Home game after about a month, facing the bottom-ranked Sapporo

　The league Sec. 30 is held. We will face Consadole Sapporo at home Ajinomoto. In the previous match against C Osaka, we conceded a goal at the start of the second half, allowing us to fall behind for the eighth consecutive official match. Nevertheless, we did not lose our composure and fought back to draw, but Coach Popovic reflected, "When you are in a position to chase, you inevitably become mentally and physically exhausted and lose your composure."

　To resolve that issue, this match is crucial to take the lead at all costs and to advance the game in our favor. This week, while Morishige's suspension is over, Hasegawa will be suspended for two matches due to his red card in the previous game. Therefore, Hyun Soo JANG will play as center back, Tokunaga will be on the right side back, Nakamura on the left, and Takahashi and Yonemoto will serve as double defensive midfielders.

　Against Sapporo, it was confirmed that they are in 16th place or lower in the relegation zone after Sec. 27. However, in the following two matches, they utilized MF Kawai as a DF, achieving 1 win and 1 draw against the higher-ranked teams, Urawa and Kashima, without any losses. In this match, DF Kushibiki is suspended, and DF Nara and FW Sakaki are absent due to activities with the U-19 Japan national team, forcing a change in the team composition, but their "determination and resurgence" should not be underestimated.

　In the previous away match, we struggled as Sapporo took control of the rhythm, so we must not neglect risk management against organized counters and the strikes from MF Furuta and FW Oshima. We want to seize the initiative in both offense and defense. Throughout the 90 minutes, we will not create any gaps and will put our determination into achieving victory! Although the sun has set and there's a chill in the air, the match started at 17:04 with Sapporo's kickoff under clear autumn skies.

Take the lead with Hyun Soo JANG's first goal

　From the start, they seized the rhythm and approached the Sapporo goal. In the 2nd minute, after a pass exchange between Lucas and Kajiyama in front of the Sapporo goal, Kajiyama sent a final pass to Lucas, who had circled into the area, creating a decisive moment, but Lucas's shot, taken freely, was blocked by the right post. After that, Tokyo continued to dominate the ball and progressed the match within the Sapporo territory, but in the 10th minute, starting from Sapporo's FW Oshima, DF Iwanuma entered the left area from a pass by MF Okamoto. A shooting chance was created, but Yonemoto cut it with a sliding tackle, resulting in a corner kick.

　Gradually, Sapporo began to create attacking plays utilizing counterattacks, but in the 16th minute, Tokunaga advanced on the side and boldly initiated a play, earning a right corner kick. In the 17th minute, Ishikawa's corner kick was cleared, but Kajiyama reacted to the loose ball and connected with Ishikawa on the right side with a heel pass. From there, Hyun Soo JANG dove in, evading the opposing defender from the far side, and powerfully headed the ball into the goal! From the flow of the set play, they scored the opening goal for the first time since Sec. 26 in the league.

　In the 19th minute, Sapporo MF Okamoto made a bold move from the left side and took a powerful dribbling shot. However, it was saved by Gonda, resulting in a corner kick, and after that, Tokyo took control of the game. In the 27th minute, from a series of precise passes in the Sapporo half, Tanabe passed to Kajiyama, who then set up Lucas, and Tanabe, in front of the goal, took a decisive shot but hit it straight at the goalkeeper.

　In the 30th minute, Yonemoto advanced on the right and switched sides, passing to Kajiyama on the left, then to Ishikawa on the right, and finally to Lucas in the center. They created a decisive chance in a coordinated manner, but Lucas's shot went just slightly to the left... Although they managed to suppress the speedy counterattack from Sapporo, centered around Yonemoto, they could not secure an additional goal and ended the first half with a one-goal lead.

Tanabe, Ishikawa, VUCICEVIC... a torrent of goals leading to victory since Sec. 27

　In the second half, they aggressively attacked, and in the 47th minute, Isao TAKAHASHI made a vertical pass into the area. This was cleared by the opposing defender, but Tanabe seized the loose ball and dribbled forward, with Isao TAKAHASHI following up on the ball that spilled back into the area. Tanabe then dribbled the ball to the left side of the area and took a shot with his left foot from a tight angle. This went through the legs of the opposing defender, grazed the far post, and found the net! They successfully scored the second goal early in the second half.

　With this momentum, in the 59th minute, Tanabe stole the Sapporo.D ball in his own territory and advanced. Lucas passed to the right to Ishikawa, who made a vertical pass. Although the ball was initially taken by Sapporo.D, Ishikawa applied pressure on the opposing defender, regained possession, and utilized his speed to score the third goal from the center of the area.

　In the 63rd minute, Nemanja VUCICEVIC came on for Yonemoto on the left side. Tanabe moved to the defensive midfield position, further intensifying the attack. In the 64th minute, while passing the ball around in their own half, Morishige sent a floated pass into the area. Timing it perfectly, Ishikawa broke through behind the defense and, despite being challenged by the opposing defender, skillfully slotted in a one-touch shot with his left foot, marking his second goal. They took the lead with the fourth goal, pulling ahead of Sapporo.D.

　Still, there were moments when Sapporo's counterattack, trying to strike back without stopping, faced challenges. In the 74th minute, Sapporo's MF Yamamoto took a decisive shot from the right area, but Gonda saved it with one foot, preventing a goal. At the same time, they did not ease their attack; in the 81st minute, they connected passes with multiple players from their own half. Ishikawa → Tokunaga → slightly to the right, Nemanja VUCICEVIC advanced with a dribble. Skillfully evading the opposing defenders, he controlled a shot from just outside the area and pierced the ball into the upper corner of the opposite side.

　With VUCICEVIC's consecutive goals in two matches, he scored his 5th goal while keeping a clean sheet in defense for a convincing victory! This marks the first win since the match against Iwata on September 29, Sec. 27.

　[Player Comment] {Hyun Soo JANG} "I think the result of 5 goals came from everyone making good movements. Personally, it was my first start after a little break, but I prepared my condition for today. I'm happy that we won because of that, and I want to keep improving my form so we can continue having matches like this."

　When I scored, it was an inspiration like I had never felt before, when Ishikawa sent in the cross. I ran in and struck it with all my might. I want to keep winning for the next four matches as well. I want to take the feeling of 'we must win...' and turn it into something positive, rather than letting it become pressure for me.

　"Ishikawa" said, "In the end, we scored 5 goals, but I was always thinking that 'this one point is crucial.' More than anything, I wanted to score first today. I aimed for that first point. Throughout the match, I was able to play simply, and I think the image of knowing when to connect and when to finish was good. We were able to share that as a team."

　Scoring goals is indeed addictive (laughs). Scoring and winning is my job, and in that sense, I haven't been doing my job until now. Although there are only a few games left, I want to work hard to make plays like shots and assists that directly lead to goals so that the team can win. (250 matches played, right?) I believe both individuals and teams are built on accumulation. Having a game like today and then not performing well in the next one is not acceptable. I want to continue making positive challenges to build on better performances and connect them to results.

　[Summary of Coach Popovic's Press Conference] "I don't want to undermine today's content and results by commenting. More than any beautiful words I could say, the players spoke eloquently. I believe it shows how the players played on the pitch and achieved results. We can appreciate that we kept a clean sheet and that we were able to score when we needed to. There have been matches in the past where if we had scored when we needed to, the outcome would have been different, and today we were able to practice the idea that we must not allow the opponent to score before we take the lead. This match also demonstrated that if we score when we need to, we can achieve this kind of result.

　Before the match, I told the players, 'We might be facing the toughest opponent of the season. It could be a tough match.' The opponent has nothing to lose. We lost 0-2 in the final match of last season, and the lineup has hardly changed since then. They should not be underestimated, and since they are not carrying any extra burdens, I thought they would be a scary opponent. However, today we were able to clearly demonstrate on the pitch what we have been doing and what we need to do. Recently, we have been creating chances, but we couldn't convert them into goals, and we were unable to deliver a victory to our fans and supporters.

　What I can't forget is the sight of everyone crying after losing the Nabisco Cup Semifinal Round Game 2 against Shimizu. That image is still vivid in my mind, and that defeat was painful and difficult for me as well. However, I believed it was important to remain steadfast, to build up what we aim for, and to continue pursuing it. It was clear that this would become our strength, so I want to continue to showcase attractive attacking football.

　[Summary of Coach Ishizaki's Press Conference] "Due to players being suspended and sending players to the underage Japan national team, we had no center-backs available today. Therefore, we had to consider how to fight in this situation, and we moved a player capable of playing as a defensive midfielder back. There was a pinch at the start, but we also had chances that we couldn't convert. At one point, our defensive balance was poor, and we were under pressure for a while, so I think we settled down a bit after changing to a four-back system in the first half."

　However, we conceded a goal early in the second half, which forced us to push forward. This led to the usual bad situation of conceding another goal. Nevertheless, the players ran hard and fought well until the end without giving up. To carry this spirit into next year, we want to compete strongly in the remaining four matches. (Were we aggressive until the end, not just in spirit but in play?) Yes, that's right. Since we have many young players, I want them to gain valuable experience here. I hope they can feel what is lacking against Tokyo and gain good experiences in terms of mentality, technique, and tactics to carry forward to the next stage.