Fix the task and aim for 3 points away!

　Sec. 2 will be held at Saitama Stadium 2002 against Omiya Ardija. Unfortunately, we lost the opening game 2-4, but in this round, we will make adjustments to our defense and take a more aggressive stance to aim for victory even in an away game! However, Lucas, who scored 2 goals in the previous round, will be absent due to a cold. Kajiyama is also not in top condition and will be on the bench. On the left side of the front line is Nori Suzuki, with Kurisawa in the top position and the in-form Fujiyama starting as center back.

　Omiya, on the other hand, also started the season with a loss. In the opening match, they faced G Osaka and held on defensively with a 4-4-1-1 formation, but unfortunately conceded a goal from a mistake in the 88th minute and were defeated. However, their compact formation and zonal defense are strong. The key to this match will be how to break down their defense.

　On the other hand, Omiya seems to be struggling to connect in their attacks, but coach Hara warns that "FW Eniuton is a fast left-handed player who can break through on his own." They also have players like FW Kobayashi and MF Hashimoto who have high accuracy in their kicks, and in past matches, they have often decided the outcome with set plays. Tokyo also wants to utilize the height of players like Hirayama to compete.

Konno scores the opening goal! The defense also shows stable play.

　The match started at 4:05 pm with Omiya's kickoff. From the beginning, Tokyo made their moves through Suzuki Nori and Ishikawa on the sides. In the first minute, Fukunishi passed to Suzuki Nori who crossed from the left. In the fourth minute, Kurisawa stole the ball from the opposing forward Eniuton and made a run on the right. Ishikawa broke through on the right side and crossed the ball. Although Hirayama and Suzuki Nori were slightly out of sync, they showed a good attacking form. In the 11th minute, Fujiyama picked up a cleared ball from a free kick and fed it to the front line. Hirayama headed it and Fukunishi, who was left in front of the goal, took a shot. In the 14th minute, Ishikawa attempted a vertical run and passed to Kurisawa in the middle while drawing the defenders. Kurisawa dribbled and passed to Fukunishi who had broken through in front of the goal. Although they had a great chance, they were unfortunately stopped by the GK and couldn't score the first goal.

　After 20 minutes, Omiya gradually started to launch counterattacks. However, Tokyo's defense was highly aware today, with a concentrated defense centered around Tsuchi. In the 21st minute, Omiya's MF Hashimoto crossed the ball and MF Fujimoto made a diving header, but Tsuchi made a great save! In the 23rd minute, Omiya's long ball found FW Kobayashi on the left side of Tokyo's defense. FW Eniuton was waiting in front of the goal, but Tokunaga jumped in and cleared the ball. In the midfield, Inamoto and Fukunishi were actively moving and stealing the ball, quickly turning to attack. Then in the 26th minute, Suzuki Nori quickly took the ball that was loose in Omiya's defense and passed it to Ishikawa, who won a corner kick on the left side. Inamoto then made a high header from Ishikawa's kick, scoring the long-awaited first goal!

　At 34 minutes, Norio Suzuki kept the ball in the right area from Kurisawa's feed. Fukunishi from the far side connected, and Kanazawa, who had moved up on the left side, crossed. Hirayama jumped in from the front and attempted a header shot, but the ball missed the frame. On the other hand, at 39 minutes, they lost the loose ball on the right side of their own field, allowing Omiya's left SB Namiho to enter the area. The cross passed perfectly to FW Eniuton in front of the goal, who headed it, but the shot was caught by Tsuchi in front of his body. Omiya had some chances to counterattack, but the defense held strong and they went into the second half with a 1-0 lead.

Grabbing the pace with Fukunishi's goal, first victory of the season!

　In the second half, Omiya gets into a rhythm from set pieces. In the 48th minute, they get a free kick just outside the box and MF Hashimoto takes a direct shot, using FW Eniuton as a decoy. The shot hits the right post and bounces off to the left, narrowly missing the goal. In the 53rd minute, MF Fujimoto breaks through the space on the right side and boldly enters the box to take a shot. However, Fujiyama sticks with him and Tsuchi flies out to clear the danger.

　At the 57th minute, Hirayama persevered on the right front line and won a corner kick. Ishikawa's kick was blocked by the DF, but they were able to earn another corner kick on the right side. This time, Kurisawa took the kick, but it was initially blocked by the DF. However, the ball ended up at the feet of Ishikawa and Omiya MF Fujimoto, who were competing for it in the penalty area. From there, Fukunishi ran in and took a shot with his right foot from a difficult angle on the right side of the goal. The ball flew into the opposite side of the net, scoring a goal!

　After taking a 2-point lead with Fukunishi's first goal since his transfer, they begin to take control of the pace. In the 68th minute, Kawaguchi is substituted for Ishikawa. Immediately after, Kawaguchi breaks through on a long pass from Doi, but the opposing GK catches it just a step ahead. In the 72nd minute, Kajiyama is substituted for Fukunishi, who injured his ankle and was taken off as a precaution. In the 76th minute, Wanchope, making his first appearance in the J-League, is substituted for Hirayama. They went for one more goal.

　87 minutes, Wanchope drops Norio Suzuki's left cross and picks up the ball that was dropped by the opponent's DF. Julian overlaps and crosses from the right. Kajiyama in the area jumps out between the opponent's DF and DF and takes a free header shot, but it goes wide to the right. In stoppage time, Omiya comes to score a goal and FW Yoshihara shoots from a close distance. However, Tsuchi quickly reacts and makes a save! Fujimoto shoots again from the left area, but Tsuchi quickly catches it again! They defend without losing focus and the time is up. They efficiently score 2 points from set plays and keep Omiya's attack scoreless, getting 3 points away. They have achieved their first victory of the season.

　【Player Comments】《Fukunishi》"I felt responsible for missing chances in the beginning. I wanted to score if I had another chance, so I'm honestly relieved. I wanted the team to win as soon as possible, so I'm most happy that we won. We were able to play at our own pace because we were able to take the lead. We want to continue scoring when we can and win the game in our own rhythm. (It's a big win for me since my transfer) but the league is long. We want to keep building on each win."《Imano》"I'm relieved to get our first win. I've been wanting to score the first goal for a while. It happened to be me, but I was happy because it was a form I'm good at. I was able to hit it strongly and score, so it felt good. Today, I focused on shutting down the opponent's strengths and marked (Yu) Kobayashi as the attacking midfielder. I was most wary of Kobayashi, so I played a bit defensively and didn't let him run behind our defense. In the back, we were able to cover each other well with Fuji and Yuhei. I think our game plan will change depending on the opponent's strengths, but we want to continue winning by shutting down their strengths and showcasing our own strengths."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "This past week, we have been utilizing Lucas and Hirayama well, while also monitoring the condition of our Olympic representative players. However, two days ago, Lucas caught a cold and Kajiyama's condition did not improve. With Lucas out, we decided to use Ishikawa and Norio Suzuki as a speedy duo on the sides and play a simple game. We have corrected the positioning mistake that led to a goal in the opening game and made the relationship between Konno and Fukunishi more clear. Kurisawa has been in good form since the practice matches, but we were unable to use him in the opening game as we were down by three goals. We thought he would be a good balance if we could involve him in the midfield, and he played as we had hoped in today's game. There were some dangerous moments in the first half, but it was good that we ended it with a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Omiya came at us with great momentum and we didn't know what would happen if MF Hashimoto's free kick had gone in. However, Fukunishi's second goal made things easier for us. We wanted to be more aggressive, but everyone had the previous game where we conceded four goals in their minds. We knew Omiya would kick the ball up front, so we told the players to focus on their positioning in the back line. There were some close calls, but the players put their bodies on the line and stayed focused until the end. This win should give the players confidence and we want to continue this momentum. However, our Olympic representative players will be going on a trip to Malaysia starting tomorrow, so we will have to build a team without them."

　[Omiya Robert Coach's Press Conference Summary] "Tokyo was good at the beginning of the first half. I think the players became tight and shrunk. After 15 minutes, Omiya's right side improved and MF Fujimoto and DF Nishimura were able to actively participate in the attack. Several times, FW Eniuton, MF Fujimoto, and Hashimoto had chances but couldn't score, and we conceded a goal in an unlucky way. I kept telling the players who should mark who, but in that corner kick situation, we left someone completely free. However, the start of the second half was very good. Especially Hashimoto's left foot free kick hit the post and it was a shame. (Regarding the second goal) I told the players to play easily without taking risks in our own deep area, but MF Fujimoto couldn't clear the loose ball and it led to a goal. After conceding two goals, the players lost their tension. It was difficult to bring the game back after being down 0-2. After FC Tokyo scored two goals, they controlled the game firmly and came for the third goal. It's not a good start to lose two games in a row, but there's no need to panic and the way we practice won't change. We haven't scored in two games, but we have to keep practicing shooting and crossing every day and hope it will pay off."