One game to overcome the three-game winless streak and gain momentum at Ajinomoto Stadium

　On the 10th (Sat), following the match in Kumagaya, the 27th round will be held as the second consecutive home game at Ajinomoto Stadium, facing Kyoto Sanga F.C. Last round ended in a scoreless draw, and they have only gained 1 point in the past 3 matches. However, the players say, "As we enter the second round of matches and the opponents have studied us, we have been able to find our rhythm by starting the game simply and calmly."

　The challenge of lack of scoring power remains, but we must persist in our targeted soccer and break through. Returning to the undefeated home of Ajinomoto this season, we aim to seize the opportunity for victory and gain momentum in this important match.

　Kyoto, who are currently in 16th place with 27 points. In the first half of the match, Tokyo won 4-1, but the players talk about Kyoto's impression, saying, "The team situation has changed since then." FW Miyayoshi, Ito, and other young players lead the front three, and Takahashi says, "They play freely around them, and the front line is activated. In the 3-4-3 formation, it is difficult to catch the opponent and manage the risk."

　Manager Okuma also warned, "We are trying to stick to our style of soccer, which is to connect precisely. They will come at us using the strengths of their front line." It is likely that both teams will aim for possession-based soccer and attack each other, but it will be important not to give Kyoto the first goal in order to prevent them from gaining momentum. We want to surpass Kyoto in terms of how we use space and take care of the ball, and grab the victory.

　Tokyo, with the return of now-retired team member Konno to the starting lineup, who had been away from the team due to Japan national team activities. Gonda is also on the bench. Due to Nakamura's suspension, Mokuhara is starting as left back. On the other hand, Kyoto's FW Kubo starts on the bench. In the hot and humid weather that reminds one of midsummer, the match started at 6:34 pm with Kyoto's kickoff.

Tokyo Seek Return To Winning Ways At Ajinomoto Stadium

Following the home game in Kumagaya, FC Tokyo returned to Ajinomoto Stadium to take on Kyoto Sanga F.C. in the 27th game of the season. Including the goalless draw against Tochigi in the previous outing, Tokyo had earned only a single point from the last three games, yet the players remained upbeat, "We're playing teams for the second time this season now and although they've done their homework on us, we're starting matches with a simple approach, keeping calm and finding a rhythm".
The shortage of goals remained an issue, but there was no alternative than to forge ahead with the style of football the team aspired to and hope to break the deadlock. With the side unbeaten at Ajinomoto Stadium this year, the visit of Kyoto seemed an ideal opportunity to regain the momentum.
Opponents Kyoto lay in 16th place with 27 points at kick-off. Tokyo had recorded a 4-1 victory in the reverse fixture earlier in the year, but as the Tokyo players noted, "The team has changed drastically since then". According to Takahashi, youngsters such as Miyayoshi and Ito who constituted the 3-man strike-force were, "Looking at ease in a revitalized attack. They play a 3-4-3 formation, are difficult to pick up, and risk management is tricky".
Tokyo manager Kiyoshi Okuma also issued a warning, "They'll be looking to play through us with intricate passing and play to their strengths in attack". With both sides committed to passing football, an attacking encounter was envisaged; Tokyo would need to prevent the visitors from gaining any momentum and deny them space, while not conceding the first goal would be vital.
Konno returned to the Tokyo starting eleven following his exertions with the Japan National Team, while Sakata took a spot on the bench. Mukuhara switched to left-back in place of the suspended Nakamura. Kyoto's young striker Kubo also started on the bench.
Tokyo kicked off shortly after 6:30 pm on a hot and humid evening more akin to midsummer than early autumn.

Lucas scores equalizer after conceding first goal, Mokuhara's first goal leads to victory

　In the beginning, Kyoto dominated the ball with a large number of players in the midfield. They were able to connect passes and move forward. Tokyo also tried to transition from a strong defense to an attack, but in the midst of a back-and-forth battle, they were able to push forward from their own end in the 11th minute. Kajiyama passed the ball to Yuzawa on the right side, but Kyoto's defender Morishita quickly intercepted it and sent it to the front line. The ball was perfectly timed for Kyoto's forward Miyayoshi to receive it and take a shot, scoring a goal with a one-touch shot... Despite being cautious, Tokyo conceded the first goal due to a mistake.

　Tokyo, who has not yet won a comeback victory this season. The atmosphere was unpleasant, but they did not get shaken here and tried to counterattack from the side. In the 23rd minute, Kyoto's right MF Komai made a powerful dribble, but Morishige held him back. In the 25th minute, they were able to secure the ball in the front line and Shoji took a shot, but it was saved by Shioda. Then in the 31st minute, Kajiyama dribbled out and passed to Tanabe who had moved to the right. Tanabe crossed the ball and Lucas, who had fallen down, shot it with his foot. The ball bounced and floated into the net, equalizing with a passionate goal.

　In the 36th minute, a counterattack was launched from their own half, with Tanizawa passing to Tabei, who then passed to Mokuhara who ran a long distance and broke through from the left side. Mokuhara used his speed to get past the opposing defender, boldly swung his right foot, and scored a spectacular goal! Mokuhara's first professional goal became the go-ahead goal, and they completed the comeback to end the first half.

Lucas, Mukuhara Overturn Early Deficit

Kyoto flooded the midfield and dominated possession in the opening minutes, exchanging neat passes and looking dangerous going forward. Tokyo defended stoutly and attempted to turn defense into attack. Possession changed hands frequently including an attempted feed down the left wing from Kajiyama to Yazawa in the 11th minute. Kyoto midfielder Morishita read the move and intercepted the ball, then stroked a perfectly-weighted pass forward into the Tokyo area. Forward Miyayoshi outpaced the wrong-footed Tokyo defense, took a deft touch and drove the ball through Shiota to give his side an early lead. Despite all the warnings a mistake had led to the worst possible start.
Tokyo had yet to post a come from behind victory this season and although the atmosphere hung heavy in the stadium, on the pitch the side set about launching a fightback. In the 23rd minute Kyoto midfielder Komai embarked on a surging run until expertly stopped by Mukuhara and two minutes later Shiota was forced into a smart save at his near post to parry away a stinging drive from defender Sakai. Then, in the 31st minute, Kajiyama drove forward from midfield and picked out Tanabe in space on the right. Tanabe curled a tempting cross into the danger area and Lucas met the ball with a jumping volley. The ball struck the bottom of Lucas' boot, hit the ground and ballooned over Mizutani's despairing dive to nestle into the back of the net. A sweeping, powerful move had brought the equalizer.
In the 36th minute a Kyoto move broke down and Tokyo launched a counter attack, with Yazawa finding Tanabe inside the Tokyo half. Mukuhara had made a break down the left through the Kyoto backline and raced forward half the length of the field to latch onto Tanabe's through ball. Mukuhara cut inside a defender some 25m from goal before unleashing a sumptuous right-footed drive that curled above and beyond Mizutani and inside the far post. Mukuhara's goal, the first of his professional career, gave Tokyo the lead at half time.

Lucas scores a hat-trick, leading the team to a big victory with the most points!

　In the early 47th minute of the second half, Hanyu made a move on the right side and earned a corner kick. Mori Shige scored the third goal with a perfect header from Tanizawa's kick. With a two-point difference, Tokyo took control of the game. They quickly switched from defense to attack and launched a speedy and powerful attack against Kyoto, who tried to push forward and attack by raising their line.

　In the 57th minute, while connecting with the DF line, Mori Shige sent a ground vertical pass to Lucas in front of the goal. Lucas, who received the ball, skillfully cut back the DF facing him with a feint in front of the area and scored in the upper left corner, marking the fourth goal.

　Kyoto, who continued to attack by raising their line, showed their momentum by effectively using space. In the 71st minute, Ishikawa was substituted for Hanyu, and in the 84th minute, Sakata was substituted for Tanabe. Immediately after, in the 85th minute, Ishikawa, who was trying to break through the front line, was fouled and earned a free kick from just outside the area on the left. Lucas took this opportunity and scored a magnificent hat-trick!

　In stoppage time, Konno and Takahashi connected and Ishikawa broke through on the right side with speed, pulling the opponent's defender towards the right area and making a last pass to the center. Sakata easily scored the goal! Although they allowed Kyoto to take the lead, in the end Lucas scored a hat-trick, Mokuhara scored his first professional goal, and Sakata also marked his first goal in Tokyo. They scored a total of 6 goals, the most in the league (the most since December 5, 1999 in the Emperor's Cup), and achieved their first come-from-behind victory of the season.

　[Player Comments]《Mukuhara》"(I was able to bring the ball to the goal smoothly. I thought I was going to be used on the left today with the purpose of holding back the opponent on defense, but if I could receive the ball in a good position, I wanted to take a shot. It was also a comeback goal, and I was able to get into a rhythm with that. We were scored on first, but we didn't let the opponent do much and I think I was able to tire them out by constantly moving forward. I think I was able to achieve the minimum goal. I think being able to score a lot of goals at Ajinomoto Stadium will lead to future success, but from here on, each game will become more and more important. I want to focus on each game in front of me and give my all for the team to win as an individual."

　"Lucas" "I've been starting for a few games, but we couldn't win. So I'm really happy that the team won and I was able to score a goal. The goal came naturally. From now on, I want to contribute to the team's victory and put it first. The last hat-trick was against Verdy in 2004 in Tokyo. I'm happy with one goal, so the joy is doubled. FK is usually kicked by Morishige or Nakamura, but there were injuries and suspensions, so I've been practicing since yesterday. I had a good feeling, so I had confidence. Every game won't be easy, and it will be a difficult game in the future. That's why we need support. Let's work together and win."

　[Summary of Coach Okuma] "Kyoto will definitely come fiercely within the first 15 minutes, and we should not let them take it. It's very disappointing. It's good that we woke up and tried to get back the goal ourselves, but we have struggled a lot even when we were behind by one goal before. In terms of the game, there were some parts that we didn't understand. However, there were more movements beyond the ball from Lucas than before. Mokuhara, who has never played left back, was able to go beyond the opponent and attack their backline, so there are things that we should continue to do in the future. It was a game where we had to reflect on our mistakes and also had new gains. Mokuhara also had some good crosses and early crosses from the left side. He did well for his first time playing in that position. It's good to have good competition, including Nakamura. I think it's very positive to have competition within the team."

　[Kyoto - Coach Ogi's Press Conference Summary] "I apologize to all the supporters who came to support us from Kyoto. We didn't play badly in the first 20 minutes and even scored the first goal. However, after that, we started to defend and let the opponent control the ball until they scored. Then we conceded the second goal and we couldn't connect the ball well after winning it. We entered the second half with the mindset that it's still 2-1 and we can come back, but we conceded a header from a corner kick. After that, it felt like the same as the last time we played at home. However, we kept attacking until the end. Especially MF Ando was working hard. We had a red card and conceded a lot of goals, but we have to move on. We only had 20 minutes, but we have to see how long we can keep playing from the start of the first half. I had confidence that we could do more, but unfortunately it didn't go as planned."

Lucas Hat Trick Earns Biggest Ever League Win

The second half began with Tokyo on the front foot again and Hanyu earned a corner as he pushed forward down the right in the 47th.minute. Yazawa stroked the ball into the center where Morishige, entirely unmarked on the six-yard line, thumped a header past Mizutani to double the lead. With the two-goal cushion Tokyo began to dominate the game, forcing Kyoto to play a higher line and push forward in an attempt to salvage the game.
In the 57th.minute, after playing the ball around in defense, Tokyo suddenly broke forward with Morishige clipping the ball up to Lucas on the edge of the Kyoto area. Lucas showed fast feet to feint past a defender, creating the half a yard of space he needed to fire off a left-footed shot. The ball took a slight deflection off a lunging defender's boot and beat Mizutani high to his right, stretching Tokyo's lead to three.
Kyoto continued to push forward, leaving vast swathes of open space that Tokyo exploited ruthlessly. Ishikawa replaced Hanyu in the 71st.minute while Sakata went on for Tanabe with five minutes remaining. Ishikawa darted through the Kyoto defense in the 85th.minute before being flattened from behind some 25 yards from goal and slightly to the left. Lucas stepped up and drove a glorious free kick over the wall and under the bar to earn himself a hat-trick and Tokyo's fifth goal of the game.
As the game moved into additional time Konno and Takahashi combined down the right, setting Ishikawa free behind the Kyoto defense once again. Ishikawa swerved into the penalty area and poked the ball through a defender's legs, presenting Sakata with a tap-in from the edge of the six-yard box with Mizutani completely stranded. Despite falling behind Tokyo had rallied with Lucas' hat trick, Mukuhara's first professional goal and Sakata's first for his new club. The six-goal haul was the first-ever in a league game (although the team had scored six in an Emperor's Cup tie on December 12th.1999) and marked the first come from behind win of the season.


Players' comments
Mukuhara
"For the goal I got the ball under control smoothly before I shot. Our objective in defense was to keep the opposition out today, I was played on the left and thought about trying to shoot if I got the ball in a good position. The goal gave us the lead and helped me find my own rhythm. They took the lead but didn't really break us down all that much and I was continually pushing forward to try and tire them out. We achieved what we were aiming to do in that respect. I think that running up such a massive score at Ajinomoto Stadium will have a good effect on future performances although we have to focus on each game as it comes even more than before. On a personal level I want to give everything I can to contribute to winning games".

Lucas
"I've been starting games recently but we haven't been winning so I'm thrilled that we won today and that I got on the scoresheet. We scored freely from the flow of play. Winning is the most important thing and I just want to make a contribution. That's the first hat trick I've scored since the Nabisco Cup game against Verdy back in 2004. I'd be happy to score even one goal so to score three is trebly satisfying. Usually Morishige or Nakamura would take the free-kicks but one had a slight knock and the other is suspended so I was practicing taking them in training yesterday. I had a good touch and felt confident. No games are easy to win and from now on they're only going to get more difficult so we really need strong support from the fans. We want to be united and go on to victory together".


FC Tokyo manager Kiyoshi Okuma
"Even though we knew that Kyoto would come out strongly for the first 15 minutes we still conceded in a way we never should have done. It was very disappointing. Having to recover really forced us to wake up but so far we've made hard work of pulling it back when we've gone a goal down so the outcome wasn't entirely easy to predict. However, with Lucas as the focus, we got players ahead of the ball far more than we have recently. Mukuhara had never played at left back before yet he beat his man and got behind their defence and that's something we have to carry on doing in the future. It was a game that presented us with both points to reflect on and new things to be pleased with. Mukuhara took to the position very well, getting in crosses and playing early balls and he's going to give Nakamura some competition for the place. It's very positive for the team that we have such competition for places".

Kyoto manager Takeshi Oki
"I feel like I have to apologize to all the fans who came to support the team today. For the first 20 minutes we didn't play badly at all and took the lead. However, after we got our noses in front I felt we became far too passive and allowed our opponents to play the ball around. And then, after we conceded the second goal we simply couldn't string our passes together. Even so, it was only 2-1 at half time and we felt we were still in the game but then we conceded from a corner soon after the restart. The remainder of the game was like watching a replay of the last time we met. We still attacked to the bitter end, though. In particular I felt that midfielder Ando fought very hard. We had a player sent off and suffered a heavy defeat but there's nothing to do except look forward to the next game. It was only a 20-minute spell but if we could have continued playing the way we did at the start then who knows. We had the confidence but couldn't keep it up, unfortunately".