Tokyo Final Round, surpassing Verdy's unity, goal and victory

　In the 22nd round of the league, Verdy will face off against each other at home, Japan National Stadium. In the previous round against Urawa, they were unable to score despite dominating the ball, resulting in a defeat. This round, the biggest challenge is to score with the desired style of soccer. It will be the 4th match of the season between the two Tokyo teams, but it will be an important game to secure a victory at home and gain momentum.

　Tokyo's Nagatomo and Konno were temporarily absent from the team due to their activities with the Japan national team, but they are back in the starting lineup this week in good spirits. Kanazawa and Akamine are also starting for the first time since the 8/6 Nabisco Oita match. In addition, the positions of the attacking players have changed, with Akamine playing up front and Cabore on the left, forming a front three with Emerson on the right. In midfield, they will face the game with Konno, Kajiyama, and Hanyu in the lineup.

　Verdy, who is currently in 13th place, is only 3 points behind Tokyo. Since their last Tokyo showdown, the team has changed members and shown growth and cohesion. In attack, they have FW Hiramoto, Iio, and new addition FW Okubo as their core, maintaining balance and attacking with coordinated movements. While it is important to be cautious of their strong attacking FWs, it is also crucial to keep an eye on MF Diego and Fukunishi, who are the source of the ball, as well as the midfield players.

　At the same time, Verdy will aggressively press from the front line, so it is important to bypass it and move the ball forward. Coach Jo Fukuyama said, "The way we press is different from before, but our ball movement will not change significantly. We want to connect in order to score." They also want to create a rhythm with quick passing and side changes. In addition, they want to show their momentum and power in scoring opportunities.

　In the three Tokyo finals so far this season, Tokyo has won every time. This time, Verdy will also come with a strong determination of "not to lose under any circumstances". It will be a big point whether we can surpass and bounce back from that. We aim for goals and victory in a passionate battle. The rain is not that strong, but it is pouring at the National Stadium. The match started at 6:34 pm with Tokyo's kickoff.

Initiating Tokyo-style soccer, Cabore scores a super goal to take the lead!

　On a slippery pitch due to rain, there was a fast-paced back and forth between offense and defense. In the midst of that, Tokyo-style soccer was played and a rhythm was established. In the 6th minute, the ball was stolen from the opponent and Hayabusa dribbled up the left side to the area, but his shot missed the target. In the 7th minute, Kajiyama made a good play from the right side and crossed the ball. However, the opponent's defense blocked it and it resulted in a throw-in. In the 8th minute, Nagatomo's cross earned a corner kick from the right side. Hayabusa couldn't get to the ground kick, but Kajiyama picked up the loose ball and took a shot from the middle. In the 13th minute, Cabore → Kajiyama attacked from the left and dribbled inside. He took a shot from the left area, but couldn't find the target.

　18 minutes, from Verdy MF Diego's pass, FW Okubo faces off against Sahara in a 1-on-1 on the left area. He gets into shooting position, but Sahara blocks it. In the 21st minute, Konno, who had suffered a facial injury early on, bleeds again and leaves the pitch for treatment. During this time, Verdy left SB Hattori advances and sends an early cross. The ball is sent perfectly to the front of the goal, and FW Okubo takes a diving header, but the shot from close range is saved by Shioda, avoiding danger. In the 23rd minute, Verdy connects passes from the left side and MF Diego takes a shot from the center of the area, but Shioda saves it. After that, they continue to take control, with Hayashi, Emerson's free movement, and Konno and Kajiyama taking turns to move forward, creating chances from crosses by Cabore and Nagatomo on the left side.

　At 25 minutes, Julian, who had come up from the right, passed the ball to Nagatomo on the outside and entered the area. Nagatomo's cross was right on target for Hanyu at the far post. Hanyu couldn't quite make contact, but the ball fell to Cabore in the center. However, his shot was off target. Next, Inomoto on the right side picked up the ball, but his shot went high... They had created multiple chances, but couldn't convert. However, at 28 minutes, Cabore made a daring chase to steal the ball in their own half, passed it to Hanyu up front, and attacked. After receiving the return pass, he saw an opening in the midfield and took a shot. It was a stunning goal that pierced the net, giving them the lead! Cabore's super goal had put them ahead.

　At 34 minutes, after blocking the opponent's FK, we launched a counterattack, and from Inakano's dribble, Hayashi followed on the left and made a last pass to the left area. Cabore ran in here and aimed for a shot with his left foot, but couldn't catch the frame. At 40 minutes, we got a FK in front of the left area corner, and Kajiyama aimed directly, but the opponent's GK caught it. We ended the first half with a one-point lead.

A painful defeat after allowing the opponent to take the lead while being on the offensive...

　We aim for an additional point and aggressively attack in the second half, creating chances. Early on, Emerson steals the pass from Verdy's DF line and passes it to Nagatomo who is on the outside. Nagatomo crosses from a high position, but Cabore and Akamine collide in the center and are unable to finish. However, Akamine persistently chases after the loose ball and tries to push it in with an overhead kick, but the GK saves it. In the 49th minute, Cabore steals the loose ball in the midfield and passes it to Akamine on the left. Akamine persistently evades two opposing DFs and passes it to Emerson who has moved up from the right. From there, Kajiyama jumps out to receive the lob pass, but it is called offside. In the 53rd minute, Nagatomo picks up the rebound from Inano's shot near the area and passes it backwards from the right area. Akamine in front of the goal takes a direct shot, creating a big chance, but it narrowly misses to the right...

　In the midst of not being able to score an additional point, in the 54th minute, the ball was taken away in the midfield, and Verdy's SB Hattori → MF Diego picked up speed and took a middle shot. It bounced off the post, but the accuracy was high, and the powerful shot made us hold our breath. Then in the 61st minute, Emerson's pass in his own zone was taken away by Verdy again, and MF Diego → substitute MF Leandro made a through pass to the front line. At the same time, FW Okubo quickly flew behind Tokyo's DF and faced off against Shioda in a 1-on-1. Despite the Tokyo DF chasing after him, he was able to score a goal and was caught up to a tie due to a mistake...

　It was a disappointing goal to concede after playing so well, but Verdy still didn't let them take control and in the 63rd minute, Asari was substituted for Emerson in the defensive midfield position. Kajiyama pushed up and aimed for a second goal. In the 65th minute, Shigenobu intercepted the ball and passed it to Cabore in a high position. Cabore dribbled past DF Tsuchiya and took a shot from the left area, but it missed widely. In the 71st minute, Kajiyama and Hayashi attacked and Hayashi took a precise shot from the left area, but the goalkeeper saved it. In the 73rd minute, they earned a free kick from the left side. Although it was cleared by the DF, Nagatomo picked up the loose ball and scored a powerful goal, but it was disallowed for offside by striker Konno.

　In the 78th minute, Ito was replaced by Ishikawa, but both teams showed signs of fatigue and their movement decreased, leading to a back-and-forth counterattack. In the 84th minute, Verdy passed the ball around in their own half, but couldn't clear it, and in the end, Kanazawa's pass reached Verdy DF Hattori, who took a shot from the left area. In the 86th minute, Ishikawa brought the ball in from the right side and attempted a looping shot after being blocked by the opposing DF.

　It was in the last 3 minutes of stoppage time when neither team could score and it seemed like the game would end in a draw. However, while trying to attack with more players, the ball was stolen and Verdy MF Diego took a sharp shot. The ball was saved by Saltada, but it resulted in a corner kick... From this corner kick, Verdy DF Nasu was left open and scored a header, ending the game. Unable to stop the goal in the last play, they suffered a painful defeat in the crucial Tokyo match.

　【Player Comments】《Cabore》"I think we were able to play in a very good shape in the first half, but it's a shame we couldn't win. The opening goal was a good shot, as I took the ball from the left side, received a return pass from Hayabusa, and then took a long shot... I think it was a good shot. This week, I was conscious of attacking from my left side and aiming for a chance to score, so I'm happy that I was able to score from there. Playing on the left side allows me to use my speed and compete one-on-one when receiving the ball, so it's a position that I feel comfortable in."《Imano》"In the end, we conceded a counter attack and a goal from my mistake, which is very frustrating and disappointing. Today, I played with Kajiyama, and we had a system where one of us would always take care of Verdy MF Diego when attacking, and if there was a chance, Kajiyama would also go forward. There were also moments where I went forward, but I really wanted to score there. If we don't score in those situations, it becomes difficult in the end. That was also disappointing. As a team, we need to improve our finishing, but also our accuracy in the process leading up to the shot. We want to improve on that."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "Just like last week, I am very sorry to have disappointed our fans at home. Not being able to score the second goal was the biggest reason for our defeat. It is my responsibility that even though we created chances, we couldn't convert them into goals, or there may have been some technical issues on the pitch. There were also scenes where we shook the net but couldn't score, which is very frustrating. We should have scored the second goal earlier. As for the goals we conceded, of course, any mistake is a mistake, but we could have prevented both goals. This is due to a lack of experience, including individual mistakes. I think we need to deeply reflect on this. (Cabore received the ball a lot on the left side?) In practice, we have been considering positioning Cabore in a way that he can face forward. When he faces forward, he can dribble deep into the opponent's territory, so we wanted to take advantage of his strengths there. We thought it was an important weapon for us to play soccer in the opponent's territory. (Regarding the response to Verdy's substitute MF Leandro) We expected Verdy to attack and bring in attacking players, including FW Hiramoto. Among them, we aimed to create a defensive block and reduce the number of times we let MF Diego play soccer around him. I don't think we failed to do that. Of course, we were aware of the characteristics of Verdy's players who came on as substitutes, but first and foremost, we wanted to maintain our defensive block and move the ball well when we had possession. (We have only scored one goal in the past two months. Do you think we need to take more drastic measures to break through?) Whether today's tactics were drastic or not depends on the viewer's judgment, but I don't think they were ordinary."

　【Verdy・Manager Hashigaya's Press Conference Summary】"We were able to have a hot game like a derby. And I am very happy that we were able to win after a long time. We were behind, but the players endured well and did not give up any additional points. We took the lead in the second half and were able to score the second goal successfully. In the first game, we lost in the last minute, so this time we were able to win in a comeback and I am very satisfied. In the first half, we were able to create 2-2 or 3-2 on the side, and we were able to change sides... It was a feeling of being able to go forward, but we were well rotated. However, we were prepared for that, and we had a plan to counterattack. It was inevitable that we were pushed back. I gave instructions to defend firmly. In the second half, we put in MF Leandro and went for the win, so we didn't want to lose our balance until then. Then, we tried to use the sides more. I was a little surprised by Cabore's super goal, but I told them to switch and go with the intention of 0-0. (Is this the first comeback this season?) We were able to stick with it, and I thought that the problem was that we were weak in 1-1 in the previous game against Kashima. We were able to stick with 1-1, and that put us in a position to have a close game. (Why did you put MF Diego on the left side in the second half?) Nagatomo was attacking, so as a team, we talked before the game about creating opportunities there. The instructions were to flow into the opponent's space with direct play and create opportunities to take it to the opposite side, but Nagatomo is good and fast. It was hard to get there, but Tokyo became more aggressive and both sides opened up, so MF Diego used his head there. I think there was also a discussion with MF Leandro."