Welcome to Sec. 25 at the Japan National Stadium, let's secure a victory this match!

　On Sunday, October 3rd, we face Sec. 25 of the league, playing at home in the National Stadium against Shonan Bellmare. In the previous match against Omiya, we failed to capitalize on our chances and suffered a defeat. Under Coach Okuma's leadership, we could not secure our first victory, extending our winless streak in the league to 10 matches. Especially in the first half, despite controlling the game, conceding a goal caused frustration and a drop in our work rate. However, the players all say they "felt some positive signs." This match is crucial to convert that feeling into goals and secure 3 points. Having had a week since the last match, we prepared carefully. Coach Okuma said about the lineup, "If we fix the starting 11, we can't respond well to accidents, so we tried various combinations in practice. However, since the previous match's performance was not bad, we decided not to change the lineup today. The substitutes' condition has also improved. We want to raise the team's strength together," so we will field the same members as the previous match. Also, Hanyu, who had been injured, has returned and is included in the squad for the first time since Sec. 22 against Urawa. Shonan Bellmare currently sits 18th with 15 points. They have not won since Sec. 13 against Kyoto on July 18 and remain winless in 11 league matches, continuing a difficult situation. However, they have scored a total of 26 goals so far. In their last six matches, they have scored in every game, utilizing FW Abe's sharp movements to lose his marker, as well as the shooting power of FW Emerson and MF Sakamoto, consistently adding goals. FW Tahara will be suspended this match, but Gonda warns, "Shonan's frontline has mobile players, and if we lose concentration against them, we will be punished." Shonan is also a team that skillfully implements tactical changes and opponent strategies during matches. Tokyo wants to take control and extend the time controlling the game. Therefore, who scores the first goal will be key. Even if we concede, we must not lose heart but calmly fight through, learning from the Omiya match. We must keep showing a strong attitude toward the goal and aim for victory. Although the match was cloudy, the weather at the National Stadium was crisp and autumn-like. The match kicked off at 15:05 with Tokyo starting.

Oguro scores the long-awaited opening goal, and Ishikawa follows up with a powerful finish!!

　From the start, the team showed an aggressive attitude, launching attacks centered around Hirayama and creating chances through Ishikawa and Ricardinho towards the Shonan goal. At 3 minutes, Ishikawa broke through the side and earned a corner kick, from which Tokunaga connected directly with his right foot in the center. At 6 minutes, Oguro’s right cross was dropped by Hirayama, and Nakamura took a mid-range shot. At 18 minutes, from Ishikawa’s cross, Ricardinho was free at the far post but couldn’t make contact. At 21 minutes, from Morishige’s forward run, Hirayama sped up and took a shot, but it went off target. Unable to break down Shonan’s concentrated defense, the team faced energetic counters from Shonan’s FW Abe and MF Sakamoto, resulting in a back-and-forth battle. At 31 minutes, Oguro dropped Ricardinho’s cross to Hirayama behind him, but after evading the opposing defender, his trap was off and he couldn’t complete the shot. From there, Shonan launched a counterattack, with FW Baba rushing into the area. Unable to stop him, the ball was laid back, and MF Terakawa took a shot from the right area, hitting the bar. The rebound to the left area was closed down by MF Emerson, but the shot was blocked by Kim Young-gun’s body. Then at 33 minutes, Shonan’s FW Emerson entered the right area, connected with MF Sakamoto running inside the right area as if crossing, creating another decisive chance, but Gonda’s save averted consecutive dangers. Surviving this period, at 38 minutes, the team earned a corner from Ricardinho’s cross. From Ishikawa’s right corner kick, Konno headed it down, and Oguro reacted to the ball bouncing in front. He quickly turned and pushed it into the goal, scoring the long-awaited opening goal! Immediately after, at 39 minutes, Ishikawa made a speedy move up the right side and switched the play. From the left, Ricardinho passed simply to Hirayama in front of the central area, and Ishikawa, making a precise run, scored a powerful goal with his right foot! The team piled on the pressure to score an additional goal, taking a 2-goal lead going into the second half.

Ricardinho scores his first goal in the league! Gonda makes a great save to achieve victory for the first time since Sec. 11.

　In the second half, from the very beginning, they launched quick attacks, and at the 46th minute, Ishikawa advanced up the right side and delivered a pinpoint high cross in front of the goal. Hirayama jumped in and tried to head the ball, but was challenged by the opposing goalkeeper, resulting in a corner kick. At the 51st minute, Ishikawa won a loose ball in midfield and passed from the right to Morishige, then to Mukuhara who had moved inside. Mukuhara couldn't shoot, but from a rebound off the opposing defender, Hirayama in the center front took a shot, which went straight to the goalkeeper. At the 53rd minute, from an early cross by Mukuhara, Daikoku in the right area passed in front of the goal. Although it didn't connect with Ricardinho or Hirayama, they continued the rebound and launched a wave of attacks. The precision in the final plays was lacking, and the goal remained elusive. Then, as Shonan tried to counterattack without giving up, Tokyo began to tire and faced consecutive dangerous situations. At the 67th minute, Shonan forward Abe used his speed to break into the left area. Konno, who faced him, prevented a shot but a cross was delivered, and Shonan MF Nagaki jumped in, but Gonda rushed out and caught the ball. At the 71st minute, Shonan MF Sakamoto broke behind the defense, creating a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, but Gonda made a save! Centered on Gonda’s great play, the defenders also put their bodies on the line and defended tenaciously. At the 72nd minute, Matsushita was brought on for Morishige, and at the 77th minute, Shigematsu replaced Ishikawa. Using substitutions, they aimed to regain rhythm through tough defense and fight on. This strategy paid off, and at the 84th minute, Nakamura passed to Ricardinho who carried the ball into the left area and scored a well-aimed shot into the far side net, securing the third goal! At the 88th minute, Maeda replaced Daikoku, and by controlling the ball, they firmly closed out the match until time was up. Although there remain issues with the precision of the final plays and stamina over 90 minutes, it was a long-awaited victory at home in the National Stadium! In the league, this was the first 3-point win since the Shonan match on July 25, Sec. 14, which coincidentally was the same matchup. 【Player Comments】 《Daikoku》 “The opening goal came from a good ball from a corner kick, and I expected a rebound, but then a header came from Konno, so I changed the course. It wasn’t something I aimed for from the start, but reacting to rebounds like that is my specialty. Right now, there aren’t many through passes or such plays, but I think we can play even better soccer. We only won one match, and although we moved up one position, there’s still a long way to go. It’s important to keep this winning streak going and connect it to the next game. The supporters have been cheering us on all along, so both the players on the pitch and those without playing time want to unite and do their best to meet those expectations.” 《Ishikawa》 “(About my goal) I saw the course clearly, so I was able to calmly aim. But I think it was a goal where everyone moved in coordination and our feelings came together for one ball. It was good to score in that kind of situation during the flow of the game. I know my shooting range and the positions where I can score, so I’ve been thinking about what I can do when I get into those spots. Ricardinho and Sota linked up well, and I was able to draw the ball out. In the first half, we created many chances but couldn’t finish, but finally scored first from a set piece. Right then, I thought ‘Let’s get one more and go for the win,’ and I wanted to show that feeling to the team. I feel confident, but we have to connect this to the next game. Also, I’m eager to play the next match soon and score goals.” 【Coach Okuma’s Press Conference Summary】 “The result was 3-0, but in the first half, there were some spaces in defense, and if we had conceded first, the outcome could have been different. However, we endured and pulled the victory closer. The players fought well without losing concentration for 90 minutes. They are showing direction, but it’s also true that some players’ physical condition drops in the second half, and the opponent took control at times. Some players lack the physicality to run for the full 90 minutes. Since we hadn’t won for a while, I think the players are happy, but the next game is important. We want to approach the remaining nine matches as if they were the opening game. (Is there pressure playing at home after the opening game victory?) Home or away doesn’t matter, but with such strong support at home, it’s the minimum requirement to pursue victory with all your heart for 90 minutes. I tell the players they must show their pride individually and as a team in the match. On top of that, we want to improve tactics and fix the parts where loose balls were lost in midfield. (How did you handle the bad periods?) Shonan’s defensive midfielder Terakawa picked up second balls and created chances. I couldn’t fix that quickly myself, and just trying hard in the pro world isn’t enough to snatch victory. But from the locker room, I felt everyone’s strong will, and mentally they hadn’t given up. (Expectations for Daikoku?) He has scoring ability and works hard defensively. But ideally, I want him to run behind the defense line, pull the opponent’s line, and free up the midfield. Hirayama hasn’t shown much of that, and Daikoku tends to drop back, so the midfield is vulnerable. I want to threaten the opponent with the midfield and defensive midfielder setup. We have many injured players and can’t choose freely, but even in this situation, stability is necessary. Rather than fixing the lineup, I want to try various variations in practice matches and fine-tune so that team performance and individual characteristics come out.” 【Shonan Coach Sorimachi’s Press Conference Summary】 “I think it was a game where it was hard to find bad points. Despite being last place, we fought bravely. Unfortunately, we fell short, but we have no choice but to keep fighting. (About the content) Today, we had more opportunities to bring the ball into the opponent’s area than before. It was the kind of match where, as the coach always says, ‘If only that had gone in…’ We also saw parts that explain why FC Tokyo is struggling. When we put in vertical balls, we expected to challenge the opponent’s last line, so in a way it went as predicted. However, if we could create a 3 vs 2 in midfield and face forward there, we could have created better distance and width and gotten more into the vital area. The distances were close, and the sides were sloppy, which can’t be denied. Considering FC Tokyo’s condition, it was inevitable that we could create chances, but we were just a bit off. On the other hand, FC Tokyo has the ability to exploit a momentary gap. That concentration is where we differ. If we could block well in defense for a moment and exploit a momentary gap in attack, we could rise in the rankings, but we can’t do that. I thought the opening goal would decide the match, but including the subsequent goals conceded, it wasn’t a bad game, so I want to play again.”