Covering the absence of Baba and Kajiyama, let's achieve victory at the away National!

　After a two-week interval, in Sec. 25 of the league, we will face Yokohama FC. Although it is an away game, we will head to the Japan National Stadium. During the break, the Japan national team went on a European tour, and the Olympic team participated in the final qualifiers, playing under tough conditions. Konno returned to Japan on the 13th (Thursday). There are concerns about fatigue, and the time he spent joining the team was short, just one day yesterday. On the other hand, Kajiyama has fractured his left knee. In addition to Baba, he will also be forced to take a long-term leave.

　Coach Hara stated, "I had originally considered the absence of the Olympic representatives. We have been preparing for this." However, the recent matches have seen the double pivot with Konno functioning well, making this a significant blow. Nevertheless, the players uniformly expressed a strong determination, saying, "We will cover for each other, enhance the precision of the football we had developed before the break, and continue to win." Konno also said, "It's disappointing considering Kajiwara's feelings. I must step up as a healthy version of myself," and is fully motivated to start. He will be in a formation with Fukunishi as a double pivot. In the bench, Inoha and Hirayama are also waiting.

　Yokohama FC is currently at the bottom with 11 points. To make a comeback, they have acquired MF Obomseok, Marcos Paulo, and in August, FW Katatawu and MF Atsuhiro MIURA for the second half of the season. They have also welcomed new head coach Julio LEAL. In the first half of the season and the Nabisco Cup, they struggled against Yokohama FC's counterattacks, but they have changed from that team and are aiming to break through with a passing style of football.

　In response, Tokyo wants to apply early pressure to regain possession and dominate the midfield. They aim to press Yokohama FC's defensive midfielders Yamaguchi and Marcos Paulo, preventing them from connecting with the attacking midfielders Oh Bom-seok and Uchida. The balance provided by Fukunishi and Kurizawa will be crucial, as they need to quickly transition to attack. During the break, they focused on developing attacks starting from the sides to shake Yokohama FC's defense, with Lucas and Akamine playing close to the goal to aim for scoring. With a united Tokyo-style football, they seek to achieve their first three consecutive league wins of the season!

　The harsh afternoon heat has faded in National, and the wind has started to blow. The away section for Tokyo is packed to capacity. The match started at 19:04 with Yokohama FC's kickoff.

Take the lead with Fukunishi's goal, not allowing Yokohama FC to create chances!

At the start, Yokohama FC connected their passes and took control of the midfield. However, they were not threatened by a goal and gradually began to counterattack. In the 9th minute, Kanazawa's long feed was received by Akamine at the front line, who connected with Lucas in the center, then Ishikawa on the right, and finally Tokunaga who advanced outside. Tokunaga's cross was headed back by Akamine, and Fukunishi, who had moved up in front of the goal, took a shot. They created an attacking shape with a quick flow, but the shot went wide to the left. In the 15th minute, they created chances from a corner kick and a free kick, but they could not take a decisive shot and were unable to find their rhythm.

　Still, they did not give Yokohama FC any chances. In the 21st minute, Kurizawa dribbled into the center of the goal and passed to Lucas behind him. However, Lucas's shot went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 23rd minute, Tokunaga passed to Lucas on the right front line. Lucas advanced to the sideline, cut back past the opposing defender, and sent a negative pass in front of the goal. Akamine rushed in but couldn't take the shot. Konno picked up the ball that spilled to the far side, but could not direct it towards the goal. In the 29th minute, Konno, Kurizawa, and Akamine exchanged passes on the left side, and Kurizawa made a big switch to the right. Tokunaga attempted to break through, and Akamine shot with his foot to meet the negative cross, but it went over the bar.

　Kurizawa and Fukunishi created chances from side changes, but the time continued without scoring. However, in the 34th minute, Fukunishi intercepted a ball from Yokohama FC in the opponent's territory and immediately passed it to Akamine, who had run forward. Akamine caught up deep in the right area and sent a floating ball to the front of the goal. Fukunishi slid in and struck the ball into the net with his left foot, scoring a goal. They took the lead with a quick transition attack from high-pressure play.

　Tokyo wanted to gain momentum from this opportunity, but in the 39th minute, Yokohama FC's midfielder Marcos Paulo advanced and found himself free in front of the goal. MF Marcos Paulo evaded the approaching Tokyo defender and passed to the right. The advancing right-back Yamada was set to shoot, but Kanazawa blocked it with a sliding tackle. They endured the crisis with determination and headed into the second half with a one-goal lead.

Shutting out the counterattack, with Hirayama's brilliant additional goal, we achieve three consecutive wins!

　Although they took the lead by controlling the ball, they couldn't gain momentum in the first half. In the second half, they switched gears and created chances one after another in the early stages. In the 49th minute, Lucas received a pass and sent it to the right flank. Tokunaga, who overlapped, made a fierce dribble and took a shot from inside the right area, but the shot aimed at the corner was blocked by the goalkeeper's quick reaction and bounced off the post. In the 52nd minute, Ishikawa intercepted a pass from Yokohama's defense in the opponent's territory. The ball quickly reached Akamine, creating a decisive opportunity, but the timing of the shot was delayed, allowing the goalkeeper to block it. Just after that, in the 53rd minute, they attacked in front of the Yokohama goal, and from a scramble, Lucas connected with a floated last pass. Fukunishi jumped in to shoot, but Yokohama's defense blocked it... They couldn't secure an additional goal.

　In the 55th minute, Yokohama FC connected passes up front, and FW Miura Satoshi moved from the left to the center to shoot. The ball veered to the right, but this allowed Yokohama FC to gain momentum for a counterattack. Tokyo's overall energy began to decline, and their lines became stretched. While Fujiyama effectively contained Yokohama FC's attacks at the back line, desperate long balls became noticeable as time passed. In the 64th minute, Rychely was brought on for Ishikawa on the left, with Kurizawa moving to the right. In the 73rd minute, Inoha came on for Fukunishi.

　However, Yokohama FC also brought in MF Tamano, MF Atsuhiro MIURA, and FW Katatawu one after another in the second half. With an offensive formation, they took control and launched a counterattack. In the 79th minute, a free kick was awarded to Yokohama FC from outside the left area. MF Atsuhiro MIURA aimed directly but missed to the upper left. In the 81st minute, Kurizawa's cross was received by Lucas, who turned to face the goal and took a shot, but it went wide. In the 82nd minute, they lost the clearance from Tokyo DF, and Yokohama FC's MF Marcos Paulo passed to MF Atsuhiro MIURA, who shifted left and shot by FW Katatawu. However, the momentum was lacking, and Shiota caught it firmly.

　In a back-and-forth match, in the 85th minute, Hirayama was brought on to replace Akamine. The strategy was to gather the ball in the front line. This paid off, creating a rhythm. In the 88th minute, Rychely intercepted a pass from the Yokohama DF in the opponent's territory. Ignoring the pursuing DF, he surged fiercely towards the goal and took a shot while free! It was a decisive moment, but it went wide to the left... However, during what seemed to be the end of the match in stoppage time, Hirayama seized a loose ball in midfield, headed it back from Rychely, and charged towards the goal. He slipped past one, then two opponent DFs, and then powerfully maneuvered between the DF trying to mark him. Finally, he calmly evaded the GK and took a shot. From a strong dribble with speed, he scored a magnificent additional goal! Shortly after, the match ended. They pulled away from Yokohama FC away from home, achieving their first league three consecutive wins of the season.

　【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"(In the goal scene) I headed the ball forward, and since there was no defender in front, I thought I could go for it myself. Watching from the bench, I noticed that the Yokohama FC goalkeeper was off balance, so I planned to get past him and take a shot. As for my participation, I intended to be proactive and take the initiative." 《Fukunishi》"Today, I focused on being solid at the back and distributing the ball. However, I discussed with Konno about who would take the balance, while trying to move forward during opportunities. When the forwards create space or cut deep along the line, I can also move up. The scoring opportunity was a chance I should have taken. If we had scored the second goal earlier, we could have played more comfortably without rushing. I regret that I had that opportunity. The challenge is how to pressure the ball. It's about pressuring the opponent and deciding where to win the ball back. I want to discuss and unify our approach for the next match."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "I heard that Yokohama FC played practice matches during the break and have been training well under the new coach. On the other hand, we were without three Olympic team players and Konno from the Japan national team for a long time. Since Konno and Kajiyama, who have recently been improving, couldn't practice together, we moved Fukunishi back to defensive midfield during that period. The rhythm between Kajiyama and Fukunishi is slightly different, and considering Yokohama FC's high motivation, I expected it to be a difficult match. As expected, our start was slow, with delayed defensive awareness and attacking initiatives. We were somewhat reactive to the opponent, one tempo behind, and there were moments when I wished we could move the ball faster. The movements of Akamine and Lucas also seemed sluggish. Fukunishi scored the opener in good form, and I thought we could push further from there, but it didn't go well. There was a dangerous moment at the end of the first half, so at halftime, I told the team to fight more firmly. Considering only today's match, we could have replaced Fukunishi with Asari, but since Inoha just returned, we deliberately chose him as a future team asset. At the end, wanting to create more opportunities upfront, we brought in Hirayama to focus the ball on him. He was dropped from the starting lineup of the Olympic team and must have felt frustrated. However, I’m glad he scored a wonderful goal. Although today's match content was not good, keeping a clean sheet and earning 3 points will lead to the next step. We will have a full week of training with everyone, so we will prepare thoroughly and do our best to win against Shimizu. Konno, Inoha, and Hirayama held up well despite tough conditions. Although it was an away game at the National Stadium, so many fans came to support us. We want to build on this victory and earn 3 points at home Ajinomoto."

　[Yokohama FC - Julio LEAL Coach's Press Conference Summary] "We recognized that this match was truly important. We just wanted to win at all costs. We aimed to show what we have practiced so far, win, aim for consecutive victories, and start everything from here. We started well right after kickoff, but after 15 minutes, the opponent took control. We were able to launch good counters, but we lost the ball in midfield and conceded a goal. Losing the ball in a bad way inevitably leads to such a result. In the second half, we tried to be a bit more offensive, but we couldn't initiate attacks from the start. What we tried in practice matches didn't go well. MF Tamano, who came on as a substitute, couldn't get into the game smoothly and made several passing mistakes. We thought about catching up and then turning the game around, so we brought in MF Atsuhiro MIURA to play more offensively. He has excellent passes and shots. However, from that point, the opponent adopted a very defensive strategy and aimed for counters. To become more offensive from there, we brought FW Katatau up front. That created attacking opportunities and earned us corner kicks. However, as the whole team became more offensive, space opened up at the back, and we started to suffer from the opponent's strong counterattacks, eventually conceding the second goal. Since this was a home game, we couldn't stay calm when we fell behind. So we went for the win... But I think the players gave their all. They put out all their energy. Although we couldn't win, continuing what we have been doing and thinking about how to win will lead to results. And I believe that will be the beginning from here."