Launch a quick attack and penetrate behind the Kofu DF to score.

　In the 16th round, we will face Ventforet Kofu at home. In the previous round against Urawa, we conceded a goal at the beginning and ended up losing without scoring. We had 22 shots, but lacked decisive opportunities. In this round, we want to create as many chances as possible and aim for a victory at home. The players who felt both the potential and the challenges in the Shimizu and Urawa matches will be focused on how much they can improve and play aggressively from the beginning.

　Kofu, on the other hand, is currently in 16th place with only 14 points. They have only won 4 games and have lost their last 3, but they stick to their style of playing with a compact defense and quick short passes. The key player is the left forward, Shigehara. With his energy and quick decision-making, he can make breakthroughs, crosses, and shots, so it is important to contain him first. Manager Hara analyzes, "Kofu has a compact formation with a high defensive line, so they should be weak against attacking runs," and plans to "thoroughly press and take the ball to launch quick attacks." They want to press together, distribute the ball quickly to both sides, and create chances with big plays using space. They also hope for runs from Fukunishi and Kajiyama.

　Tokyo has started with the same starting lineup for 3 consecutive matches. As for Kofu, they have faced the match with a 4-3-3 formation, with MF Fujita playing as a defensive midfielder in place of MF Hayashi, who had played in all matches up until now. The match started at 7:04 PM with Kofu's kickoff at the Ajinomoto Stadium, where the sun had started to set but the humidity remained.

Norio Suzuki scores the opening goal with a well-executed play.

　From the beginning, Tokyo pressed and attacked against Kofu, connecting passes and taking counterattacks. Kajiyama and Inonami were the starting points, with distribution to the sides. In the 4th minute, an early cross from Tokunaga and in the 10th minute, a cross from Kawaguchi led to a corner kick. In the 12th minute, Inonami attacked on the right and crossed to the far post. Norio Suzuki received the ball, but had a difficult angle and couldn't take the shot. Immediately after, Lucas perfectly timed a jump to Kawaguchi's right cross. He was blocked by Kofu's defense, but Tokyo continued to create chances with big plays using space.

　On the other hand, Kofu repeatedly attacks by having the side -> second row players advance and exchanging one-two with the post player in the front line and entering the area. However, in the 17th minute, MF Ishihara's attack was cut off by Fujiyama. It escapes to CK. After that, although the passes are connected, the Tokyo DF team responds firmly and does not allow dangerous scenes to be created. In the 20th minute, Inaba intercepts in the opponent's territory and goes to Kawaguchi on the right. The cross is sent to Suzuki Nori in the left area, but the trap does not work. In the 21st minute, Tokunaga heads from Kajiyama's right CK. It flew to the far post, but the GK saved it. In the 28th minute, Kanazawa advances and attacks wide from left to right. In the end, the pass from Fukunishi to Kanazawa, who was crowded in front of the goal, goes to CK due to Kofu DF's clearance. From the CK, Lucas made a sharp header, but it flew straight to the GK.

　Then, after 30 minutes, Lucas connected with Tokunaga's right throw-in, Inonami followed and passed to Norio Suzuki in front of the goal. Norio Suzuki moved away from the defenders and turned towards the goal, releasing a powerful shot from the left area. It was a beautiful far shot, scoring the first goal!

　In the 32nd minute, Lucas made a floating pass to Fukunishi who had jumped out into the area. Fukunishi skillfully cut back the opposing defender and took a shot, but it went wide. In the 40th minute, they launched a quick attack and Fukunishi jumped out to Suzuki Nori's cross. It was offside, but it was a close call. In the 41st minute, Lucas on the far side kept the ball persistently from a right cross and sent a last pass to Fukunishi who had just escaped into the area, but the goalkeeper saved Fukunishi's shot... They attacked as planned, but could only score one goal and ended the first half.

Lucas scores an additional point, holds off the counterattack at home despite being down to 10 players

　In the second half, we continued to attack the back of the Kofu DF who maintained a high line. In the 48th minute, a long pass from Kanazawa was sent to Kajiyama, who was trying to break through the back of the DF line. Kajiyama trapped the ball from behind and aimed for the top corner, but it hit the crossbar. In the 51st minute, we couldn't clear Kofu's CK and gave away a FK from just outside the right area. MF Fujita took a direct shot, but Doi made a save! It hit the post and became a CK, but in the 52nd minute, we counterattacked from this Kofu CK. Kawaguchi connected the clearance and Kanazawa made a long feed from the left side to the right front line. From Norio Suzuki, it went further to the right and then to Kajiyama. Kajiyama, with the opponent's DF in front of him, made a quick decision and passed it directly to Kawaguchi, who was free on the left. It was a great scoring opportunity, but Kawaguchi's shot was blocked by the GK.

　In the 54th minute, Rychely took the ball in his own half and passed it to Norio Suzuki on the left from Lucas Kanazawa. He dribbled and took a shot, but it was saved by the GK and resulted in a left corner kick. Although they were able to get two corner kicks, they were unable to score. The time continued without being able to score an additional point, and in the 56th minute, Rychely was substituted for Kawaguchi in an attempt to use his speed to attack. However, Kofu also became more aggressive in their attacks as they tried to catch up with one point. In the midst of a counterattack, in the 59th minute, Kajiyama took the ball in his own half, dribbled past the opposing DF, and advanced a long distance. Just before the halfway line, he passed it perfectly to Fukunishi who was running on the left side. Fukunishi brought the ball into the area and took a precise shot, but it was saved by the GK. However, Lucas was able to easily push in the rebound and finally get the second goal.

　However, did they let their guard down here? In the 66th minute, Tokunaga was robbed of the ball in their own half, and Kofu FW Uruno dribbled from the left side to the center with a one-two with FW Hisano. Tokyo DF couldn't catch up and allowed them to enter all the way to the front of the goal. Tokyo DF was dragged by FW Uruno, and in the end, the pass reached unmarked FW Shigehara in the right area, who scored perfectly. It was a disappointing goal due to a lapse in defense. And in the 73rd minute, Rychely received his second warning and was sent off in this match. With 10 players, Tokyo was pushed back by Kofu's quick passing game.

　At 75 minutes, Kofu's FW Uruno, who was on a roll, was forced to run into the goal and take a shot, but Doi saved it with his right foot! He escaped with a CK. In the 78th minute, a FK was given at a position about 20m in front of the goal, and Kofu's MF Fujita aimed for it, but the shot missed above the bar and the danger was averted. However, just after that, substitute Kurizawa crossed from the right. Lucas headed it, but it also went above the bar. In the 84th minute, Kurizawa calmly kept the ball on the left side, took advantage of the gap in the opponent's DF, and passed to Norio Suzuki, who had moved inside. Norio Suzuki boldly tried to take a shot, but the ball went across the frame. The game became a hectic back and forth between offense and defense, but in the 88th minute, Kofu's FW Mohara received a red card and was sent off. The game became a 10 vs. 10 battle.

　In the closing minutes, Kofu launched a fierce attack, but in the 89th minute, they substituted Shigeyuki Kajiyama for Shota Shigetani. In stoppage time, Tokyo was hit by a counterattack from a free kick, but Shigetani stood his ground and escaped with a corner kick. From the corner kick, they were continuously shot at, but Kurihara, Lucas, and Tokunaga all put their bodies on the line to block them! Despite being forced to play with 10 men and having their game plan disrupted, they managed to hold off Kofu's counterattack with everyone's effort and the final whistle blew. They secured a 2-1 victory, their first win at home Ajinomoto Stadium since May 12th.

　【Player Comments】《Lucas》"Since the score was 1-0 for a long time, I definitely wanted to score another goal. That's when the ball came to me perfectly. We lost to Urawa, but we were able to switch our mindset. (Is this your first goal since the Chiba game?) It's not often that I can score in every game. I'll do my best in the next game against G Osaka."《Inoha》"Not being able to take advantage when we had the chance came back to haunt us. We were able to stick to our plan, but we gave up a goal and the momentum shifted. Rychely got a red card, but we were able to break the bad rhythm together. In the Urawa game, we were caught off guard and my positioning wasn't good, so today I focused on starting quickly and connecting easily when we won the ball. We knew Kofu would try to keep possession, so it was important to disrupt their rhythm. We didn't start well in the midfield, so we just went forward and tried to take the ball. (About being a candidate for the Japan national team) It's natural to give my all and fight with all my might. But in order to stay on the national team, I think I need to give 120% of my effort. I'll do my best in the next game to give my all."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Kofu is a team that pushes their own style. Especially, they attack by passing the ball in a narrow area, so we tried to take the ball from them, taking advantage of our failure in the Urawa game. After taking the ball, if we try to pass it in a narrow space, they will take it back because there are many Kofu players. That is the most dangerous situation. So after taking the ball, we tried to play dynamically by passing it to the opposite side or behind Kofu's high defensive line. We were able to create good opportunities, but we couldn't score. Suzuki Norio's shot went in. After that, there were chances for players like Fukunishi, but I think the game would have been different if we had scored a second goal in the first half. At halftime, I reminded the players that it is dangerous to slow down after taking the ball. In the second half, we had some decisive chances but couldn't convert them, and it felt frustrating. In the end, Lucas scored from a counterattack. We expected Kofu to become even more aggressive, so we brought in Rychely to have a faster counterattack, but he received a card in an unnecessary situation and the rhythm of the game changed for the worse. We were afraid of holding onto the ball for too long and ended up conceding a goal. Then things got chaotic and Rychely was sent off. However, I think the team's defensive awareness increased after going down to 10 men. Ideally, we would have kept a clean sheet and scored a third goal. I want to give credit to the team for bouncing back in just two days after the loss to Urawa. Next is the game against league leaders G Osaka, but we will give our best with a challenger spirit."

　[Kofu, Coach Ogi's Press Conference Summary] "We conceded a goal in the first half by allowing a long ball and then losing the second ball, which led to a wide attack. I think we made a comeback in the second half, but the second goal was painful. In the end, we ended up strangling ourselves and evened out the numerical advantage we had. We need to be more solid in those areas. We have been in a situation where we can't seem to win, but the game doesn't wait for us. We have another game in two days, so we need to prepare for that. (Did you receive a lot of counters?) There were issues with our attacking accuracy. Also, I think FC Tokyo was better in the physical battles. We couldn't win the second balls and were often spread out on the sides."