Aiming to take 3 points with the momentum and feeling gained from the ACL Beijing match

　In the 7th round of the league, we will face Vegalta Sendai away. In the 4/17 ACL Beijing match, we had a dynamic attack centered around fresh attackers such as Watanabe, Otake, and Tanabe, and we also kept a clean sheet with Shioda, who came on as a substitute for the injured Gonda, leading the defense. From there, we have a series of consecutive matches, but we want to avoid consecutive losses in the league following the Kashima match in the previous round. With the momentum and confidence gained from the Beijing match, we aim to take 3 points away from home.

　Tokyo, currently leading the league with 5 wins and 1 draw. In the Nabisco match against Kawasaki on 4/18, GK Hayashi, DF Uemoto, and FW Akamine, along with 7 key players, faced the match but lost. However, they remain undefeated in the league. In addition to their solid defense and quick counterattacks from last season, this season they have also been aggressive in their defense, constantly trying to steal the ball from the front line. Their quick attacking style is still effective, as they have scored 14 goals so far, the most in the league.

　Tokyo will face Kashima without Hasegawa, who was suspended after the previous game. Kajiyama will also be left out of the squad due to his condition. As a result, Takahashi and Yonemoto will play in the defensive midfield, while Otake, who made his first start of the season in the Beijing game, will also start in the attacking midfield. Watanabe will lead the line as the lone striker. In particular, the key to our attack will be how we can break through the tall and strong opposition defense with our speedy passing. Otake, Hayashi, and Ishikawa will be crucial in creating opportunities by moving between the defenders and making runs in and out of the box.

　As Ishikawa says, "Solid risk management is also necessary," we want to judge the development of the game by quickly switching between offense and defense, and determine the fast attack and rotation to look for chances. Although it is a match against the top team, we want to persistently break through their solid defense by repeatedly attacking their weaknesses, and lead to victory. The game started at 19:04 with Tokyo's kickoff at Yurtec Stadium Sendai.

In a tense atmosphere, we were caught off guard and conceded the first goal in the first half stoppage time.

　From the start of the match, both teams are competing with compact formations. There have been scenes where Sendai has been able to bring the ball up to the goal with their powerful counterattacks, but Tokyo is also focused on defense and trying to move the ball up to the front line. In the 17th minute, a pass from midfielder Takahashi to Watanabe, who is making a run behind the defense, is called offside. In the 20th minute, Sendai's FW Akamine is able to break through the defense on the right side, with MF Ota crossing the ball from behind. FW Wilson is able to head the ball, but goalkeeper Gonda catches it and the situation is resolved without any issues.

　Tokyo gradually gains control of the game by defending against the opponent's attacks. In the 25th minute, a feed is sent to Hayashi who jumps out into the area from Hyun Soo JANG, but it is contested by the defense and becomes the opponent's ball. In the 26th minute, Yonemoto takes a middle shot from the left side after passing with Watanabe and Ota, but it misses the target by a large margin. In the 29th minute, Otake and Hayashi connect with one touch, and Ota shows a "typical form" by going up the left side. However, Ota sends the ball inside, and from the ball dropped by Otake, Yonemoto's pass from the left side goes out of bounds.

　Despite being pushed back by the opponent's sharp counterattacks, they remain focused on defense. There are moments where they show Tokyo-like passing, but they struggle to bring the ball into dangerous areas against the opponent's intense press. It seemed like the first half would end with both teams scoreless, but in stoppage time, they give away a free kick to the opponent. Then, the ball is played behind the defense and FW Julian breaks through. It looked like he was offside, but he times his run perfectly and Tokyo can't keep up with the marking. He easily scores a goal...and they concede. The first half ends just like that.

Defeat without being able to grasp the flow until the end, including the dismissal of coach Ranko POPOVIC.

　Tokyo, who wants to catch up, substitutes Taichi for Otake in the second half. Hayashi moves to left MF and Hanyu becomes the attacking midfielder. In the 50th minute, Hanyu and Ishikawa connect from Tanabe's vertical pass and enter the area. Finally, Watanabe on the right side sends a ground cross and Ota receives it freely in the far side, but is stopped before he can get past the defender and cannot finish...

　In the 56th minute, Tanizawa and Lucas replaced Yonemoto and Hayashi. They made all three substitutions early on, with Lucas and Watanabe playing in a formation close to a two-top. Tanizawa took the left side and Tanabe entered as a midfielder. However, right after that, Sendai's midfielder Kakuta was replaced by MF Matsushita, who sent a right cross from the front line, and was powerfully headed in by MF Sekiguchi in the center... resulting in a 2-point lead. Just when they were about to attack, they were thwarted.

　Tokyo, who continue to play their own soccer without giving up. In the 72nd minute, Lucas seemed to collide with the GK while trying to break through the left area on the verge of offside, but he was warned. In addition, in the 75th minute, coach Popovic was sent off... Coach Nagashima took over. Even after that, they tried to connect passes and attack, but they lost the ball in front of Sendai's tough defense and couldn't create any attacking opportunities until the end. They couldn't stop Sendai's momentum in defense either, and they conceded 4 goals in total, resulting in a defeat.

　[Player Comments] <Mori Shige> "Rather than being completely broken down, we were not able to concentrate. As a result, we were caught off guard for a moment and allowed the opponent to take advantage. Strong teams and teams with momentum will definitely exploit those opportunities. We should have been able to prevent those goals, but we need to reflect on that and make corrections. In terms of attack, we want to discuss and come up with various ideas on how to break down the opponent's defense... We want to share this with the entire team and improve our playing style."

　"Tanabe" "Sendai started moving quickly. I thought we had a chance if we could keep it to one goal, but we ended up conceding while trying to attack. I felt that Sendai's team was very well-rounded and they were thorough in their kicking and running, and they were also very bold. However, personally, I didn't think there was as much of a difference in skill as the score showed. In the first half, I thought our defense was solid while watching from the bench, but when I got on the pitch, there were also moments where we were able to push forward with one-twos and dribbles. Their defense against crosses may be strong... But in the end, I think we rushed too much vertically and ended up being half-hearted."

　Sendai drew and I became a defensive midfielder right after the game, so I didn't know where to receive the ball. Should I go for the goal even if it means losing balance... Maybe it would have been better if Morige and the others had pushed up and gone for the goal... I think we also needed to calm down and pass the ball more. However, the coach also said after the game, "This is soccer. There's no need to look down." It's better to accept a 0-1 loss than to go on the attack and concede 4 goals, and we want to use that as a lesson for the next game."

　[Summary of Coach Nagashima's Press Conference] "We came here today to test our current strength against the top team, Sendai, away from home. Regardless of the opponent, we tried to stick to our own style in both offense and defense, but Sendai pressed us from a higher position than last season and aimed for short counters, as well as targeting behind our high defensive line. We had anticipated it to some extent, but the fact that we were caught there shows our immaturity. In the end, we conceded 3 goals and a total of 4 goals. We cannot afford to collapse like this, and it is very disappointing that our team lost focus and could not continue to play our own style until the end."

　【Sendai・Makoto TEGURAMORI's Press Conference Summary】"In today's top match, we talked about how it will be a battle of collective and group play in the meeting. It's about how we can continue to play collectively and maintain it, that's how we win. As a team, we have been conceding goals recently, so first of all, we want to keep Tokyo's attacking power at zero. That will give us confidence and show our strength once again. The first half was a really tight game where both teams showed their strengths. In that, it was very important that we were able to score in stoppage time."

　When we entered the second half, I could see a little bit of fatigue from Tokyo in the ACL. The players took advantage of that and kept pushing. Throughout the game, we were able to fight as a team and show that anyone can step up in this busy schedule. I believe this big win was possible thanks to the supporters who cheered us on with all their might, understanding the flow of the game. Seeing Tokyo struggling in the ACL, if we make it to the ACL next year, we have learned that we must fight even in those tough situations. I think our mental and physical strength were superior today."