Aiming for 5 consecutive away wins while maintaining the team's momentum!

　In the 27th round of the league, we will face Consadole Sapporo away. In the previous round against Iwata, we achieved our 4th consecutive victory with a massive 5 goals, and we aim to continue that momentum and achieve our 5th consecutive victory in J1 (including the 2000 2nd round 1st to 5th rounds and the extended V victory). Coach Jofuku said, "This season, we have had many chances to catch up with the top teams, but we have missed them. As a result, the players have a strong desire not to miss this chance. Regardless of the opponent's ranking or points, we need to be prepared for a close match. We need to fight with the mentality of holding on to a 1-0 lead."

　Sapporo, who has not won since the 17th round, is currently in 18th place. Although they are in a difficult situation, they have had few scoreless games and scored 3 goals in the 24th round against G Osaka. After that, they scored 2 goals in the Chiba and Oita matches, and their lively attack is their strength. In addition to the injury of DF Minowa, FW Davi, who is in 2nd place in the scoring rankings, will be absent, but with the tall FW Anderson as the axis, the attack from the sides by MF Nishiya and Nishi is functioning well. Therefore, first and foremost, a stable defense is necessary, and if they can win the battle on the sides, they should be able to create scoring opportunities. They want to break down the Sapporo DF with their speedy attack.

　Tokyo, with Konno and Hirayama suspended for this round, Redmine's injury is not serious and he returns to the starting lineup. Also, Bruno QUADROS and Hayu have prepared their condition and are on the bench. Redmine says, "There is no problem with my arm. The team's overall condition has improved thanks to three consecutive goals. I missed the last round, but I want to keep up with the team's momentum and ride the wave. There is no room for complacency, and there is a sense of tension to win and move up in the standings," he said, with expectations for four consecutive goals.

　Shioda said, "There is a fear that if we allow the first goal, we will have to tighten our defense, so we want to maintain balance and fight tenaciously to score the first goal. We haven't won four games in a row easily so far, and it's especially difficult to win after a high-scoring game. It is expected to be a tough battle away from home, but we want to overcome each game with a winning mentality without losing to Sapporo's desperate feelings." The team will play at Sapporo Atsubetsu Stadium for the first time since 2002. The match started with Sapporo's kickoff in the chilly wind.

Despite being pushed by the opponent's momentum, we end the first half without conceding any goals.

　Sapporo has been launching a strong side attack since the start of the first half, putting Tokyo on the back foot. In the first minute, FW Sunagawa took a forceful shot from MF Clayton's keep, and in the third minute, DF Ikenouchi took a heading shot from a loose ball from a CK, and Tokyo was pushed back into their own goal. Still, they managed to hold on and gradually started passing the ball around, looking for chances. In the 12th minute, Kajiyama → Ishikawa → Kajiyama quickly passed to the right. From Nagatomo's throw-in, Asari took a middle shot but missed the meat. In the 15th minute, Akamine dropped Kajiyama's pass and received a return pass, and Kajiyama passed through the front line. Emerson ran through the center of the DF, but the opponent's GK caught it a step ahead.

　At 16 minutes, a decisive chance is created for FW Sunagawa by MF Nishitani on the right side, but he is saved by a missed shot. In the 19th minute, Kajiyama makes a quick restart and dribbles through the center. He slips through the DF and makes a last pass to Cabore in the left area after bringing it to the front of the area. Cabore aims for it with his left foot, but it is blocked by the DF. In the 28th minute, Akamine, who has escaped behind the DF line from a pass from Tokunaga, takes a shot, but the opponent's GK catches it. In the 36th minute, Ishikawa and Emerson start on the left side, and Kajiyama takes a middle shot in the center. Emerson picks up the rebound and immediately takes a shot, but it misses the target by a large margin.

　Tokyo was unable to connect passes from coordinated movements due to Sapporo's tough defense from the front line. On the other hand, Sapporo's FW Anderson was able to freely use the left side of Tokyo's area from his keep, and crosses were repeatedly thrown in by MF Nishi and FW Sunakawa, causing danger. However, they did not allow a goal thanks to Shioda's efforts at the center. In the 44th minute, FW Anderson slid into the goal area from FW Sunakawa's right cross, creating a scoring opportunity, but narrowly missed... In the end, the first half ended scoreless.

Achieving 5 consecutive wins with a comeback despite the struggle

　Substituted Hanyu for Emerson in the second half. He aimed for the space between the opponent's DF line and midfield. In the 47th minute, from a quick restart, Hanyu → Ishikawa brought the ball into the right area and took a shot, but it was blocked by the opponent's GK. However, just as they were starting to find their rhythm, Hanyu injured his left foot and was forced to be replaced by Bruno QUADROS in the 52nd minute. Immediately after, in the 54th minute, Sapporo was shaken by a right CK and the ball was headed in by DF Ikeuchi, who met a left cross, resulting in a goal. They ended up conceding the first goal.

　But without panicking, they launch a counterattack. In the 63rd minute, Ishikawa shoots from the front of the central area after receiving a long pass from Nagatomo. In the 68th minute, Cabore receives a pass from Kajiyama and shoots from outside the area, but both shots go over the frame. Then in the 70th minute, Nagatomo steals the rebound from Cabore's shot and breaks through the right side. He receives a return pass from Cabore and quickly sends a cross to the front of the goal, where Akamine jumps in and perfectly heads it into the net! With this goal, Akamine scores for the 4th consecutive game and ties the score.

　After that, in the midst of a counterattack, in the 79th minute, Thales was substituted for Cabore and went for an additional point. Then, in the 80th minute, Daichi received the ball from Nagatomo near the half-line and attacked the center with a dribble. And as soon as he saw no press, he swung his left foot from the front of the area. The well-controlled ball was sucked into the bottom left of the goal and in! He scored a valuable go-ahead goal with his first play after coming on.

　In the final stages, there were scenes where Sapporo was attacked without giving up until the end, but no additional points were allowed. Despite the struggle, Akamine and Otake scored valuable goals to achieve a come-from-behind victory. They also achieved a team record of 5 consecutive wins, and a first in J1 of "5 consecutive wins in 90 minutes".

　【Player Comments】《Akamine》"The goal was just like in practice. Yuto made a good run and sent me a quick pass. We always discuss and practice this play, and we were able to score as planned. Each player has their own strengths and the situation is always different, but I think we were able to execute the play we practice perfectly. However, we didn't create many chances besides that one. The opponent was able to exploit our defense with long balls, and I think we were a bit too deep. In terms of performance, it was a game with 0 points. But being able to win in a game like this will lead to the next one."《Otake》"When I was on the bench, I thought that the wall of 5 consecutive wins was thick and it wouldn't be easy. But as the game went on, we were able to find space between the opponent's defense and midfield, so I believed that we could break through if we kept going. There was also an accident with Hayu-san, so we had fewer substitutions, but I thought that if we stayed tied, we would bring in more attacking players. When I came on, I was determined to score. On my first play, I received a pass from Nagatomo-san and saw an opening in front of me, and the defense didn't close in. As I was dribbling up, Nao-san opened up on the right, and the opponent's GK shifted to the right as well. In that moment, I saw a clear shot and took it without hesitation. I think my strength is to bring the ball forward, and I was able to utilize that today."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "We entered the game with the intention of not betraying the supporters who came to cheer us on from Tokyo and those who have been supporting us in our current situation. However, we struggled a bit in the beginning. In the first half, Sapporo played aggressively and we were a bit disorganized, especially in our back line, which led to some dangerous situations on our left side. We were able to hold on and not concede any goals in the first half, so we made adjustments for the second half and brought in Hayashi as a substitute. Unfortunately, we had to make a quick substitution due to an accident, which resulted in us conceding a goal. The flow of the game was not in our favor. However, we were able to endure and turn the game around with a goal, and I think our defense from the front and going back to our own style was the key to the comeback. (Is it now realistic to compete for the top spot?) There are many things we need to reflect on from this game, such as how we managed the game and the players' conditions. We will carefully assess and use this reflection to focus on each game and accumulate points to stay in the top ranks. So, without thinking too far ahead, we want to prepare for the next game and give our best."

　[Sapporo Miura Coach's Press Conference Summary] "It was a game that started with our pace from the beginning. We were able to aggressively take the ball and move both offensively and defensively on our right side, while the game seemed to be in the form of their left side. It ended in a 0-0 draw, but the first half was not bad in terms of content. I thought we would score in the second half and see what happens after that, but unfortunately, the opponent was able to score with few chances. (What was the cause of the opponent being able to score with few chances?) It's a very difficult question, but soccer is a sport where upsets can happen, and it's not always the team with more chances that wins. FC Tokyo may also lose despite having many chances, so I think that's what happened in this game. If we say it's a difference in strength, then if we lose, we'll be told that, so maybe that's the case."