Under the leadership of new coach Okuma, we aim to make a comeback with a new system.

　On Saturday the 25th, we face Omiya Ardija in Sec. 24 of the league. After losing to Iwata in the previous match, the league streak extended to 9 games without a win, and the ranking dropped to 16th place. Subsequently, on the 19th, the team changed managers from former coach Shirofuku to new coach Kiyoshi OKUMA. Under the new system, the team aims to make a comeback in the final stages.Coach OKUMA first set the theme as "pursuing the essence of soccer," saying, "The essence is not just one thing, but things like strength in one-on-one situations, quick transitions between offense and defense, and battles in key moments... if even one is missing, results cannot be achieved. I want to thoroughly enforce what is necessary before tactics." The preparation period for this match was effectively only four days, but based on the soccer cultivated so far, the team is being built with a renewed focus on returning to basics.Meanwhile, Kajiyama is injured and out of the team. Although the team composition remains difficult, Coach OKUMA explained the player selection by saying, "We checked combinations and partnerships in practice. Because the time was short, we also referred to each player's past records." This match will feature a two-forward formation with Hirayama and Ohguro. Ishikawa and Ricardinho will be on the sides, Morishige and Tokunaga as double defensive midfielders, Konno and Kim Young-gun as center backs, Mukuhara at right back, and Nakamura on the left.Omiya currently sits 14th with 24 points. In the last four matches, they have 1 win and 3 losses, and in the losses they failed to score, showing some difficulty finding rhythm. However, in August, FW Lee Chunsu joined. Along with FW Rafael, they have become the core of the attack, steadily increasing their scoring ability. Although defensive midfielder Kanazawa is suspended this match, the midfield includes skillful MF Fujimoto and Kanekubo, with strong runs from the second line. Attention must be paid to the 190cm tall FW Rafael’s aerial presence and FW Lee Chunsu’s ability to aim for goals from anywhere, but we want to activate a “defense that goes to win the ball” and continue quick-transition attacks.Coach OKUMA said, "I understand the importance of each match, but before that, the first goal is crucial. I want to approach the game feeling that weight." The rain from last night cleared, and the match kicked off at 13:04 at Ajinomoto Stadium with Tokyo starting the game.

Utilize your movement to advance the ball and create opportunities as intended.

　In the early stages, the team used their stamina to win the ball and launch attacks, but they couldn't complete their offensive plays. Conversely, Omiya sent the ball to their forwards Rafael and Lee Chonsu, resulting in a back-and-forth battle. Gradually, Tokyo gained control of the ball, found their rhythm, and launched quick attacks. In the 18th minute, from Tokunaga's pass, Hirayama headed the ball back inside the area, where Morishige rushed out and took a shot. This was a decisive chance created exactly as planned, with the defensive midfielder breaking forward from Hirayama's setup, but the shot went over the bar...After that, Ricardinho and Nakamura advanced attacks from the left side, creating opportunities near Omiya's goal. In the 27th minute, Morishige passed to Hokuto who moved inside, and Hirayama at the right corner of the area sent a cross with shooting intent. Daikoku rushed in front of the goal, but the ball missed and went out of bounds. In the 33rd minute, Hirayama headed a shot from an early cross by Ricardinho from the left. In the 41st minute, they launched a quick counterattack: Ishikawa to Hirayama on the right sent a through pass to Morishige who broke into the center of the area, but the pass lacked speed, was cleared by the defenders, and resulted in a corner kick. None of these attempts resulted in a goal.At the 42nd minute, from this corner kick, Omiya launched a counterattack; central forward Rafael passed to Fujimoto on the right who dribbled. Swapping positions with Nakamura, Fujimoto took a shot from the right side of the area. Gonda saved and averted the danger. Immediately after this scare, at the 45th minute, Morishige passed to Hirayama who switched play to the right. Overlapping Mukuhara sent a sharp grounded cross to a dangerous position in front of the goal. Daikoku rushed in but missed the ball, which went to the far post where Ricardinho connected with a direct shot, creating a decisive chance. However, the shot was blocked by a covering defender... Despite gaining momentum, they failed to score and ended the first half.

Unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities, losing rhythm, and the counterattack in a total war also bore no fruit...

　Tokyo continued to attack aggressively in the early second half. At the 46th minute, they launched a quick counterattack, with Ricardinho dribbling up the center. Facing an opponent inside the area, he passed to Nakamura, who overlapped on the outside and advanced to the left side of the area. Nakamura’s well-aimed shot hit the right post, but the pass to Nakamura was offside. At the 51st minute, Hirayama passed to Ricardinho, who took a shot from the left area. Then Kim Young-gun passed to Hirayama near the area, who turned and aimed a middle-range shot, but it went off target. At the 53rd minute, Morishige sent a vertical pass forward, which the opposing DF tried to intercept but left a loose ball that Hirayama skillfully took and fired a decisive shot from the center of the goal. However, it was saved by Omiya’s goalkeeper.At the 57th minute, Otake was brought on for Oguro, pushing Ricardinho to the top to aim for a goal. However, from around this time, the overall energy began to drop and the defensive line stretched out. On the contrary, Omiya brought FW Ishihara up front and placed FW Lee Chunsu on the right MF, launching sharp counters and gaining momentum. At the 62nd minute, Otake headed to Hirayama, who pressed near Omiya’s goal but failed to finish and lost the ball, leading to a counterattack. Unable to stop it, FW Lee Chunsu entered the area and took a shot, but Tokyo’s DF blocked it.At the 67th minute, Shigematsu replaced Ricardinho but could not suppress Omiya’s momentum. At the 69th minute, from Omiya’s speedy attack, FW Lee Chunsu crossed to FW Rafael, who volleyed directly; the shot hit the bar and bounced down. It was ruled no goal, but at the 73rd minute, a similar attack occurred, and Tokyo failed to clear the ball inside the area. FW Rafael then delivered a right cross, and MF Kanekubo ran to the far post and scored a header from a tight angle, conceding the first goal.At the 78th minute, Maeda replaced Mukuhara on the right side. The two forwards were Hirayama and Shigematsu, with Otake on the left. The defense switched to a three-back system, with Ishikawa and Tokunaga supporting the last line as they launched a counterattack. However, Omiya also brought on defensive players MF An and DF Mato to hold their defense. In response, in the final stages, Konno and Morishige pushed forward for a power play, but the ball did not settle up front, and they could not create attacking opportunities. As a result, despite taking 20 shots, they ended scoreless and suffered a frustrating home defeat. They could not start the new system with a win and suffered their third consecutive league loss.Player CommentsRicardinho: "All the players changed their mindset and united toward victory in today’s match. We were able to do what we tried in practice and got close to the goal. But I think we couldn’t finish at the crucial moment. I started on the left side and faced many one-on-one situations, including counters. While maintaining defensive awareness, I personally was able to create chances and felt positive. We need to keep good practice and switch focus to the next game to accumulate points."Tokunaga: "We applied pressure from the front and created several chances for counters and quick attacks. We committed many players to attack, but the accuracy at the final moment was the problem. We have to discuss more and refine our finishing to score goals."Coach Okuma’s Press Conference Summary"Although the preparation period was short, the players worked hard and expressed our intentions on the pitch, though not perfectly. However, the precision of slow attacks where counters don’t work, ball circulation, and overpassing that prevents counters need improvement. We want to raise team and individual judgment in these areas. Scoring, not content, remains the challenge. Whether we can finish chances or not. Also, not only the starting eleven but also the substitutes and young players need to express their feelings and improve physically. This match made us keenly aware of that. We want to continue positively as a united team.(On what else is lacking besides slow attack precision) It’s definitely finishing ability, but just saying that won’t solve it. How to enter the goal area is a challenge we have worked on in practice, and we want to keep repeating it to improve players’ judgment. Ideas combined with technique won’t improve immediately, but we want to increase team awareness and options. Shooting is the top priority, but we want to improve the quality in the attacking third.(What was emphasized during the short preparation period and what to continue) If the essence of soccer is lost, tactics become hollow. We want to keep pursuing what’s missing, such as ball contests, switching between offense and defense, thinking and running to create numerical advantage, and ball circulation, and aim to score and win."Omiya Coach Suzuki’s Press Conference Summary"The first half was largely controlled by FC Tokyo. Especially long balls to Hirayama, and FC Tokyo’s superior work rate led to us being reactive in second balls and anticipation. The early second half was similar, but substitutions and position changes allowed us to create chances from the sides and gain momentum. Although we had some bad luck, unlike the previous match against Kashima where players lost mental focus and collapsed, we maintained stability and did not lose rhythm. I think that was the key to today’s win. We struggled defensively and had low midfield work rate, making it tough to build the game, but our two forwards, FW Rafael, FW Lee Chunsu, and FW Ishihara held firm.(Intent behind substituting MF Fujimoto for FW Ishihara) We struggled to control and move the ball in midfield from the first half. So we made position changes and substitutions to keep the ball under our control. The ball settled at FW Lee Chunsu, and FW Rafael’s movement and ball retention were effective. How to use FW Lee Chunsu is key now—where to use him effectively to threaten the opponent. He can play various positions due to his ability. The substitution wasn’t according to plan but was a judgment made during the game."