Launch a swift attack and exploit the gap behind the Kofu DF to score a goal

　In Sec. 16, we will face Ventforet Kofu at home. In the previous match against Urawa, we conceded a goal early on and suffered a shutout loss. We took 22 shots, but there were few decisive opportunities. This time, we want to create as many chances as possible to score and aim for victory at home. We want to pay attention to how much the members, who felt both the positives and challenges in the matches against Shimizu and Urawa, can make adjustments and fight aggressively from the start.

　Kofu, currently in 16th place with 14 points, has only achieved 4 wins and is on a three-match losing streak. However, they maintain a compact line and stick to a style of attacking with quick short passes. The key player is forward Shigehara on the left flank. With his stamina and quick decision-making, he can break through, cross, and shoot, so containing him is an important point. Coach Hara analyzes, "Kofu should be weak against attacks that break out, as they maintain a compact formation with a high defensive line," and he also plans to "thoroughly press, regain the ball, and launch quick attacks." They want to apply coordinated pressure, quickly distribute the ball to both sides after regaining possession, and create chances through expansive play that utilizes space. There are also high hopes for the breakthroughs of Fukunishi and Kajiyama.

　Tokyo has the same starting lineup for three consecutive matches. Kofu has adopted a 4-3-3 formation, placing MF Fujita in the defensive midfield position in place of MF Hayashi, who has played in every match up to this point. The match started at 19:04 with Kofu's kickoff, in Ajinomoto, where the sunlight has dimmed but the humidity remains.

Creating chances with the intended style of soccer, Norio SUZUKI scores the opening goal

　From the early stages, Tokyo applied pressure in response to Kofu's passing attacks, stealing the ball and launching counterattacks. Kajiyama and Inoha served as the starting points, distributing the ball to the sides. They earned a corner kick from Tokunaga's early cross in the 4th minute and from Kawaguchi's cross in the 10th minute. In the 12th minute, Inoha advanced on the right and delivered a cross to the far post. It reached Norio SUZUKI, but there was no angle for a shot. Immediately after, Lucas made a perfect dive onto Kawaguchi's right cross. Although he was closely marked by the Kofu defender and couldn't take a shot, they created chances through significant plays that utilized space.

　On the other hand, Kofu repeatedly attacks with players from the side and second line advancing, exchanging one-twos with the front post player to enter the area. However, in the 17th minute, MF Ishihara's advance is cut off by Fujiyama, resulting in a corner kick. After that, although the passes connect, Tokyo's DF line responds firmly, preventing any dangerous scenes. In the 20th minute, Inoha intercepts in the opponent's half and passes to Kawaguchi on the right. The cross is sent to Norio SUZUKI in the left area, but the trap doesn't connect. In the 21st minute, Tokunaga heads the ball from Kajiwara's right corner kick. It flies towards the far post but is saved by the GK. In the 28th minute, Kanazawa advances with a wide attack from left to right. Finally, a pass from Fukunishi reaches Kanazawa, who is closing in on the goal, but is cleared by Kofu's DF for a corner kick. From the corner kick, Lucas takes a sharp header, but it goes straight to the GK.

　Then, in the 30th minute, Tokunaga's right throw-in was connected by Lucas, followed by Inoha, who passed to Norio SUZUKI in front of the goal. As the ball flowed to the left, Norio SUZUKI maneuvered away from the defender, turned to face the goal, and as he entered the left area, he relaxed and took a powerful shot! This beautifully found the far side of the net, securing the opening goal!

　Next, in the 32nd minute, Lucas made a lob pass to Fukunishi, who had broken into the area. Fukunishi skillfully turned past the opposing defender and shot. It was a decisive opportunity, but it went wide. In the 40th minute, they launched a quick attack, and Fukunishi broke forward from Norio Suzuki's cross. He was offside, but it was a close moment. In the 41st minute, from a right cross, Lucas held on stubbornly at the far post and sent a last pass to Fukunishi, who had just slipped into the area, but Fukunishi's shot was saved by the goalkeeper... They attacked as planned, but only managed to score one goal before heading into the second half.

Lucas adds another goal, and despite being down to 10 men, they hold off the counterattack to win at home

　In the second half, they exploited the high line of Kofu's DF. In the 48th minute, a long pass from Kanazawa was sent to Kajiwara, who was trying to break through behind the DF line. Kajiwara trapped the ball coming from behind and aimed for a direct shot as it dropped, but it went over the bar. In the 51st minute, they failed to clear Kofu's corner kick, giving away a free kick just outside the right area. MF Fujita's direct shot was saved by Doi! It grazed the post and resulted in a corner kick, but in the 52nd minute, they counterattacked from this Kofu corner. Kawaguchi connected the clearance, and Kanazawa sent a long feed from the left side to the right front line. From Norio SUZUKI, it went further to Kajiwara, who, with the opposing DF in front, made a quick decision and passed directly to the free Kawaguchi coming up from the left. They had a great scoring opportunity, but Kawaguchi's shot was blocked by the GK.

　In the 54th minute, we regained possession in our own half, and Lucas passed to Suzuki Nori on the left from Kanazawa. He carried it forward and took a dribble shot, but it was blocked by the GK, resulting in a left corner kick. We earned two corner kicks but couldn't take a shot. The time continued without us being able to score an additional goal, and in the 56th minute, Rychely was brought on for Kawaguchi to utilize more speed in our attack. However, Kofu also pressed forward in pursuit of a goal and counterattacked. In the midst of a counter exchange, in the 59th minute, Kajiyama regained possession in our half, evaded the opposing defender, and advanced a long distance with a dribble. From just before the halfway line, he made a precise pass to Fukunishi, who was running on the left flank. Fukunishi brought it into the area, and although his well-aimed shot was saved by the GK, Lucas easily pushed in the rebound, finally securing our second goal.

　However, perhaps due to a lapse in concentration, in the 66th minute, Tokunaga lost the ball in his own half, and Kofu FW Uruno dribbled from the left side to the center with a one-two with FW Kuno. The Tokyo DF could not catch this, allowing him to advance right in front of the goal. The Tokyo DF was drawn to FW Uruno, and in the end, a pass reached the unmarked FW Shigehara in the right area, who scored cleanly. It was a disappointing goal due to a lapse in defensive focus. Then, in the 73rd minute, Rychely received a second warning in this match and was sent off. With 10 players, Tokyo was pushed back by Kofu's quick passing play.

　In the 75th minute, Kofu FW Uruno aggressively ran into the goal area, taking a shot, but Doi saved it with his right foot! It went for a corner kick. In the 78th minute, a free kick was awarded about 20 meters in front of the goal, targeted by Kofu MF Fujita, but the shot went over the bar, escaping the danger. However, shortly after, substitute Kurizawa made a right cross. Lucas headed it, but it also went over the bar. In the 84th minute, Kurizawa calmly kept the ball on the left side, exploiting a gap in the opponent's defense, and passed to Norio Suzuki, who boldly attempted to shoot, but the ball crossed the frame. The game became frantic with quick changes in offense and defense, but in the 88th minute, Kofu FW Shigehara received a red card and was sent off. It became a battle of 10 against 10.

　Although they were under heavy attack from Kofu towards the end, they substituted Kajiwara for Moniwa in the 89th minute. In stoppage time, they were countered from a Tokyo free kick, but Moniwa held firm and managed to escape to a corner kick. They faced consecutive shots from the corner kick, but Kurizawa, Lucas, and Tokunaga blocked them one after another! Despite being forced to fight with 10 men and having their game plan disrupted, they ultimately held off Kofu's counterattack together and secured the win, with the final score being 2-1. This victory at home Ajinomoto was their first since May 12.

　【Player Comments】《Lucas》"The score was 1-0 for a long time, so I absolutely wanted to score an additional goal. Then the ball bounced perfectly. Although we lost the match against Urawa, I was able to switch my mindset. (It's your first goal since the Chiba match?) It's rare to keep scoring every game. I'll do my best in the next match against G Osaka as well."《Inoha》"Not being able to score when we could affected us later. Our strategy was thorough, but after conceding one goal, the momentum turned bad. Rychely was sent off, but it was good that everyone managed to break the bad rhythm afterward. In the Urawa match, the second balls were lost and my positioning was not good, so today I focused on moving quickly and connecting the ball simply once we won it. We knew Kofu would try to keep possession, so I prioritized how much we could spread the play. The midfield's initial reaction was not good, so we just pushed forward and aggressively tried to win the ball. (Regarding the Japan national team candidate) It's natural to do what I can now and fight with all my strength. But I think it's difficult to remain in the team unless I keep giving 120 percent. I want to do my best to give my all in the next match as well."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "Kofu is a team that pushes their own style. Especially, they attack by circulating the ball within a narrow area, so we tried to learn from the failure against Urawa and aimed to take the ball ourselves. After taking it, if we try to circulate the ball in the narrow space, Kofu has many players there, so the ball is taken back. That is the most dangerous. Therefore, after taking the ball, we tried to play simply by switching to the opposite side or breaking behind Kofu's high defensive line to fight dynamically. Although we created good chances in that development, we couldn't score easily, but Norio SUZUKI's shot went in. After that, there were chances like Fukunishi's, but if we had scored the second goal in the first half, the game would have developed differently. At halftime, I reiterated that it is dangerous to be slow after taking the ball. In the second half, despite having decisive chances, we couldn't score again and it felt unpleasant, but Lucas scored from a counterattack at the end. Expecting Kofu to push forward even more, we brought in Rychely to aim for faster counters, but we received a card in an unnecessary situation, which disrupted our rhythm. At that time, the most feared thing happened: we held the ball too long, lost it, and conceded a goal. Then things got chaotic, and Rychely was sent off. However, I think the defensive awareness increased after becoming ten men. Ideally, we want to keep a clean sheet and also score a third goal. I want to commend the team for recovering in just two days after the defeat against Urawa. Next is the top-ranked G Osaka match, and we want to do our best with a challenger spirit."

　[Summary of Coach Oki's Press Conference] "We conceded a goal in the first half after they played a long ball, picked up the second ball, and spread it to the sides. I think we fought back in the second half, but the second goal was painful. In the end, we did something that tightened the noose around our own necks, bringing our numerical advantage back to even. We need to be more solid in those areas. We have been in a situation where we can't win for a while, but the game won't wait for us. Another match is coming in two days, so we want to prepare for that. (Did we receive many counters?) There were issues with the precision of our attacks. Also, I think FC Tokyo was better in the duels. We couldn't pick up the second balls and often lost the battles, which allowed them to spread the play to the sides."