Show our daily growth and aim for victory at home

　In Sec. 27 of the league, we will face Júbilo Iwata at home again at Ajinomoto. In the match against G Osaka, we had control in the first half but failed to capitalize on our chances, and in the second half, the opponent seized the momentum, ending in a scoreless draw. However, Coach Jofuku stated, "We improved on the issues from the Kyoto match. Next, we want to resolve the challenges that arose in the G Osaka match and definitely turn it into a victory," making this a match aimed at growth and victory.

　Yokohama currently sits in 11th place with 35 points. They suffered three consecutive losses starting from Sec. 23, but achieved a resounding victory against Kyoto in the last match. If they win against Tokyo this week, they will surpass them in points and change their ranking, so they will want to ride the momentum of a victory. Their attacking power is particularly threatening, with a total of 40 goals scored so far. Notably, the two players leading the scoring rankings, FW Maeda and FW Iguno, have combined for 23 goals. FW Maeda is skilled at drawing out the ball and is adept at both post play and scoring from headers off crosses. FW Iguno possesses speed and strength, and they can score through their combination play.

　Therefore, the first condition for victory is to not allow them to play freely. We want to thoroughly challenge and cover the ball holder with coordinated defense. On the other hand, Iwata's total goals conceded, 46, is the worst in the league (tied with Kashiwa). Even if we continue to miss opportunities, we want to be patient, continue playing our style of football, and not lose the battle of endurance against Iwata to score goals.

　Tokyo, Ishikawa has been continuing practice with a different menu due to a right foot injury, but he made a diligent adjustment and started. Hirayama, who has returned from suspension, and Suzuki formed a two-top formation. Iwata's GK Kawaguchi left the team due to injury. GK Hatta made his first start of the season. It was sunny and humid at Ajinomoto. The match started at 16:04 with Tokyo's kickoff.

In a cautious development, neither side could capitalize on their chances...

　At the start, both teams pressed each other to avoid giving the opponent any rhythm, leading to a cautious development. In the 14th minute, Okada, the defensive midfielder from Iwata, delivered an early cross from the left. Gonda punched the ball while competing with FW Iguno, but the ball floated into the box, allowing FW Maeda to head it. The shot lacked power and went wide to the right, but this was the first shot for both teams combined.

　However, in the 16th minute, Tokyo creates a chance through teamwork. Yonemoto spreads the ball to Suzuki on the left flank, and Suzuki advances to a high position, passing it back to the free Yonemoto in the center. From there, a through pass is sent to the center of the area, and Nagatomo runs in from the left to connect and shoot! However, the shot from just in front of the goal area is blocked by the goalkeeper's save. In the 17th minute, Hanyu's right cross is passed through by Ishikawa in the center. Hayama, just behind, takes a shot but it is blocked by the defender.

　As time passed, Tokyo dominated the ball, but Iwata's return was quick, making it difficult to break through their defense. Iwata also tried to change the situation, focusing on the strong play of forward Iguno, but they defended with concentration against this. In the 44th minute, Hirayama cut the Iwata ball in the opponent's territory, and Ishikawa on the right and Suzuki on the left made a fast break, but Ishikawa's breakthrough was stopped by the Iwata defense. Following that, Suzuki sprinted up the left side and aimed for the goal as he entered the area, but was thwarted by the goalkeeper's save, and the match went into halftime scoreless.

Despite allowing a comeback, a dramatic victory with goals from Nagatomo and Akamine!

　In the second half, it was Iwata who first seized a big chance. In the 54th minute, left midfielder Murai created an opportunity on the left side, and the ball spilled to forward Maeda, who was free in the area. Taking advantage of a gap in Tokyo's defense, forward Maeda took a decisive shot, but it hit the crossbar and bounced down... narrowly escaping danger. Just after that, in the 55th minute, Tokyo created a decisive moment. Hirayama applied pressure in the opponent's half, stole the ball from Iwata, advanced into the area, drew the defense, and passed to the free Ishikawa in the center. Ishikawa swung with his right foot, but... it went well wide of the crossbar.

　In the 62nd minute, after both teams missed chances, Kajiyama passed to Ishikawa, who then spread the ball to Hanyu on the right. Hanyu sent a pass into the area where Kajiyama ran in, and from the center, Hirayama passed to Ishikawa. Ishikawa slotted the ball into the goal, scoring the long-awaited opening goal from a well-coordinated passing play! However, just after that, in the 64th minute, a left corner kick was awarded to Iwata, and DF Komano's kick spilled from Gonda's hands to FW Maeda. Yonemoto tried to block it with a sliding tackle, but it was kicked in again, resulting in a goal... Then in the 70th minute, a middle shot from Iwata's left MF Murai was blocked by Tokyo's DF, resulting in another corner kick. From this left corner kick, FW Iguno was left free in the center and scored with a powerful header. Defensive mistakes during set pieces led to conceding two goals, allowing the opponent to take the lead.

　However, they never gave up, and in the 72nd minute, Akamine was substituted for Hanyu, followed by Suzuki and Ishikawa being replaced by Mukuara and Nakamura in the 75th minute. Mukuara moved to right back, Tokunaga shifted to the left, and Nagatomo advanced one line up in a formation aimed at targeting the goal through crosses from the sides. This strategy paid off, as they launched a speedy and dynamic attack. In the 82nd minute, YoneMoto passed to Nakamura, who picked up speed on the right side and delivered a fast cross. It bounced in front of the goal, and Nagatomo reacted to the opponent's goalkeeper's fumble. He calmly finished with his right foot, leveling the score.

　In the final stages, Tokyo deployed Konno as an attacking midfielder, with a three-back formation of Mukuhara, Bruno, and Tokunaga for a power play. Iwata also aimed to take the lead, resulting in a counterattack exchange. In the 84th minute, Iwata's left midfielder Murai advanced and made a decisive shot towards central forward Maeda, but Gonda made the save!! The ball went out for a corner kick, and they held on defensively. Then, with 4 minutes of stoppage time remaining, Tokyo launched a robust attack. Kajiyama dribbled up the center and spread the play to the left. Nagatomo, who had moved up from midfield, sent in a cross, and Akamine, free at the far post, headed it in! The ball was absorbed into the net for a dramatic go-ahead goal! With Akamine, the 'Jubilo Killer,' shining with his clutch goal, they snatched victory and earned 3 points for the first time in three matches since Sec. 24 against Oita in the league.

　【Player Comments】<Nagatomu> "When I played as a side back, I focused on maintaining balance, and when I moved up to side half, I intended to go for the goal myself. I think I was able to show a greedy attitude. Regarding the scoring scene, I had been targeting the rebound ball from before, so I think it turned into that kind of goal. There was a possibility to score even before that. It was just a matter of final accuracy. Although we conceded 2 goals, mentally each player has become stronger, and I myself was determined to keep facing forward without wavering. That mindset led to the third goal. Today’s match made me feel the direction everyone is aiming for. I want to connect this victory to the next one." <Akamine> "The winning goal came because Sota was crushed near post, and I was able to be free. I clearly saw the goalkeeper’s position and the goal. I thought there was only one course and aimed for it. I myself had been away from scoring for a long time, and the team hadn’t been able to get 3 points recently. I think this goal will give me momentum, and I hope the team can ride the wave as well. I’m called the Jubilo killer, but I don’t have any special awareness of Iwata, and conversely, I haven’t scored much against other opponents. I want to work hard to score in other matches as well."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "Our current position is mid-table, but we really wanted to show the attitude toward this season's league matches and the goals we have set for the season, and we wanted to leave that as a result. That feeling was reflected by the players. I think this match showed that everyone, including the bench, still has goals in the league. In the first half, we paid close attention to the opponent's two forwards, but focusing too much on them caused us to become a bit stretched out. It would have been better if we had been a bit more compact and pushed up the defensive line. We corrected that going into the second half. I think the start of the second half was good until we scored the first goal. We must reflect on conceding from a corner kick, especially since it was a situation where we should not have allowed a corner. Mistakes happen, but we need to reflect on the fact that there are still gaps. Even so, in the end, everyone gave their all for the team, which allowed us to come from behind. We want to cherish this kind of victory, and to build on it, it is absolutely necessary to earn 3 points in the next match; otherwise, it means nothing. (You tried various position changes in practice leading up to this match?) This season, including the push from backup players, the theme has been to raise the overall level of the team, but there were difficult times when that did not function well. So, I thought about things other than just bringing in attacking players when going forward. The idea is that the newly introduced players do not necessarily have to be offensive. By pushing players from the back forward, the team collectively becomes more attacking. I thought this would also increase our options. Of course, the best scenario is to be able to use such strength as an option when we are winning. I do not wish to have a situation like today’s in every match when we are behind."

　[Summary of Coach Yanagishita's Press Conference for Iwata] "In the first half, there was one moment when Nagatomo broke through behind us, creating a dangerous chance, but otherwise, our defense was fairly stable. In terms of offense, we held onto the ball too long and lacked movement after passing, so we couldn't create opportunities. In the second half, the players became more active and we were able to create chances. Our condition is better than when we lost three consecutive games. In the second half, it turned into a counterattack battle, and during some stretched moments, we lost second balls or the first pass after regaining possession, which led to conceding goals. We need to position ourselves more balanced and develop play accordingly. At the same time, we must mark tightly in front of the goal. We want to correct these points. If we could have held on after going 2-1 up, the players would have gained confidence for the upcoming matches, but unfortunately, we suffered a come-from-behind loss. However, the overall performance was not bad, so we want to fight the remaining seven games with confidence."