Advance the game at our own pace and aim for consecutive victories!

　J1 League Sec. 27 will face Sanfrecce Hiroshima away. In the previous round, they achieved their first victory in 7 games, managing to escape from a difficult situation and regain some confidence. Now that Nakano has returned from the Japan national team's trip to India, and Fujiyama has not suffered any major injuries, the team is in good spirits. From here on, they want to continue winning in order to improve their form for the final stretch of the season.

　Hiroshima, on the other hand, is in 15th place with a 3-point difference from Tokyo. Depending on the outcome of this match, there could be a significant difference in points, so they will come aggressively aiming for a victory. The forward duo of FW Weslley and Sato Hisashi are in good form. They connect in the midfield and then Weslley takes advantage of the opponent's gaps with direct plays, while Sato Hisashi makes runs from the front line. Coach Kuramata is preparing countermeasures, saying, "It's important to not let them into the forward line, and if they do get the ball, we need to cover them." In addition, the side midfielders Komano and Hattori have a good balance in both offense and defense, and are skilled at counter attacks when the opportunity arises.

　Tokyo will have the same starting lineup as last match. And Lucas will return to the bench, although his condition is not perfect, he is likely to have a chance to play when we need goals. In this match, the key point will be how well Tokyo's side attacks function against Hiroshima's three-back formation. Ishikawa says, "If we stay in a high position, it's easier for the opponent to read us. Hattori and I understand each other's play well, so it's important to have a good balance of when to make runs and when to stay back. We want to be careful with our positioning and connect good defense to good offense."

　Tokunaga also said, "In the Nagoya game, the team was able to defend as a whole. Today, we want to focus on defense first and then attack the opponent's weaknesses to create chances." First and foremost, we want to have a good defense and keep a clean sheet, and then play the game at our own pace. The game started at 3:05pm with a clear sky at Hiroshima Big Arch.

Jean, despite taking the lead with Kajiyama's goal, they were scored one point and the first half ended.

　Hiroshima has been defending in their own half since the start of the first half, playing a counter-attacking style. On the other hand, Tokyo has been freely keeping possession in the midfield and taking control of the game from the wings. They earn free kicks on the left side in the 1st and 2nd minutes. Although they don't get a shot off, they create chances by utilizing Hirayama's height. Then in the 9th minute, Kajiyama puts a cross in from a free kick on the left side, but the ball is not cleared properly and goes up in the air, which Jean reacts to and heads in for the opening goal.

　After that, for 10 minutes, they expanded to the right side from a quick restart. Tokunaga crosses to the opposite side, and Kajiyama runs in to head it down in the center, but it is cleared. In the 11th minute, Kajiyama on the left side makes a big side change. Tokunaga carries the ball up and breaks through with a pass exchange with Ishikawa, but it goes over the end line. Tokyo's wave-like attacks continue even after taking the lead. In the 13th minute, they earn a free kick in the center. Kajiyama → Tokunaga crosses it in, but the opponent's defender clears it. Kajiyama picks it up and takes a daring shot, which is sucked into the top left corner for the second goal.

　Hiroshima has been inconsistent in both offense and defense, and has not had any real chances, but they allowed a goal to be scored in a moment of carelessness. In the 21st minute, starting from MF Hattori on the left side, FW Sato Jun flew out just barely offside and scored a volley, bringing the score to a one-point difference. Hiroshima regained their momentum and dominated the ball from then on. Tokyo also had the ball passed around by their opponents, but like in the Nagoya game, they kept the midfield and defense compact, not allowing any decisive opportunities. However, in their attacks, even when they passed the ball to Hirayama, they were pushed back and unable to connect passes due to the slow follow-up.

　39 minutes, Hirayama keeps the ball on the front line from a counter. He then passes the ball behind the DF line, and Ishikawa runs in and passes it to the front of the goal. However, he is unable to take a shot and this late chance is also missed, and the first half ends with a 1-0 lead.

Unable to withstand Hiroshima's momentum, lost in a comeback defeat of 2-5.

　Tokyo made a substitution, replacing Hirayama with Lucas in the second half. They want to regain momentum with a press from the front line. Then in the 47th minute, Inamoto crosses from the left side after exchanging passes with Lucas. Kajiyama heads the ball but the opponent GK saves it. In the 52nd minute, Ishikawa cuts in from the right side to the center. He shoots after a one-two with Lucas, but it goes wide to the right of the goal. In the 55th minute, Tokunaga and Ishikawa quickly restart the game and cross from the right side, but Lucas' header is caught by the GK.

　The game was going as expected for Tokyo, but gradually Hiroshima took control. In particular, MF Lee, who came on for DF Komano, was actively attacking on the right side. Also, FW Weslley, who had not been doing well in the first half, started to connect with the ball and had many chances to make shots and plays freely. In the 59th and 62nd minutes, Weslley created decisive opportunities, but the DFs managed to hold on. However, in the 63rd minute, they finally allowed an equalizing goal.

　Left MF Hattori crosses from the side change to FW Weslley, who scores with an overhead kick in the wide open space on the right side. With this, Hiroshima has completely regained their rhythm and 2 minutes later, they score a comeback goal. On the left side, FW Weslley crosses on the ground and it is scored by MF Li on the opposite side. Tokyo wants to launch a counterattack, but they cannot break through the balanced Hiroshima defense and instead fall into a vicious cycle of conceding counters. In the 71st minute, MF Morisaki Hiroshi scores an additional goal, making it a 2-point difference.

　Substituted Miyazawa for Miura in the 73rd minute. In the 75th minute, Miyazawa's right FK ball was cleared by the opponent's DF, but Ishikawa picked up the loose ball and crossed from the right side. In the melee, Imakano took a shot. Blocked by GK Shimoda, but took another shot. However, it was blocked by the GK again. In the 77th minute, Kajiyama crossed from the right and Toda scored a volley shot in the center, but it was ruled offside. After that, they substituted Kawaguchi for Ishikawa and tried to score, but they couldn't create any decisive chances. On the contrary, in the 89th minute, FW Weslley scored his second goal of the day and it was all over. In the end, they suffered a 2-5 comeback loss and were tied with Hiroshima in points and goal difference.

　[Player Comments] "Despite taking two goals in the first half, we allowed one and created a comeback mood for Hiroshima, which I regret. I think we had a good start in the second half. We should have scored there, but the defense couldn't hold on without scoring. I wanted to calm the team down, but Hiroshima created a mood and we were thinking about how to respond, and we were done. The development was bad. I feel responsible for not being able to calm the team down. But there is always the next game. We have to do our best next time." "In the scene of my goal, I was thinking 'Let's shoot first'. I kicked it with all my might and it went in. I just thought about hitting the frame. After taking two goals, we went into defense and the ball was passed around. The distance from the DF line was far, and even if we pressed from the front, the space in between was used. We couldn't defend in unison. Even if the ball went to Hirayama, the support was delayed because everyone was in defense, and I think there was no place to pass."

　[Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "It was good to be ahead by 2 points, but when we were scored on and the situation changed, the entire team, including the DF line, started to fall back. As Hiraoka started to fall back, I substituted Lucas in for him. I wanted Lucas to defend from the front. In the second half, the opponent effectively used their wing backs and started to break us down with crosses. It was good until it was 2-2, but after they took the lead, our marking was off and we ended up conceding 5 goals. (Especially on the left side?) Our marking was off and it became unclear whether Toda or Fujiyama should go. As for Hiraoka's substitution, his movement was less than usual and his condition wasn't great, so I made the change. For the next game, we need to fix our defense first and make sure we can defend one-on-one on the back line."

　[Hiroshima Petrovic Press Conference Summary] "We have played 15 games since coming to Hiroshima, but this is the first time we have had a game like today. With Kyoto and C Osaka drawing in yesterday's game, if we could get 3 points today, I thought we could play the remaining 7 games without much pressure. The players were a bit stiff at the start. There were a lot of mistakes and not much movement, and in that situation we conceded goals in succession, and we became afraid to receive the ball. The first half was the worst performance since I came here. However, Shuto's goal in that flow was very lucky for the team. At halftime, I told the players, "Let's play our own soccer, and don't be afraid of mistakes." In the second half, we had a lot of movement and were able to pass well, and it was the best performance since I came here. If we can play games like this all the time, we can beat any opponent. Also, Shuto and Komano were injured, but the young players who came in as substitutes did a good job, and I felt a bright future for Hiroshima. I think we saw two faces of Hiroshima in the first and second halves today, but I want the players to be genuinely happy with today's victory."