Welcoming Chiba at home National with a sense of crisis

　In the 6th round of the league, we will face JEF United Chiba at the Japan National Stadium. In the previous round against Kashima, we showed a strong fight but were unable to secure a victory. Coach Shirofuku expressed concern, saying, "The challenges we have been working on as a team were evident in the first 15 minutes. They have not been resolved."

　And in order to break this situation, he continued, "It is necessary to change the combination of members once again and to have a sense of responsibility and crisis individually under intense competition." In this round, the members were changed from the previous round, and Imakano was placed as a center back, and Yonemoto, who made his first professional start, was appointed as a defensive midfielder. Kondo will lead the front line in this formation.

　Chiba, on the other hand, has yet to win in the league with 3 draws and 2 losses. However, coach Jofuku is not letting his guard down, saying "Under coach Miller, they will come up with a solid plan to suppress our opponent's strong points." Above all, their strong determination and eagerness to win in crucial matches has already been proven in the final match of last season. In order to achieve victory, it is essential to not just defend against Chiba's strong determination, but also to stay focused from the beginning of the match.

　Chiba is also sharp on the counter, with FW Maki and FW Fukai making bold runs after receiving passes. MF Kudo's movements are also skillful, and we want to make sure we don't let them play easily. In attack, we need to break through Chiba's compact DF based on the wide shape we showed in the Kashima game. Our goal is, of course, to win 3 points, but we want to take advantage of our chances and gradually build up, ideally scoring 2 or more goals. Under the spring-like weather, the National Stadium is shrouded in the evening darkness. The match started at 7:04 pm with Chiba's kickoff.

Taking control on the right side, Ishikawa scores the first goal of the season!

　From the beginning, both teams showed intense fighting spirit and went towards the ball. The game continued with both teams kicking back and forth, but Ishikawa fought well on both offense and defense, creating chances from the right side. In the 6th minute, Tokunaga was fouled on the right side, earning a free kick. Ishikawa pretended to kick a lob and instead passed it on the ground to Kondo just outside the box, but the kick was weak and they couldn't time it right. In the 9th minute, Cabore stole the loose ball and dribbled up to the right side, where Ishikawa caught up and passed it to Tokunaga who had moved up to support. From there, Kajiyama volleyed the cross from the far side, but it went straight to the opponent's GK.

　At 15 minutes, Chiba's long pass was securely dropped by FW Maki, and MF Kudo advanced from the position of the midfielder to create a shot, but Gonda caught it. In the 18th minute, Yonemoto cleared the pass to Chiba's front line with a header. Kajiyama received this and passed it to Cabore, who then passed it back to Kajiyama. Kajiyama then passed it to Ishikawa, who was drifting to the left. Ishikawa dribbled into the middle and skillfully avoided the defenders before taking a shot with his right foot! The shot grazed the goalkeeper's hand and went into the top right corner. Ishikawa's powerful first goal of the season gives the lead!

　At 20 minutes, Chiba received a quick attack and FW Lins was released to the front line, but Nagatomo stopped it. From the resulting FK, they were attacked in front of the goal, but the defense cleared it with their bodies. There was also a save by Gonda, and they were able to defend the subsequent CK. At 26 minutes, Kondo broke through to the front line and took a powerful shot, but couldn't find the target. At 38 minutes, Ishikawa caught up to a long side change pass and connected with Hayashi, who had moved up on the outside. They showed good teamwork, but the ball sent in by Hayashi hit the opposing DF. They couldn't capitalize on the chance, but they remained calm on defense and held off Chiba's powerful counterattack, leading by one goal going into the second half.

Lost 2 points in the last 5 minutes and suffered a comeback defeat...

　In the second half, Chiba quickly grasped the rhythm. However, Tokyo calmly defended and gradually took control of the pace with their speedy attacks. In the 53rd minute, Kondo made a solid post play and Hanyu, who had moved up to the front line, pulled the defenders and quickly spread the ball to the left. Cabore swung his right foot from just outside the central area, but was stopped by a great save from Chiba's GK, resulting in a corner kick. Cabore then connected with the clearance from this corner kick and finally, Tokunaga's shot from the left area found the back of the net, but it was disallowed due to an offside call. In the 56th minute, Kondo received a vertical pass and attempted a shot from a difficult angle, but it was once again saved by the GK.

　As time passed without being able to score an additional goal, Chiba substituted MF Tanizawa for MF Yonekura in the 63rd minute. Tokyo also substituted Suzuki for Ishikawa in the 64th minute. In the 67th minute, Chiba's FW Fukai sprinted from the left side and shot towards the center. The ball was deflected by Tokyo's DF and narrowly missed the goal, causing a tense moment. After that, the game became more intense with both teams exchanging counter attacks. In the 69th minute, Chiba substituted Asari for Yonekura in an attempt to calm the game down.

　However, in front of Chiba's determination, there were chances for both teams to score. In the 78th minute, Thales was substituted for Cabore. They tried to press from the front, but in the 82nd minute, Chiba stole the ball in the midfield and launched a counterattack. The ball was floated into the Tokyo goal, and FW Maki headed it. The ball went over the outstretched hand of goalkeeper Gonda and hit the crossbar... It was a breath-taking moment, but they were also helped by a mistake.

　However, in the 86th minute, from Chiba's MF Tanizawa's throw-in, MF Alex, who had moved up to the deep left side, passed to the center with a ground pass. This took advantage of Tokyo DF's gap and reached FW Maki, who was free in front of the goal. This was kicked in with a sliding tackle, resulting in a goal... During the restart, their feet stopped and they allowed an equalizer.

　Tokyo, who desperately wanted a victory at home, went on the attack in the remaining stoppage time, but instead Chiba threw a long ball and connected it to the front line with a header from Chiba GK's long kick to Chiba FW Maki. They were unable to take this ball away, and were stuck with FW Fukai → MF Tanihara → FW Fukai being sent out to the right area. This was surely scored, and all was lost... In the end, Chiba never gave up and took advantage of the moment when Tokyo's feet stopped, scoring 2 points in the last minute for a shocking comeback win. They suffered their second consecutive loss at home...

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"It's frustrating and there are a lot of things I need to reflect on. On the other hand, there were also parts where I was able to do well. It's important to not lose sight of that and continue to work towards results while trying different things. We also had a tough time last year and I felt really frustrated in today's match against Kashima. I believe this frustration will make both the team and individuals stronger. As for scoring, we missed some close chances in the previous match, so I'm glad I was able to stay calm and score. However, both myself and the team have been struggling to score a second goal. Our defense has been working hard, but it's still tough when we only have one goal. (Were there harsh voices from the supporters?) That just shows how passionate they are in supporting us. As players, we take those voices seriously and will continue to work towards receiving applause from them. It's frustrating, but we have no choice but to keep going."《Yonemoto》"Personally, I think I had some good plays and my body was moving well. I was determined to give my all and fight until my legs cramped, so in that sense, it was good... But it's disappointing and frustrating that the team lost. I approached the game thinking that my main responsibility was to defend in the midfield. I think I was able to do well in that aspect, but I was only able to make one pass that led to an attack. In the future, I want to be more proactive and involved in the ball as a plus alpha. And I want to be able to add more rhythm to the team. Today, I felt that our lack of technique was more of an issue than our physical condition. I want to use this frustration from the loss as motivation and work hard towards the next match."

　[Manager Jofuku's Press Conference Summary] "Very disappointing. I am sorry to have made the fans feel frustrated. (What was the intention of the player substitution?) Some players were tired or had minor accidents with their condition or feet. There were also substitutions made with the intention of conveying a tactical message. (Did you panic when the opponent targeted the back of the defense?) We were in a leading position, so we knew the opponent would attack. We should have stayed calm and defended properly... In a situation where we could have scored a second goal, I think we went a little too far when we made the third substitution and the switch was turned on. Both in terms of numbers and consciousness, we went too far forward. Even if it is said that the message did not get across in the end, there is nothing we can do about it."

　[Chiba Alex Miller Press Conference Summary] "I think the first half was an even game, but we couldn't keep possession and lost the ball easily, which allowed the opponent to attack easily. Even when we had the ball, we only made 1-2 passes before losing it again and being attacked repeatedly. In the second half, the players started to press the opponent more, and we were able to win the ball back and make good attacking movements, using the sides more. In the last 15 minutes, we completely dominated the game. As for the second half, our defense did well against Tokyo's counterattacks, especially DF Sakamoto, who played as a center back after switching from the right side. Sakamoto is an experienced player. Tokyo's number 18 was trying to exploit the space behind DF Aoki, but Aoki responded well. So we kept Aoki in that position and moved Sakamoto to the right side. In the previous few games, the players were in good form, so they should have known what kind of play was expected of them. In that sense, we were able to handle Tokyo well."