Covering Baba and Kajiyama's absence, victory at Away National!

　After a two-week interval, the 25th round of the league will face Yokohama FC. They will head to the Japan National Stadium for an away game. During the break, the Japan national team went on a European tour, and the Olympic team faced the final qualifiers, playing matches under tough conditions. Now, Imakano will return on the 13th (Thursday). There are concerns about fatigue, and the time he joined the team was only yesterday. On the other hand, Kajiyama suffered a left knee fracture, and in addition to Baba, he will be forced to take a long-term leave.

　Former coach said, "I had already thought about the absence of the Olympic representative. Therefore, I have been preparing for it." However, in the last few games, the double volante with Imamura has been functioning well and has become a major blow to the driving force of victory. However, all players said, "We want to cover for each other, improve the accuracy of soccer that we were able to do before the break, and continue to win." Imamura also said, "I feel sorry for Kajiyama. I have to be energetic and play." He will start with Fukunishi in a double volante formation. In addition, Inaba and Hirayama are on the bench.

　Yokohama FC, currently in last place with 11 points, is aiming to turn things around. In the second half of the season, they have acquired MF OBOUMSOKU, MARCOS PAULO, and in August, FW KATATAU and MF ATSUHIRO MIURA. They have also welcomed new coach Julio LEAL. While they struggled against Yokohama FC's counterattacks in the first half and Nabisco Cup, the team has changed and is now looking to break through with passing football.

　Tokyo, on the other hand, wants to apply a quick press from the start and dominate the midfield. They want to put pressure on Yokohama FC's defensive midfielders Yamaguchi and Marcos Paulo, and prevent them from connecting with attacking midfielders Ogomoso and Uchida, who are the starting points of their attacks. Fukunishi and Kurisawa will need to maintain balance and quickly switch to attacking play. They have been focusing on attacking from the wings during the break, in order to unsettle Yokohama FC's defense. Lucas and Akamine, the two strikers, will play closer to the goal and aim for a goal. With a united team effort, Tokyo will aim for their first three consecutive wins of the season, playing their characteristic style of football!

　The intense heat of the daytime has subsided and the wind has started blowing at the National Stadium. The away Tokyo supporters are packed in the stands. The match started at 7:04 PM with a kickoff by Yokohama FC.

Fukunishi scores first goal, not giving Yokohama FC a chance!

Yokohama FC connected passes in the beginning and took control of the midfield. However, they were not able to threaten the goal and gradually started to counterattack. In the 9th minute, Akamine received a long feed from Kanazawa and connected with Lucas in the center, then Ishikawa on the right, and finally Tokunaga who had moved up on the wing. Akamine returned Tokunaga's cross and Fukunishi, who had moved up in front of the goal, took a shot. They quickly created an attacking opportunity, but the shot missed to the left. In the 15th minute, they had chances from corner kicks and free kicks, but were unable to take a decisive shot and failed to find their rhythm.

　Still, Yokohama FC did not give a chance, and in the 21st minute, Kurisawa dribbled and cut into the goal front, to Lucas behind. But Lucas' shot hit the front of the GK. In the 23rd minute, from Tokunaga to Lucas on the right front line. Lucas advanced to the line and cut back the opponent's DF, sending a minus pass to the front of the goal. Akamine followed up on this, but couldn't finish it. In the far side, Inakano picked up the ball, but couldn't make it towards the goal. In the 29th minute, Inakano, Kurisawa, and Akamine passed on the left side, Kurisawa made a big side change to the right. Tokunaga made a breakthrough and Akamine shot with his foot on the minus cross, but it went over the bar.

　Kurisawa and Fukunishi created chances from a side change, but the inability to finish continued. However, in the 34th minute, Fukunishi intercepted a ball from Yokohama FC in the opponent's territory and quickly passed it to Akamine who was running up front. Akamine caught up with the ball deep in the right area and sent a floating cross to the front of the goal. Fukunishi slid in and stabbed the ball into the net with his left foot, scoring a goal. From a high pressing position, they quickly switched to an attacking play and took the lead.

　Tokyo, who wanted to ride the momentum, but in the 39th minute, Yokohama FC midfielder Marcos Paulo attacked and left the goal open. MF Marcos Paulo evaded the Tokyo DF and passed to the right. The right back Yamada, who had moved up, was in a shooting position, but Kanazawa blocked it with a sliding tackle. They defended the danger with their bodies and went into the second half with a one-point lead.

Shut out the counterattack and win the third consecutive victory with Hirayama's splendid additional point!

　Although they dominated the ball and took the lead, they couldn't quite keep up the momentum in the first half. In the second half, they switched gears and created chance after chance in the early stages. In the 49th minute, Lucas received a through ball and passed it to the right wing. Tokuoka overlapped and made a fierce dribble, shooting freely from inside the right area. The shot was blocked by the GK's quick reaction and bounced off the post. In the 52nd minute, Ishikawa intercepted a pass from the Yokohama DF in the opponent's half. The ball quickly reached Akamine in front, but the timing of the shot was delayed and the GK stopped it. Immediately after in the 53rd minute, they attacked the Yokohama goal and Lucas connected with Akamine, who made a lofted pass. Fukunishi jumped in and took a shot, but it was blocked by the Yokohama DF... They couldn't score another goal.

　In the 55th minute, Yokohama FC connected passes up front and FW Miura Chizu circled around from the left and took a shot. The ball curved to the right, but this gave Yokohama FC the opportunity to grab a counterattack rhythm. Tokyo's overall movement began to decrease and their line became stretched out. While Fujiyama was able to effectively hold off Yokohama FC's attacks at the back, long balls out of desperation were also noticeable and time passed. In the 64th minute, Rychely was brought on to the left, replacing Ishikawa, and Kurizawa moved to the right. In the 73rd minute, Inoba came on for Fukunishi.

　However, Yokohama FC also made substitutions in the second half, with MF Tamano, MF Atsuhiro Miura, and FW Katatau being brought on one after another. With an attacking formation, they took control and launched a counterattack. In the 79th minute, Yokohama FC was awarded a free kick from the left area. MF Atsuhiro Miura took the shot directly, but it missed to the upper left. In the 81st minute, Lucas received a cross from Kurisawa with his back to the goal, turned and took a shot, but it went wide. In the 82nd minute, Tokyo DF lost possession and Yokohama FC's MF Marcos Paulo → MF Atsuhiro Miura passed to the left, where FW Katatau took a shot. However, it lacked power and Shioda made a solid catch.

　In the midst of back and forth, in the 85th minute, Hirayama was substituted for Akamine. The strategy was to gather the ball in the front line. This was successful and a rhythm was born. In the 88th minute, Rychely intercepted a pass from Yokohama DF in the opponent's territory. He charged forward to the goal, leaving the chasing DF behind, and took a shot! It was a decisive moment, but it missed to the left... However, it seemed like the game was going to end like this in stoppage time. Hirayama stole a loose ball in the midfield, pushed it out with his head from Rychely's return, and charged towards the goal. He powerfully passed through the gap between the two DFs who were trying to mark him. Finally, he calmly avoided the GK and took a shot. From the powerful dribble with speed, he scored a beautiful additional goal! Right after that, the game ended. They left Yokohama FC behind in an away game and achieved their first 3 consecutive wins in the league this season.

　【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"(On the goal scene) I put it forward with my head and thought I could go because there was no DF in front of me. Watching from the bench, I thought about taking a shot by getting past the Yokohama FC GK who was in the way. As for my appearance, I was thinking of actively taking the initiative."《Fukunishi》"Today, I was thinking of standing firm in the back and handling the ball. However, while discussing with Konno about who would take the balance, I tried to go up for chances. If they create time in the front line or cut deep into the line, I can also go up. In the scene of the goal, it was a chance for me to go. If we had scored the second goal earlier, we could have fought with ease without panicking. I also regret that I had the opportunity. The challenge is how to chase the ball. Chasing the opponent and deciding where to take the ball. We want to discuss and unify for the next game."

　【Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference】"Yokohama FC had been training and preparing well under the new manager during the break, while we were missing three players from the Olympic national team and Japan national team, including Konno. Recently, Konno has been improving and we were unable to practice with the combination of him and Kajiyama, so we moved Fukunishi back to defensive midfielder. The rhythm between Kajiyama and Fukunishi is slightly different, and with Yokohama FC having high motivation, we knew it would be a difficult match. As expected, our start was slow, our defensive awareness and attacking movements were delayed. We were somewhat adapting to the opponent's pace and there were scenes where we could have moved the ball faster. Akamine and Lucas also seemed to be moving slowly. Fukunishi scored a good goal and I thought we could do more from there, but it didn't go as smoothly. There was a dangerous scene at the end of the first half, so we talked about playing more solidly during halftime. If we only consider today's match, we could have substituted Asari for Fukunishi, but Inoha had just returned and we thought about his role in the team and decided to put him in. In the end, we wanted to create more opportunities up front, so we put Hirayama in and tried to get him the ball. He was left out of the starting lineup for the Olympic national team and I'm sure he was disappointed, but he scored a great goal and I'm glad. Our performance today was not good, but we managed to keep a clean sheet and get three points, which will lead to the next match. With everyone back in training for the next week, we will prepare well and give our all to beat Shimizu. Konno, Inoha, and Hirayama all held their own despite difficult conditions. It was an away game, but we played at National Stadium and the fans came out to support us in large numbers. We will build on this victory and aim for three points at home at Ajinomoto Stadium."

　[Yokohama FC Julio LEAL press conference summary] "We were aware that this match was really important. We just wanted to win. We wanted to show what we have been practicing and aim for a winning streak, and start everything from here. We were able to start in a good shape right after the start, but after 15 minutes, we fell into the opponent's pace. We were also able to launch a good counterattack, but we lost the ball in the midfield and conceded a goal. When we lose the ball in a bad shape, this kind of result happens. In the second half, we tried to be more aggressive, but we couldn't start attacking from the beginning. We couldn't do what we tried in the practice match. Substitute MF Tamano couldn't get into the game well and made several passing mistakes. We just tried to catch up and then turn the game around, so we put in MF Atsuhiro Miura to play more offensively. He has great passes and shots. However, the opponent became quite defensive from that point and the game turned into a counterattack. To be more aggressive, we put in FW Katatau in the front line. This created more attacking opportunities and we were able to earn a corner kick. However, as the whole team became more offensive, we left space behind and ended up conceding a second goal. Since it was a home game today, we couldn't stay calm when we fell behind. So we went for the win... However, I think the players gave their all and showed their energy. We couldn't win, but I believe that continuing to do what we have been doing and thinking about how we can win will lead to results. And I think that's where it all starts."