Looking to grab a victory at Ajinomoto Stadium in our first game back at home.

　After resuming the league, we will enter a series of matches during Golden Week without any breaks. Starting with the 9th round against Sapporo on April 30th (Sat), we will have 3 consecutive matches against Tokyo V and Toyama. In the previous match against Chiba, we conceded 3 goals due to our own mistakes and suffered a painful defeat. Unfortunately, Yonemoto also got injured and had to leave the team. Coach Okuma pointed out the need to make adjustments, including the team composition, and add more intensity to our playing style for the upcoming match after the league resumes.

　The members, with Roberto CESAR in the starting lineup for the first time after improving his condition. Tokunaga and Kajiyama as double defensive midfielders, with Takamatsu and Roberto CESAR as the FW duo, and Suzuki and Taniyama on both sides, will face the match with a 4-4-2 formation. Pedro JUNIOR also returned from injury and made his first appearance on the bench.

　Sapporo, who finished 13th in J2 last season, seems to have not been able to achieve the desired results. However, under the leadership of coach Nobuhiro Ishizaki in his third year, the tactics have been well established and new additions such as DF Kawai have joined the team. Their quick counterattacks from a solid defense are sharp. In particular, 19-year-old fresh FW Mikami, MF Andrezinho with excellent dribbling skills, and MF Kondo who plays on the side, are all bold and energetic attackers. It will be necessary to maintain focus and respond without losing momentum against this strong attacking force.

　It is necessary to score decisive goals in the attack. The key will be whether we can use the space on Sapporo's side as Coach Okuma aims for. Above all, based on last season's record, this is a game where we absolutely want to take 3 points at Ajinomoto. We will aim for a consecutive win following the opening match against Tosu with a patient and persistent fight. The match started at 13:04 with Sapporo's kickoff, covered by clouds and feeling cool despite the sunlight.

Tokyo Aim For Win In Return To Ajinomoto Stadium

FC Tokyo began the demanding Golden Week schedule with a home fixture against Consadole Sapporo. With games against Tokyo Verdy and Toyama to come, Tokyo sought to banish the disappointment of their late collapse in the 3-0 defeat to Jef United Chiba in the previous outing by bouncing back with a win at home. Adding injury to insult, key midfielder Yonemoto suffered a serious injury in the Chiba match that may well keep him out of the team for several months. Tokyo manager Kiyoshi Okuma identified a need for the team to have more variety in its approach to the game.
Striker Roberto Cesar had raised his fitness to a level deemed fit to start and partnered Takamatsu in attack in a 4-4-2 formation. Tokunaga and Kajiyama played in central midfield with Yazawa and Suzuki on the flanks, while Pedro Junior had shaken off an injury to claim a place on the bench for the first time this year.
Opponents Sapporo lay in 13th.place at kick off. Despite a seemingly unimpressive record manager Nobuhiro Ishizaki was in his third year at the club. His tactics and approach were slowly permeating the team though, and the addition of Ryuji Kawai had stiffened the defence in an essentially counter-attacking team. Nineteen-year old striker Mikami provided the spark, ably supported by tricky winger Andrezinho and midfielder Kondo in a dynamic, pacy attack that would surely keep the Tokyo defence on its toes.
The key to the game would lie in Tokyo's ability to finish chances, and creating those chances would come from exploiting space left on the flanks by the visitors. Following the poor home record in the previous season, Tokyo were intent on posting a second-consecutive home win this year, with the kind of gutsy, tenacious display that earned three points against Sagan Tosu on the opening day.
The visitors kicked off shortly after 1pm. under hazy skies on a cool afternoon.

Although they completely took control, they gradually lost their attacking power...

　Completely took control from the start. Even when the ball was brought into the Tokyo team's territory, they were able to steal it with tough defense and connect it to their attack. In particular, chances were created from Abe's crosses, with Kajiyama picking up a second ball and taking a shot in the 6th minute. In the 9th minute, Roberto CESAR made a near-post run. In the 11th minute, Takamatsu broke through the defense with a long ball from their own half. While being marked by a defender, he attempted a forceful shot but it went wide. In the 12th minute, Takamatsu tried to connect with Abe's cross once again.

　At 14 minutes, Sapporo left MF Kondo cut off a pass sent to the center from their own zone. Tokunaga initiated a speedy counter from the pass by Abe to the center. Suzuki passed through and Kajiyama ran in free, creating a decisive opportunity. Sapporo continued to attack the goal one after another, but they were unable to hit the target.

　Sapporo exchanged passes between FW Mikami and MF Andrejinho in the left area at 23 minutes, and MF Kondo followed up with a shot from just outside the area, but Kanda touched it and escaped to a CK. This was Sapporo's first shot, but it would lead to an increase in opportunities to bring the ball to the finish. In the 32nd minute, Sapporo launched a quick attack, with right MF Furuta sprinting. The cross was punched away by Kanda, but it fell to Sapporo's MF Kondo on the opposite side, who took a shot but missed the target.

　After that, the ball was held and the game continued at Tokyo's rhythm, but Sapporo was able to control the key points and lost their attacking power. In the 43rd minute, Roberto CESAR intercepted the opponent's pass and rushed towards the goal, but was cut off just before the shot. In the first half stoppage time, from Tanihara's dribble, Suzuki entered the right area but was unable to take a shot. From here, Kajiyama → Mukuhara → Suzuki connected and crossed, but it was cleared. They were unable to create any chances and the first half ended scoreless.

Tokyo Seize The Initiative But Struggle In Attack 

Tokyo dominated the game from the kick off and comfortably regained possession in defence when Sapporo sporadically pushed forward. Abe's crosses caused the visitors' defence problems and Kajiyama pounced on a loose ball in the 6th minute to drive a middle-range shot narrowly wide. In the 9th minute Roberto Cesar burst in front of a defender to meet an early cross at the near post but his heel-flick curled over the bar, while Takamatsu showed great strength in holding off a defender and shooting marginally wide in the 11th. In the 12th minute another fine cross from Abe narrowly evaded Takamatsu inside the Sapporo penalty area.
In the 14th minute Tokyo intercepted a stray pass in midfield by Sapporo's Kondo, Tokunaga raced forward and swept the ball out to Abe, who played it back into the centre. Suzuki dummied neatly and Kajiyama, following up, had a decent sight of goal but drove his shot over the bar. Tokyo continued to threaten but were unable to hit the target.
On a rare foray in the 23rd minute Sapporo striker Mikami and midfielder Andrezinho exchanged passes on the left of the Tokyo area before setting up Kondo for a shot from outside the box. Gonda made a fine diving save, tipping the ball around the post for a corner. Emboldened by their first attempt on goal, the visitors slowly began to create further chances. In the 32nd minute midfielder Furuta raced clear of the Tokyo defence and crossed from the right; Gonda punched the ball clear but Kondo, on the left, regained possession and shot over the angle of the goal.
Although Tokyo enjoyed most of the possession and dictated the rhythm of the match, Sapporo held firm in the decisive areas and the attacking threat began to peter out. In the 43rd minute Roberto Cesar cut out a sloppy pass across the Sapporo backline and seemed to have the goal at his mercy for an instant until a defender made a sharp recovery and blocked his shot away. In additional time at the end of the first half Yazawa dribbled forward and found Suzuki inside the Sapporo area but once again Tokyo failed to muster a decisive finish. The home side regained possession and Suzuki crossed, only for the visitors' defence to clear the danger once more. The first period finished 0-0.

Unable to break through Sapporo's solid defense, they managed to survive the pinch and ended up with a scoreless draw.

　In the second half, Sapporo turned the tables and launched a strong attack. The central midfielder and side players made chances by pushing forward, and in the 49th minute, right back Takagi ran to the center and passed vertically to the attacking midfielder Miyazawa. Miyazawa skillfully maneuvered in the right area and set up a decisive shot for MF Andrezinho.

　GK Sapporo.D saved this pinch with a good save by Kindergarten, but in the 54th minute, Roberto CESAR brought the ball in from the left side and took a decisive shot with his speed, but Sapporo GK saved it... Suzuki sent the ball to the front of the goal with a ground pass to the right, and Takamatsu from Nia tried to score directly, but it was also saved by the GK...

　Unable to take advantage of scoring opportunities, Pedro JUNIOR made his debut by replacing Takamatsu immediately after. He tried to break through with the speed of the two top players. However, they struggled against Sapporo's defensive tactics and ended up creating scoring opportunities for Sapporo on the counter. In the 67th minute, Suzuki responded to Kondo's breakthrough and escaped with a corner kick, but Kawai was left unmarked at the far post and headed the ball in from Sandagawa's left corner kick.

　Substituting Nakamura for Suzuki in the 70th minute. In the 77th minute, Sapporo also substituted FW Mikami for tall DF Thiago, and launched a power play strategy. Both teams' lines were stretched out, and it became a counterattack battle. In the 80th minute, Sapporo made a sharp left cross and MF Miyazawa dove for a header near the goal. He was left free to take a decisive shot, but missed the target and escaped unscathed.

　Substituted Otake for Tanizawa in the 81st minute. Immediately after, left Nakamura → center Roberto CESAR with a through pass in the area. Kajiyama jumped out here and tried to shoot, but couldn't finish in front of Sapporo's cover... Sapporo's attack was centered around Gonda's save and they managed to defend without conceding any goals, but they ended up with a draw without scoring, unable to win at home.

　【Player Comments】《Gonda》"Everyone is feeling the frustration of losing 2 points. There were a few close calls and shots that could have been scored by Sapporo, but our defense against their second line didn't go well. As a GK, it's my job to make saves, but it's best to not let them take shots in the first place. We need to think about how to defend in dangerous situations and prevent shots. It's also important to not get discouraged at this point. We don't have much time until the next match, but we want to communicate and move in a better direction."

　"Pedro JUNIOR" "I was injured and away from the game for more than 3 months. My physical condition has improved, but to be honest, I am still far from 100%. I think I need to improve my technical skills as well. (Regarding my debut in Tokyo) I felt that it was a very good environment, including the stands, to play at home. Unfortunately, we couldn't win, but I want to work hard to contribute to a victory."

　[Summary of Coach Oikuma's Press Conference] "We need ideas against opponents who sit back. When the opponent stops coming forward, we need to come up with ideas that include not only dribbling but also combinations. It's difficult to break through opponents who have packed the area with numbers without coming up with ideas. Even if we put in high balls, they won't fall if Takamatsu isn't there. We also need to consider what happens after the ball falls. However, it's also important to defend without panicking and maintaining balance. If we panic and disrupt our defensive balance, it will be counterproductive. (About Sapporo) As time went on, they launched power plays while maintaining defensive balance. I feel that the number of players coming up was different from the previous match. In the future, this could happen plenty of times, so we want to think about ideas and using open spaces, including the roles of starters and substitutes. Today's two top players went too far to the center. We want to carefully assess the good points and points for improvement."

　[Sapporo Ishizaki Coach's Press Conference Summary] "In the midst of not being able to win, the players may have shrunk a little. In the beginning, we couldn't do what we usually do. However, after 20 minutes, we calmed down and were able to do what we wanted to do. We need to have more courage in the way we start the game and continue to fight. Also, when we enter the attack in a good way, we need to have more options and decision-making skills. We also want to increase our physical activity to strengthen our attack."

　(Regarding the attack in front of the goal) There are not enough people involved. I want to increase the number of people involved in ideas and balls. However, the challenge is to enter the area in a good shape rather than simply shooting from outside the area, and I think we were able to do that to some extent. (Did the draw with FC Tokyo, the strongest team in J2, become a turning point for us?) How can we show that in the next game? We lost to Shonan in the previous game, but the game itself was better than today. However, if we compare Shonan and Tokyo, Tokyo has several times more strength, so I think it can't be helped. We want to continue what we have been doing in the past two games in the next game. We haven't scored in the past three games, so we want to be able to score in the next game."

Tokyo Escape Close Calls, Earn Point

The second half proved a mirror image of the first as the visitors made all the running. Sapporo began to push more men forward from MF and along the flanks and the bolder approach resulted in a clear-cut chance for Andrezinho in the 49th minute. Right back Takaki sprinted forward through the middle of the field before moving the ball on to DF Miyazawa; Miyazawa neatly evaded the Tokyo defence, burst into the area and set up Andrezinho with a clear sight of goal.
GK Gonda was equal to the challenge though, denying Sapporo the opening goal with a fine save. In the 54th minute Roberto Cesar showed his ability with a sudden burst of speed and close control that took him through the Sapporo defence and into the penalty area on the right. He struck a powerful low drive that Lee, in the Sapporo goal, stood up to and blocked away.
Unable to make the breakthrough Tokyo opted to give Pedro Junior his debut, replacing Takamatsu in the 54th minute. The intention of using the Brazilian pair's pace to unlock the Sapporo defence was clear but as Tokyo pushed forward it was the visitors who threatened on the counter-attack. In the 67th minute Suzuki stayed with Kondo's forward run, shepherding the ball out for a corner. Kawai met the deep corner beyond the far post, looping a header back across goal that cleared the crossbar.
Tokyo replaced Suzuki with Nakamura in the 70th minute. Sapporo responded by replacing FW Mikami with towering DF Tiago, who took up a position in the frontline. The game became stretched and holes began to appear in both sides' defensive lines. In the 80th minute Sapporo launched a penetrative cross to the near post that MF Miyazawa met with a diving header. Fortunately for Tokyo his effort flashed wide of the post.
Tokyo's final throw of the dice was sending on Otake for Yazawa in the 81st minute. Moments later Tokyo seemed to have finally made the breakthrough when Roberto Cesar threaded a pass through the heart of the Sapporo defence, perfectly timed to meet Kajiyama's deft run. An alert defender spotted the danger and cleared the ball. GK Gonda's saves helped Tokyo to preserve the clean sheet but the home side was forced to settle for a point in a goalless draw.


Players' comments
Gonda
"We feel like we've let two points slip away today. I don't think we handled their second line particularly well and in fact they created some decent chances and opportunities for an attempt on our goal. As goalkeeper it's my job to stop shots but obviously it's better if we prevent them from shooting in the first place. It's important that we don't get downhearted now. There isn't much time before the next game so communication is the key as we seek to improve".

Pedro Junior
"I've been out of competitive action for three months with an injury. My condition is improving but I'm still far from being 100%. We need to improve in all areas, including technically. It was great to make my debut at home in front of a good crowd. It's disappointing that we couldn't win but I'll be doing my best to contribute to future victories".

FC Tokyo manager Kiyoshi Okuma
"We need ideas to play against opponents who defend so deeply. When they park the bus we need combination play, not just dribbling, to open them up. Even if we put high balls into the box, if Takamatsu isn't there we aren't going to get any second balls. We need a way of effectively using the second balls. However, it's also important that we don't panic in defense and that we keep our shape. If we become impatient and lose our defensive balance then it's like putting the cart before the horse. Sapporo ran the clock down, tried to maintain their balance and hit us with a power play. We're probably going to come up against a lot of teams who play this way so it's important that we develop ideas and ways of making the best use of space. Today I felt our two strikers spent too much time in the center of the pitch. We have to go away and evaluate the good and bad parts of today's performance".


Consadole Sapporo manager Nobuhiro Ishizaki
"With us not being able to win a game I feel the players are withering a little. From the kick off today we just weren't able to do what we usually do at the start of matches. However, we calmed down from around the 20-minute mark and began to show what we had planned on doing. We need a little more nerve in the way we approach games. We put some decent moves together but we need to be more decisive and to make better choices of the options available. We also need to increase our workrate to add more bodies to the attack. We aren't getting enough players into the danger areas and need to increase the number of players getting forward and the ideas they have with the ball. It hasn't been the case that we've just been shooting from outside the area, we're trying hard to put moves together to get inside the box.
What's our plan to move up now that we've got a draw against the strongest team in J2? That depends on how we fare in the next game. Last week we played better than today but lost to Shonan Bellmare. If you compare Shonan and Tokyo, then Tokyo are a much stronger team. We have to produce the better aspects of what we've shown in these last two games. We haven't scored a goal in three games yet and that's what we have to work on".