A match we can't afford to lose in pursuit of the top

　In Sec. 16 of the league, we will face Vissel Kobe away. After winning two consecutive league matches against Shimizu in the previous round, we have risen to our season-high of 7th place. With a record of 7 wins, 1 draw, and 7 losses, we have leveled our win-loss ratio. Coach Jofuku stated, "I absolutely do not want to regress from here. The beginning of the season has been tough, and for it to be seen as a painful birth, we need to start accumulating wins from here; otherwise, it means nothing."

　Kobe, despite the return of Japan national team MF Yu OKUBO from VfL Wolfsburg in Germany, continues to struggle with two consecutive losses. In this situation, head coach CAIO JUNIOR has resigned, and from this match onward, Masahiro WADA, the team general manager, has taken on the role of interim coach. However, Coach Jofuku has heightened his caution, stating, "The more accidents there are, the more they become a strength for the team. I think the hurdles to winning have increased." With key players like MF Okubo, defensive and offensive linchpin MF Botti, and FW Mogi, who has scored six goals in the league, the way of playing is "unlikely to change significantly" (Coach Jofuku). Therefore, Gonda emphasized, "If we wait and see how the opponent plays, it will make the match even more difficult. It is important to play our own style from the start of the match as a necessary condition for victory."

　Tokyo will approach the match with the same lineup as the previous game. In particular, the attacking players such as Cabore, Hirayama, and Ishikawa are in good form, and by enhancing their decision-making, technical precision, and coordination, they aim to increase the time they hold the ball and the number of times they can utilize their attacking weapons in the attacking third. Hayabusa stated, "We want to circulate the ball efficiently and enter the final dangerous area. The more people there are in dangerous areas, the more the opponent will dislike it," while Nagatomo expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "We have gained confidence in our soccer. If we perform well, I don't feel like we will lose."

　In June, we achieved a perfect record in official matches. The only way to join the upper group is to keep winning with momentum. To embody the "Summer of Counterattack," Coach Jofuku expressed a strong desire, saying, "We want to turn our struggles into results from here. We want to approach this with a strong mindset." With an early lead in wins and aiming to chase the top, we want to secure all three points even in enemy territory. The match started at 19:04 Tokyo time at NOEVIR Stadium Kobe.

Unable to create scoring opportunities, ending the first half at 0-0

　In the early stages, the team struggled to showcase the Tokyo style as the match progressed. In the 4th minute, Ishikawa aimed for the goal from a free kick outside the central area. This was the team's first shot. Perhaps due to the longer grass, the ball just slipped away from his foot at the last moment, leading to a pass mistake that allowed the opponent to take possession and put the defense under pressure. Even when they managed to carry the ball into the attacking third, they couldn't create a chance at the crucial 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 moved to the right, and although he takes a shot, it is saved well by the opponent's GK, resulting in a corner kick. In the 32nd minute, a pass comes from Cabore on the right side to Yonemoto, who overlaps into the area. Cabore receives the return pass and takes a shot, but the Kobe defender throws himself in the way to deflect it for a corner kick. From that right corner kick, the ball goes to Kajiyama on the opposite side, who sends in a cross, but this too is cleared for another corner kick.

　In the 41st minute, from a counter-attack, Tokunaga passed to Taira, who then passed to Ishikawa. Ishikawa attempted a volley shot with his left foot from a difficult position. However, this was also thwarted by a great save from the opposing goalkeeper, resulting in no goal. In response to the opponent's attacks, we maintained a calm defense to keep the goal secure. Free kicks from MF Botti and sharp passes to the front line were cleared by the DF line, centered around Konno. The aggressive attacks from FW Mogi and MF Yu OKUBO were also defended without any issues, and ultimately, we went into halftime with a score of 0-0.

Ishikawa and Cabore scored to pull ahead and secured a valuable 3 points away.

　The match changed in the second half. Right from the start, Ishikawa made a powerful strike from a long pass by Konno. Although it didn't result in a goal, they continued to connect the ball in a Tokyo-style, incorporating side changes to look for a goal. Then, in the 50th minute, Hanyu received the ball passed from Hirayama to Cabore, and ran into the center towards Ishikawa. He brought it into a narrow space with a one-touch and skillfully controlled the floating ball for a left-footed shot! The ball pierced the top left of the goal for a super goal, taking the lead. With this, Ishikawa scored in four consecutive matches.

　Having completely regained momentum, Tokyo launches a wave attack. In the 51st minute, from a counter, Cabore passes to Hirayama who shoots. It hits the defender but the rebound is connected, and finally, Yonemoto takes a shot from distance but it goes over the goal. In the 53rd minute, Nagatomo's left throw-in is headed by Hirayama, and Cabore in front of the goal attempts a direct shot but is saved by the opposing GK. Then in the 55th minute, Hanyu makes a through pass from near the center line. Cabore reacts to this, calmly evades the advancing GK Enomoto, and rolls the ball into the empty net for an additional goal.

　Kobe tried to regain momentum by making substitutions one after another, but Tokyo calmly passed the ball in rhythm and did not relinquish control. In the 62nd minute, Hanyu, in the 67th minute, Nagatomo, and in the 69th minute, Ishikawa all threatened the Kobe goal, but thanks to a great save by goalkeeper Enomoto, they could not add to their score. The match ended 2-0. The final shot count was 19 for Tokyo compared to 4 for Kobe. With stable defense and a calm approach in the second half, Tokyo achieved their third consecutive league victory, making it five consecutive wins in official matches including the Nabisco Cup, and rose to 5th place.

　[Player Comment] <Yonemoto> "I was very nervous because many acquaintances, such as seniors from high school, club teammates, and middle school classmates, came to watch, but I'm glad we won. Recently, I've been able to exchange passes with Kaji-kun (Kajiyama), and we have a good combination. Our trust has deepened, so it's very easy to play together. I want to support the team with an even better combination. Nao-san is in great form right now, so if we defend well, connect the play, and bring the ball to the front of the goal, I believe he will score. We have been delivering the ball well to the forwards near the goal, and from there, scoring in good situations, so I want to keep this momentum going. As the coach said, we want to make this the 'summer of counterattack,' and I think the supporters want that too, so we will work hard to aim for the top ranks. (Were you conscious of the match against Kobe?) More than the fact that the opponent was Kobe, I was nervous because many acquaintances came to watch (laughs). Everyone from Kobe came with high motivation, and I think it was a very difficult match. I won't be satisfied with today's win and want to steadily accumulate victories."

　"I wanted to score early in the first half, but the opponent didn’t let us. It was a difficult start, but I think we patiently and calmly fought in the second half. One of Tokyo’s strengths recently is that whether we score or concede in the first half, we remain very composed going into the second half. That’s because of what we have built up ourselves. So there was no rush at all. (About the goal scene?) First, Hanyu saw it well, and also, although there were chances in the first half, my traps were slightly off, and I wasn’t able to trap the ball in a way that connected to my shooting image, so I focused on my trapping first. The ball stopped exactly where I expected, so I followed through with the shot. I knew the opponent was closing in, and although there was no space, I think my decision whether to shoot directly or control and shoot was good. There were moments in the first half when shooting directly would have been better, so it was good that image came to mind quickly. (The team has won three consecutive league matches?) We finally got back to even, and I didn’t want to revert during the building-up phase. Now, we finally have longer periods where we can play our football, so right now, all I’m thinking about is accumulating results. I want more wins and more goals. I think Tokyo’s current attack is powerful. Everyone reacts as soon as the ball moves, and we can connect well from the defense. As attackers, we are able to make good moves when the ball is moved to us and bring it to a shot, and I think the team is doing that well. (You are now tied for the top scorer in the ranking with today’s goal?) I don’t really think about it, but if my goals help the team win, that’s a good thing. It means the others are working hard too. I think my goals are a result of that. Personally, after the match, I saw I had seven shots. I absolutely had to score at least one of them. I’m still not satisfied. There were chances in the second half too. It was good to score and lead to victory, but I have many points to reflect on. I want to use those reflections for the next match. I still have a long way to go."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "It will be the same as the previous match, but we had a very tough start in March and April. We evened out our record in Sec. 15 of the previous match, and I told the players, 'When we even out our record, we should have the strength to achieve consecutive wins.' We have been working under that motto. Finally, having evened out our record, we do not want to stop progressing here, we do not want to go backward, and we never want to experience that hardship again. I believe the players stood on the pitch with that mindset, and actually being able to get results today and celebrate together with the fans who have come a long way without stopping is very good. (Regarding playing a game where we control both offense and defense, how was today's match?) Strictly speaking, control involves both offense and defense, but basically, our time is when we have the ball. With our current skills and judgment, I think we could have increased that time today. In the second half, there were about 20 minutes where we had chances to shoot, but with our skills, I believe we could have done more. Defensively, we aimed to make the opponent circulate the ball in a way that was not their intention, forcing them to pass or kick under pressure. However, there were still long periods when the central midfielders were left free, and we need to do tougher defending. We must reflect on these points moving forward."

　[Summary of Coach Wada's Press Conference, Kobe] "We only had three days until today's match, so as a team we had to focus on correcting our defense. We worked on zone defense based on last year's 4-4-2 formation as this week's training task. Most of the players have been with us since last year, so I believe they have properly absorbed the tactical aspects. Regarding today's match, especially in the first half, I think we responded well. However, when long balls were played to Cabore and Hirayama and the second balls were picked up by the opponent, it created some tough situations and gave the opponent chances. We managed to keep the score at 0-0 by halftime, and in the second half, we aimed to start strong and play solidly again. We conceded a goal five minutes into the second half, but if we had calmly continued the same style of play, we might have held on to 0-1 a bit longer. However, after that goal, our defense lost coordination, and we ended up in situations where we desperately tried to recover the ball but got caught on counterattacks. Offensively, we struggled to create good opportunities in the second half. This week, I instructed the players to push forward once they regained possession, and I think they showed plenty of willingness to do so. Defensively, we tried to be thorough with the first defender's role, but the players tried too hard to win the ball, which disrupted our coordination and caused breakdowns, especially in the second half. The players adapted to the sudden tactical changes and approached today's match accordingly. Although it would have been better if we had gotten results, I think the first half was the best we could do against a strong and energetic FC Tokyo. We will train for another week so that the level of play we showed in those 45 minutes can be sustained for the full 90 minutes."