Fight with a strong determination!

　In the 23rd round of the league, we will face Sanfrecce Hiroshima away. In the previous round against Urawa, we took the lead and controlled the game, but ultimately lost due to the opponent's high decision-making and strength. This marks our fourth consecutive loss since the league resumed. However, including the previous game against Kashiwa, our players have shown a passionate fight and the team's situation is definitely improving. We must achieve a result in this round at all costs and earn some points.

　Hiroshima, on the other hand, is currently in 12th place with 26 points. Even though FW Weslley will be suspended for this match, their 3-6-1 system is working well, with players from the defensive line connecting and attacking from both sides and the front. The attacking line will consist of FW Sato up front, with MF Kashiwagi and Morisaki Hiroshi as the two shadows below. These three players are dangerous when given freedom, so the key will be to contain their speedy attacks. We want to press early and prevent them from facing forward as much as possible. In terms of attacking, it will be crucial to exploit the spaces on the sides of Hiroshima's three-back formation. We want to win second balls, pick up any loose balls after sending them to the front, and create a strong attack.

　Tokyo has changed its lineup from the previous match due to injuries to players such as Lucas, Baba, and Inonami, as well as Kanazawa not being in top condition. Akamine will lead the front line, with Fukunishi, Konno, and Kajiyama forming a double pivot in midfield, and Kurisawa and Ishikawa on the left and right respectively. In defense, Motonaga and Fujiyama will play as center backs. Manager Hara stated, "We have taken into consideration the situation with players being suspended and injured, and have prepared accordingly. We want to make good use of the new energy from the players who have come in."

　"We are on a losing streak, but the scariest thing is losing confidence here. There is only a small difference between us and the top teams. To overcome this, we need to have confidence and be able to cover for each other's mistakes. We want to face this challenge without fear and fight with a sense of unity where everyone helps each other," he said with determination. Both teams will focus on defense to climb out of the bottom, but they also hope to score points by connecting aggressive defense to offense. The game started at 7:04 PM with a kickoff from Hiroshima.

Kajiyama scores a spectacular goal to take the lead, and the first half ends with a lead.

　Tokyo pressed high from the start, winning the ball and turning it into an attack. In the first minute, Akamine dropped the ball and Imakano dribbled up the left side for a shot. Then, Kajiyama intercepted a pass from the Hiroshima GK in the opponent's half, entered the area for a shot, but was blocked by a defender. He tried again from the rebound, but was stopped by the GK. In the 3rd and 8th minutes, the opponent tried to counter, but Kanazawa and Fujiyama stopped them and didn't allow any chances. In the 13th minute, a cross from the left was headed down by Hiroshima FW Sato and MF Takayanagi took a shot, but Shioda made a solid catch.

　15 minutes, from the left throw-in, Fukunishi → Konno, boldly aiming for a shot, but it goes over the bar. In the 16th minute, from Ishikawa's right corner kick, Konno heads it but it goes wide to the right. Tokyo gradually gains rhythm and begins to take control. Then in the 18th minute, although Tokunaga's long feed is initially cleared, Kajiyama, who went to pick it up, is fouled and earns a free kick. It was about 30 meters away, but Kajiyama aims directly and the non-spinning shot powerfully pierces the top left corner of the goal, scoring the first goal.

　Tokyo continued to attack boldly, creating chances especially from the right side with Ishikawa and Tokunaga. In the 22nd minute, Tokunaga sent a cross from the right, but Ishikawa's attempt missed. In the 24th minute, Fukunishi took a shot from the right side after receiving a pass from Tokunaga and Akamine's rebound from the post, but it hit the top of the bar. In the 28th minute, Tokunaga's through pass to Ishikawa was intercepted, resulting in a corner kick from the right. From Ishikawa's corner kick, Akamine's header from the far post missed the timing.

　After 30 minutes, Tokyo's DF line began to drop, allowing Hiroshima to counterattack. In the 36th minute, a through pass to FW Sato in front of the area was stopped by a foul from MF Shigeki, giving a free kick. MF Morisaki Kojiro aimed directly, but the Tokyo DF wall blocked it. In the 38th minute, MF Takayanagi expanded to the right. MF Komano ran up to the line and crossed. MF Morisaki Kojiro aimed for a diving header in front of the goal, but hit the ball too hard and missed the bar. Towards the end of the first half, a header from Hiroshima's DF Toda hit the post from a left corner kick. The ball was picked up and a shot was taken by DF Morisaki Kazu in the right area, but it missed the bar and avoided danger.

　In the end, despite giving Hiroshima a decisive chance, they managed to hold on and end the first half with a one-point lead.

Concentrate until the end and win with a large 5-point lead!

　Hiroshima has been actively attacking since the start of the second half, but Tokyo is countering with a calm and persistent defense, not allowing any chances. Then, in the 54th minute, they finally score an additional point. Ishikawa on the right side sends a sharp cross, but the opponent's DF clears it. Kanazawa then heads it to Kurizawa on the front line. He dribbles it in and crosses it to the left. Akamine jumps in with his whole body and heads it, colliding with the opponent's GK, but the ball is sucked into the goal.

　Hiroshima, who launched a counterattack, substituted DF Stoyanov for DF Makino in the 58th minute. Stoyanov himself actively participated in the attack and created chances. In the 63rd minute, Stoyanov passed to MF Kashiwagi, who had made a one-touch run up front, instead of FW Sato. They were able to create a decisive opportunity, but were unable to score due to a great save by Shibata. Furthermore, Hiroshima substituted FW Hirashige for MF Takayanagi in the 67th minute, forming a two-top formation. At the same time, Tokyo substituted Asari for Ishikawa, strengthening their midfield defense with Kajiyama on the right side.

　Despite being pushed back by Hiroshima for a long period of time, in the 69th minute, Norio Suzuki made a sharp shot from a left FK, but it was saved by the opponent's GK. In the 76th minute, Ryoichi Kurisawa dribbled forward while competing with the opponent's DF and took a daring shot. He showed great determination and led the team with his passionate play. As the game remained in a stalemate, Tokyo made substitutions in the 80th minute, with Kurisawa being replaced by Noriyuki Suzuki, and in the 83rd minute, with Akamine being replaced by Hirayama. These substitutions brought momentum to Tokyo.

　87 minutes, Kajiya shoots from the left CK kick by Norio Suzuki. The ball hits Imakawa and shoots to the right, but the GK saves it and it becomes another CK. Norio Suzuki takes the kick for this right CK, and Hirayama volleys the ball into the net after Kajiya's cross from the far side and Imakawa's chest pass. In the 88th minute, the opponent DF clears Noriyuki Suzuki's left cross, but Fukunishi scores a beautiful middle shot from the rebound, making it the 4th goal. In the 89th minute, Hirayama steals the ball from DF Stoyanov and passes it to Fukunishi in the front line. He easily avoids the jumping GK and scores the 5th goal, making it 5-0. The game ends with a stable defense and passionate play, resulting in the first victory in 5 games.

　【Player Comments】《Konno》"I was a bit nervous before the game as it's been a while since I played as a defensive midfielder. But I tried to be aggressive in both attack and defense. I also wanted to contribute to the attack and score when I had the chance. The scoreline may not have reflected the overall performance, so I don't want to get too carried away and continue to play well and win. I apologize to the supporters for causing them worry, but I want to keep playing like today and live up to their expectations."《Fukunishi》"We scored first and then defended well, and we were able to score more goals at crucial moments. I think it was a good game. If we can continue to play like this, the results will come naturally. (Was Hirayama's second goal a self-made goal?) He asked for the ball, so I passed it to him. We have the Olympics coming up, so I wanted to hype him up. If Sota can perform well for both the team and the Olympics, that's all I need (laughs). Next is a home game. We haven't been able to win in front of our home fans, so we want to keep winning at home. My right hand is really hurting from being stepped on. I can't even make a fist..."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "I watched Hiroshima's game live at Nissan Stadium the other day. They were in a very good team state and could have easily beaten Marinos. Hiroshima has had some losing streaks, but they play very good soccer. In the previous game, even without FW Weslley, they played with a one-top formation with Sato Hisato and two shadows, and they were very focused. We played very well in the Kashiwa game and the previous Urawa game, but we couldn't get the results. However, we believed in our own strength and talked about being careful of the counterattack in the opening game against Hiroshima, and we approached the game with the intention of getting points. The biggest point was moving Konno back to the midfield. If we don't move Konno back to the midfield at some point, the team won't have momentum, so we took a chance on Shigeno and paired Konno with Kajiyama. Also, Kurisawa was out of the lineup for a while due to a condition, but today he prevented Komano's advances on the left side and kept the ball to make use of Fukunishi and Akamine, and he had a very good balance. Also, what made me happy was that after the team scored two goals, instead of just defending, they continued to go for more goals. We have been conceding a lot of goals this year, but today the result was the opposite. I think it was the result of players like Hirayama and Norio who came in from the bench and went for goals. We finally have a plan for Japanese strikers Akamine and Hirayama. Today, Lucas was not there, but players like them, Konno, Kurisawa, and Fukunishi played well in the absence of Lucas. I was really happy. However, we have another game coming up soon. This season, we have been good in one game and then bad in the next, but we need to prepare well for the Kobe game and continue to play like we did today. (What was good today?) In the Oita and Urawa games, we tried to defend and hold on after scoring one goal. However, today, even when there were a few dangerous situations, we didn't give up until the very end and put our bodies on the line and stayed focused. Instead of immediately conceding after scoring, we encouraged each other and worked together to hold on. That's what we have been lacking so far. Each player has started to work hard. If we had been tied in the first half, it might have been chaotic, but Shioda saved us in dangerous situations and it was very important that we were able to defend."

　[Hiroshima Petrovic's press conference summary] "With a result of 0-5, no matter what I say, it will sound like an excuse. However, I don't think the game was as bad as the score suggests. The first goal was like an accident that happens a few times a year. Until the opponent scored the second goal, I think we had several good chances. But after conceding the second goal, it became difficult to control the game. The last three goals were also due to fatigue, but also a lack of concentration. We lost points due to our own mistakes, which should not have happened. Today, we had a performance that could have ended in a tie, but that's just football. We tried to take a risk and attack by putting Stoyanov in, but we couldn't do it. This kind of defeat is certainly painful, but we have another game in two days. We need to quickly switch gears, prepare well, and strive to win."