United as a team, let's achieve victory towards advancing in the qualifiers

In the Nabisco Cup qualifying league Sec. 4, we will face Kyoto SANGA F.C. away. In the previous league match against Kawasaki, we suffered a frustrating comeback loss, but we will not dwell on the shock of defeat and will approach this match with a fresh mindset, both mentally and physically. With only 3 matches left in the qualifying league, we will continue to face "must-win matches" for a chance to advance to the final tournament.

　Kyoto, on the other hand, is currently at the bottom of the table with three losses in three matches in the Nabisco Cup. If they lose today, their hopes of advancing in the qualifiers will be dashed, so they are expected to come in with a must-win mentality. Above all, the players to watch out for are the counterattacks led by forwards PAULINHO and Diego. Although they conceded three goals in the match against Kawasaki, the key will be whether they can demonstrate their previously stable defensive capabilities. In the league match on May 9, despite having the upper hand, they ended in a 0-0 draw without breaking through Kyoto's solid defense, but they want to break down that strong defense with diverse tactics and ingenuity.

　Tokyo has seen the injuries of Moniwa and Hanyu. Bruno QUADROS will be suspended for the Nabisco match this round due to his red card in the Kawasaki match. Additionally, with Nagatomo and Konno absent for the Japan national team, the final line-up will feature Sahara and Hiramatsu as center-backs, with Tokunaga and Mukuhara as the left and right full-backs. In left midfield, Tanabe will start in place of Hanyu. Tanabe expressed his determination, saying, "I feel more mentally prepared than during my first appearance in the Chiba match. I want to focus on moving forward and actively take on challenges without fearing mistakes." Meanwhile, Shiota, who is steadily improving his condition, has also made the squad for the first time this season.

　Coach Jofuku stated, "The individuality of the players is clearly different, so no one can play exactly the same way as someone else. Rather than becoming passive out of fear of conceding goals, I hope each player can demonstrate their strong points and professionalism with confidence." He expects the players to showcase their strengths. Although they will be approaching with a fresh lineup, they aim to create new competition, elevate the team's overall performance, leverage individual strengths to secure victories, and make significant progress towards advancing in the qualifiers! The match started at 14:00 with a kickoff in Tokyo at Nishikyogoku, where the sun was strong and the humidity was high.

Ishikawa scores in consecutive matches to take the lead!

　From the start, both teams were vying for the ball in a back-and-forth battle. Nevertheless, Tokyo calmly moved the ball to create rhythm and launched attacks starting from Ishikawa and Tanabe. Then, in the 12th minute, Tanabe attempted to break through with a dribble just before the area, and although he was blocked by the opposing defender, Mukuhara connected with the loose ball and passed it back to Tanabe, who ran into the area again. Ishikawa met the right cross from there and struck a well-controlled volley with his right foot into the goal! Tanabe and Mukuhara's decisive plays, along with Ishikawa's consecutive goals following the match against Kawasaki, gave them the lead.

　Taking this opportunity, Tokyo seized the pace and advanced the match favorably. In the 20th minute, a pass from Tanabe on the left side reached Hirayama, who ran behind the defense for a shot. However, the ball lacked power and was caught by the goalkeeper. In the 23rd minute, a cross from Kajiyama found Tokunaga on the left side. Here, Tokunaga completely broke free with a one-two with Cabore and fiercely advanced into the area, but could not take a shot and resulted in a left corner kick. From the second right corner kick, Hirayama headed the ball but it went wide of the target.

　Kyoto brought in MF Futoshi NAKAMURA in the 27th minute, changing their formation to contain Tokyo. As a result, Tokyo was unable to mount an effective attack and faced a counterattack from Kyoto in the latter stages. In the 41st minute, Kyoto's MF Diego entered the area. Receiving a vertical pass, he immediately turned and took a right-footed shot. The ball hit the crossbar. PAULINHO was there to follow up, but his shot went wide of the target. Kyoto's attack continued, but Tokyo defended calmly and did not concede a goal. They headed into the second half with a one-goal lead.

Unable to score additional points, allowed a goal and ended in a draw

　In the second half, as the humidity gradually decreased the players' energy, the match continued with back-and-forth attacks. In the 50th minute, Tanabe dribbled up the center of the opponent's half and connected to the right side, where Ishikawa delivered a decisive last pass to the center. However, Hirayama in the center and Cabore at the far post were slightly off-timing and could not make contact. In the 53rd minute, Kyoto forward PAULINHO reacted to a last pass to the center and took a free, decisive shot, but Gonda made a great save to avert the crisis.

　In the 59th minute, Tokyo's Hirayama persisted on the left side and passed to Cabore in front of the goal. He dropped it to Ishikawa, who ran into the center of the area for a shot. However, it was blocked by the defender and cleared. In the 63rd minute, Ishikawa broke through on the right side and delivered a ground cross. Hirayama acted as a decoy in front of the goal, allowing Cabore to create a decisive opportunity, but his shot was denied by the goalkeeper. In the 64th minute, Kyoto brought in forward Yanagisawa, and Tokyo replaced Cabore with Suzuki, followed by Akamine coming on for Tanabe.

　In the 68th minute, from a counter-attack, Ishikawa passed to Mukuhara, who dribbled up the right side and took a shot. Hayama seized the rebound from the GK in the left area and aimed boldly, but it went straight to the GK. However, in the 69th minute, a free kick was awarded in the Tokyo half, and Kyoto quickly restarted, allowing FW Yanagisawa to break through behind the defensive line and score. Until then, Tokyo had been defending well, centered around Gonda, but they were caught off guard and equalized. Still, they remained calm, connected passes, and aimed for chances, but it did not bear fruit, resulting in a 1-1 draw. They only managed to earn one point away.

　【Player Comments】<Ishikawa> "Today, we had a plan to keep a high defensive awareness and score at least one goal from set pieces to win. We also anticipated that if we took the lead, we would pull back and hold on... In the first half, Yone, Yohei, Sota, and Kusamin controlled the rhythm in midfield, and I think Cabore and I were able to get involved and create chances. After that, we retreated too early and lost the ability to create opportunities up front. As a result, the game was tied, and Kyoto launched a counterattack. It would have been best to finish 1-0... Regarding the conceded goal, we were very cautious about restarts, but I think there was a momentary lack of communication and coordination. We should not have lost concentration. I was able to appear in a good position for the goal. The switching with Kusamin on the left and right was smooth, Kusamin skillfully created the rhythm, and ultimately looked for me. I was thinking about the third player's movement. (Two consecutive games scoring, leading scorer in the team?) I don't really focus on the total number of goals... Rather, there are always one or two chances per game. If I can steadily score in those moments, that will accumulate." <Gonda> "We conceded from restarts in two consecutive games and repeated the same mistake... Everyone needs to raise their awareness and fight harder. We should have stopped play with the wall, and I think we were too soft in responding to FW Yanagisawa's movements. However, even with changes in the lineup today, we were able to play our style of football, moving the ball and playing the same way as before. I had no problems coordinating with Hide-san and Matsu-san, and we were able to circulate the ball and create chances like that. We knew Kyoto would press from the front in the second half, and we tried to counter that by creating opportunities up front. As intended, I think we were able to aim behind and take shots. We want to continue the good parts and work hard to win the next two home games."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "If we could get 3 points today, it would be a great advantage to advance from the group league, so we absolutely wanted to get those 3 points, and that was the mindset we entered the game with. However, we did not expect it to be an easy match, and we thought it would be a close game with a one-goal difference. Despite the extremely high humidity, we focused on moving the ball to tire out the opponent and create chances. Even though the lineup in the first half was quite different from the previous match, I think each player took on the challenge. By the 15th to 20th minute of the second half, our ongoing issue—the second goal—remained unresolved despite several big chances, making the situation difficult, and the current J League does not allow the game to end easily like that. Also, since this was an away game, we expected a tight match like this. If we cannot seal the game with a second goal, it can go either way until the end. However, until the very end, the new members showed determination by blocking shots and expressing themselves physically. I think a draw away is not the worst result. We want to make this result count by returning home and steadily accumulating points in the next two matches. (Regarding the goals conceded from quick restarts) I did not see it with my own eyes as it happened during substitutions, but it was confirmed that the marking handover was unclear. Of course, we paid maximum attention to restarts, and we knew Kyoto uses restarts, including throw-ins, as a weapon, so it is very disappointing to have conceded a goal. While we regret not scoring additional goals, we also want to strive to become a team that can hold on to a 1-0 lead and show that to our fans."

　[Summary of Kyoto Coach Kato's Press Conference] "The result ended 1-1, but honestly, it's disappointing as we wanted to get 3 points. However, regarding the content of the game, we gradually became able to express the style of football we want to play. Various players showed a decent performance in today's match, including young players who had fewer opportunities and Yanagisawa, who had been away from actual matches due to injury. I think it was a positive match for the team moving forward. We had several goal chances, and it was really just a little before the door opened. The goal was born from the improvisation and the sense shared between Diego and Yanagisawa. It was a gritty goal, and Yanagisawa scoring in his comeback match gave the team a good image and a sense that things are heading in the right direction. (Regarding the timing and instructions for Yanagisawa's substitution) As for timing, I wanted him to play about 30 minutes after observing the flow of the game. In that sense, before Yanagisawa came on, we had several goal chances and the flow was not bad, so I delayed his entry a bit. Honestly, I was thinking of bringing him on a little earlier. Since we couldn't score and the momentum shifted to the other side, I thought this was the right moment and brought him on then. The movements of top players PAULINHO and Toyoda themselves were not bad, so I replaced Tejima with Yanagisawa. Tactically, it was not a substitution in the same position, but the balance was not disrupted, and I think the development of the game changed. I instructed Yanagisawa to touch the ball once from the second line or deeper, then open wide, and afterwards move into the area in front of the goal, but I didn't give him many other instructions."