What the team needs to do now is to earn points.

　In Sec. 9 of the J1 League, we will face Oita Trinita away. In the previous match against Kashiwa, despite starting the game with a good rhythm and taking control, we allowed the first goal and fell completely into the trap of defense and counterattacks, resulting in a frustrating match for both the players and the fans. In this match, we challenged with fresh members, including Danilo making his first start and Sako, who returned to the J1 League after five years, but we could not escape the losing streak. Since Coach Hara took over, there have been three consecutive losses in 2002, but this is the first time for four consecutive losses. With three wins, one draw, and four losses, we are now in 10th place. We have already faced Oita in the Nabisco Cup qualifying Sec. 2 (Ajinomoto), where we had a scoreless draw against ten players, and we have not won against Oita, including last season.

　Oita had a tough time winning at the beginning of the season, but since April, they have recorded 3 wins and 3 losses. In the last match, they suffered a comeback loss to Omiya, but prior to that, they achieved two consecutive victories, and with the system changed to 4-4-2, their form is improving. The attacking line, in particular, is in good shape. With the fast and skilled FW Magno Alves at the center, new foreign player FW Dodo is positioned as one of the two forwards, and the currently in-form FW Nishino is also available, with these three players scoring 7 out of the team's 10 goals. Additionally, MF Abe and Arata YOSHIDA are participating in the attack from the left and right, creating chances with a good balance.

　 　Tokyo, on the other hand, sees the return of Kaji, who had been sidelined due to injury since the match against Jubilo Iwata. The team has been losing since Kaji's absence, so there are high hopes for him as a savior. Conversely, Kanazawa on the left side has been sidelined with a left quadriceps injury, and Norio SUZUKI will make his first start of the season in his place. While there are some concerns regarding defense, considering the attacking aspect, we can expect even more chance creation from the left side than before. Additionally, there have been changes to the lineup since the last match. Kurizawa has been replaced by Toda on the left side, and the defensive midfielder Miyazawa has been substituted by Asari to partner with Konno.

　We have unfortunately suffered four consecutive losses, but we must believe in our own strength and fight on. Kashima has slightly pulled ahead in the title race, but the league is still in a tight state. Although the situation is tough, we want to play with confidence and momentum to earn points.

　Today's Big Eye closed the roof, resulting in a windless, humid condition on the pitch. The match started at 2:03 PM with a kickoff in Tokyo, aiming to break the losing streak.

Launch a fast attack from the side, but...

　Before leaving the locker room, Doi fired up everyone by saying, "Forget everything up to now and let's go for the win," and that spirit was evident right from the start of the match. They stole the ball with intense pressing in the midfield and launched quick attacks from both flanks. Then, in the 6th minute, a big chance arrived. On the left side, Ishikawa and Noriyuki SUZUKI broke through and passed to Lucas in the center, who then laid it off to Toda, charging up the right side, who sent a slightly backward cross. Ishikawa, waiting for it, took a shot but unfortunately hit the bar. The attacks continued from both sides. In the 11th minute, Toda dribbled down the right side to Ishikawa, who then attempted a through pass to Lucas, but it didn't connect. In the 13th minute, a throw-in from Noriyuki SUZUKI on the left side led to Kondo and then to Toda, who brought it into the center but couldn't take a shot. Although Tokyo completely held the initiative in the match, they struggled to find a decisive blow.

Oita slowly circulated the ball in the DF line, avoiding the press from Tokyo's midfield, resulting in a monotonous attack that only kicked the ball to the forwards Magno ALVES and Dodo. In the 16th minute, Dodo dribbled through the center, and in the end, Magno ALVES took a shot, but it was cut by the DF. This seemed to be the only real chance in the early stages.

　In the 17th minute, Toda created a chance from the left side, and in the 19th minute, Ishikawa created a chance from the right side, but Lucas and Danilo could not connect in front of the goal. In the 20th minute, Konno made a through pass to Kaji on the right side, who returned it directly from the end line to the center, but Toda's header went just wide of the right goalpost. In the 22nd minute, Noriyuki Suzuki made a big switch to the left side, and although it was cleared once, Kaji picked it up and broke through with a one-two with Ishikawa, shooting from outside the penalty arc but missing the goal by a large margin. In the 30th minute, from a free kick opportunity, Konno made a switch, and Kaji picked up the cleared ball, dribbled in, and shot, but this time it was saved by the GK.

　Amidst this, an accident occurs. In the 36th minute, Noriyuki Suzuki dislocates his right shoulder during a heading contest. He returns to the pitch once, but it is determined that he cannot continue playing, and in the 44th minute, Seki comes on as a substitute. Just before the end of the half, Toda and Danilo take consecutive shots, but fail to score. The first half ends 0-0.

The difference in finishing ability decided the match, lost with two goals conceded

　At halftime, Coach Hara's instructions were simple: "Correct Danilo's positioning and shoot whenever possible." From the start of the second half, everyone tried aggressively to score, but another accident occurred. In the 51st minute, this time Lucas injured his left ankle and had to leave the field. Baba came in as a substitute, and the formation was changed to put Danilo as the lone forward. However, Tokyo continued to attack Oita's goal without losing spirit. In the 52nd minute, from a counterattack, Baba passed to Ishikawa on the right side and sent in an early cross, but it did not connect with Danilo. In the 53rd minute, Asari dribbled through the center and took a shot from around 25 meters, but it went straight to the GK. Immediately after, from the right side, Asari sent a liner ball to Danilo, who headed it back, causing the ball to spill in front of Toda, but no shot was taken. In the 56th minute, a quick direct play from Asari to Baba to Danilo in the center broke through and Danilo took a shot, but it was saved by the GK.

　However, after 60 minutes, due to fatigue from consecutive matches and the draining heat, the pressure from the front line becomes ineffective, leading to an increase in situations where loose balls are lost. Still, in the 61st minute, Ishikawa directly aims for a free kick from 30 meters in front of the goal, and in the 65th minute, Asari takes a long shot, but both go over the goal, and they just can't score. Then, taking advantage of a momentary lapse, they concede the opening goal to Oita. In the 71st minute, on a counterattack, FW Dodo dribbles into the penalty area; the defense manages to contain him once, but the loose ball is picked up by FW Magno Alves, who scores.

　In the 73rd minute, Tokyo substituted Kurizawa for Danilo, placing Baba at the top in their formation. However, they couldn't launch effective attacks against Oita, who had gone on the defensive. Both flanks were completely blocked, and even when attacking from the center, passes were either intercepted or cleared by the final line, resulting in a prolonged inability to reach the finish. Then, in the 80th minute, they were countered again by the combination of FW Magno Alves and Dodo, leading to the worst scenario of conceding an additional goal.

　Tokyo, now left with no choice but to attack, takes risks and launches an offensive. In the 83rd minute, they earn a free kick on the left side, and the ball kicked by Kurizawa goes straight into the goal, narrowing the gap to one point and continuing the counterattack. They bring Jean up front and attack recklessly, but in stoppage time, both Kurizawa and Jean have free shots but miss the goal, leading to the final whistle with a score of 1-2. Tokyo maintained a good rhythm throughout the match, but only managed to score one goal from Kurizawa's set piece, while Oita showcased the difference in finishing ability by scoring two goals from just two shots in the second half. Additionally, in this match, Lucas and Noriyuki Suzuki were injured and had to leave the field, putting them in an even more difficult situation, but the next match will be against the league leaders, Kashima. It is undoubtedly a very important match that will have significant implications for the team's season.

　【Player Comments】<Asari> "I think we needed to defend a bit earlier and step forward one more time. Towards the end of the match, there was space to move the ball in midfield. Movements to create such space might have been necessary from the first half. (Asari experienced a 7-game losing streak with a draw in 2000, right?) The situation is different now. One factor is that some players are injured. The content hasn't been bad all the time, so we just have to switch our mindset and keep going." <Kaji> "It has been like this before, but I think the biggest reason for today's loss was failing to convert chances. All conceded goals were from counters. For the first goal, when the one-two pass was played, I couldn't keep up with the man. That should be fixable. However, we also needed to increase the time we kept possession a bit more. Although these are tough times, this might be a trial for Tokyo to truly become stronger. Times like these definitely happen. We want to fight firmly with the remaining players. We want to overcome this together and start again." <Kurisawa> "When I played, I expected to receive the ball in midfield and then distribute it to the sides. (For the free kick) I kicked it hoping someone would connect with it. I think not giving up until the end led to the goal, but I really wanted to score the winning goal... However, I just have to act boldly without thinking about unnecessary things. More than technique, I want to show the desire to win."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Recently, the team has lost momentum, so we decided to not be afraid and to push the ball forward and follow up on it. In the first half, especially on the right side, we created several good opportunities. Ishikawa's shot hit the bar, and I think we had several good chances, but not being able to finish those is currently our challenge. There were many mismatches, like passing when we could shoot and shooting when we should have passed. Early in the first half, Suzuki dislocated his shoulder; he tried to continue after returning once, but it was no good. This injury caused the whole team to become unsettled. Danilo was not getting involved around the ball, so at halftime I told him to receive the ball in midfield and do his job. We decided to be patient and observe, but during that time Lucas got injured. It was an unexpected injury, and honestly, we were more occupied with dealing with injuries than making tactical changes. We hoped to defend and create chances in the second half, but the first goal came from the ball dropping at the opponent's feet in front of the goal, and the second goal was due to poor ball recovery while attacking, allowing a clean counterattack. This showed our lack of strength or that our gears were out of sync. We wanted to bring in Baba and Kurisawa earlier, but due to the extreme heat, the injuries, and Kaji returning after a long time, we were cautious and couldn't make changes quickly, which is regrettable. But the matches continue, so we must somehow overcome this unfavorable streak."

　【Oita - Kwan HWANGBO's press conference summary】 "Last time we played away against Omiya, we lost, so I felt a lot of pressure for today's match. In these consecutive matches, the players really struggle with their stamina, so I made some changes today, and that worked out well. I anticipated Ishikawa and Kaji on the opponent's right side, but Yoshida has a higher defensive awareness than Abe, so I had Yoshida take care of Kaji. I don't think we completely shut down Tokyo's attack, but many things can happen in a soccer match. The key is how much we can maintain our team's tactics amidst that. Everyone defended faithfully today. Right now, young players like Shibagoya, Fukaya, Komorita, and Pat are doing well with composure. While there are mistakes, I want to reduce them as a challenge moving forward. Since we still have consecutive matches ahead, I want to prepare thoroughly and think things through. The players adhered to what we prepared, and that led to today's victory."

Late Goals Sink TOKYO

J.League st our markers when they played the one two but that's something we can fix. We need to increase the amount of time in possession a little. Things are difficult now but it's like a test of how strong we can become. This kind of thing will always happen. The players left want to fight together, ride out the slump and make a fresh start.

Kurisawa:
" When I got on the field I aimed to receive the ball in the middle and play it out to the wings. At the free kick I was just hoping somebody would get on the end of it. We fought to the end and that's why we could pull one back but we just couldn't find another goal. More than anything we need to play with desire right now ".


F.C.TOKYO manager Hara:
"The team has lost its vigor recently so I told them not to be afraid, to get the ball out to the wings and follow up. In the first half we made several good moves, particularly on the right wing. Ishikawa hit the bar and we had some chances but that's our major problem right now; we just can't take those chances. We're passing when we should shoot and shooting when we should pass. Suzuki was injured and we sent him back on but he couldn't continue and that disturbed our rhythm. Danilo couldn't really get into the game so at half time I told him to drop back to pick up the ball in midfield. We decided to stick with it and see how things developed but then Lucas was injured. We were forced to find a response to that. And then the ball just landed at the striker's feet for the first goal and the second came from a good counter attack after we had lost the ball. What with the injuries, the heat and Kaji's absence for a few games it was a very disappointing game to lose. But the games go on and we'll just have to find some way to overcome this situation."

Trinita manager Kwan:
" We had lost away to Ardija in our last game and felt today was extremely important. The schedule is tough so I made a few changes and that worked very well. We know all about TOKYO's right side and since Yoshida is better defensively than Abe I sent him out to deal with Kaji. I didn't think we would be able to completely hold the TOKYO attack but you never know what's going to happen during a game and the key point today was how well our tactics would hold up. The players defended very well I think. Shibakoya, Fukaya, Komorida, Patrick and the younger players were all very steady out there. We weren't mistake free but that's something we have to work on from now. There are more games coming up and we want to think about it as we prepare. The players followed our preparations to the letter today and that's how we could gain the victory ".