Challenge as a challenger and seize the 3 points!

　In Sec. 20 of the league, we will face Nagoya Grampus away. In the Nabisco Oita match, we failed to score a second goal and missed out on advancing to the Semifinal Round. We have ended four consecutive official matches in a 1-1 draw, but we are feeling positive about our defense, so this match is also an opportunity to turn goals into victories and boost the team's momentum. Although it will be a series of away games, we want to somehow secure three points in this first match after the league's restart and regain momentum for the team.

　Nagoya, currently in 3rd place with 33 points, secured a solid victory in the Nabisco Cup held on the 6th (Wednesday), confirming their advancement to the Semifinal Round. Coach Jofuku stated, "The 3rd place ranking is not a fluke. There is no softness in both offense and defense, and there is no apparent weakness if we can hold this position..." This round will see MF Ogawa suspended, but with FW Yonsen as the core, alongside FW Tamada and MF Maginun, they have players with strong finishing ability. Additionally, holding midfielder MF Nakamura is active and functions well in both offense and defense. DF Takeuchi and Abe can also serve as starting points for side attacks, truly leaving no 'holes' in the team.

　Tokyo made significant changes to the starting lineup from the Oita match. In central defense, Moniwa and Sahara are in, with Konno at right back, Ishikawa in midfield, and Hirayama replacing Akamine in the forward position. A key point will be whether they can score a second goal, focusing on how to speed up play while connecting passes and switching tactics. Additionally, Nagoya is also strong in side attacks, making the battles on the flanks one of the highlights. Utilizing Ishikawa to make vertical breakthroughs should be one of the options. They want to boldly threaten the Nagoya goal with an aggressive attacking stance.

　Hayabusa said, "We will approach the match against the top teams as challengers. With a strong mindset, we want to break through Nagoya's solid defense." Coach Jofuku also stated, "The match against Oita was one we had to win. We will channel that frustration into the league. Our mindset has shifted." To overcome adversity, we need to connect good defense to good offense, seize goals, and achieve victory! The match started at 19:03 with a kickoff in Tokyo at Mizuho Athletic Stadium.

Hayama scores the first goal of the season in the league match, taking the lead into halftime.

　Against Nagoya, who tried to attack from the side, we picked up the second ball well and launched an attack with coordinated movements. In the 9th minute, we seized a misplaced pass in the opponent's half, and Cabore passed to Hirayama, who advanced with a dribble. He boldly aimed for the goal from just outside the area, but it was blocked by the defender. In the 17th minute, Ishikawa contested a long ball from the back, won a right corner kick, and Emerson took a mid-range shot from the rebound of Ishikawa's kick. It was saved well by the opposing goalkeeper, resulting in another corner kick. On this corner, Konno headed the ball, but it went outside the frame.

　After that, Ishikawa and Hanyu, who was used as a defensive midfielder this match, aggressively initiated attacks. In the 19th minute, Ishikawa received a through pass from Emerson in front of the goal and turned with a one-touch shot with his left foot. In the 24th minute, Hanyu made a central breakthrough, drawing in the defenders, and sent a final pass to Cabore, who had slipped behind. Both created decisive chances, but the shots were thwarted by a great save from Nagoya goalkeeper Narasaki. Conversely, in the 28th minute, a clearance mistake was picked up by forward Tamada, who charged towards the goal. Although Sahara desperately chased after him, Tamada managed to get a shot off. It was a critical moment, but the shot went over the bar, escaping the danger.

　As the back-and-forth battle continued, the 35th minute arrived. Tokunaga on the left side sent a cross to Hanyu, who smoothly moved in front of the goal. Hanyu brought it down with his chest to where Hirayama was waiting near the left corner of the area. Hirayama took a touch and struck the ball powerfully with his right foot, sending a low shot that beautifully found the near post, scoring a goal! Hirayama took the lead with his first goal of the season in the league.

　Tokyo aims for an additional goal and does not ease its attacking efforts. In the 38th minute, Ishikawa's right corner kick is met with a perfect header from Cabore, but it is thwarted by a brave save from the opposing goalkeeper. In the 42nd minute, Shiota's kick slips behind the defense, and Taira SHIGE breaks free to take a shot, but it goes wide of the target. In defense, they do not allow the opponent to move freely in midfield, and with players like Mobiwa and Sahara at the back, they effectively suppress Nagoya's attacks, finishing the first half with a lead.

Calmly responded to Nagoya's power play and achieved a victory without conceding a goal

　During the first half, there was an incident where Moniwa injured his shoulder, and to be cautious, he was substituted for Mukuahara in the second half. Konno took on the role of center-back in the formation. However, gradually Nagoya began to find their rhythm and pushed us back. Still, with concentrated defense, we regained possession and aimed for an additional goal from a counterattack. In the 52nd minute, we launched a counterattack from clearing an opponent's free kick, with Cabore sprinting down the left side of the Nagoya area. He brought the ball into the box, evaded the defender, and took a shot, but it was blocked by the advancing goalkeeper.

　Nagoya is gradually starting to launch attacks from the sides. In the 61st minute, Nagoya's left back Abe sent a cross in front of the goal, where FW Tamada jumped in, followed by MF Yoneyama who created a chance, but it was cleared desperately. In the 69th minute, a left cross from substitute FW Sugimoto resulted in a perfect header shot. It was a decisive moment, but the ball went straight to Shiota. After that, Nagoya brought in FW Maki and FW Tsuda one after another, but Tokyo's defense held firm, resulting in a back-and-forth battle.

　Cabore, who showed signs of fatigue in Tokyo, was replaced by Akamine and Kanazawa. Without losing balance in defense, they calmly responded to the opponent's counterattacks. Both teams had chances from counterattacks, and in the 89th minute, they launched a counterattack, with Konno charging towards the goal with a dribble, facing the goalkeeper one-on-one. In the end, he passed to the running Akamine, but... it didn't reach him well... Although they couldn't score the second goal, they held off Nagoya's fierce attacks without conceding, achieving their first victory in the league since the match against Iwata on May 17!

　【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"(Regarding my appearance) I focused on both creating chances and scoring goals myself. In the early stages, I couldn't receive the wedge passes well and couldn't establish a rhythm, which I regret. I am reflecting on the need to be fully active from the start... The goal was exactly as planned. I aimed for the near post. I also had a chance to score a second goal myself, and if I had converted it, I think I could have made things easier for the team. Also, with Cabore, if I had delivered better balls behind the defense, there were moments that could have turned into chances. However, today, more than my own goal, I was happy and felt it was a team achievement that the defensive players worked hard under tough conditions to keep a clean sheet. Scoring two or more goals is our challenge, and we want to work hard together." 《Ishikawa》"I think the content of the Oita match was not bad, and I’m glad we could connect that to today’s victory. Nagoya’s fullbacks run long distances forward. In front of them is midfielder Maginun, so I paid attention to my positioning. From a good position, I tried to push forward when we won the ball. There was space to move forward after winning it. I wanted to score the second goal there, but... In the second half, chances may have been fewer, but it’s important to finish those crosses from Shingo and such. Usually, Shingo would be the one to follow up, but since he drifted to the side, I thought, ‘I’m the only one who can get there!’ and ran with all my might. But I was a bit late. Also, in the second half, the opponent kicked the ball, and our midfield opened up, allowing them to press us. We needed to apply pressure earlier in midfield. As a team, when we try to do one thing, we sometimes lose what we were doing well at first. We can only fix that through repetition. However, winning today allows us to approach the next match against Urawa in good shape. Personally, I want to work on the challenge of connecting play while making forward runs."

　[Summary of Coach Josip KUZE's Press Conference] "Since the break, although we have had draws, we haven't been able to win, which has caused a lot of frustration, and I feel sorry for the fans. Our football philosophy remains unchanged, but the lack of wins has been stressful, and we wanted to quickly gain a sense of confidence. As always, today we were focused on securing 3 points. During the game, as a team, we made every effort to prevent FW Tamada and Jørgensen from creating space, and I think we managed that to a certain extent. Not only in today's match but also in the past few games, I believe the team has been compact defensively, and it was good that we were able to keep the opponent scoreless today. Regarding our attack, the team currently has a strong hunger for victory, so I think the attitude towards going for goals has emerged. In the second half, there was a moment when we connected with one-touch passes through the center, and Ishikawa made a pass that was intercepted, but we need to produce more of such build-up and passing play to break down the opponent. Also, when the opponent attacks, we need to be able to keep possession and run down the clock more effectively. There are challenges. But anyway, it was good that we held on to the one goal in the first half. We still have the issue of not scoring a second goal, and including the final scene (Konno passed to Akamine in a one-on-one with the opposing GK but missed the chance), I think the players were too conscious of this challenge and got nervous. Next time, we definitely want to score the second goal, and the team will work hard towards that."

　[Summary of Nagoya Coach STOJKOVIC's Press Conference] "Of course, we were disappointed that we couldn't get the result, but we were able to show our style firmly. The players worked hard and made great efforts to score. Although we ended up with this result because we couldn't score, I think this kind of soccer also exists. I want to congratulate FC Tokyo, and I also want to express my respect for our players who showed wonderful performance. (There were many dangerous moments despite the few times the opponent attacked?) I think we controlled the game for 90 minutes, but we couldn't capitalize on our chances. I believe we lacked finishing ability. I don't think we fought well enough in the first half, especially in front of Tokyo's goal, where we couldn't bring the ball to a good finish. Speaking of the first half, I think we lacked a bit of aggressiveness. With MF Ogawa and MF Yoshimura unavailable, the starting lineup was not as usual, but basically, that was not a problem and I don't want to use it as an excuse. Also, we had a tough game against JEF in the Nabisco Cup. I think there was some fatigue, but in today's match, the players showed fighting spirit without showing tiredness. They ran and their desire to score was clear. However, I think the pitch condition was poor. If I could change something, I would want to change the pitch condition. But that can't be done (laughs)."