Important match to turn the tide

In the 14th round of the league, we will face Shimizu S-Pulse away. Due to a two-week break, Konno was absent from the Japan national team, but everyone has reflected on their past issues and has been practicing with full concentration. In particular, we have spent a lot of time on improving our movement and side changes, as well as coordinating our offense and defense, while also refreshing our minds and bodies. We are determined to make a comeback from here with a renewed spirit.

　Tokyo, currently in 5th place with 21 points, will face Shimizu. FW Cho Jae-jin will be absent due to injury, but coach Hara is wary of other players who can step up when needed. In particular, FW Fernandez, who plays as a playmaker, is a key player. "If the ball is at Fernandez's feet, he can draw 2-3 defenders and create space for other players to make runs," says coach Hara. In addition, MF Fujimoto and defensive midfielder Ito are also known for making runs when given freedom, so it is important for Tokyo to have good coordination between the midfield and defense in order to limit their attacking options.

　Tokyo has been hit by a series of injuries, with Ishikawa, Akamine, and Rychely all out due to injuries, and Kurisawa out of the squad due to poor physical condition. In the attack, Lucas will lead the line with Fukunishi playing as an attacking midfielder, Suzuki Nori and Kawaguchi on the left and right wings, and Inonami and Kajiyama forming a double pivot in midfield. Shimizu, in particular, boasts a strong defense with only 13 goals conceded in the league, so breaking them down will be the key. First, we want to exploit the space behind the attacking full-backs who push forward, and attack from the sides. However, simply crossing the ball will be easily dealt with by their tall center-backs, so we also want to break through their defensive line and make use of the runs from Fukunishi and Kajiyama.

　Fukunishi says, "If we can keep the ball in the front, it will create time for the midfielders to attack. I want to be conscious of that and also contribute to scoring goals. I have a good feeling about playing as an attacking midfielder, so I want to see how I can help the team win this game. It will be an important match where we need to come together and face it as one, even though we have many injured players and cannot say we are fully prepared as a team. The game started at 4:04 PM with a kickoff in Tokyo at the Nihondaira Stadium, blessed with strong sunlight and clear skies."

Despite taking the lead and dominating the game, we were equalized in the first half due to a momentary lapse.

　Shimizu has been dominating the game with their high energy and ball possession since the start. In the 5th minute, Fukunishi passes to the left to Suzuki Norio who boldly takes a shot in the box, but it is blocked by the opposing defender and results in a left corner kick. In the 9th minute, Inaba passes to Kanazawa on the left side, who then receives a cross from Lucas and takes a shot from the middle, but it goes over the bar. In the 11th minute, Imano intercepts the opposing team's pass and passes to Fukunishi. Kawaguchi on the right side then passes to Kajiyama who takes a surprising shot from outside the box, but it is saved by the opposing goalkeeper.

　17 minutes, Shimizu also counterattacks and left side DF Kodama cuts through the side and turns back in front of the goal. In the area, FW Fernandinho → MF Ito, who ran in, shoots, but the ball cuts to the left. Even if the mark is a little weak, they will bring it to the finish. However, Tokyo's advantage remains unchanged. In the 19th minute, Tokunaga dribbles up and crosses. Suzuki Nori tries to hit the ball that fell to the far side, but misses. Lucas on the right side turns and shoots. He can't meet it and it goes straight to the GK. In the 23rd minute, from a throw-in on the left side, through Lucas to the right, Kawaguchi → Tokunaga crosses. Suzuki Nori tightens and heads the ball into the net, but it's offside...

　Then, in the 26th minute, Inaba stole the ball from Shimizu near the half-line and passed it to Suzuki Nori on the left, who was free. Nori Suzuki calmly aimed and swung his left foot, the powerful trajectory slipping through the GK's hands and piercing the net to take the lead. Tokyo's momentum did not stop there. In the 28th minute, a right corner kick was initially cleared, but Kajiyama dribbled into the right area, evading the defenders and taking a shot. It was a decisive moment, but the shot went wide to the left and no additional points were scored.

　As the game entered its final stages, Shimizu began to send long balls towards FW Yajima, picking up the loose balls and dominating possession. In the 34th minute, Shimizu's FW Fernandinho took a shot from just outside the left area. Tsuchi caught the ball, but it was picked up and a sharp cross was sent in, only for Imakawa to clear it. In the 36th minute, a pass was sent to FW Yajima in the area, but Fujiyama closed in and prevented him from taking a clean shot. Despite a strong defensive effort, they couldn't hold on and in the 43rd minute, MF Hyodo found himself momentarily free and took a shot from outside the left area. The ball sailed over Tsuchi's outstretched hand and into the top right corner, scoring a goal.

　The first half was thought to end in a good flow almost as planned, but we were caught off guard for a moment and ended the first half tied.

Norio Suzuki's goal put us ahead, and Tadashi Baba also scored to secure a 3-1 victory.

　Shimizu FW Fernandez was fouled immediately after the start of the second half, giving a free kick in the center. MF Fujimoto aimed directly for it, but it went wide to the left. Then in the 46th minute, from that goal kick, although the ball was initially kept by the opponent, Fukunishi took it and passed it to Suzuki Nori on the left. He dribbled up and shot from an angleless position in the left area, and the ball was sucked into the right side net for a goal. It was enough to erase the unpleasant flow of the first half and regain momentum for the team.

　Shimizu immediately attacks mainly through set plays. In the 48th minute, FW Fernandinho's left FK shot was saved by Doi with his left hand. In the 50th minute, MF Fujimoto's kick from the right CK left DF Aoyama free in front of the goal, allowing him to take a header shot. It was a decisive moment, but the shot missed the target and the danger was avoided. In the 52nd minute, MF Fujimoto sent a lob pass to the front of the goal. It hit a Tokyo DF player and bounced into the right area, where Shimizu FW Yajima ran in, but Kanazawa made a desperate sliding tackle to cut it off.

　Despite Shizuoka's continued attacks, the entire team responded with focused defense. On the other hand, they created chances on the counterattack after stealing the ball. In the 57th minute, Inoha attacked from the right side and crossed, but it didn't reach Fukunishi in the middle. In the 59th minute, Tokunaga on the right side passed to Imakawa who had moved up, but the goalkeeper caught it. In the 62nd minute, Kawaguchi received a pass on the left side and entered deep into the area. He sent a negative pass to the front of the goal, where Lucas ran in, but was stopped by the Shizuoka defenders.

　Shimizu made a double substitution. FW Nishizawa (← Yajima) and Fernandez in the front line, FW Okazaki (← Fujimoto) in the top position, and MF Edamura on the left, trying to make a comeback, but the flow is still in Tokyo's favor. In the 68th minute, tired Kawaguchi was replaced by Baba and moved to the right MF position. Then in the 72nd minute, Kajiyama chased after the opponent's ball and stole it, and from this attacking move, Baba was left free in the center and took a shot from outside the box, grazing the bar and bouncing off the goalkeeper into the goal. The lead is now two points.

　After that, they threatened the opponent's goal with a solid defense and counterattacks. In the 81st minute, Asari was substituted for Fukunishi and Kajiyama was moved to the attacking midfield position. In the 84th minute, Asari connected from an interception and Inonami went up the left side and crossed. Asari jumped in with a header from the free position in front of the goal, but it didn't connect. Baba from the far side connected and took a corner kick. In the 87th minute, Tokunaga intercepted and dribbled forward. He entered the right area and took a shot, but it went wide.

　In the final stage, Shimizu put DF Aoyama on the front line and kicked a long feed to the center, immediately replacing Kajiyama with Shigeno. They did not allow him to play freely by man-marking. In the end, FW Nishizawa headed a free kick from the right, but missed the goal and all hope was lost. They consistently dominated Shimizu by playing their own style of soccer. They ended the important match of the league restart with a victory.

　【Player Comments】《Nori Suzuki》"I enjoyed the game and was able to score, which makes me happy. If this game can help the team get on a roll, I think it will be even better. I was able to score today, but I was always conscious of taking shots. I was able to take shots aggressively with my right foot and get into a rhythm. The first goal was from a good angle. The second goal came from a good pass. In the first half, a similar situation happened and at that time I chose to cross. Lucas and Fukusan were closing in, but I was able to slip between the goalkeeper and defender. Then I heard shouting from the bench (laughs). At halftime, I was told to "shoot there" and I changed my mindset. So I didn't have a good angle, but I just took the shot. But the most exciting moment was when my header, which was initially called offside, went in (laughs). I've never been able to score like that in an official or practice game since I was a kid. This season, I've played mostly as a fullback, but I was able to prepare well in two weeks. It was hot, but we were able to play aggressively from the first half and play the kind of soccer we couldn't play against Nagoya=going after the ball from the front. Nihondaira is a stadium where we broke our losing streak two years ago. We want to continue our winning streak from here on."《Baba》"It was my first appearance in a while, so I tried to play boldly. I thought the shot went in directly because it was a bit shaky... I wasn't consciously trying to make it spinless, I just kicked it with all my might."

　【Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference】"There was a break, but I think it was lucky in a way that Kajiyama and Inonami were not called up for the Olympic representative team's match against Malaysia. This season, from the beginning, the Olympic representatives, including Imano from the full representative team, have been going back and forth between the representative team and the club, but in these two weeks, we were able to train together and make various adjustments. We moved and ran together as a team and confirmed various things. Rather, I think it would have been difficult for Shimizu to adjust their condition, as Edamura, Okazaki, and Sugiyama were called up for the Malaysia match, and players like Fujimoto and Aoyama were called up for the full representative team and had to train together. I think that difference showed in today's match. In the first half, we were able to play almost as planned, and Norio Suzuki scored the opening goal for us. However, even though we weren't really being beaten, we were equalized by a great goal from Hyodo. It was a bit frustrating to be caught up with such a good form. Looking at the data, Shimizu is a team that scores a lot of goals and concedes few goals in the first half, while we are a team that has only scored two goals in the first half so far, so we tried to score from the first half. Also, we have scored more goals in the second half, so we tried to score again from the beginning, but Norio Suzuki's goal at the start was crucial. Tadashi Baba, who came on as a substitute, also scored, and the team gained momentum. However, if we don't continue this, it will be meaningless, so we want to train for another week and prepare for the next match."　

　[Post-match Interview with Manager Hasegawa from Shimizu] "It's a shame that we couldn't secure a victory despite having many supporters come to our home game after the break. Overall, we didn't have many chances to win today's game. We were able to equalize in the first half after conceding the first goal, but then we were scored on in the beginning of the second half when we were just getting started. We knew that FC Tokyo tends to score a lot of goals during that time, so we focused on defending in the second half, but they took advantage of a momentary lapse. It felt like we were thrown off our game. And then we couldn't regain our rhythm and ended up conceding a third goal from a long-range shot. We need to reflect on the fact that we have been conceding goals from the middle range in the past few games. We couldn't create good opportunities in the midfield today, and we knew that FC Tokyo would send in long balls, but we couldn't handle them. The main reason for our loss today was that we couldn't find a way to bypass their pressure between the front line and midfield. We have more home games coming up, so we can't afford to dwell on this. We need to switch our mindset and prepare for the next game with a positive attitude."