I want to finish the last game with a victory at home.

　In the 11th round of the league, Kyoto Sanga F.C. will face off against each other at Ajinomoto Stadium. In the previous round, they fought evenly against Hiroshima but ended up with their first scoreless game of the season, dropping back to 15th place. In this round, they want to take control of the game at home and score at all costs. It will be a crucial match to end the Golden Week's 5-game streak with a victory.

　However, around the time when the team's fatigue reaches its peak. In the practice three days after the previous match, coach Shirofuku explained his aim as "focusing on the minimum things to confirm within the limited time". They conducted focused training, taking into consideration Kyoto's set plays, power play countermeasures, and how to approach the game depending on the flow of the match.

　Kyoto, on the other hand, is currently in 12th place with 12 points. Like Tokyo, they have 4 wins and 6 losses, with no draws. This will be a match between two teams that can adapt to their opponents' playstyles. At the same time, their attacking power with FW Diego and Paulinho is a threat, as they can create a rhythm with their movement when they have the ball. Additionally, their DF players are tall and strong, making it difficult to simply cross the ball into the box. They will likely try to use their speed and exploit spaces to their advantage.

　Tokyo, with Hirayama starting for the first time since the March 25th Nabisco Kashiwa game, will face the game with a formation of Akamine and 2 top. The match started at 2:04 pm with Tokyo's kickoff under clear weather where you can feel the heat in the sun.

Hirayama starts from the front line! But despite dominating Kyoto by controlling the rhythm...

　Diego, a FW, connects with a left cross from Kyoto's FW Paulinho in the 5th minute, and MF Sato drops it in the area. From there, FW Hayashi takes a volley shot. However, this shot misses the frame, and afterwards, Tokyo takes control and overwhelms Kyoto. Hirayama is often the starting point on the front line, and makes bold moves to exploit the spaces of Ishikawa, Hanyu, and others. In the 12th minute, Ishikawa breaks through the right side with a sharp move and sends a ground cross to the center. However, just before it reaches Hirayama, it is cut off by Kyoto's DF and becomes a CK. Ishikawa takes the CK and Hirayama takes a well-timed header shot, but it narrowly misses the frame.

　15 minutes, Nagamine attacked the left side and ran past Kyoto DF Mashima, and rushed into the left area. However, the shot just missed the goal. In the 30th minute, Ishikawa received a vertical pass from Yonemoto and turned around to aim for a loop, but it also went to the upper left. In the 31st minute, Kajiyama → Ishikawa crossed with his left foot after cutting through the DF, and Hirayama scored. From the resulting corner kick, Hirayama headed the ball freely. In the following 33rd minute, Hirayama made a move in the center and passed to Akamine on the right. Akamine tried to shoot with one touch, but...

　At 35 minutes, Hirayama started on the left side and Hayashi ran inside and entered the area. He shot with speed, but the ball grazed the opponent's GK and hit the right post... At 38 minutes, Ishikawa ran into the right area from the side and crossed with Tokunaga, swinging his left foot... He created many scoring opportunities and took 12 shots in the first half, but couldn't score. They focused on defense and didn't allow Kyoto any real chances, and the first half ended 0-0.

Ends in a draw for the first time this season with two consecutive scoreless games

　The pace of Tokyo did not change in the second half. Kyoto also tried to counterattack with FW Diego at the center, but Konno and Bruno QUADROS consistently snuffed out the danger and connected to their own attacks. However, the time continues without being able to decide on chances. In the 59th minute, Ohata was substituted for Hayashi. In the 63rd minute, Ohata dribbled past the attacking line with precise passes near the area, but in the end, it was cut off and Kyoto suffered a counterattack. However, Kyoto FW Diego's last pass was cut off by Konno.

　Kyoto made a substitution in the 62nd minute, replacing MF Hayashi with DF Nakatani to strengthen their defense. In response, Tokyo made a substitution in the 67th minute, with Suzuki coming on for Akamine. Shortly after, Suzuki made a run around the right area and attempted a cross from a deep position! Hirayama headed the ball perfectly, but unfortunately it missed the target. In the 70th minute, Ishikawa made a run up the left side and beat the opposing DF, passing to Hirayama in the center. Hirayama faked a shot in the area and attempted to pass it inside, but it was blocked by the opposing DF...

　In the 72nd minute, Suzuki made a quick attack and dribbled fiercely. The shot he took after skillfully cutting back the opposing DF in front of the left area was saved in the lower left corner of the goal. In the 74th minute, Kondo was substituted for Ishikawa. They bravely attacked using player substitutions, but as the remaining time decreased, they seemed to become anxious and were often called for fouls during their attacks, which did not lead to any decisive chances. In the 85th minute, from a free kick earned after Kondo was brought down in front of the left area, Otake -> Suzuki -> Otake threw the ball into the front line, but it did not reach Hirayama and was cleared by the Kyoto DF.

　Kyoto's counterattack was safely shut out by Konno and Bruno QUADROS, but in terms of shots, Tokyo fired 19 shots (7 in the second half) against Kyoto's 9, but the "one goal" was far away... In the second consecutive game without scoring, they were only able to get 1 point at home. The results of the 5 consecutive games during the Golden Week period were 2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses.

　【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"I think we were able to create chances with our own style of soccer. We were able to move the ball around and play the way we wanted to. We just needed to finish our chances. That's where the big regret lies. There was no optimistic atmosphere of "we'll get it someday" and I also thought that I needed to come up with one more idea in the final moments. However, there were also moments where we took shots too easily even though there were a lot of attacking players, so I think we all could have been a bit more aware of the situation and made more calm decisions..."《Imano》"It's disappointing and frustrating that we couldn't score. On the defensive side, we have confidence in keeping a clean sheet. We've had a lot of goals conceded in the past, so we want to continue having as many clean sheet games as possible. In order to score, we're trying various things like short corners and movements on the side, and we're also getting ideas from the coach. We haven't scored in two consecutive games, but I'm sure we'll be happy when we can break through in the future. I think it's important to keep trying with this goal in mind."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "The team is currently in a difficult situation and we have not been able to meet the expectations of our fans. The players approached today's match with a strong determination. As a result, we lost 2 points and it is very frustrating. Everyone worked hard and created opportunities, but we were unable to score and this often puts a strain on our defense. However, today our defense held on well. We were able to withstand the pressure from the opponent's attacks and even managed to handle the loose balls. However, it is disappointing that we were unable to score and we need to address this issue. If we continue to struggle like this, our defense will not be able to hold on. In order to earn 3 points, finishing is crucial. We cannot just wait for someone else to do it, we have to keep working hard ourselves. (How can we improve our finishing?) In the past, we have struggled with the final touch, but today we took a step forward. From there, we need to not just drop the ball, but also look forward, make quick decisions, and improve the accuracy of our final touch. Of course, mentality is important. It's not enough to just rely on our mentality, but each and every one of us needs to have a strong determination and approach the game. We don't need to be discouraged as we continue to work hard and create chances by connecting passes."

　[Kyoto - Coach Kato's Press Conference Summary] "We didn't move our bodies much from the start and felt that our reactions were slow. Tokyo was better at winning the ball at the edge of the box, not just because of our players' physicality, but also because of their quick movements and sharpness. We were pushed back. Especially on the defensive side, when the ball went to Hirayama and Akamine, our center-backs easily let them turn. As a result, we gave them time to move the ball to the sides from the second line. There were also times when we were too passive. However, we did well to hold on in the first half. We needed to adjust our positioning, so it was good to end the first half without conceding any goals. In the second half, we moved right-back Mashima a bit more centrally and instructed midfielder Watanabe to drop back and close the space on the sides. Also, since Ishikawa was often drifting to the right, I told left-back Tsunoda to take a course that would allow him to mark Ishikawa earlier. Today, we wanted to create a solid block and quickly utilize the speed of FW Paulinho when we won the ball. Our basic strategy was to launch counter-attacks from FW Diego and FW Paulinho. However, Paulinho's speed was well contained by player Konno. We wanted to take advantage of the moment when Tokyo's full-backs pushed up and left a gap in the backline, but even when Paulinho tried to take them on, Konno was able to contain him well. We ended up with a 0-0 draw, but it was an away game and the players did their best. I think they did well to earn one point from Tokyo."