Fireworks Night, aiming for consecutive wins at home Ajinomoto!

　In Sec. 16, we will face Sanfrecce Hiroshima. This match is an opportunity to show the momentum from the big victory against C Osaka at home in Ajinomoto, as well as to achieve consecutive wins. Lucas and Inoha will be suspended due to accumulated warnings, but Kurizawa will step into the midfield, and Kawaguchi will take the left midfield position. Kajiyama, who injured his ankle in the match against C Osaka, is not seriously hurt and is included in the starting lineup.

　Hiroshima currently has 3 wins, 4 draws, and 8 losses, placing them 15th. During the break, they welcomed new coach Zoran PETROVIC, and in the three matches in July, they achieved 1 win and 2 losses. FW Weslley scored 4 goals in these 3 consecutive matches, and another FW, Sato, also contributed with 1 goal, showing their scoring ability. However, there were no matches without conceding a goal in all three games, highlighting their defensive weaknesses. In the previous match against Kofu, they conceded 3 goals in the first half, but in the second half, they switched from a 3-back to a 4-back formation, demonstrating a well-balanced performance. Essentially, they employ man-to-man marking against the opponent's attacking line, but how they will approach Tokyo's side attacks will be one of the key points to watch.

　In response, Tokyo needs to keep moving fluidly to disrupt the front line and attack the sides. This match will test whether they can fight like they did against C Osaka, where "anyone can score from anywhere". It will be a match that tests their strength after a big win, held at Ajinomoto for the first time since Sec. 12 on May 6, with the match starting at 18:34 with Hiroshima's kickoff.

Unable to show momentum, lost focus and allowed the first goal

　At the start, both teams displayed intense play. A back-and-forth battle ensued. In the 2nd minute, Konno broke out from a free kick and won a right corner. The kicker, Kajiyama, received a return pass and sent it to Jean in the center. A through pass was played to the front line, but no one could connect with it. In the 10th minute, a pass reached Konno, who advanced inside Kawaguchi on the left side. He delivered a cross, but the opposing goalkeeper caught it. In the 14th minute, Kajiyama connected from Jean's interception and advanced towards the goal, but they couldn't take a shot.

　Hiroshima's lineup appears as a 4-4-2 formation, but they have placed MF Nakazato as the right stopper in a three-back setup. DF Komano is positioned as the right MF, working in conjunction with Nakazato to suppress Tokyo's attacks on the left side. In the center of the three-back, they have Kazuyuki TODA, who has returned from suspension, initiating counterattacks from tight marking in the midfield and defensive line, gradually finding their rhythm. In the 20th minute, Shigeno fouled FW Weslley on the left side of Tokyo's territory, awarding a free kick to Hiroshima. The fallen FW Weslley quickly restarted as he slowly got back up. Tokyo lost focus in response and could not organize their defensive shape. FW Sato, who surged into the goal area, scored, allowing the first goal against them.

　In the 33rd minute, Rychely was brought on to replace Kurizawa, who was struggling defensively and unable to get involved with the ball up front. Baba was positioned in midfield to utilize Rychely's speed. However, in the 36th minute, after a foul on Kajiyama, a right free kick was taken, and Baba's header was directed towards Konno, but it went over the bar. In the 38th minute, Rychely was fouled near the penalty arc, and Baba aimed directly for the free kick, but this also went over the goal. In the 39th minute, Kajiyama initiated a counterattack and passed to Rychely on the left, but he was caught offside. Without creating any decisive chances, the team went into halftime trailing by one goal.

Conceding additional points, the attacking line ends without scoring...

　During halftime, the traditional Fireworks Night featured fireworks, energizing the stands with hopes for a comeback in the second half. Starting from the second half, Abe was brought on as a forward in place of Miura, and Kajiyama was moved back to a defensive midfield position in an attempt to change the flow of the game with a two-striker formation.

　However, in the 47th minute at the start of the second half, the ball was stolen after Dohi's goal kick entered the opponent's territory, and Hiroshima's MF Morisaki Hiro passed to FW Weslley with a one-touch to the front line. FW Sato, who ran onto this ball, scored cleanly, resulting in the second goal conceded. Jean chased after Sato to try to stop him, but he was too late. They allowed an additional goal by being caught off guard while trying to advance.

　In the 56th minute, Todai was brought in to replace Kawaguchi. After that, both teams' intensity dropped, and as the lines stretched, Tokyo created a decisive chance. In the 58th minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Rychely on the right and took a powerful shot from inside the penalty arc directly in front of the goal! However, it was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper.

　In the 66th minute, Moniwa passes vertically to Abe inside the right area. Abe traps the ball, turns to face the goal, and his shot hits the opposing goalkeeper, going just one ball's width to the left... From the resulting left corner kick, Rychely heads the ball, but it goes over the bar.

　In the 72nd minute, Rychely took a shot at the goal after the opposing goalkeeper rushed out, but it was blocked by the opposing defender just inches from the goal, and the goal was not scored. In the end, Tokyo took 13 shots but failed to score. Hiroshima, on the other hand, thoroughly executed counterattacks from their solid defense, scoring 2 goals from 14 shots. It was a game at home at Ajinomoto that was approached as a total battle, but it ended in a poorly balanced fight, resulting in an unfortunate defeat. They could not achieve consecutive wins following the previous match.

　【Player Comments】<KajiYama> "There were many defensive situations, and we ended up chasing the game, making it a tough match. It wasn't due to injury, but in the second half my legs almost cramped and I had to stop. The opponent played tight man-marking and pressed quickly; we should have moved more to break them down, but we couldn't. It would have been better if we had more forward runs. Today's performance deserved the boos. We'll reset and correct things during this break." <Miura> "In the last few matches, we've conceded first, but the way we conceded and the timing of the additional goals are the problems. Today's game management was poor. I should have instructed the team to focus more during the first conceded set-piece, and I regret not controlling the game better. After the big win against C Osaka and returning to Ajinomoto Stadium after a while, I told the team before the match not to relax at all. That wasn't properly shown on the pitch. Moving forward, the priority is to reduce goals conceded. We need to endure when necessary and build momentum when our pace comes. We'll rebuild in these two weeks!"

　[Coach Gallo's Press Conference Summary] "Today was a very bad match. It could be said it was the worst match so far. There were mistakes in various areas. We played well in the matches against Kashima and C Osaka, but we couldn't maintain that. All team mistakes are my responsibility. Hiroshima outperformed us in every aspect today. It wasn't just the two goals; it wouldn't have been surprising if we had conceded more. The content was poor in all positions: DF, MF, and FW. The defenders couldn't mark well, and we couldn't move the ball from midfield to FW. Although we lost against Kashima, we had 19 shots compared to their 12. The match against C Osaka was also good. However, this was the fourth match in a series, and our performance dropped sharply. (About Kurisawa's substitution?) First, the marking was poor, and everything was stopped at Kurisawa's position. That slowed down our attack, so I thought to use Rychely's speed. (Why insist on a three-back formation?) Indeed, the three-back didn't function well today, but regardless of three-back or four-back, the team didn't function in any area. I repeat, all responsibility lies with me."

　[Summary of Hiroshima Coach PETROVIC's Press Conference] "It was a very difficult match. In July, we had a good start with a win against Nagoya, but then lost to Chiba and Kofu. The most important thing today was that we won and earned points. From the start, we controlled the game, played good defense, and built good attacks from there. After taking a one-goal lead, FC Tokyo applied pressure, and there were periods when we couldn't play our style of football, but the key was that we didn't concede during that time. We had conceded in the previous two matches, so it was good to get through that period without conceding. At halftime, I said, 'Let's continue what we did in the first half and try to score another goal,' and that worked. Today, I think Hiroshima showed great football on Tokyo's ground. Although we lost the two home games, I believe the team played very well in these four matches. We are very happy about Kazuyuki Morisaki's return. He played very well in the last three matches, but his condition was not fully recovered, so we substituted him. The reason for selecting Nakazato as the right stopper was that we wanted a player who could keep up with FC Tokyo's lone striker and two other offensive players in terms of speed."