A match to conclude the series of games with a victory

In Sec. 11 of the league, we face Montedio Yamagata away. In the previous match, we kept a clean sheet for the first time since Sec. 4, stopping the losing streak, but ended scoreless in attack. Although we created chances, we cannot deny that the team showed some stiffness, and Ishikawa reflected, "We are tightening our own noose." If we can just seize the trigger for that "one goal," there is a sign of recovery, so we want to score with free and relaxed play and finish the series of matches with a victory.Montedio Yamagata, on the other hand, stood 8th with 14 points from 4 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses as of the previous match. Their total goals scored so far are 10, with 12 conceded, showing more goals against than for, but they have been accumulating points by winning close matches. In last season's encounters, we struggled against Yamagata's solid defense and sharp counterattacks, but this season they have added depth with FW Tashiro, MF Masuda, Korean striker FW Kim Kun-an, and Han Dong-won. Coach Shirofuku commented, "They stick to the style from last season, with high defensive awareness from everyone. No player slacks off, and both individually and as a team, their defensive unity is top-class in the J.League."For Tokyo, Kajiyama was placed on the bench considering his leg condition. Tokunaga returned to the defensive midfield, with Kim Young-gun and Nagatomo as fullbacks on the right and left sides. Matsushita took the left midfield, and the two forwards were Hirayama and Shigematsu. As Coach Shirofuku said, "Their concentration to not miss the opponent's chances and their thorough patterns are a threat," it is expected to be a tough match. The key to victory will be whether we can suppress Yamagata's ball sources and take control on the sides. We want to break down from the flanks, create many chance scenes in dangerous areas, and increase the possibility of goals.The day before, we focused on countermeasures against Yamagata and held some tactical training sessions behind closed doors. The preparation for the match was as usual, but Coach Shirofuku explained, "This was to unify the players' intentions and consider the best approach given the current situation." He continued, "We caused inconvenience to everyone coming to Kodaira, but we want to instill something greater in the team and express it on the pitch today." The match kicked off at 16:04 at ND Soft Stadium Yamagata with Tokyo starting.

A brilliant shot by Shigematsu opens the scoring! Hanyu follows up, leading by 2 goals at halftime.

　From the beginning, they evaded Yamagata's press to control the ball and launched attacks starting from the flanks. At 10 minutes, they quickly restarted in the opponent's half. Shigematsu chased Ishikawa's early cross, resulting in a left corner kick. Matsushita's kick was flicked on by Konno at the far post, but Hirayama couldn't get a shot off. At 14 minutes, on the right side, Tokunaga → Nagatomo → Ishikawa penetrated deep into the right flank and made a backward pass. Hirayama, receiving the ball with his back to goal inside the area, turned and prepared to shoot but was blocked and couldn't finish. Hanyu rushed in to follow up on the rebound and aimed a middle-range shot, but it went off target. At 23 minutes, they circulated the ball along the defensive line, and from a vertical pass by Hanyu → Ishikawa, Tokunaga fed the ball forward. Hirayama dropped it inside the area, and Ishikawa sped up and took a shot! However, it went over the bar. Then at 25 minutes, Hirayama received a vertical pass from Hanyu and dropped it, Matsushita delayed his shooting timing and sent a through pass to Shigematsu in the left area. Shigematsu neatly scored by shooting through the opponent goalkeeper's legs for the GOAL! With calm play in front of the goal, they achieved the long-awaited first goal. After that, they calmly circulated the ball between the defensive line and the holding midfielders, with Hirayama up front controlling the ball well, especially attacking from the right side. At 38 minutes, on a counterattack, Shigematsu → Hirayama on the left front held the ball and passed to the advancing Hanyu. Hanyu's middle-range shot from just outside the left area was drawn in just inside the lower right corner of the goal! Their strong determination to score paid off, securing the second goal. Near the end, Yamagata's MF Kitamura broke through between the defenders behind the line and took a decisive shot from close range in the center of the area, but Gonda made a great save to rescue the team from danger, and they went into halftime with a two-goal lead.

Scored additional points in the second half, achieving a complete victory of 3-0

　Yamagata launched a vigorous attack from the start of the second half. In the 51st minute, Yamagata's FW Furuhashi directly targeted a free kick just outside the left area, firing a sharp shot, but Gonda made a save just barely on the bar! The ball was cleared to a corner kick. In the 52nd minute, from a quick counterattack, a through pass was sent to Yamagata's FW Tashiro up front. Tokyo's DF closed in firmly, preventing momentum, and Gonda caught the shot. Due to intense pressing, sharp counters, and side attacks, there were moments when Tokyo's defensive line dropped under pressure, but Tokyo's DF stayed focused and responded well, then switched to offense. At 55 minutes, Kajiyama was brought on for Matsushita. The team calmed the game again and controlled the ball. At 64 minutes, Kajiyama received a return pass from Ishikawa positioned centrally, advanced forward, and passed to Shigematsu on the right inside the area. Shigematsu boldly took a shot, but it went off target with no clear path. At 68 minutes, Tokyo launched a quick attack; Shigematsu dribbled inside from the left side, drawing the opponent's defenders sufficiently, and made a final pass to HIRAYAMA who broke through on the right side of the area. HIRAYAMA faced the opposing GK one-on-one and shot! However, the GK saved it, missing a golden opportunity... Afterwards, Suzuki and Akamine replaced Hanyu and Shigematsu, maintaining offensive pressure. There were periods of exchanged counters, but they still aimed for additional goals with their style of play. At 78 minutes, they earned a corner kick from HIRAYAMA's shot. Then at 79 minutes, Konno pushed in Ishikawa's left corner kick with his body to score the third goal! They continued creating chances with HIRAYAMA as the focal point. Although they couldn't score a fourth goal, thanks to Gonda's excellent saves in defense, Yamagata was kept from scoring. They scored three goals for the first time this season and achieved their first league victory since Sec. 4. 【Player Comments】 《Shigematsu》 "(About the goal) From when I held the ball on the left front, I was aiming behind the opponent. From there, Hanyu's pass reached Sota HIRAYAMA, which connected to Dawhan, so I thought it would be a shot. But since I could also run behind, I called out loudly, and Dawhan switched at the last moment and gave a good pass. There was no angle, so I trapped with my right foot and tried to aim a strong ground shot with my left. I thought if I hit it hard, it might deflect somewhere. I was happy it went in and glad we took the lead. But I wasn't satisfied with just one goal; I wanted another. I was substituted because I cramped my leg a bit. Still, it was great that the team scored three goals and won without conceding. I want to keep playing matches like this." 《Hanyu》 "Honestly, I feel relieved now... Until now, I think I was too nervous about scoring goals. To create a relaxed atmosphere, we prepared mini-games in practice and discussed among players how to score. Today, the coach told us, 'It doesn't matter whether the ball goes in or not. The key point is whether you can be dynamic.' It was tough all along, but I thought we just had to keep shooting even if the ball didn't go in. I'm happy that led to results. (Did you focus on shooting whenever possible?) Considering my shooting power and accuracy, I'm not a player who can score a dozen or so goals a year. But I wanted to instill the mindset of aiming for shots as a team. Not being stiff and not shooting, but shooting comfortably even if you miss—that attitude. I wanted to keep expressing that being in a position to shoot is important." 【Coach Jofuku's Press Conference Summary】 "Our team is currently in a very tough situation, and the players have been more overwhelmed by a sense of despair than dynamism in recent matches. Today, I told them to clearly show dynamism and sent them out. I think it was very good to win 3-0 against a wonderful team like Yamagata, but the struggles we've experienced in recent matches won't be resolved by this alone. I strongly believe that unless we get three points next time, today's win will have no meaning." 【Yamagata Coach Kobayashi's Press Conference Summary】 "My first impression was that the players were more fatigued than expected and couldn't move well. Because they couldn't move, they defended with a low line, and I felt they were able to defend key points. Not moving means they were tired. Even so, if they have quick decision-making and accurate technique, there are things they can do without moving much, so we need to demand that. It won't change suddenly, but I think they need to improve accuracy through experiences like this. All three goals started from mistakes, which is a bit disappointing. FC Tokyo didn't press from the front aggressively; when the ball circulated a bit, the line dropped, so the fullbacks could take quite high positions, but they couldn't circulate the ball several times to get there. I think it would have been better if they could distinguish between quick counters and ball circulation. I wondered if one goal conceded would be acceptable, but it was disappointing to concede the second from a mistake. Honestly, it felt heavier than I thought, and maybe it would have been better to bring in refreshed players. I was informed that their condition was good, and I also judged so, so that's disappointing. I also felt it might have been better to actively use players who came on in the second half a bit more."