Shut down Nagoya's two top players and achieve three consecutive league victories!

　In Sec. 13 of the league, we will face Nagoya Grampus Eight at home. In the Nabisco Cup match against Yokohama FC three days ago, players like Akamine and Kurizawa, who have had few starts until now, performed well, leading to a comeback victory. We achieved three consecutive wins in official matches. This match, we aim to unite as one and strive for three consecutive wins in the league, something we have not accomplished in the past as 'Hara-Tokyo.'

　　Nagoya is currently in 6th place with 18 points. In the consecutive matches since the Golden Week, the team's condition has been declining with 1 win and 4 losses, but the matches lost were all by a narrow margin. Additionally, in the Nabisco Cup, many members were changed, and they have precisely focused on today's league match. Particularly to be wary of are the tall FW Jonsen and the speedy FW Sugimoto. Strictly marking these two forwards and thoroughly covering the DF line is a condition for victory.

　In addition, Nagoya's midfield features skilled players like MF Fujita and Honda, who can connect the ball and launch quick attacks. If they become too cautious of the opponent's two forwards and drop their line, it creates space in the midfield for Nagoya to establish their rhythm. Therefore, it is also important to apply aggressive pressure from the front to prevent them from playing freely.

　Tokyo's starting lineup is based on the members from the league Sec. 12 match against Yokohama F.Marinos, utilizing Kajiwara as a right midfielder, similar to the formation shown in the latter stages of the Nabisco match against Yokohama FC. Coach Hara stated, "I want to create more opportunities to receive the ball and distribute it, along with Fukunishi." Akamine started on the bench considering the consecutive matches. Regardless of who plays, the team aims to continue their dynamic style of football and target a third consecutive league victory. Unlike yesterday's rain, the sun shone brightly from the morning, bringing a sense of summer heat to Ajinomoto. The match kicked off at 15:04 with Tokyo's kickoff.

Unable to create dynamism, allowing the opponent to take the lead by exploiting the gaps in marking.

　In the first minute, Kajiyama aims for the goal from mid-range. The game started with a shot from Tokyo, but Nagoya quickly countered. In the 4th minute, after a right throw-in, the ball was spread wide, and a decisive pass was made from MF Kinda to MF Honda, and then to FW Yonsen as they entered the area. This was cleared by Tokyo's defense. Finally, a cross was sent to MF Kinda on the left side of the area, but it drifted to the far side, escaping the danger. In the 6th minute, Fukunishi handled a cross to Nagoya's front line, giving a free kick from a left-leaning position outside the area. A grounded shot fired by DF Yonemura, using MF Honda as a decoy, was saved well by Doi. In the 9th minute, Tokyo picked up a clearance from Nagoya and launched a counterattack. Inoha connected with Tokunaga, and Lucas took a mid-range shot. It was a well-aimed shot, but it hit the bar, and they could not take the lead.

　Perhaps due to the heat, Tokyo's movement slows down as time passes. There is little movement and support at the front line, and while trying to connect in the midfield, they lose the ball. At the same time, Nagoya also makes mistakes, leading to a back-and-forth situation. In the 16th minute, Kajiyama on the right passes to Lucas in the center. He sends a direct ball to Wanchope in front of the goal, but the trap is too heavy, and he couldn't take the shot. In the 29th minute, they lose the ball in their own half, and a long through pass is sent to the front line. Here, Nagoya forward Jönsson runs in, but Fujiyama clears just before the shot.

　As the defense and offense switched due to mutual mistakes, in the 31st minute, Kajiyama passed to Lucas, who boldly attempted to break into the area from the right. However, he was dispossessed by the Nagoya defense, leading to a counterattack. Nagoya switched sides from the left of their own half to the center and then to the right. FW Sugimoto on the right flank dribbled into the large space in the middle and connected with MF Honda, who had moved up from behind. Tokyo failed to apply pressure on either FW Sugimoto or MF Honda, and although Konno was late to mark MF Honda, he was played through to FW Jönsson, who was completely free in the area. Jönsson scored with his left foot, resulting in a goal conceded. Tokyo allowed Nagoya to take the lead by exploiting the gap in marking.

　Nagoya took the lead and dominated, and in the 36th minute, a left cross from FW Sugimoto was met with a diving header from FW Jönsson. In the 40th minute, in front of the Tokyo goal, MF Honda connected directly with FW Jönsson and MF Kan, and after receiving a return pass, MF Honda forcefully broke through the Tokyo defense to shoot, but Doih was able to save it. Although they did not allow an additional goal, Tokyo was unable to create any chances afterward. In the 42nd minute, Lucas ran onto a pass from Wanchope towards the front line and fell outside the area, but the whistle did not blow. In the end, they could only manage three shots in the first half and went into the second half trailing by one goal.

Despite continuing to attack in an effort to make corrections, we were unable to defend and lost without scoring.

　In the second half, Ishikawa was brought in as a right midfielder to replace Wanchope. Lucas moved to the top, and Kajiyama took the central position to launch a counterattack. They corrected the issues from the first half and took control with aggressive movements. In the 51st minute, Rychely boldly attacked from the left area and delivered a final pass in front of the goal. Lucas's shot after turning was saved by the goalkeeper. They earned a corner kick but couldn't convert it into a finish. In the 53rd minute, Tokunaga's feed was dropped by Kajiyama, who had surged forward, and Lucas shot from behind. In the 57th minute, Konno contested Suzuki Norio's left corner kick, and Ishikawa took a shot.

　While grasping the rhythm, they lacked precision at the final moment and were unable to score. In the 63rd minute, Akamine was brought in to replace Fukunishi, strengthening the front line with two forwards in pursuit of a goal. In the 68th minute, Kajiyama took a direct shot after a clearance of Ishikawa's right cross, but it went well wide. Meanwhile, Nagoya also changed their formation to a three-back. In the 73rd minute, Katayama was brought in to replace forward Sugimoto, and in the 75th minute, Takeuchi was brought in to replace right midfielder Kan, solidifying their defense in response. In the 79th minute, Ishikawa's cross was headed back by Akamine, and Lucas made a header shot. They created a decisive opportunity, but could not find the goal.

　In the final stages, against Nagoya, who pulled back with a five-man defense, Konno also moved up front, and both sides, Tokunaga and Noriyuki SUZUKI, delivered crosses from the left and right. However, they were repelled by the concentrated opposing DF, and even when they picked up the loose balls, they couldn't take shots on target, making it difficult to score. In the 89th minute, from a free kick on the left side, Akamine skillfully broke into the area to shoot, but with no angle, the GK made a save. In stoppage time, Konno shot from inside the area, but the Nagoya DF blocked it. Following that, connecting a feed from Doi, Akamine broke into the area, but again the DF cleared it. Despite attacking with intense play, they couldn't break through Nagoya's solid defense. They lost without scoring and couldn't achieve three consecutive wins in the league.

　[Player Comments] Doi: "In the first half, we couldn't play the kind of football that presses from the front. The coach also instructed us to 'press more from the front,' but until Akamine came on, we couldn't push up. I think we ended up matching the opponent's slow rhythm. I wanted a win in this milestone 300th match, but there is another game ahead. It's more important for the team to keep winning. In matches like today, even a draw and earning points would help improve the team's form." Akamine: "When I came on, I thought that if I didn't move, I wouldn't create chances or score goals, so I aimed to coordinate with everyone to score. The coach instructed me to defend from the front and to move into spaces. Also, since Nagoya's defensive midfielders are offensive-minded, there is space between them and the defensive line. I thought that if I could receive the ball there, the space behind the defenders would open up. We created several chances, but if they don't lead to goals, it means nothing. If I focus more on finishing with shots, we might earn corner kicks or even cause own goals. I want to keep that in mind."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "With only two days between matches, both teams felt 'heavy movement' in the first half. Since we were playing at home, I told the players to be aggressive, but the heat had an impact. Also, Wanchope has improved defensively, but I wanted him to make more runs behind the defensive line. However, since he is a slow starter, his movements were delayed. As a result, we couldn't get the ball to the front, relying mostly on back passes and sideways passes, which were targeted by the opposition, making the early stages difficult. I told Wanchope to 'move more and receive the ball,' but it remained unclear, and the midfield players continued to find it hard to connect forward. Furthermore, after conceding a goal in the first half, our defense gradually became lax. At halftime, I brought in Ishikawa and instructed the team to attack from the sides. Lucas also changed to clearer movements, which shifted the rhythm, but we couldn't score at that time and were held off. Despite the tough conditions in this heat, if we can't score, we can't win. There was a scene that might have been a penalty, but without goals, victory is impossible. I think our defensive balance improved, so the challenge going forward is to break down the opposition and score."

　[Summary of Nagoya VERGOOSSEN Coach's Press Conference] "We were able to finish the first half in a very good shape. The defensive organization was good, and in attack, we effectively used free players. We made good use of MF Honda and both fullbacks, Omori and Abe. However, I think there were some problems. There were many judgment errors, such as when to cross or when to shoot earlier, and the accuracy of the final pass was lacking. Another issue in the first half was the wrong choice of shoes. I think many players slipped. But the game is 90 minutes, not 45, so we should have taken more shots and scored more goals to pull away during the first half. In the second half, FC Tokyo changed to a two-forward formation, so fearing a 2-on-2 situation at the back line, we switched to a 3-5-2. However, I think we were not using the space effectively. We created chances from counterattacks two or three times but failed to score. As a result, the opponent attacked and created chances, making it a very intense game. Since the score was 1-0, FC Tokyo took risks to attack. In return, space opened up behind them, and we should have used that space better. Towards the end, FC Tokyo came with a power play, and we had to respond accordingly. I think there was some luck in the victory. However, FC Tokyo has been in very good form recently, so I am happy we earned points here. I want to praise the players."