One game we want to overcome adversity together

　Sec. 25 will face Albirex Niigata at home. The team is currently on a 5-game losing streak and in a difficult situation. Although there are times when the team shows its typical Tokyo-style quality, they have always been in a position of chasing after conceding the first goal. Today, with the support of the home crowd, the team will focus from the start and aim for a victory in this important match.

　However, Lucas injured his knee, Washington injured his ribs, and Ishikawa's knee condition was not good, so they were unable to join the team. Jean, who was not in perfect condition, and Kajiyama, who was concerned about fatigue, were on the bench. The starting lineup includes Nakazawa, who is starting for the first time this season, as center back. Miyazawa also starts for the first time since the May 6th Omiya game, playing defensive midfield alongside Konno. Kawaguchi is on the right wing, Kurisawa on the left, and Hirayama, who is making his J-League debut, is paired with Toda up front in a 4-4-2 formation. All eyes are on Hirayama, who has improved his condition, but the team must come together to overcome this difficult situation.

　Niigata, on the other hand, is currently in 11th place with 30 points. Although they had been on a losing streak, they managed to secure a victory in the previous match against Kofu after 6 games, and their team situation is improving. They are only 3 points behind Tokyo, and they will surely come to take away a victory away from home. In this match, MF Fabiño will be suspended, but we must be careful of their attacking plays led by side MFs Suzuki and Matsushita. In particular, we must be wary of the sharp counterattacks utilizing the speed of FW Edmilson. The match started at 3:03 PM in Niigata's kickoff, with no wind and a refreshing climate.

Despite Kawaguchi's spectacular goal to take the lead, they quickly conceded...

　In the early stages, Tokyo pushed forward. They aimed to hit the ball to forward Hirayama and have Toda get involved, and they managed to win a corner kick within the first minute. From Miyazawa's right corner kick, Nakazawa headed it down but couldn't get a shot off. In the 5th minute, Kurizawa crossed to the right, but it didn't reach Hirayama in front of the goal and the opposing goalkeeper caught it. Immediately after, Niigata launched a quick attack and forward Tanaka jumped for a right cross, but it was offside. The game changed in the 10th minute when Tsuchi kicked a free kick from their own half to Hirayama on the front line. Hirayama and the opposing defender competed for the ball that was dropped in front of the goal. It spilled to the right area and Kawaguchi ran in and kicked it into the goal with great force, GOAL! They scored the long-awaited opening goal from the desired play style.

　However, the joy was short-lived. In the 12th minute, just 2 minutes later, Niigata DF Chiba entered the Tokyo team's territory after a scramble for a loose ball and headed it to the front line. This was then passed to FW Tanaka who took a one-touch shot in front of the goal. This pass was intercepted by Nakazawa and passed to left MF Suzuki who charged towards the center. Fujiyama quickly jumped in, but was also cut off, and MF Suzuki took a free shot. Calmly, the ball was slid into the goal, and the score was immediately tied. In the 17th minute, from a left throw-in in Niigata's own territory, FW Tanaka dribbled through the Tokyo DF and passed to the right. FW Edmilson ran through the center and the ball was passed to right MF Matsushita, who then took a precise shot that went into the goal. Up until this point, Niigata had only taken 2 shots, but with those 2 shots, they were able to score 2 points and quickly take the lead.

　Still trying to find a way to counterattack, Niigata approached the goal with a pass from Miyazawa. In the 27th minute, Toda broke through with a vertical pass from Miyazawa and approached the right goal. However, there was no angle and the shot was saved by the GK. In the 29th minute, Kawaguchi turned around and entered a shooting position from a drop by Hirayama, but the opponent's DF cut it off. After connecting the loose ball, Imakawa and Miyazawa launched a wave attack, but in the end, they escaped to the left CK. Kicker Miyazawa tried to match Hirayama by changing the way he kicked, saying, "I kicked a liner ball differently than usual," but he couldn't shoot from there. In the 30th minute, the opponent's GK punched a right cross. The shot by Kurizawa, who ran in, went over the bar.

　Afterwards, they continued to dominate the ball and attack, but were unable to score. Gradually, they were caught off guard and faced Niigata's quick counterattacks. In the 39th minute, Hirayama took a shot in front of the goal from Tokunaga's right cross, but it was blocked by Kawaguchi. Towards the end, Niigata had more scenes of bringing the ball from a quick counterattack to a finish, and they went into the second half still trailing by one goal.

Niigata was completely defeated with 4 goals taken one after another from their quick attacks.

　In the second half, it was Niigata who gained momentum, but Tokyo's defense held strong and turned to attack. In the 48th minute, Tokunaga → Kawaguchi's right cross was headed by Hirayama, but the shot narrowly missed to the right. In the 53rd minute, Tokunaga cut inside and passed to Kawaguchi on the outside. Toda headed the right cross, but missed the meet. In the 54th minute, Miyazawa's shot just missed the top of the bar. Immediately after, Abe was substituted for Kurisawa and played as left MF. In the 56th minute, Abe ran in for a header from Miyazawa's kick from a free kick earned by Tokunaga being fouled, but the GK caught it.

　At 64 minutes, Akamine was substituted for Kawaguchi. Toda moved to the right MF position. At 65 minutes, Abe moved inside and took a shot from the right area, but the GK caught it. In the 69th minute, Abe took another shot from the left side, but the GK caught it again. Both teams continued to launch quick attacks, but it wasn't until the 74th minute that something happened. Unable to pick up a loose ball, Tokyo's MF Silvino → MF Matsushita took a shot from the center. The shot grazed the bar and went in. Caught off guard and with a lapse in defense, Tokyo conceded a painful third goal.

　In the 76th minute, Bamba was replaced by Baba as a top midfielder and switched to a 3-back formation to launch a counterattack. However, despite Hiraoka being the starting point in the front line, Niigata picked up all the second balls and the situation became difficult. They were unable to create any decisive scenes and their attack ended up being monotonous. In the 79th minute, Niigata's substitute FW Yano cut into the right area and Nakazawa fouled him, giving away a penalty. FW Edmilson took the penalty and scored it perfectly, making it 4-1... In the 88th minute, Abe's right cross was cleared by the opposing DF. Hiraoka took the loose ball and shot a volley, but it narrowly missed to the right, sealing their defeat. They lost 4-1, making it their 6th consecutive loss.

　【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"It's disappointing to lose in my first J-League game. If I had scored when I had the chance, I think the momentum would have shifted. The coach told me to 'go for it' and I did. I wish I could have either scored myself or helped increase the score with my play. The team is not clear on what we want to do or how we want to defend, and the players are also confused. We need to make it clearer."《Kawaguchi》"I believed that the ball would come to me and ran towards it. It came to me in a good spot. I was aiming for the opposite side and just wanted to make good contact. We all knew that scoring the first goal was important and we were able to get it at a good time. It's a shame that we were quickly equalized. I think the goal we conceded was due to a lack of concentration. We didn't clear the ball properly and got caught. Personally, I regret not being able to pick up the loose ball because I was too far apart from Tokunaga. And when Tokunaga had the ball, there was no support. Hirayama was working hard, so if we can create more patterns from the second row, it would be great. There must be a reason for our 6 consecutive losses. We will work hard to get results in the remaining 9 games."

　[Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "The performance was a complete defeat. We were able to take the lead with Hirayama's header from a free kick, but after that it was bad. All the goals we conceded were from counter attacks. When we were attacking, we were able to break through in good positions, but we couldn't finish and ended up conceding on the counter. Our transition from attack to defense was slow, so we were vulnerable to counter attacks. In particular, our marking on Niigata FW Edmilson and Tanaka was weak, and they were able to hold the ball and break through from the second line, resulting in all four goals being scored in a similar way. We gave instructions, but we couldn't make the necessary adjustments. We need to accept the result of six consecutive losses and think about how to move forward. (What was the intention behind continuously substituting FWs?) To score goals. We aimed to get the ball to Hirayama from the side. As you can see, Hirayama is a player with height and the ability to hold the ball. He didn't lose in headers. Even though his stamina was dropping, I decided to use him until the end today. The fact that we couldn't finish with the attack utilizing him was a major factor in our defeat."

　[Niigata Suzuki coach's press conference summary] "The players worked hard. And the supporters supported us well, and I think we were able to win. In the first half, the start was not bad, but we couldn't pick up the loose balls from FC Tokyo's long balls. Also, our defensive line couldn't keep up with the movement of Tokyo's players. We adjusted the position of MF Teragawa and were able to pick up second balls. And I think that being able to score a goal early on led to our victory. At halftime, we talked about how picking up second balls would affect the outcome of the game, as well as the space on the sides and the defensive pressure, and how we would start the second half. As a result, we were able to score more goals and end the game in a very good way. However, even though we had several chances in the middle of the second half, we couldn't score and it was a difficult situation. Even after scoring the fourth goal, there were some lackluster plays, but as professionals, we need to play until the end. Overall, the players worked hard, but we can't afford to let our guard down. We want to turn the next game into a victory as well."