Sec. 17, the halfway point of the league, is the turning point of the season!

　On the 8th, the league reaches Sec. 17, held on Sunday, where we face Nagoya Grampus at home. In the Suruga Bank Championship held on the 4th (Wed), we played a passionate match making the most of each player's strengths and seized the title in a penalty shootout. Now, with only three days of rest, we approach this Sec. 17. The tough schedule continues, but the players' expressions and the team's atmosphere are bright, and we want to carry the momentum and victory into the league.For this match, Hirayama, Ishikawa, and Mukuhara, who contributed in the Liga de Quito match, are starting members. Coach Shirofuku explained, "With no one's spot guaranteed, we should give chances to players who have reflected on contributing to themselves, their football, and the team, rather than just being 'someone's replacement.'" Also, Tokunaga has returned from injury and is on the bench. On the other hand, Gonda is absent due to acute enteritis dehydration, so goalkeeper Shiota will take the position.On the opposing side, Nagoya currently sits 3rd with 32 points. Depending on other match results, if Nagoya wins today, they will rise to 2nd place, so they are expected to play aggressively despite being away. Especially from their 4-3-3 formation, their attack centered on the tall forward Kennedy is powerful. Kennedy himself is currently leading the goal rankings with 10 goals and is in great form. Coach Shirofuku said, "If good balls reach Kennedy and he jumps, it will be difficult for us to stop him. We need to devise ways to prevent that situation and put in that extra effort."As a countermeasure, we want to start the match with tough defense. If Tokyo can get the upper hand early and control the midfield, we should be able to launch diverse attacks. We want to initiate speedy attacks and take the lead. As the league reaches its midpoint and all opponents have been faced once in Sec. 17, this match is a turning point to aim for a comeback in the second half. This is a match to seek victory at home, Ajinomoto. Despite the cloudy sky, Ajinomoto is humid. The match kicked off at 19:04 with Tokyo starting.

Overwhelmed Nagoya in the midfield, creating chances one after another, but...

　From the start, they dominated with quick reactions and high work rate, launching aggressive attacks. Robert and Hirayama controlled the ball up front, while Ishikawa exploited the flanks to create chances. At 2 minutes, Morishige passed to Robert up front, who immediately switched the play to the left. Hanyu advanced into space and went for the first shot, but the goalkeeper caught it. At 4 minutes, from Kajiyama's vertical pass, Hirayama made a one-touch pass to the left. Hanyu, advancing near the sideline, sent a cross, and Robert's header grazed the defender, earning a right corner kick. From Ishikawa's corner, Morishige attempted a header. At 10 minutes, from Robert's layoff, Ishikawa dribbled inside, created space, and finally passed to Hanyu in the left area. Hanyu aimed for goal, but the shot deflected off a defender for a corner. At 18 minutes, Hanyu passed to Robert attacking through the center, who changed his body orientation and passed to Hirayama in the left area, crossing the direction of play. Hirayama's powerful shot hit the bar... Nagoya also defended resolutely at the crucial moments, often escaping with corner kicks. At 32 minutes, from Ishikawa's right corner rebound, Konno took a shot but missed the target. Ultimately, they earned nine corners in the first half but failed to capitalize on the chances. Still, they pressed Nagoya while staying focused defensively. Although there were moments when Nagoya counterattacked due to mistakes, at 26 minutes, failing to connect on the right front, Nagoya's MF Maginun and Bruzanovic passed to FW Kanazaki for a counterattack, but the team quickly returned, applied tight marking, and forced Nagoya into slow attacks. Finally, Kim Young-gun cleared a left cross with a header, and Konno moved forward. With strict marking, they cut off dangerous threats and rarely allowed Nagoya's attackers into dangerous areas, limiting them to long-range shots, and ended the first half.

Unable to score a goal, conceded a goal just before the end, and suffered the first defeat at home.

　The second half held high hopes for goals, but in the 47th minute, Oba stole the ball on the right side and immediately sent a long cross to the far post. Hanyu ran in and tried to connect with a direct volley, but it went off target. At 51 minutes, Konno intercepted a pass from Nagoya FW Tamada. The attack advanced with Hirayama, spreading to the right. From Ishikawa's cross, it resulted in a left corner kick. They connected the second left corner short, with Hanyu → Ishikawa sending the ball forward, but they couldn't capitalize on the set-piece opportunity. At 58 minutes, still unable to convert chances, Nagoya FW Tamada took a free kick, and FW Kennedy broke through, creating a decisive moment, but the shot veered left, avoiding danger. Tokyo's defensive line began to stretch, and as the back-and-forth battle continued, at 59 minutes, Tokunaga was brought on for Hanyu as a defensive midfielder. Kajiyama took the left MF position. Immediately after, Hirayama laid off a wedge with his chest, advanced centrally, evaded Nagoya DF Tulio, and took a mid-range shot, but it went straight to the GK. At 61 minutes, Nagoya MF Maginuin → advancing right back Hayato TANAKA crossed, perfectly met by central FW KANASAKI, but the shot missed the target, again escaping danger. At 68 minutes, Tokunaga → Kajiyama → Ishikawa → Hirayama took a free shot from the left area, but again failed to hit the target... At 75 minutes, Oba combined with Kajiyama's pass and passed into space on the right front. Tokunaga caught up and sent a direct right cross. After the DF cleared, Hokuto volleyed from the left area, but it also went off target. At 78 minutes, Shigematsu replaced Hirayama, followed by Ricardinho replacing Ishikawa. The formation chasing one goal was a two-top of Oba and Ricardinho, with Tokunaga and Shigematsu on the wings, and Kajiyama and Morishige in the center. At 79 minutes, Oba broke free from Morishige's pass; at 81 minutes, Kim Young-gun shot from a corner rebound; and at 87 minutes, Ricardinho took a decisive shot. Just after entering 3 minutes of stoppage time, a long pass from Mukuhara to left front Shigematsu was played. Shigematsu drew the opposing DF in the left area and made a last pass to central Oba. However, Oba's shot did not connect and was saved by the GK. Immediately after, Shigematsu again challenged near the left area, broke into the box from a DF rebound, and shot, but was blocked by the GK. Unable to break through the goal, it seemed the match would end in a draw. But at 90+4 minutes, Nagoya was awarded a free kick on Tokyo's left side in their own half. Substitute MF MITSUNOSU delivered a grounded ball forward. FW KANASAKI, receiving in the left area, deceived Kajiyama's marker and passed outside. MITSUNOSU, who had advanced, crossed freely. Konno marked DF Tulio at the far post, but the precise cross flying just inside the goalmouth was headed in... Despite taking 20 shots, twice as many as Nagoya combined in both halves, Tokyo ended with no goals and suffered their first home defeat of the season due to a last-minute concession. 【Player Comments】《Shiota》“The biggest disappointment was that this style of soccer did not yield results. Like the Kobe match, we couldn’t prevent it at the very end, which is truly frustrating. In the last free kick situation, I think the whole team lacked a sense of urgency. Set pieces are Nagoya’s greatest weapon. Everyone probably had the preconceived notion that they would cross in front of the goal. We couldn’t switch from that mindset. Or rather, we should have prevented giving away set pieces. If we hadn’t conceded, we could have at least earned one point. I have nothing but regret.” 《Ishikawa》“No one thought a draw was acceptable, and of course, losing was unthinkable. We must deeply reflect on the gap that appeared there. We should also learn from Nagoya, who never gave up until the very end, but I think that is the difference in our current standings. However, we are playing good soccer. Whether we can produce results or not is a big difference, and we understand that. Still, we want to keep moving forward without looking down. Losing spirit is the scariest thing. We want to channel everyone’s sense of crisis positively so the team can run in the same direction. I want to keep fighting facing forward.” 【Coach JOFUKU’s Press Conference Summary】“It’s regrettable that we couldn’t celebrate with our wonderful fans. It’s my responsibility that we couldn’t bring results that reward both the hardworking players and the great fans. I’m not someone who focuses only on results, but I recognize that I am evaluated by results. (What was your approach including substitutions?) I wanted to control the game throughout the 90 minutes, but considering the schedule, I expected some fatigue in the second half. I was thinking about how to use substitutions to recover that. Still, the players switched on again despite fatigue, created their own time, and connected to chances. In the end, we couldn’t score. I think we are in a negative spiral not only in shooting but also in the crosses and shot options just before shooting. That’s soccer, but there is always a reason. There is no result without a reason, so I want to calmly work with players who have strong determination.” 【Nagoya Coach STOJKOVIC’s Press Conference Summary】“It was a hard-fought match for both sides, but we won and it was a good game. Today was generally a competitive match where both teams aimed to win. We were luckier in the first half. We created many chances in the second half, but FW Kennedy’s header didn’t go in. However, the most important thing was to score at the end and take all three points back to Nagoya. I think FC Tokyo’s performance was worth more than zero points. They are playing really good soccer, so the next chance will come. We also played well enough to deserve the victory. Our content wasn’t better than FC Tokyo’s, but we showed mental and spiritual strength at the end. I want to thank the players for showing that mental toughness.”