Home National Victory! Aim for consecutive wins with a tight focus

　Sec. 19, Avispa Fukuoka will face off against National at home. After a fierce battle with Chiba in the previous round, it will be a match with only 2 days of rest, and fatigue is a concern. "We assessed the condition until this morning," said Manager Kuramata, and will face the match with the same starting lineup as the previous round. In addition, Inonami, who was suspended, will also be on the bench.

　Fukuoka, who they will face, is currently in 17th place with 1 win, 8 draws, and 9 losses. Despite welcoming new coach Ryoichi KAWAKATSU during the break, they have only managed 3 draws and 3 losses, but have gradually transformed into a more attacking style of soccer. They may be a lower-ranked team, but they cannot be underestimated. In particular, they have faced Fukuoka 3 times this season, including in the Nabisco Cup, and have only managed 2 draws and 1 loss. Additionally, after a big win against C Osaka in the 15th round, Tokyo suffered a scoreless defeat against Hiroshima in the 16th round, so they must be on their guard and fight hard.

　Fukuoka is actively involved in attacking with right MF Nakamura and left side back Alex. In response, we want to quickly switch to attacking after taking the ball and aim for the space on the side. We will aggressively defend like in the Chiba match and aim for 3 points with fast attacks.

Fujiyama's first J1 goal breaks the stalemate!

　The humid Japan National Stadium, the match started at 7:04 pm with a kickoff in Fukuoka. From the beginning, Tokyo took the lead in the match, with Ishikawa and Kawaguchi making side breakthroughs and threatening the Fukuoka goal. In the first minute, Ishikawa cut inside and Lucas made a run from the left Fujiyama → center Kawaguchi's post and took a shot. In the 5th minute, Kawaguchi made a deep cut from the left side, but was cut off by the Fukuoka DF just before sending a last pass, resulting in a CK.

　9 minutes, Kajiyama dribbles up and takes a middle shot from a FK in the opponent's zone. The opponent's GK deflects it and it becomes a CK. The left CK is connected and Akamine aims for a header, but the momentum is weak and it hits the bar. In the 10th minute, Lucas heads in Ishikawa's cross from the right side, but the GK catches it. In the 13th minute, Ishikawa receives Asari's pass and boldly takes a dribble shot from the right, but it curves to the left.

　Despite trying to break through the midfield press, Tokyo was unable to score against the strong Fukuoka defense and time passed. In the 22nd minute, Fukuoka MF Yabuta received his second warning and was sent off. Tokyo had the numerical advantage, but their tempo slowed down as if matching their opponent's pace, and they were unable to finish. However, it was Fujiyama who broke the deadlock in this situation. He had been pushing up and creating opportunities to aggressively move forward, and it finally paid off.

　35 minutes, Fujiyama aims for the goal in response to the rebound from Ishikawa's shot from the center. Ishikawa shoots again after the Fukuoka DF bounces back, and it's a left throw-in. Lucas receives the throw-in, keeps the ball, and passes it to the center. Fujiyama runs in and takes another shot. The first shot hit the front line Akamine and the opponent DF, but the second shot quickly followed and changed course after grazing the opponent DF, landing in the bottom left corner! At the age of 33, Fujiyama scores his first J1 goal and takes the lead, heading into the second half.

Akamine, Ishikawa, Abe score in consecutive games, Inaba also scores for a comfortable victory!

　In the second half, Fukuoka changed from a 4-back to a 3-back formation. They moved Alex, the left SB, up one line and thickened the midfield to steal the ball and aim for a counterattack. Tokyo had a good start, getting a corner kick from Tokunaga's overlap and Ishikawa's cross, but they were unable to score another goal. In the 52nd minute, they were caught off guard for a moment and Fukuoka's right MF Nakamura took advantage of the opportunity. He received a throw-in from DF Alex and passed it to FW Tanaka, leaving MF Nakamura free and allowing him to enter deep into the right area. Then, a ground cross sent from the goal line hit Tokunaga's foot and went into the goal, resulting in an own goal and a tie score.

　However, there was no need to panic. In the 59th and 61st minutes, they received a counterattack from Fukuoka, but were helped by the opponent's missed shot and managed to survive the pinch. They persistently attacked, not only with Ishikawa and Kawaguchi's breakthroughs, but also with Tokunaga's overlap and Akamine's physical presence in front of the goal. In the 64th minute, the opponent's defender cleared Tokunaga's right cross. Kawaguchi, who had moved in from the left, volleyed the ball and Akamine redirected it with the heel of his right foot, scoring the go-ahead goal!

　In the 66th minute, after receiving a pass from Lucas, Kawaguchi sprinted down the left side. He entered the area and took a shot, but it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. The ball floated to the right area, but Ishikawa ran in and trapped it with his chest, then took a powerful shot with his right foot! The ball pierced into the top left corner, giving them a quick 2-point lead.

　Fukuoka gradually stopped moving with one less player, and Tokyo had plenty of room to attack. In the 76th minute, Akamine jumped in with his foot on Ishikawa's cross and won a right corner kick. Inaba, who came on as a substitute, took a high-headed shot from Ishikawa's ball! 20-year-old Inaba also scored his first J-League goal and scored the fourth goal.

　In the 79th minute, Abe was substituted for Kajiyama, and in the 86th minute, Baba was substituted for Akamine. In the 89th minute, Baba sent a pass to Abe, who was running on the left side, and Abe caught the left corner kick. Abe scored a goal with a perfect timing on Baba's corner kick. In the previous match against Chiba, Abe broke his nose and was wearing a tape guard, but he showed no signs of injury and scored the 5th goal with a daring dive.

　Despite losing rhythm at times against Fukuoka's strong defense, we were able to efficiently score 5 goals in the end through set pieces and secure a big win. Akamine, Ishikawa, and Abe all scored for the second consecutive game, and we achieved our first home victory since the 10th round against Nagoya! Following our win against Chiba, we have now won two games in a row.

　【Player Comments】《Fujiyama》"After the last Chiba match, Coach Kuramata kept saying 'the next match is important'. I've been able to play with a sense of tension because if I slack off even in the red and white practice match, I'll be replaced. I haven't had a chance to play until now, but I played with the intention of not wasting the opportunity given to me. It feels like 'my first goal, sorry for the wait', but there's another match coming up soon. We'll fight each game to improve our ranking."《Ishikawa》"I'm trying to make quick decisions and choose between a simple cross, breakthrough, or shot. There are still mistakes in my decision-making and play, but I have a lot of images. It's important to play as expected when passing or shooting, but I also think it's necessary to have unexpected plays. For the goal, Lucas was also asking for a pass next to me, but I was able to see the position of the goal so I took the shot. I was able to shoot with good form and power. (Two consecutive goals?) I think it's because I'm taking chances and running close to the goal."

　[Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "Overall, I think it was a well-played game. In the first half, we wanted to press a little earlier, but due to fatigue from playing two games in two days, we couldn't do it well and ended up not being able to do it. In the midst of that, Fujiyama scored a goal for us and we were able to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead. We wanted to be more aggressive when the opponent had 10 players, but it didn't work out. We wanted to press on both sides of the opponent, but in the second half, we ended up being pushed back and conceding an own goal. The reason we couldn't press was due to physical issues. I thought we could do a little more, but that's the current situation. However, thanks to Fukuoka's physical decline, we were able to attack from the sides. (Were you able to continue playing in a good form for two games?) In the past, after playing a good game, there were times when we lacked focus, even though we weren't complacent. We were strict about that before the game. We talked about doing what we did in Chiba in this game. We want to watch the video and consider it for the Shimizu game. We want to adjust our condition as we have to play in two days."

　[Fukuoka, Kawakatsu's press conference summary] "Recently, we have been conceding goals early in the first half, so we have been working on fixing our defense and not allowing the game to be broken down quickly, even if we don't score in the first half. However, with one player being sent off, it became a burden for the team in its current state. The players did their best to catch up in the second half. We changed the system to 3-4-2 in the second half, with MF Nakamura and DF Alex in the midfield, and gave instructions for marking and covering the sides. We aimed to counterattack and respond to crosses by marking the center, even if we were to be beaten on the wings. We have many injured players, but we will do our best to respond to the support of our fans."