A match that tests overall strength. Overcoming adversity with the performance of fresh players.

　In the previous match, we suffered our first league defeat against Nagoya, and both Moniwa and Fujiyama were injured. Adding Kaji, who was injured in the match against Iwata, we are in an emergency situation with three defenders out of action. However, Masushima will start for the first time this season as a center-back, and Maeda will start as the right side-back. Due to the changes in the final line-up and Miyazawa also dealing with fatigue, Asari will be used as a defensive midfielder. Coach Hara stated, "When it comes to battles in the midfield, we need experienced players who can communicate in front of the final line. I hope they can hold their ground with Konno to create a buffer in the midfield," expressing his expectations for the performance of fresh and energetic players. We want to overcome the final stages of this three-match series held over the past week as a united team.

　Urawa, currently in 17th place with 3 draws and 2 losses in the league, has been unable to secure a win. However, Coach Hara mentioned before the match, "There is individual talent. We will fight to minimize that talent as much as possible." DF Tulio is injured, and DF Arpai is not participating, but they have set up a 4-4-2 formation with MF Yamada placed in the defense line, tailored to match Tokyo. The match started at 15:35 at Ajinomoto Stadium under cloudy skies.

In At The Deep End

F.C.TOKYO found themselves in a state of defensive emergency following the loss to Grampus Eight as Moniwa and Fujiyama both picked up injuries during the match. Coupled with the injury Kaji sustained against Jubilo it meant that TOKYO would be forced to field an unfamiliar back line with Masushima at centre back and Maeda at right side back. Further up field Asari replaced the rested Miyazawa as defensive midfielder. TOKYO manager Hara commented, "We need an experienced player in front of the defence line to boss the midfield. I want him to do his best as a midfield cushion in tandem with Konno". Expectations ran high as TOKYO prepared for their third game in six days.
Urawa Reds lay 17th in the league, winless in five games. "The Reds have great individual ability", commented Hiromi Hara, "We have to stop them from expressing that". Regular defenders Tulio and Alpay were absent and midfielder Yamada dropped back into defence as the Reds lined up in a 4-4-2 formation. The visitors kicked off on a hazy spring afternoon in West Tokyo.

Creating chances in a tight match, but...

　From the start, both teams launched quick attacks from tight defenses, leading to a tense development. It was difficult to create opportunities on the sides against Urawa's 4-4-2 formation, but in the 4th minute, Lucas cut into the left area and took a shot. In the 12th minute, from a set play, Ishikawa sent a floating pass to the front line, and Konno, who broke through behind the opponent's defense, controlled the ball with his chest and took a shot, but the ball hit the left post and was initially blocked by Urawa's defense. However, Ishikawa picked up the rebound and shot, narrowly missing above the goal, wasting a crucial chance.

　In the 24th minute, Lucas on the left passed to Toda in the middle, then to Ishikawa, who crossed to Maeda on the right side, but the Urawa DF cut it off. In a series of interceptions, in the 38th and 43rd minutes, Toda broke through in front of the goal, creating a chance, but could not finish due to offside and tight marking by the opposing DF.

　In the early stages, a ball spilled in front of Urawa FW Emerson, who had invaded the area, but Masushima calmly dealt with it. In the 18th minute, Emerson attempted to dribble into the area, but Jean stopped him with a foul just outside the area, awarding a free kick. However, the free kick was blocked by the Tokyo defense wall. In the 38th minute, FW Nagai advanced from a right throw-in and took a shot from the right corner of the area, but Doi firmly caught it. This was the first start of the season for Masushima, Asari, and Maeda, who all displayed performances on par with the team so far, both in individual situations and in combination plays. In the first half, both defenses shone, resulting in an equal contest with intense pressure and solid defensive coverage. The match went into halftime at 0-0.

Tight Game Yields Chances But...

The game began at a tense and frantic pace as both sides sought an early advantage. TOKYO struggled to make headway down the flanks in the face of the Reds four man backline and it took Lucas until the fourth minute to register the first shot. In the 12th minute Ishikawa floated a pass over the Reds defence, Konno trapped the ball neatly on his chest and volleyed goalwards. The shot beat Tsuzuki in the Reds goal but came back off the post and struck a defender but somehow failed to cross the line. Following up, Ishikawa smashed the ball over the bar.
An excellent chance went begging.
A fine passing move broke down in the 24th minute and Toda was caught offside twice as TOKYO attempted to squeeze a chance from the miserly Reds defence.
At the other end Masushima coolly coped with Emerson as the Reds dangerman latched onto a loose ball just outside the area. Jean fouled Emerson just outside the TOKYO penalty area in the 18th minute but the free kick hit the wall. In the 38th minute Reds forward Nagai collected the ball from a throw in, cut inside the area on the right and shot but Doi held the strike cleanly. Masushima, Asari and Maeda were making their first starts of the season but all three were playing well and had integrated comfortably into the team. Defence dominated the first half and the teams left the field with the game finely balanced at 0-0.

Exploited defensive gaps and conceded 2 goals. Allowed Urawa's first league victory of the season.

　At halftime, Coach Hara instructed, "Let's create a starting point on the side and launch an attack. Set pieces are an opportunity." With renewed determination, they aimed for the goal in the second half. Following that instruction, they earned a free kick from the left side of Urawa's area just as the second half began. Ishikawa's kick was dropped by Lucas in front of the far post for Mashima. However, although he was in a shooting position, Urawa's DF cut it off. In the 47th minute, Lucas intercepted the ball, evaded the opposing DF, and took a sharp shot, but it just missed the goal.

　However, in the 48th minute, the Tokyo defense, which had been performing well until then, was caught off guard for a moment. A pass was connected from the Urawa DF line, and FW Nagai sent a floated vertical pass to the right side. MF Hasebe caught up with the ball that rolled near the end line and delivered a low cross in front of the goal. FW Emerson, who had flowed in from the left, perfectly connected and scored. The Tokyo DF stopped their feet while watching the ball, losing track of Emerson, which allowed the opening goal.

　Tokyo launched a counterattack, substituting Kajiyama for Asari in the 63rd minute and bringing in Noriyuki SUZUKI for Ishikawa, who was struggling to create plays on the side, in the 71st minute. In the 72nd minute, they earned a free kick about 30 meters slightly left of the goal, and immediately after the substitution, Noriyuki SUZUKI took a powerful kick, but it went over the goal. In the 73rd minute, Jean dropped a free kick from Masushima, and Kurizawa attempted a shot from the deflected ball, but it was cut off by the defense again. However, in a surprising turn during the counterattack, in the 74th minute, a left corner kick from Urawa was headed in by DF Horiuchi, resulting in the second goal conceded.

　In the 77th minute, Yusuke KONDO was brought on to replace Toda, shifting to a two-top formation to aim for a goal. However, in the 82nd minute, from a left corner kick earned by Kurizawa, Noriyuki SUZUKI's kick was perfectly timed for Masushima to head it, but unfortunately, it went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 89th minute, Kajiyama evaded a defender in the center and took a shot. Maeda picked up the rebound, and Kajiyama dove in again with his body for a right cross, but the ball went over the goal. Following that, Lucas took a shot at the Urawa goal where goalkeeper Tsuzuki had rushed out, but it was blocked by Urawa's defense, resulting in no goal. They showed great fighting spirit and persisted with a fierce attack, but it did not bear fruit. Ultimately, they took 17 shots combined in both halves but lost to Urawa, who had 13 shots, due to a lack of finishing power, resulting in a disappointing outcome.

【Player Comments】<Asari> "(The coordination with Konno) It was good that Ima-chan thoroughly took on the role of pressing up front, but there were many scenes where Urawa's FW received the ball. I should have kept closer distance with the defenders behind and connected the ball after the defenders stopped it..." <Maeda> "Once we conceded a goal, all the organized defense until then became zero. Even though we were tired, we needed to increase our concentration and communicate more. In attack, I tried to keep Nao-san in a high position as much as possible, but the passes after winning the ball were off. There were several chances to deliver crosses, but they were half-hearted." <Masushima> "It's disappointing to lose. Emerson was fast, but we kept a clean sheet in the first half and were cautious in the second half. However, at the moment of conceding the goal, my legs stopped. (In the late set-piece shooting scene) I think I could have aimed the course a little better. If we can't show finishing ability in such moments..."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the match against Nagoya, Moniwa and Fujiyama got injured, and since there were only two days between matches, we brought in Masushima and Maeda. Miyazawa was fatigued, and since the defensive line members changed, we deployed the experienced Asari. Urawa has strong individual players, so I told the players not to let them show their strength. In the first half, when attacking through the center, we kept losing the ball, so I instructed to use the flanks as the starting point. However, despite good chances created by players like Toda, we couldn't score. The early goal conceded in the second half happened because the players hesitated whether to step off the line or not. Allowing the first goal energized Urawa. We then brought in Kajiyama to try to move the ball. Towards the end, his true qualities appeared, but I wanted to create more chances through Kajiyama's play. We did have chances, but conceded a second goal from a corner kick. From there, we had no choice but to take risks to score, so we brought in Noriyuki SUZUKI and Yusuke KONDO. Among those, Masushima's headers, Kajiyama's chances from Maeda's crosses, and Lucas, we couldn't convert decisive opportunities, resulting in zero goals. The same thing happened in the Nagoya match, and that is our current challenge. Regarding defense, including Masushima, I think they did well. We cannot afford to keep sliding like this. We must prepare well for the next match."

　[Summary of Urawa Coach BUCHWALD's Press Conference] "Today was a very important match. Before facing Tokyo, we didn't lose the previous two games, but we also didn't win. This match was played under difficult conditions where we had to perform well against Tokyo, who had a strong start this season. Considering Tokyo's system, we approached the game with a 4-4-2 formation. The first one or two attempts in the first half didn't go well, but after that, not only our defense but also our attack functioned well, and we progressed in a good way, ending the half 0-0. In the second half, we were able to play our attacking football. At halftime, I instructed the team not to just push forward recklessly but to maintain good balance. Another point was that although the pitch at Ajinomoto is in good condition, the ball tends to stop, so I told them to kick vertical passes strongly. Within that, a wonderful combination between Nagai, Hasebe, and Emerson connected the ball, leading to Emerson's first goal of the season. After conceding, Tokyo applied intense pressure to counterattack. However, on the contrary, it created space for our counters. Despite Tokyo's fierce attacks, I think our defense maintained good positioning and played well. Of course, there were one or two dangerous moments, but that is unavoidable. We also created counter opportunities and ideally could have scored more goals... Today, I am satisfied to have scored two goals and secured our first league victory."

Reds Exploit Defensive Chinks 

At half time manager Hara urged his team to increase their efforts along the flanks and make full use of set plays. In the first minute of the second period TOKYO won a free kick which Ishikawa lofted into the box. Lucas headed the ball down into the path of Masushima but an alert defender whipped the ball off his boot and away. In the 47th minute Lucas harried a defender into losing the ball, raced to the edge of the area and shot fiercely but the wrong side of the post.
A moment's loss of concentration cost TOKYO dearly in the 48th minute. Reds striker Nagai lofted a ball over the TOKYO defence and midfielder Hasebe chased a seeming lost cause to the byline, then cut a low cross back into the penalty area for the onrushing Emerson to clip the ball neatly past Doi for the opening goal. The TOKYO defence went to sleep, watching the ball and failing to pick up Emerson's run.
Needing to fight back TOKYO replaced Asari with Kajiyama in the 63rd minute and the ineffective Ishikawa with Norio Suzuki in the 71st minute. Suzuki marked his introduction by hammering a trademark 30 yard free kick just over the bar. In the 73rd minute Jean headed a Masushima free kick down and Kurisawa fired in a snap shot that a Reds defender blocked in front of goal. Disaster struck in the 74th minute as Horinouchi outjumped the home defence and headed the Reds' second goal from a corner.
Yusuke Kondo replaced Toda in the 77th minute as TOKYO went in search of a vital goal. In the 82nd minute Masushima headed Suzuki's pinpoint cross straight at the Reds keeper. In the 89th minute Kajiyama won the ball in midfield and fired in a shot on the run. Tsuzuki blocked the ball away and Maeda picked up the rebound, crossing from the left. Kajiyama was unable to keep the ball down and his effort sailed over the bar. The home side battled on to the bitter end but failed to beat Tsuzuki and the final whistle blew on a 0-2 defeat. TOKYO had outshot the visitors 17-13 over the 90 minutes but the difference in quality of finishing cost them the game.


Players' comments 
Asari: 
" Konno played slightly in front of me with the role of breaking up the Reds midfield flow and he did very well. The Reds played a lot of balls in to the strikers and if I could have played a little nearer to the back line to pick up the ball after they had stopped attacks it would have been better". 

Maeda:
" We defended systematically but after we conceded a goal that counted for nothing. We were tired but kept our concentration and should have been more vocal on the pitch. We were aiming to win the ball and get it up to Ishikawa but the passing and crossing was poor today".

Masushima:
" It's very disappointing to lose. Emerson is very fast but we managed to deal with him in the first half. We froze for a split second and that allowed him to score. We had some chances from set plays towards the end of the game but need to improve our accuracy".


F.C.TOKYO manager Hara:
Moniwa and Fujiyama were injured in the Nagoya game and Miyazawa was exhausted so we went with Masushima and Maeda and selected Asari for his experience. We couldn't keep the ball when we tried to go through the middle so I instructed the team to use the flanks. We created some good moves but couldn't get the ball in the net. For the first goal the players were waiting for each other to make a move and break the defensive line. The goal sparked the Reds into life. We sent on Kajiyama to move the ball around and had hoped for more chances as the game neared the end. It wasn't that we didn't have any chances but then the second goal made things very difficult. We had no choice but to attack and sent Suzuki and Kondo on. Masushima, Kajiyama and Lucas all had chances but didn't take them and we failed to score. The same thing happened in the Nagoya game and it's our biggest problem right now. The defence played well and kept their shape nicely. We'll prepare thoroughly for the next game.

Reds' manager Buchwald: 
" Today's game was very important for us. We had drawn our last two games and knew we had to play a very solid match today as TOKYO had had a good start to the season. We went for a 4-4-2 system considering the way TOKYO play. There were a couple of dicey moments in the first half but we defended well, managed to attack and kept the score to 0-0 at half time. We were able to play our style of attacking football in the second half. I told the team to concentrate on keeping the balance and hit passes hard, as the pitch was in good condition but the ball tended to stick. Nagai, Hasebe and Emerson combined very well together and Emerson scored his first goal of the season. After the goal TOKYO pressed very hard but that actually helped us as it created space for us to counter attack into. Our defensive positioning was very good and that prevented them from scoring. Of course there were some difficult moments but that's only to be expected. I would have liked more goals but we scored twice and have our first win of the season so I'm satisfied".