Break through the opponent's solid defense with persistent fighting and win away!

　In the 19th round of the league, we will face Cerezo Osaka away. In the previous round against Kashima, we were forced to struggle in the first half, but we made adjustments in the second half and took a valuable 1 point with Konno's goal. Although there is still room for improvement in terms of conceding goals from set pieces, our energy level did not drop throughout the 90 minutes, giving us confidence and momentum against the higher-ranked Kashima. Today, we want to turn that into 3 points. On the other hand, C Osaka is currently in 5th place. During the break, MF Shinji Kagawa transferred to Germany, but in the 7 games since July, they have won 4, drawn 2, and lost 1. Although they lost 2-3 to Shimizu in the 15th round, they have maintained good form. They have scored a total of 28 goals so far, and have conceded only 17, the fewest in the league. In particular, they have kept a clean sheet in the last 3 games. They are known for their strong defense, but they also have attacking players such as FW Ienaga, Adriano, and MF Kengo, and they have a high ball possession rate. Although MF Amorau will be suspended for this round, the key will be how we can concentrate and defend against C Osaka's possession and turn it into a counterattack. Tokyo will have Kanda and Kajiyama back in the starting lineup after recovering their condition. On the other hand, Hanyu will be absent again due to a left foot injury, and Tokunaga will play as the left MF, with Okubo and Ricardinho as the two forwards. In terms of attack, we want to break through the space behind C Osaka's fullbacks who play high up the field. If Ricardinho or Ishikawa can exploit the space, we can take advantage of Okubo's sharp movements. "They are strong both in defense and in one-on-one situations (Coach Jofuku)," so we want to break through C Osaka's defense and score the first goal. Tokunaga said, "I want to get involved in the build-up and contribute to scoring more by moving up a line. If our attack becomes too predictable, we won't be able to break through C Osaka's defense. Their defenders, especially Moni (Mochida), mark tightly, so we want to use the space. When we win the ball, we also want to actively look for counterattacks." We will approach the game against C Osaka as a team, just like we did in the previous round when we found our rhythm through player substitutions and formation changes, and we will never give up until the end! The match kicked off at 19:05 at Kincho Stadium with C Osaka taking the kickoff.

Forced to play with a player down, we struggle and give up the lead, ending the first half.

　In the 4th minute of the start, Tokyo lost the ball on the left side and C Osaka FW Ienaga attempted to break through and cross the ball. This was passed to FW Adriano at the far post and he scored with a header, giving up an early lead. Although it was a goal that should not have been given, they calmly attacked. In the 10th and 17th minutes, Ishikawa created chances from sharp crosses, but could not get a shot off. In the 12th minute, Okubo passed to the front line and broke through the opponent's defense, but the shot was blocked by the GK and only resulted in a corner kick. In the 20th minute, Ishikawa dribbled up and took a powerful shot, but it went off target. The opponent's GK fumbled, but quickly caught the ball. In the 21st minute, Ricardinho cut through the opponent's defense from the left side and took a shot, but it went off target. On the other hand, C Osaka also took the ball and their attacking line took fluid positions, threatening Tokyo's goal. Tokyo struggled and before the 30th minute, they made adjustments by moving Imakawa to defensive midfield and Morishige to center back. However, in the 37th minute, Morishige received his second yellow card of the game and was sent off. From here, they were forced to play with 10 men and Imakawa moved back to center back, with Tokunaga and Kajiyama in defensive midfield. Okubo was the lone striker, with Ishikawa and Ricardinho on the sides. Despite the difficult situation, Tokyo controlled the pace towards the end of the first half. In the 44th minute, Kajiyama moved to the left and Matsushita took a shot from outside the box after Tokunaga passed to Ishikawa. It grazed the opponent's defense and hit the crossbar... Immediately after, Ricardinho attempted to break through the center and Ishikawa took a shot from the loose ball, but it went off target. In the end, they went into halftime still trailing.

Despite Otake's determined goal, the team suffered multiple losses.

　In the second half, at the 50th minute of the game, C Osaka clears the cross but it is taken back by C Osaka. Then, FW Komatsu challenges for the ball on the right side and it is cleared by Gonda, but C Osaka's right SB Takahashi jumps in and scores the second goal... In an attempt to change the flow of the game, Hirayama and Otake are substituted for Okubo and Ricardinho at the 56th minute. However, they struggle to create chances while being outnumbered. At the 66th minute, Shigematsu is substituted and the defensive line is changed to Nakamura on the right, Imakawa in the center, and Kim Yong-gun. Tokunaga covers the left side, Kajiyama and Otake are in the midfield, and Matsushita is on the right MF. Hirayama and Shigematsu are in the front line, trying to break through. They manage to create a few crosses into the box from the right side with Nakamura and Matsushita, but they are blocked by the opponent's GK. On the contrary, at the 80th minute, C Osaka scores a powerful goal from a counter attack, with substitute FW Kuroki. However, they do not give up and at the 86th minute, Otake makes a run from Kim Yong-gun's pass, dribbles past the defenders and scores a goal. But at the 87th minute, C Osaka's MF Ishigami scores a goal from the side, as Gonda fails to catch the ball... They were unable to turn the tide and were constantly under pressure from C Osaka. They manage to score a goal at the end with Otake's determination, but they concede four goals and lose the game. [Player comments] <Otake> "(Looking back at the goal) Kim Yong-gun was making a run, so I dribbled past the defenders and made a run forward. Gonda made a good pass from a chaotic situation and I calmly dribbled past the defenders. We were at a disadvantage, but C Osaka was not able to keep up with our midfield runs, so we tried to get the ball forward and create a chance in a dangerous area. It was tough playing with 10 men, but if we could have scored one goal and kept the score at 0-2, we still had a chance. I think it was a big blow to concede the third goal." <Okubo> "We conceded a goal early in the game, but I had a chance right after that. It hit the opponent's GK's head, but if I had scored, the game could have turned out differently. If I had scored one-on-one, I wouldn't have been sent off, so that's something I need to reflect on. As a forward, we need to score even with limited chances. I want to work hard to be able to do that. (We also dropped to 14th place) Maybe our team is not clicking as well as we want it to. We need to come up with a plan to counter the opponent, but we also need to calm down and organize our own game and unite as a team." [Coach Jofuku's post-match interview] "It's very disappointing. I'm sorry we couldn't celebrate with the supporters and fans who came to the away game. (How did the red card for Morishige affect the team?) The players themselves know how difficult it is to play with one less player in this weather." [C Osaka coach Levir CULPI's post-match interview] "Good evening. I think it was a really good game. Especially since we scored the first goal at Kincho Stadium and the last goal was also scored by C Osaka. I think we can call this stadium our lucky stadium. The supporters are so close to the field. That's why the players can give more than their best. This victory was really important for us to have the supporters come to Kincho Stadium. Today's game showed that the supporters are a big weapon for C Osaka."