, who has been absent since November 23 of last year, will be on the bench.

　This season, Oita Trinita welcomes new head coach Kwan HWANGBO. ABE from Tokyo has also joined on a loan transfer, starting the season with renewed determination. However, they have faced three consecutive losses since the league began, continuing a struggle without results. The attacking lineup, featuring forward TAKAMATSU and MAGNO ALVES with ABE and YOSHIDA in midfield, is described by Coach Hara as having "destructive power." However, he added, "Above all, the fear of not being able to afford a fourth consecutive loss is daunting." On the defensive side, they have conceded 7 goals in 3 matches. This week, DF PATRIC, who plays in the center of the three-back formation, is suspended, and DF SHIBAKOYA will make his first start of the season. Additionally, GK OKANAKA will also make his first start. They have made adjustments in player usage to prepare for this match against Tokyo. The match kicked off at 14:03 under clear skies.

Attack rhythmically and overwhelm Oita, but unable to finish

　Tokyo aggressively attacks from the start. Right after the kickoff, Fujita creates a chance with a long throw. In the 2nd minute, Moniwa's long feed is connected by Lucas, and Miyazawa shoots from directly in front of the goal. In the 4th minute, they launch a quick attack, with Kurizawa passing to the right space. Ishikawa makes a well-timed run and sends a grounded cross in front of the goal, but the opposing defender cuts it off. They win a corner kick. From the spilled ball of that corner kick, Moniwa volleys from the left area. In the 6th minute, they create a chance from Fujita's cross, and in the 9th minute, Lucas receives a pass from Kanazawa and shoots as he turns towards the goal. They give Oita absolutely no chance to attack and continue to press forward.

　In the 16th minute, a counter-attack from the opponent's free kick. Kurizawa connected with Fujita, who sent a pass to Ishikawa, making him run forward. Ishikawa cut in from the left to the center and took a bold shot from just outside the area, but it was saved well by the opponent's GK, resulting in a corner kick. Ishikawa showed his sharpness again today, winning a corner kick after a breakthrough in the 24th minute. Konno headed the right corner kick taken by Miyazawa, but it went wide to the left. Oita, prepared to commit fouls in their own half, stopped Tokyo's attacks. They looked for chances from the set plays gained from this, but could not create any decisive scenes.

　37 minutes: Lucas heads the early cross from Fujita at the far post. However, the timing was off, and it lacked power. In the 38th minute, Miyazawa attempted a mid-range shot to draw out Oita's compact DF. In the 41st minute, Ishikawa broke through the defense to meet Miyazawa's floated pass with a header. However, it collided with Toda and did not connect. In the 43rd minute, Oita MF Abe picked up a clearance from Tokyo DF and delivered a right cross. Shiota's punch deflected the ball in front of MF Yoshida in the left area, allowing him to take a free shot. It was a tense moment, but the ball went over the bar.

　As a result, Oita only had this one shot in the first half. However, for Tokyo, not being able to score during this first half, in which they created many chances, would have significant consequences. In stoppage time, Oita's midfielder Arimura fouled Ishikawa, who was trying to counterattack, resulting in a warning. Since he had already received a warning for stopping Ishikawa's breakthrough in the 29th minute, he was sent off. Oita would now have to fight with 10 players.

A draw with no goals, unable to break through the defense

　After the start of the second half, Tokyo attempts to launch a wide attack against Oita, who are down to 10 men. In the 45th minute, Kanazawa delivers a left cross. In the 48th minute, they initiate a fast attack, and Kurizawa, gaining speed, takes a mid-range shot, but it narrowly goes over the goal. In the 52nd minute, Kanazawa breaks down the left side and crosses. Lucas, who picks up a loose ball in front of the goal, prepares to shoot but is once again cut off by the DF. They continue to launch wave after wave of attacks, but cannot score against the Oita DF, who are defending with numbers. In the 56th minute, Ishikawa's grounded mid-range shot is cut off by the Oita DF. As the opposing GK rushes out to catch the floating ball, he competes with Toda, and the ball spills into the open goal, but Oita's DF Fukaya clears it.

　Unable to deliver the decisive blow, the match continued to unfold as if gradually falling into Oita's pace. In the 61st minute, Norio SUZUKI was brought on to replace Toda. Immediately after, from a scramble in front of the goal, Kurizawa passed back. Miyazawa, who followed up, took a shot but it went to the left of the goal. In the 67th minute, Kajiwara was brought on as a trump card to replace Miyazawa. In the 73rd minute, Norio SUZUKI made a move from the left and won a corner kick. From the short corner, Kajiwara made a sharp move to enter the area, and although he was initially dispossessed by the defense, Ishikawa, who followed up, delivered a strong cross from the left. However, it was caught by the goalkeeper.

　However, although they pushed forward to the goal, they struggled to finish due to the solid defense of Oita DF, lacking decisiveness and precision. In the 76th minute, Kurizawa took a well-aimed shot from a rebound in front of the goal, but the GK made a save. In the 80th minute, there was a free kick from the left end line. Kurizawa picked up the rebound from his kick and Ishikawa shot. It resulted in a corner kick, and from this right corner kick, Konno made a header. The opposing GK came out, but just before the ball crossed the line, Oita FW Takamatsu cleared it, missing a great scoring opportunity. In the 86th minute, there was a free kick from slightly left in the midfield. Norio SUZUKI unleashed a powerful shot to the top left of the goal, exciting the stands, but it resulted in a corner kick due to a nice save by the GK. However, the 12 corner kick opportunities combined from both halves did not yield any results.

　As time was running out, Tokyo struggled to attack, but in the 89th minute, from a pass by KAJIYAMA, Noriyuki SUZUKI charged into the left area and crossed. Kanazawa jumped in for the loose ball but just missed it. Immediately after, they faced a counterattack from Oita, allowing midfielder YOSHIDA to advance. Inside the area, Tokyo's defense was bypassed by forward MAGNO AUBES, who took a shot, but it narrowly escaped for a corner kick. From this corner, a cross from substitute forward DODO hit the bar, creating a crisis. It was a troubling development, but somehow they managed to hold on, and in stoppage time, they earned a free kick just left of the area. Noriyuki SUZUKI aimed for it, but once again was blocked by the defense. In the end, it was a match that fell into Oita's trap, resulting in a scoreless draw. They left with a sense of dissatisfaction, only managing to earn one point.

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"It was difficult to get the ball to Lucas, and we couldn't break through their defense. I wanted to change that flow somehow. However, the issues from the Kashiwa match were resolved. If we can score a goal with this style of play, things should change. I want to continue to challenge ourselves." 《Kajiyama》"I came in with the instruction to 'receive the ball in midfield and break through the sides. Also, take shots.' However, our movements had stopped, making it difficult to pass. If we had aimed for shots from a little further out, the opponent might have come forward. I think we lacked awareness of scoring."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "The reason we lost in the last match was due to a breakdown in the balance between attack and defense. We corrected that, and I think we had a wonderful balance in the first half. We were able to pick up the ball well in the midfield and spread it to both sides. Fujita, who started for the first time, actively participated, and we had 10 shots in the first half. We only allowed one shot from Oita. I wanted to score one goal in that situation. Just before the end of the first half, Oita had a player sent off, but when the opponent has fewer players, we tend to adjust to that, which has been a challenge since last season. Conversely, we have experienced that our concentration increases when we have fewer players. We talked about that at halftime and said we should move the ball more simply. However, our play was a beat slow, and the support became delayed while each player held the ball. For example, Lucas only had one shot in the first half. Since the ball wasn't coming to him often, when it finally did, he tried to do everything himself and lost it there. He was well-marked, so if he had used a nearby free player, space would have opened up again, but he tried too hard to go alone, creating a vicious cycle. I considered sending Jean up, but in the end, even if we threw the ball in, it would be blocked by Oita's tall defenders. Against such opponents, I wanted to break them down while moving the ball well. We need to carry the ball with a better rhythm in the flow of the game. The first half had a better flow, and we wanted to score, including from set pieces. I brought in Kajiyama, but he also didn't get the ball much, and he might have lacked match awareness. However, he showed glimpses of his ability several times, so while monitoring his knee condition, I want to use him in tomorrow's satellite match to regain his match sense. I confirmed that Fujita can play offensively enough. The overall balance was also corrected. There were a few dangerous moments at the end, but we kept a clean sheet. Ultimately, it comes down to 'we need to score,' but since we didn't lose, I want to switch our mindset and prepare well for the next league match. While playing the current style of football, I want to practice scoring goals." 　

[Oita Coach Koho's Press Conference] "As an away game, I think we were able to start with a good flow from the beginning. We have lost three in a row, so we were able to execute our game plan to play solidly. However, it was disappointing that we ended up with ten players and couldn't play the football we wanted in the second half. After going down to ten men, we just tried to endure. Nevertheless, the players did their best even with one less player, and it can be said that earning one point is a good result. We were able to show that we can defend well even with one player short, and that we can play matches like this. Today's game has various meanings. I personally feel that I have taken a good step forward for the future."