A crucial match that cannot be lost in pursuit of the top

　In the 16th round of the league, we will face Vissel Kobe away. In the previous round against Shimizu, we achieved two consecutive wins in the league and rose to our highest position of 7th place this season. We aim to return to a balanced record of 7 wins, 1 draw, and 7 losses, and coach Jofuku said, "We absolutely do not want to go backwards from here. It was a tough start to the season, and in order to see it as a learning experience, we need to start with a win from here."

　Kobe, on the other hand, has been struggling with two consecutive losses despite the return of Japan national team MF Yu OKUBO from Germany's VfL Wolfsburg. In addition, head coach CAIO JUNIOR resigned and Masahiro WADA, the team's general manager, took over as the interim coach from this match. However, head coach TERRY warns, "The more accidents there are, the more they will contribute to the team's strength. I think the hurdle to win has increased." The team's core players, such as MF Yu OKUBO, key MF BOTTI, and FW Shigeki MOGI, who has scored 6 goals in the league, will continue to play a central role in the team's style, according to head coach TERRY. Therefore, Gonda emphasizes the importance of sticking to their style and playing their own football from the start of the match, saying, "If we sit back and observe the opponent, it will be a more difficult game. It is important to play our own football from the beginning in order to get a win."

　Tokyo will face the same members as last time. In particular, Cabore, Hirayama, Ishikawa and other attacking players are in good form, and we want to increase the time we possess the ball by improving our decision-making, technical precision, and coordination, and increase the number of times we can use the attacking weapons of our attacking players in the attacking third. Hanyu said, "We want to efficiently pass the ball and enter the dangerous area at the end. The opponent should be uncomfortable when there are many people in dangerous areas," while Nagatomo said, "We have gained confidence in our soccer. If we do it properly, we won't lose."

　June was undefeated in official matches. The only way to join the top group is to continue winning. In order to embody the "summer of counterattack", coach Jofuku showed a strong desire, saying, "We want to turn our struggles into results from here on out. We want to approach the game with a strong mentality." We want to take 3 points even in enemy territory, and continue to chase the top. The match started at 19:04 in Tokyo with a kickoff at Home's Stadium Kobe.

Unable to create scoring opportunities, the game remains scoreless at 0-0.

　In the early stages, the team was unable to demonstrate their Tokyo-like style and the game progressed. In the 4th minute, Ishikawa aimed for a goal with a free kick from outside the central area. This became the team's first shot. Perhaps due to the longer turf, the ball did not stick to the foot and there were also scenes where the ball was taken away from the opponent due to a pass mistake, forcing the team to defend. Even when the ball was brought to the attacking third, they were unable to create chances at the last moment.

　After 20 minutes, Tokyo gradually begins to find its rhythm. In the 22nd minute, Ishikawa steals the ball from the opponent and dribbles through the center. He passes to Hirayama, who has drifted to the right, but his shot is saved by the opponent's GK and results in a corner kick. In the 32nd minute, Cabore on the right side passes to Yonemoto who overlaps into the area. Cabore receives the return pass and takes a shot, but the Kobe defender throws himself in front of it and it goes out for a corner kick. From the resulting corner on the right, the ball is passed to Kajiyama on the opposite side who sends in a cross, but it is also cleared and results in another corner kick.

　In the 41st minute, Tokunaga → Hirayama → Ishikawa from the counter. He took a difficult position and turned around to take a left-footed volley shot. However, it was saved by the opponent's GK and did not result in a goal. In response to the opponent's attack, they calmly defended their goal. FKs from MF Botti and sharp passes to the front line were also cleared by the DF led by Konno. The strong attacks from FW Mogi and MF Okubo were also safely defended, and the first half ended with a score of 0-0.

Ishikawa, with Cabore's goal, gained a valuable 3 points away from home.

　The game started moving in the second half. Early on, Ishikawa made a great long pass from Konno. Although it didn't result in a goal, Tokyo continued to connect passes and look for opportunities to score, even incorporating side changes. Then, in the 50th minute, Hanyu received a pass from Hirayama and passed it to Cabore, who ran into the center and passed it to Ishikawa. He controlled the ball with one touch in a tight space and took a left-footed shot, which landed in the top left corner for a superb goal, giving Tokyo the lead. This marked Ishikawa's fourth consecutive game with a goal.

　Tokyo, who has completely regained their momentum, launches a wave attack. In the 51st minute, Cabore → Hirayama takes a shot from a counter. Although it hits the defender, Yonehara connects the rebound and finally shoots a mid-range shot, but it goes over the crossbar. In the 53rd minute, Hirayama heads away Nagatomo's left throw-in, and Cabore in front of the goal tries to score directly, but it is blocked by the opponent's GK. Then in the 55th minute, Hayashi makes a through pass from near the center line. Cabore reacts to it and calmly avoids GK Enomoto, and scores into the empty goal for an additional point.

　Kobe, on the other hand, tries to turn the tide by making successive substitutions, but Tokyo remains calm and passes rhythmically, not giving up the lead. In the 62nd minute, Hayu, in the 67th minute, Nagatomo, and in the 69th minute, Ishikawa each attack the Kobe goal, but thanks to goalkeeper Enomoto's great save, no additional points are scored. The match ends 2-0. The final number of shots is 19 for Tokyo compared to 4 for Kobe. With stable defense and a calm game in the second half, Tokyo has won 3 consecutive league games and 5 official games, including the Nabisco Cup, and has risen to 5th place.

　【Player Comments】《Yonemoto》"Many acquaintances such as my senior in high school, teammates in the club, and classmates from junior high came to watch, so I was very nervous, but I'm glad we won. Recently, I've been able to exchange passes with Kaji-kun (Kajiyama) and it has become a good combination. Trust has also deepened, so it's very easy to play. I want to support the team with even better combinations. Now, Nao-san is in great shape, so if we defend well and connect passes, I think he will score for us. We've been able to score goals in good form by carrying the ball to the front and passing it to the FW, so I want to continue this momentum. As the coach says, I want to make it a "summer of counterattacks" and I think the supporters also want that, so I want to do my best and aim for the top. (Were you conscious of the match against Kobe?) Rather than the fact that the opponent was Kobe, I was nervous because many acquaintances came to watch (laughs). Kobe came with high motivation and I think it was a very difficult match. I'm not satisfied with just winning today, I want to continue winning."

　"Ishikawa" "I wanted to score early in the first half, but the opponent didn't let us do it easily. It was a difficult start, but I think we were able to patiently and calmly fight in the second half. One of the good things about Tokyo recently is that even if we score in the first half, or even if we are scored against, we are able to calmly enter the second half. That is what we have built up. So there was no panic at all. (What about the goal scene?) First of all, Hayashi-san was watching me closely, and also, even though I had chances in the first half, my traps were a little off, and I couldn't make the trap that would lead to my shot, so I focused on my traps. It stopped exactly where I wanted it to, so I just swung it. I knew the opponent was coming close, and there was no space, but I think my decision to shoot directly or stop and shoot was good. There were some scenes in the first half where I should have shot directly, so it was good that the image came to me quickly. (The team has won three consecutive league games?) We finally got back to a draw, so we didn't want to go back to the beginning in terms of our progress. We finally have more time to play our own soccer, so right now we are only thinking about building up results. We want more wins and more goals. I think Tokyo's attack has a lot of power. Everyone is able to take action even if the ball moves just once, and we are able to connect from the defense. As attackers, we are able to take action well when the ball is moving and take it to the shot, so I think we are doing well as a team. (With today's goal, you are tied for first place in the provisional scoring rankings?) I'm not really conscious of it, but if my goal can help the team win, then that's a good thing. That means my teammates are working hard. I think it's my goal as a result. Personally, when I looked at my number of shots after the game, I had 7. I have to score at least one of them. I'm still not satisfied. There were also chances in the second half. It was good that we were able to score and lead to victory, but there are also many things to reflect on. I want to use those points for the next game. We still have a long way to go."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "It will be the same as last week, but we had a very difficult start in March and April. We returned to a 50-50 record in the previous 15th round, and I told the players that we should have the strength to win in a row when we return to a 50-50 record. We have been working under that motto. We finally returned to a 50-50 record and the players stood on the pitch with the desire not to stop here, not to go back, not to experience that difficult feeling again. I think it was great that we were able to achieve results today and celebrate with the fans who have come a long way with us. (In terms of taking the initiative in both offense and defense, how was today's game?) Strictly speaking, I think there is an initiative in both offense and defense, but basically, I think our time is when we have the ball. With our current skills and judgment, I think we were able to increase that time more today. In the second half, we had scenes where we could have gone to shoot for about 20 minutes, but I think we could have done more with our skills. In terms of defense, we aimed to let the opponent pass or kick the ball in a state that is not their intention, but we still need to reflect on the fact that we left the midfielder free for a long time and need to defend more strictly for the next game."

　[Kobe Wada's press conference summary] "We only had three days until today's match, so we focused on fixing our defense as a team. We have been working on a zone defense based on last year's 4-4-2 formation as our training goal for this week. Most of our players have been with us since last year, so I believe they have absorbed the tactical aspects well. As for today's match, I think we responded well in the first half. However, when Cabore and Hirayama were unable to pick up the long balls, we gave the opponent a chance in a tough situation. We were able to hold on to a 0-0 score in the first half, and in the second half, we wanted to start strong and continue playing well. Unfortunately, we conceded a goal in the 5th minute, and if we had stayed calm and continued to play the same way, we could have held on to a 0-1 score. However, after that goal, our defense was no longer coordinated and we ended up creating situations where we were vulnerable to counterattacks. Our attack also struggled to create good opportunities in the second half. We have been instructing our players to move forward when we win the ball, and I think they had the desire to do so. We were trying to focus on being the first defender, but we ended up trying too hard to win the ball and our coordination fell apart, leading to weaknesses. We changed our tactics suddenly, and although the players absorbed it and played in today's match, the result was not what we wanted. We were up against a strong team like FC Tokyo, and I think the first half was our best effort. We want to train for the next week and make sure that those 45 minutes can last for 90 minutes."