League match to be held in 2 days, aiming for victory away from home

　Under the schedule of playing three games in one week, the 6th round of the league will be an away game against Yokohama F. Marinos. The match will be held one day earlier than other games, and Tokyo will have only two days of rest after the Nabisco Cup. In this game against Urawa, Baba and Jean were injured and will be absent this round. Therefore, Masushima and Kurisawa will start. Also, Doi and Shigeta, who returned from the Japan national team's expedition yesterday, will start in good condition. Asari will also be on the bench for the first time this season, and Akamine will be on the bench instead of Sasa. We will overcome this crucial moment with all our strength.

　Yokohama FM is currently in 2nd place in the league. They have a variety of attacking patterns, with a strong defense that quickly switches the ball to the front line and uses the FWs as a starting point, as well as making runs from the sides and second line. Today, DF Nakazawa and FW Kubo were absent from the Japan national team's match against Ecuador. MF Oku is also out due to injury. However, in the Nabisco Cup match against Fukuoka, they made 5 changes to the starting lineup and secured a solid 1-0 victory. They boast a deep squad and are maintaining good form.

　Tokyo will counter with a thorough man-to-man marking. Inowa will mark FW Marques, Konno will mark MF Shimizu, Kajiyama will mark MF Maglone, and Suzuki and Tokunaga will also take measures against opposing players. The team was expected to prevent goals with a strong defense, improve coordination and turn to attack, and create chances. The match started at 15:02 with Tokyo's kickoff at the away Nissan Stadium.

Yokohama, who maintained the pace throughout the game, was forced to play from behind.

　Started off with a chance from a set piece. Kawaguchi was fouled and earned a FK from outside the left area. Kajiyama sent it to the front of the goal and Suzuki made a direct shot, but it went to the left. However, as time passed, Yokohama FM found their rhythm. From quick passing, FW Oshima held the ball firmly on the front line and started an offensive with FW Marques' direct play as the starting point.

　At 7 minutes, FW Oshima and FW Marques stuck in the area, and finally MF Ueno ran in front of the goal and shot, resulting in a CK. The ball kicked by MF Dutra was punched away by Doi, but Dutra picked it up again and entered the area. However, Mashima calmly cut it off. At 12 minutes, FW Oshima dropped MF Dutra's left cross and MF Maguron took a shot. At 14 minutes, the ball fell in front of MF Shimizu from a throw-in by Yokohama FM, but Imakawa kicked it out while falling down.

　27 minutes, FW Marques dribbled past Inonami and attacked, MF Shimizu → FW Oshima's combination play, broke through to the area and shot. In the 29th minute, FW Marques again broke through behind the DF and took a free shot. Both shots missed the goal and there was no danger. In the 33rd minute, MF Tanaka's sharp middle shot from the right side was saved by Tsuchi. In the midst of a defensive battle, in the 44th minute, Suzuki took a shot after connecting with Tokunaga from the right side → Kawaguchi → Kurizawa and attacking, but this shot also missed the goal.

　In the first half, Tokyo was completely dominated by Yokohama, with all plays falling behind. However, they were able to maintain their focus on "defending the goal" and were also helped by the opponent's missed shots, resulting in a 0-0 tie going into the second half.

In the final moments, a draw thanks to Masushima's first J-League goal!

　Substituted Miyazawa for Kajiyama in the second half. However, the momentum was with Yokohama FM. In the 48th minute, MF Tanaka dribbled into the goal area from a counter attack, and MF Shimizu received a last pass in the right area and took a shot. In the 57th minute, DF Kawai joined the attack from a post-play by substitute MF Yoshida. The shot taken in the area was blocked by Mashima, but DF Kawai picked up the rebound and passed it to FW Marques who was free in the right area. The header shot went over the bar.

　Still, Tokyo keeps an eye out for a chance and launches a counterattack. In the 61st minute, from Miyazawa's development, Suzuki drops a left cross to Tokunaga at the far post, and Imakano gets into a shooting position. However, the opponent DF quickly closes in and blocks the shot. In the 62nd minute, just after this chance, Yokohama FM takes a right throw-in. MF Tanaka puts it in and MF Maguron keeps it. MF Tanaka, who received the return, charges into the area with determination and swings his right foot. This shot finds the bottom left corner and results in a goal. From the restart, they are caught off guard by the opponent's marking.

　Tokyo, who had no choice but to attack, created chances by taking risks and pushing forward. In the 67th minute, Lucas shook his head at the perfect timing from Suzuki's cross, but it was right in front of the GK. In the 73rd minute, there was also a scene where Yokohama FW Oshima's looping shot from a close distance hit the bar, but in the 74th minute, Miyazawa quickly caught up to a loose ball in the opponent's territory and took a precise middle shot. However, this was also blocked by the GK's save. In the 75th minute, Akamine was substituted for Lucas, and in the 83rd minute, Abe was substituted for Kawaguchi, but the goal was still far away.

　It was just after the 89th minute, when it seemed like the game was going to end, that something happened. Kurisawa dribbled and was fouled on the right side, earning a free kick. Kurisawa himself took the kick and Inokoshi received it at the far post, heading it down for Masushima to finish with a powerful volley, GOAL! Masushima's first J-League goal brought the game level. Yokohama managed to defend against the following corner kick and the game ended. They had allowed Yokohama to dominate throughout the 90 minutes, but with their never-give-up attitude, they were able to equalize in the final moments and secure 1 point.

　【Player Comments】《Jean》"I wasn't thinking about anything when the ball came to me. I just stretched my leg out. My last official game goal was in the Emperor's Cup during my time at Ichifune High School, against F. Marinos, just like today. I wasn't consciously thinking about it, but I did think 'it would be nice if it went in again'. I didn't want to be told 'we lost because I replaced Jean'. Our defensive strategy was for FW Marques to mark Inonami and for the remaining FW to be covered by Shigenobu and myself. It was easy for me, but I think it put a lot of burden on the midfield players. In the second half, we changed our approach to have a flat defensive line and utilize Miyazawa. I think we are becoming more capable of making those kinds of changes based on our own judgement."《Kurisawa》"We marked the opponents man-to-man in the midfield and on the sides. As a result, we were absorbed by our own defensive line in our own half. Even when we tried to pass to the FW, the distance was too far and we couldn't push up. We were constantly chasing behind the opponents and didn't have many opportunities in their half. We were behind and had to go for the ball even if it meant abandoning our marks. We just wanted to get close to the ball. I think that mindset led to the final goal."

　[Summary of Manager Garo's Press Conference] "From start to finish, it was a game where F. Marinos were superior. There was a clear difference in physicality. We had a tough match against Urawa two days ago and we were not able to recover and our condition was poor. It was good that we were able to score a goal in the very end, but it was a game where F. Marinos were superior." (Regarding player substitutions) "At first, I was considering replacing Kurisawa, but crosses started coming in from both sides of Kurisawa. So I decided not to substitute Kurisawa and instead bring in Lucas to play in the center of the crosses and utilize his height. I replaced Kajiyama because he seemed physically exhausted. In the first half, there was a big gap between the midfield and the front line, so I wanted to fill that gap and put Miyazawa in. I instructed Konno to play on the right and Miyazawa on the left to fill that gap. However, as a team, our physical condition was poor and we were always late to the ball, especially in challenges. Suzuki was working hard on the left, but as a team, we were still unable to win second balls."

　[Yokohama FM Okada coach's press conference summary] "I am really satisfied with the content. They played a wonderful game. However, not being able to score when we needed to was a major factor in the draw. It's common in soccer, but the problem is how to stay focused until the end and get points. There were about three free kicks at the end, and I think there was some complacency like 'we'll be fine somehow'. We won't get close to winning if we don't get rid of that. But it's still early in the league. It was very difficult to deal with this crucial moment, but it's a warning for us to become a team without that complacency. (About DF's attacking participation) It's not like we were holding back, and both Kawai and Matsuda were going up. The opponent was playing defensively with man-to-man marking, so I told them to be careful of counters and set pieces, but we didn't specifically instruct them not to go up in the 3-back formation. Kubo and Nakazawa were left out due to conditioning issues. As you can see, it's not because they were absent that things didn't go well... I don't think that's why it ended in a draw."