Breaking Urawa's solid defense, aiming for a home victory

　In the 15th round of the league, we will face Urawa Reds at home. In the previous round against Shimizu, we were able to surpass our opponents in terms of physicality even in the heat and achieved a great victory. As coach Hara said, "This time, we need to come together as a team and continue to play well at home," today's match will be a test of our strength to eliminate the ups and downs of our performance.

　Urawa, who will face them, is currently in second place with 24 points after finishing 13 games (the 14th round will be held in August). Since entering June, they have participated in the A3 Championship Cup held in China and have played three consecutive games until the 13th. This round, they may be fatigued from their overseas trip and consecutive games, but they are still a formidable opponent. In the attacking line, FW Washington is a key player, and MF Ponte's ball control and runs must be watched out for. In addition, FW Tanaka, who has been out for a long time due to injury, has returned from A3 and coach Hara is wary, saying, "He will make up for the speed that Urawa has been lacking so far." In order to contain them, it is important to not let them easily bring the ball to the goal. Tokyo will want to dominate the midfield as much as possible.

　In addition, Urawa has only conceded 13 goals so far, showing a solid defense. They usually play with a 3-back formation, but MF Yamada and Abe can also play as fullbacks, and coach Hara expects them to be able to adapt to different situations. Tokyo will try to attack the sides with the strong Norio Suzuki, but if they become too predictable, they will struggle to break through Urawa's defense. By utilizing their fluid movement up front, they hope to disrupt Urawa's defense and create many chances to aim for a win and consecutive victories.

　Tokyo will face the same starting lineup as the previous match. Urawa's lineup is listed as 4-4-2, but DF-registered Soma is playing as left MF. MF-registered Abe is playing on the left side of the DF line in a 3-5-2 formation. The match started at 4:04 PM with Tokyo's kickoff at the sunny Ajinomoto Stadium, under strong sunlight and heat.

The early goal against us has had an impact, giving Urawa the upper hand.

　Immediately after the kickoff, the game was intense with both teams exchanging attacks and defenses. In the first minute, Kawaguchi took advantage of a gap in the defense and shot from the right side. However, in the 3rd minute, Urawa's DF Tatsuya TANAKA passed the ball to FW Washington from their own half. FW Washington turned his body and dribbled past Kajiyama's mark. The Tokyo DF couldn't keep up with the mark and FW Washington was left free to shoot from just outside the penalty area. The powerful shot was initially punched away by Doi, but once again FW Washington reacted and passed it to FW Tatsuya TANAKA who was waiting in the box. He immediately took a shot, which deflected off Doi's hand and rolled into the right corner. This was the first goal of the season for FW Tatsuya TANAKA, giving Urawa the lead.

　With this, Urawa gained momentum and took control of the game. Tokyo was unable to press from the front line and was pushed back. In the 10th minute, Urawa's MF Norio Suzuki switched the ball to the left MF Soma, who crossed it. The Tokyo DF's clearance was weak on the ball that was dropped in the far area, and they were hit with a wave of attacks. After managing to defend this, in the 12th minute, they launched a counterattack and Kajiyama sent a long pass to the left to Noriyuki Suzuki. Noriyuki Suzuki dribbled past the opponent's DF and took a shot with his right foot. In the 13th minute, Norio Suzuki aimed for the ground with a free kick from just outside the left area.

　15 minutes, Urawa left MF Soma dribbles past Tokunaga and crosses deep into the area. FW Washington heads it perfectly, but Kanazawa blocks it with his body and it goes out for a corner kick. In the 17th minute, Norio Suzuki again receives the mark of the opposing DF and cuts inside forcefully, swinging his left foot. He unleashes a passionate shot, but it misses the target. In the fast-paced attack and defense, Tokyo tries to score from a counter, but their position is low and their accuracy is lacking.

　24 minutes, Lucas on the left → Kajiyama in the middle → Tokunaga crosses from the right, but it is taken away and they receive a counterattack. In the 30th minute, Urawa FW Washington shows his strength in keeping the ball in the area. Two Tokyo DF players try to take it away, but it is turned around and they are in a shooting position. In the 34th minute, Kawaguchi on the right → Tokunaga overlaps and crosses. It goes over the free Kajiyama in the center and Kanazawa on the far side tries to hit it, but the shot goes wide. In the 40th minute, Lucas takes a direct free kick from slightly left in the opponent's half, but it goes over the bar.

　Tokyo, who allowed domination, tried to create chances from counters, but there were few scenes where they were able to break through decisively. In that case... they aimed from the middle range and took 10 shots, but they missed the frame and ended the first half with a score of 0-1.

Struggling to find rhythm, but the goal is far away, resulting in a scoreless defeat.

　In the second half, Tokyo, who made adjustments, showed aggressive movements and won the midfield battle to attack. In the 47th minute, Lucas advanced on the left side. He dribbled past the opponent's DF and sent a cross from the sideline to the front of the goal, but it was cut off by the Urawa DF. In the 48th minute, Kajiyama skillfully dribbled past the opponent and took a shot from outside the area. Then in the 49th minute, Kajiyama in the center → Kawaguchi on the right → Kajiyama again faked a shot and sent a cross. Fukunishi jumped and volleyed, but both shots went over the bar.

　55 minutes, Kanazawa kept the ball on the left line and connected it persistently, and Kawaguchi crossed to the left. Suzuki Nori in the center created a decisive shot, but was blocked by the Urawa DF. In the 56th minute, Rychely was substituted for Kawaguchi as the left MF, and Suzuki Nori moved to the right. They tried to attack using speed from both sides. In the immediate 57th minute, Inonami made a counter and crossed to the left. However, the crosses were all blocked by the Urawa DF, and they were forced to defend against Urawa's counterattack.

　At the 60th minute, Urawa DF Touiwo attacked and brought the ball to the left corner kick. Lucas, who tried to clear the sharp kick from MF Ponte, lost control and scored an own goal. They lost the second goal while attacking. After that, Baba was substituted for Fukunishi in the 67th minute, and Hirayama was substituted for Kanazawa in the 75th minute. Konno moved forward, Inonami was in the DF line, and Norio Suzuki covered the left side to counterattack.

　Collected the ball to Hirayama, picked up the second ball and aimed for the goal. In the 79th minute, he took a right CK from Hirayama's right cross and flew into the near post with Rychely's kick, but it was outside the frame. In the 83rd minute, Hirayama dropped the feed from Konno and Kajiyama crossed from the right. Suzuki Nori, who connected the ball again, attacked persistently with a left cross, but couldn't shoot from there. In stoppage time, Baba, Hirayama, Tokunaga, and Konno... all took shots one after another, but the fierce attack did not bear fruit. They were unable to break through Urawa's solid defense and suffered a defeat with no goals scored.

　【Player Comments】《Konno》"I tried to see how Urawa was doing, but we conceded a goal from FW Washington's counterattack. It was my mistake in a scene where I should have gone. The opponent gained momentum and we were stunned. After that, the opponent became defensive and it was difficult to break through. The early goal against us affected us and it's regrettable. I was told to play as a defensive midfielder towards the end, but I wanted to score so I went up on my own. Both individually and as a team, we have to improve our level through practice. We need to switch gears and work together to get 3 points in the next game."《Kanazawa》"We were scored on early and it became a tough situation. We wanted to press high up the field, but we lost the ball in midfield and Urawa had possession, making it difficult for us to press. If we had been able to withstand the early goal, the game would have been different... In the second half, the opponent's energy dropped and we were able to win loose balls. We were able to win in midfield, but it's a challenge for us to do that from the first half."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Urawa had just returned from a fierce battle in A3, so we talked about being aggressive from the start. However, the start of the match was bad. In the 3rd minute, Urawa FW Washington and Kajiyama competed, but were knocked away, and while it was unclear who would go next, they were dribbled and shot, and the keeper saved it, but it was shot again. We wanted to create that kind of situation, but Urawa was able to relax with that. Around the middle of the first half, we talked about "let's change sides more simply", and we were in a good position, including the start of the second half. However, we couldn't score there. After that, we were countered and conceded a corner kick, which resulted in an own goal, and we lost our energy. We put in players like Baba and Hirayama, who are clear types, but we couldn't score. I think the reason for today's loss was the difference in how we started the match and our finishing ability."

　[Urawa Ojek Director's Press Conference Summary] "First of all, I want to praise all of the team. They showed a fantastic performance. And then, our opponent FC Tokyo also played really well. We played with self-control and discipline today, and we were focused on building our attacks. What was even more amazing was that we played with passion for the full 90 minutes. In particular, the performance of FW Tatsuya TANAKA, who returned from a long-term injury, was fantastic. He had a lot of movement and made good runs behind the opponent's DF line, which allowed us to give him good balls. He also received the ball in good positions. Another thing not to forget is that he scored. As a striker, scoring is very important. We hope he can continue to recover smoothly and play like he used to."