August's final league match, aiming to rise up with a victory at home

　Two-thirds of the league season has passed, and in the 24th round, we will face Oita Trinita at Ajinomoto Stadium. As we enter the final days of August, the team has not had a victory since the match against Omiya on July 18th, and it can be said that we are in a difficult situation. In this round, we must win at home no matter what, and use it as a stepping stone for the upcoming Nabisco Cup and the final stretch of the league, in order to turn things around.

　Oita, who they will face, is currently in a difficult situation in 18th place. They welcomed new coach Popovich from the 19th section, but have since suffered 1 win and 4 losses. However, they aim to escape from the bottom with possession soccer, moving the ball and connecting passes. Coach Shirofuku says, "They have good players in the front line, including the outside. When the ball is built up and enters them in a good situation, they are quite scary. We are cautious," and shares his impression.

　However, Tokyo should have the upper hand in possession and take control of the game by connecting passes and attacking. They want to limit "Oita's time" by dominating possession and preventing their attacks. The key to their attack will be scoring the first goal. If Tokyo can score first, they can take advantage of Oita's attempts to come forward. This will make it easier for them to control the game.

　In the last 5 games, we have not been able to score 2 goals and have struggled, but this round, Ishikawa makes his long-awaited return and starts for the first time since the Kawasaki game on August 1st. Coach Jofuku explains the current situation, saying, "The key is whether we can bring out the best as a team, rather than just the combination or fixed lineup of players," and aims to stop the losing streak with a style of soccer that utilizes each individual's strengths and complements each other's weaknesses. The game started at 7:04 PM at Ajinomoto Stadium, where the humidity has returned.

Unable to break through Oita's defense, the first half ends scoreless.

　Started playing in sync from the beginning and headed towards the goal. In the first minute, Oita passed the ball inside the field and Hayashi sent a floating pass into the area. Ishikawa was making a run but was unable to receive the ball due to the opposing defender's block. Oita also showed their strengths and in the second minute, Fernandinho took a quick pass and shot from the left area, but it went wide of the goal. In the fifth minute, Tokyo intercepted Oita's pass inside their own field. Then Ishikawa passed to Hirayama in the center and made a one-two, but was unable to finish as he couldn't get into position.

　Both teams are trying to connect passes and create chances, and develop their own style of football. In the midst of a back-and-forth battle, in the 19th minute, Tokunaga sends a floating pass to Cabore on the right side. Cabore takes it down with one touch and passes it to Ishikawa in the center, who takes a shot. This was Tokyo's first shot of the day, and it was a well-controlled ball, but it goes straight to the goalkeeper.

　At 25 minutes, Cabore on the right front line → connected with Ishikawa in front of the right area, and to Julian who went up freely in the center. However, the shot aimed by Julian was bounced back by the Oita DF. At 27 minutes, Hayashi sent a cross from the left front line, and Ishikawa and Hirayama jumped in as if tangled with the opposing DF in the center, but the ball headed towards the goal after hitting the opposing DF. It was thought to be an own goal, but the GK caught it.

　On the other hand, Oita has firmly secured their final line and occasionally launched sharp counters. However, in the 34th minute, FW Fernandinho → MF Kanazaki was caught offside. In the 39th minute, Oita FW Fernandinho broke through Tokyo's right side → left MF Fujita took a shot at the open vital area, but the DF blocked it on the final line. In the 41st minute, Kajiyama dribbled into the left area and aimed for a shot, but couldn't make contact. Still, Ishikawa closed in on the goal, but the GK caught it. Both teams did not allow each other to freely attack with focused defense. The first half ended scoreless.

Cabore scores first! Oita pulls away with a powerful shot from Yonemoto!

　In the 47th minute of the second half, Imakano joined in and connected with a left cross from Hayabusa. Cabore jumped in front of the goal, but the Oita GK caught it. In the 55th minute, they persistently kept the ball on the right side, and Cabore dribbled to the left. Nagatomo, who had advanced into the center, aimed for the goal but missed widely. They continued to carry the ball forward, but couldn't create any clear chances. In the 63rd minute, Ishikawa broke through to the left area from Hirayama's post. He had a great chance, but was closed down by the defense and couldn't take the shot...

　Substituting Ohata for Hanyu in the 68th minute. This immediately paid off, with Ohata dropping the ball to Hirayama from a pass by Tokunaga in the 70th minute, and then passing to Ishikawa on the right, who then passed to Ohata in the middle, and then back to Ishikawa in the area. From the flowing passing work, the final pass went to Cabore in front of the goal, at a very close distance. Cabore evaded the jumping goalkeeper with a right foot trap, and scored with his left foot!! Ishikawa, Ohata, and Cabore's well-coordinated play resulted in the first goal.

　Tokyo takes control of the ball. In the 78th minute, Cabore makes a speedy dribble towards the front line. He is fouled and brought down, but Hirayama is there to support and the play continues. Hirayama breaks through on the right side, while Suzuki attacks from the opposite side. However, Hirayama's cross doesn't reach the center and is cut off by the opposing defender. In the 82nd minute, Cabore passes to Suzuki who runs towards the left front line and sends a negative pass to Otake who has entered the left area. Otake traps the ball and takes a shot, but it goes straight to the goalkeeper...

　After trailing by one point, Oita tried to launch a strong attack, but Tokyo shut down their counterattack by connecting passes. In stoppage time, Oita calmly passed the ball around while trying to counterattack, and Suzuki kept the ball, passed it to Nagatomo, and then to Yonemoto who saw no pressure in front of him and took a shot with his right foot from about 30 meters away! The shot went over Oita's goalkeeper Nishikawa's hand and into the net, scoring the second goal to seal the victory in the final moments. This was Yonemoto's first goal in the league and they secured 3 points for the first time since their match against Omiya on July 18th.

　【Player Comments】《Yonemoto》"I don't remember much because I was completely focused on scoring. But I'm glad it went in because I practiced it many times this week. I was happy, but my play wasn't very good until then, so it felt like I was rewarded with a goal. But when it's a one-point difference like this, it's also a relief to be able to take an additional point. We talked about how we couldn't win here and break into the top, so we all worked together to try and get three points. I think it was good that it led to the Nabisco Cup."《Ishikawa》"When the team can't win, I think the momentum is lost. Today, we were conscious of that and approached the game by paying attention to when and how to switch on the attack. The scene where Cabore's goal was born was a good moment to switch on. We tried various things to break through Oita's solid defense. We couldn't score for a while, but it was good that we were able to score in the second half. I wish we could have created more of those situations in the first half. I think we can continue to build on this good image by producing results with powerful attacks. We can still play even better soccer."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "We have gone through a tough August without winning for over a month, but it was great to be able to share the joy of victory with everyone today. It was a long time since I felt the joy of winning together with the supporters who came to cheer us on. The first half was difficult as Oita had a more compact defense and created a solid block of 11 players, making it hard for us to break through. We were trying to find the right timing to attack while shaking the opponent side to side, but in the first half, our attacks were not strong enough. In the second half, we confirmed our defensive strategy and discussed how to increase our attacking power. The players' desire to win and score goals was transferred to the ball, and it was good that we were able to score two goals. We want to use this experience, including our areas for improvement, to move forward."

　(Regarding Yonemoto's goal) In the first place, there should have been more shooting chances for Kajiyama, the other defensive midfielder. However, he had problems with his ankle and when that is healed, he should be able to shoot more than Yonemoto. We have been keeping in mind to take middle shots and break down the opponent's side while shaking them sideways, and they have been practicing every day as well. So Yonemoto was also shooting shots like that in practice. However, it's not the same to shoot in practice and in a game. Being able to express that will give us confidence, and if we can try not to miss chances like that, including Kajiyama, I think this team can go up one level. (Regarding the effect of Ishikawa's return) Even during the period when we weren't winning, we were able to bring the ball to the attacking third, but it was a vicious cycle of not being able to score there and not being able to hold the back. In today's game, there was also a way to change the members. I don't think the members are designated seats, but when it became clear that Ishikawa was coming back, we looked back on what elements we were able to show as a team when we were good. It was a big deal that we were able to go back to the basics by having all the members together."

　[Oita Popovich Press Conference Summary] "We have had the same results in recent games. I don't think the performance was that bad, but we couldn't score when we had the chance and the opponent did. In the end of the first half, DF Uemoto was hit by an elbow from a Tokyo player and couldn't play in the second half, which was unexpected. In the first half, we played very well and created more chances than the opponent. I think we created bigger chances than the opponent. We dominated the game and fought well. We had a chance to score when the score was 0-0, but we couldn't convert it into a goal, which was the biggest factor in our defeat. We had a period of fatigue while dominating the game, and that's when Cabore scored a good goal. It was a time when our concentration and physical strength dropped. As for the second goal, it was a very beautiful goal and I think the fans were satisfied to see such a goal. However, we also had chances like that, but they didn't go in. But I believe that our shots will eventually go in. We need to train well for that. We need to continue to believe and play in our style. We need to do what we can do now and get out of this situation. The day will come when we can score, so we need to prepare well until then."