The league enters the second half of the season, aiming for further advancement in the standings by accumulating points even away from home.

　In the 18th round of the league, we will face Sagan Tosu away. In the previous round, we showed Tokyo-style soccer from the beginning and scored three goals in the first half, winning against G Osaka. Although there were some points to reflect on, we accumulated 28 points and entered the second half of the league. Coach Popovich said, "It will be our second match, but what we need to do remains the same. We will give our all to win each game and show our growth, and it is important to achieve results." He vowed to approach the victory with even stronger determination.

　Tokyo, currently in 10th place with 24 points, will face Jean. In the first half of the season, they achieved a great comeback with Watanabe's hat-trick, but were troubled by Jean's organized offense and defense and their powerful counterattacks. In the previous match against Urawa, they conceded 4 goals but managed to score 3 goals in the second half, showing their never-give-up attitude. They are particularly strong at home, with their only defeat at BEST DENKI STADIUM this season being against Kawasaki. Tokyo will also challenge with a fighting spirit.

　Tokyo, where Tokunaga, Yonemoto, and Gonda participated in the farewell match for the Japan national team for the London Olympics. Despite playing in the match only two days after the previous one, Yonemoto said, "Based on the challenges from the G Osaka match, I want to make sure to connect well after taking the ball. I also want to be conscious of finishing with a shot and not letting Tosu counterattack," and each player switched their mind and body to focus on preparing for the Tosu match. Ishikawa, who had been injured in his right calf, gradually improved his condition and was able to make it into the lineup.

　Recently, we have been creating attacking opportunities by starting from the sides and making runs behind the defense, and we want to continue this trend. We are aware of the importance of finishing and want to persistently repeat our attacks to score goals. Even if there are times when Tosu controls the pace, we want to win the game by aggressively defending and quickly transitioning to our attacks. The match started at 7:04 PM in Tokyo at Best Amenity Stadium.

In the second half, the team dominated the ball with a calm game play, but the score remained tied.

　At the beginning, we couldn't connect passes and were pushed back by Tosu, and they took control of the rhythm with their speedy attacks. In the 4th minute, MF Julian made a skillful trap from a long ball to the right front line and crossed it. The ball went to left MF Pirom Un-Prasert who was free in front of the goal. He was about to head it in, but Tokunaga quickly closed in and blocked it with his body, resulting in a corner kick. In the 6th minute, Tosu's right MF Julian was in a shooting position in the right area. However, Morishige and Yonemoto quickly blocked it with their bodies.

　Tokyo calmly waits here and looks for a chance. In the 16th minute, they create an opportunity on the right side and switch to the left. Nakamura tries to take a shot inside, but it is blocked by the opposing defender. In the 20th minute, they connect from the right side and Hasegawa makes a quick pass to Tanabe, who takes a direct shot but it goes over the bar. In the 29th minute, they intercept a pass on the left side. Tanabe takes the ball and shoots, but it goes wide.

　Furthermore, holding onto the ball for a longer period of time creates opportunities. In the 36th minute, Tanabe dribbles from the midfield and persistently carries the ball to the front of the right area, aiming for a goal, but it is blocked and results in a corner kick. From this right corner kick, Takahashi heads the ball but it goes wide. In the 43rd minute, Tanabe and Tanihara exchange passes in the center, and Hasegawa attempts a looping shot, but it goes straight to the GK. Despite continuously attacking, they are unable to turn the tide and the first half ends scoreless.

Second half, despite attacking, unable to capitalize on chances. Conceded a goal from a set piece and lost the game.

　Tokyo showed a powerful attack and created chances including FK. In the 47th minute, Tanabe received a foul in the opponent's territory and got a FK. Nakamura aimed from a distance but missed the target. In the 52nd minute, Tanabe brought the ball up to the front line from a counter and received a foul, earning a FK from just outside the left area. MoriShige aimed for it but hit the bar. In the 59th minute, they connected from a FK on the right side and Tokunaga brought it inside for a powerful shot, but it narrowly hit the top of the bar.

　At 61 minutes, Nakamura dribbled between the opponent's DF on the left front line. He passed it to Hasegawa in the center and received a return pass, but his shot from the left area was saved by the GK. While being cautious of a counterattack from Tosu, Tokyo maintained a balanced attack and defense, creating chances but unable to score. At 68 minutes, Tokyo substituted Ishikawa for Tanihara. At 73 minutes, they passed the ball around and looked for an opening, then passed it vertically to Lucas in the center, but he was unable to finish due to the Tosu DF in front of him.

　Tokyo was unable to break through the tough defense of Tosu and create any chances. On the other hand, Tosu continuously created opportunities from set pieces, but Tokyo's defense remained focused and held strong. However, in the 87th minute, a mistake led to a free kick for Tosu, and FW Tojin scored with a header. Tokyo tried to mount a comeback and in the 89th minute, Ishikawa's shot from the right was saved by the GK and resulted in a corner kick. In stoppage time, Mori Shige headed Ishikawa's free kick from the far post, but missed the target by a wide margin. In the end, the game ended in a disappointing defeat for Tokyo.

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"The period of injury was honestly long, so I wanted to repay everyone with my play. As a team, I thought it was important to stack wins here and play the soccer we aim for and win. However, personally, I think I couldn't change the rhythm or create effective opportunities. I had an image of scoring, but I need to pull out the ball a little more... I want to work hard to connect that image to a goal."

　《Yonemoto》"How many times did we take a throw-in in the opponent's half today...? I think it's important to not just pass the ball around, but also to make runs behind and kick it. (In the second half, there was a scene where Yonemoto took a cross?) If we can get a corner kick or a chance from a throw-in, and the forwards can face forward, that's good. If someone can get behind the opponent and pull them, even if the pass doesn't go through, then Tanabe can receive it... That's the kind of mentality we need to break through. However, both individually and as a team, we lacked accuracy and didn't feel like we gave it our all..."

　[Summary of Coach Popovich's Press Conference] "Of course, I cannot say I am satisfied with this result. However, I believe that we were the ones who played more football and always had the upper hand. As you can see from the fact that the opponent was firmly defending and aiming for counterattacks, they were just sitting back. I think it is a sign of respect towards our team that Tosu chose to defend and use counterattacks at home. It is because they recognize our attacking abilities."

　It's not just about conceding goals, but there have been repeated careless mistakes. We need to improve on that part. Also, we need to fix the fact that the same player is making the same mistakes. Except for the first 10 minutes of the first half, I think we were able to dominate the game and if we had scored when we had the chance, the result would have been different. I'll have to watch it again, but there were also situations where we were fouled in the opponent's area. If that had been a penalty, the result might have been different."

　【Sagan Tosu・YOON Jong Hwan Manager's Press Conference Summary】"First of all, I am extremely happy that we were able to win. The players did a really good job preparing this week. We didn't know what the result would be, but I think it was great that we were able to get a good result. Regarding the match, the players fought hard for 90 minutes, continuing to do what we needed to do. And today, I emphasized to the players the importance of concentration and mental strength. I think the players understood it well and did their best. I think we were able to firmly put on the first button of the second half and we want to continue to prepare well from now on."