Aiming for victory with coordinated offense and defense in soccer!

　In the 30th round of the league, we will face Shimizu S-Pulse away. In the previous round against Kashiwa, we scored 4 goals from good combinations and achieved a great victory. However, Ishikawa suffered a left knee injury and had to leave the front line. Even in this situation, coach Jofuku says, "It's very painful to lose the top scorer in the league. But the healthy players need to show their strengths and cover for Ishikawa's absence as a team. Our approach will not change from before." This match can be considered a "climactic battle" in order to leave even a slight possibility in the final round. We aim for victory while building even stronger unity and playing Tokyo-style soccer.

　Shimizu, on the other hand, is currently in 4th place with 50 points. This season, including the Nabisco Cup, they have a record of 3 wins and 1 draw against Tokyo, making them a tough opponent. However, coach Jofuku says, "Last season, we lost as we were supposed to. But this season, we were able to bring the game to a point where either team could win. We can be confident that we were able to compete on equal terms, but they are by no means an easy opponent." In particular, FW Okazaki, who is also in good form for the Japan national team, has quick movements and is not afraid to exploit the gaps in the defense even without the ball. It seems that there will be no time to let our guard down, but we want to defend well, including our cooperation with the side backs and midfielders.

　Tokyo will have CACA returning from injury, and Suzuki, who was suspended in the previous match, will replace Ishikawa at right MF. As in the previous match, Shimizu will send long balls to FW Yonson, who will be the starting point in the front line, so the key for Tokyo is how to win the second ball and connect it to the attack. Yonemoto says, "Of course we will try to win the second ball, but not only that, we also want to aim for vertical wedge passes. If we do that, the variety of our attack will expand." We want to match their energy and dominate the midfield.

　Shimizu's side back Ichikawa has high accuracy in crosses, but they also want to create chances by utilizing the abundant movement of players like Hanyu and Suzuki without losing in the side's attack and defense. In addition, in recent games, the rhythm has been born in the combination of top players Hirayama and Akamine, so they want to continue playing coordinated soccer and aim for a goal and victory! The game started at 3:03 pm at the Outsourcing Stadium Nihondaira, under a cloudy sky with strong winds, with Shimizu's kickoff.

Leading by one point at half-time due to the opponent's own goal

　Both teams were actively attacking the opponent's goal from the beginning, and the pace of the game was fast with quick transitions between offense and defense. In the 3rd minute of the first half, a long pass was made to Suzuki, who had run up the left side after a possession at the back line. He passed it back to the midfield, where Yonemoto, Akamine, and others reorganized the play and shook up the Shizuoka defense, eventually passing it to Tokunaga on the right side. Tokunaga then crossed the ball and Suzuki, who was on the far side, headed it in for a goal! A good start with an opening goal.

　However, just 4 minutes later, Shizuoka's Hyodo's right CK was headed by central FW Okazaki, and the game was tied. The issue of conceding goals from set pieces has been a problem in the past few games. However, the players did not show any signs of being shaken and the game continued with back and forth attacks. In the 25th minute, Nagatomo, who had injured his right shoulder before the game, was substituted for Mukuhara. Mukuhara moved to right SB and Tokunaga moved to left SB. In the 37th minute, Tokyo picked up the ball from a scramble and passed it to Akamine on the front line. It seemed like he would score, but it was ruled offside. The momentum gradually shifted towards Tokyo.

　Then, in the 39th minute, they quickly restarted from a match-up on the left side of the Tokyo team and earned a free kick. The ball was passed from Hayabusa to Kajiyama to Hirayama, and they entered the attacking third. Tokunaga on the left side dribbled past the opposing DF and sent a quick cross with his right foot. However, Shizuoka's DF Tanaka, who was waiting in the center, couldn't clear it with his head. It was an unlucky own goal, adding another point. After that, they persistently defended against Shizuoka's long balls and ended the first half with a one-point lead.

No goals allowed with a calm response to the opponent's counterattack, 4 consecutive wins in the league!

　Tokyo, who continue to play aggressively without losing their rhythm in the second half. In the 46th minute, Yonemoto quickly reacted to a loose ball in front of the goal and took a shot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 54th minute, Yonemoto was surrounded by two opponents on the left side, but he made a perfect looping pass to Hirayama. Hirayama dribbled into the middle and took a shot, but it went wide. In the 59th minute, they connected the ball in the midfield and Tokunaga passed it to Hirayama in the center. From this post-play, Suzuki took a direct volley, but it hit the opponent's defender and went out for a corner kick.

　At halftime, Tokyo followed coach Jofuku's instructions and patiently looked for chances while passing the ball. In the 62nd minute, Shizuoka FW Okazaki attempted a shot after stealing a back pass from Bruno QUADROS, but missed the target. Tokyo continued to take advantage of Tokyo's mistakes and launch attacks, but the defense of Tokyo's DF remained focused and held strong. Tokyo wanted to score another goal, but in the 74th minute, Bruno QUADROS headed the ball from a corner kick by Hayashi, only to narrowly miss the crossbar...

　Shimizu became more aggressive by using player substitutions, and Tokyo was unable to break through and had the ball taken away, resulting in many instances of the ball being advanced into the area. In the 76th minute, Hirayama was replaced by Hiramatsu, and in the 85th minute, Hayashi was replaced by Fujiyama. Defensive players were sent in one after another. With the dedicated defense from Hirayama and Akamine on the front line, Shimizu's attacks were contained. In the end, Tokyo successfully controlled the ball and used up the remaining time, securing their 4th consecutive away win in the league.

　【Player Comments】《Suzuki》"(First goal?) I entered the goal area at the beginning, but it got messy in front of the goal, so I took some time to move again. I think that was good. "Moving again" is something that the coach has been telling me to do. I tried to move again and take a position between the opponents. As a result, it led to a goal. The cross came in at a perfect angle. I also quickly put my head out. It was more of a shot that changed direction by hitting it rather than hitting it, but it's good if it goes in (laughs). If the team doesn't get results because of injuries, people will always say, "It's because that person wasn't there" or "It's because of the accident." I don't want to hear that. I just wanted to get results. It was the same when Cabore was gone, but I want to keep winning until people stop saying those things. That's all I have to say."

　"Tokunaga" "There was no chance to go up unless we won, so it was very important to get 3 points away. The difference from the previous match was that FW Okazaki came in and there were many movements behind, and there were times when we were able to create chances and get into rhythm. We were able to hold that down and score our chances, so I think it was good. I think we were able to show the form of the practice we had prepared for a week. (What about the assist for the opening goal?) I wasn't really aiming for it. The cross that led to the own goal wasn't something I was aiming for... I just lifted it by feeling, but I believed that something would happen if I kicked it there. (Looking ahead to the league match?) I think the chance for ACL has become bigger, and in order to win in the end, we have to keep winning. For that, we want to fight every day and take it seriously. There were accidents like injuries, but each player who plays in the game has to have a sense of responsibility and fight firmly. (What about the Nabisco Cup final?) It's my first time in the final, but I want to be able to go in a normal way without being nervous. I want to prepare well and fight."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "From the standpoint of the league, we have been playing games that we cannot afford to lose in order to create a miracle in the final match. Especially today, we were facing the strong team Shimizu and it was going to be a very tough game since it was an away game. We approached this game with the awareness that it was a crucial match in the league. As for the content, we believed that if we moved the ball carefully and patiently against Shimizu's strong zone defense, we would have chances. Both of our goals were created by shaking up the opponent and then calmly crossing the ball, the first goal was a header and the second goal was an own goal by the opponent, but I think they were scenes where we were able to execute our intended attack. In the end, we were all aware of not letting the opponent show their strengths or strong points. We had a chance for a third goal towards the end of the second half, but there were some mistakes. In any case, I think it is a huge achievement to have beaten Shimizu, which leaves us with a great possibility of creating a miracle in the final match. Many fans and supporters came to the game today, so I would like to celebrate together with them."

　[Summary of Shimizu Hasegawa's press conference] "It's very disappointing that we couldn't respond to the supporters' cheers. I wonder if this is the pressure of winning or the pressure of competing for the top, but I honestly felt that there was an invisible burden weighing on the players. It was a very tough and heavy game, and it felt like we were close to self-destructing. However, we still have 4 more games left, so we can't give up here. We believe in our own strength and want to finish the remaining 4 games in a good way for the supporters. We have the Emperor's Cup in between, so we want to prepare properly and face the Kashiwa game with determination."