Welcome the last-place Sapporo to the home game after about a month

　League Sec. 30 will be held at home Ajinomoto, facing Consadole Sapporo. In the previous Sec. 8 match against C Osaka, we conceded a goal at the start of the second half, making it 8 consecutive games in which we have conceded the first goal. However, we kept our composure and fought back to secure a draw. Coach Popovich reflects, "When we are in a chasing position, we inevitably become mentally and physically exhausted and lose our composure."

　In order to solve this problem, this match is a crucial one where we must score the first goal by any means necessary and take control of the game. In this match, while Morishige's suspension will be lifted, Hasegawa will be suspended for 2 matches due to his red card in the previous match. As a result, Jang Hyun Soo will play as center back, Tokunaga on the right side back, Nakamura on the left, and Takahashi and Yonemoto will form a double pivot in midfield.

　Sapporo, who will face them, will be relegated to 16th place or below in the 27th round. However, in the next two games, they will use MF Kawai as DF and have won one and drawn one against top teams Urawa and Kashima. In this round, DF Kushibiki will be suspended, and DF Nara and FW Sakaki will be absent due to their activities with the U-19 Japan national team, so they will have to change their lineup. However, their "determination and determination" cannot be underestimated.

　In addition, in the first half of the away game, we struggled to keep up with Sapporo's rhythm, so we want to take control of both offense and defense by not neglecting the risk management against organized counters and the one-shot from MF Furuta and FW Oshima. We want to grab the victory with determination without giving any chances throughout the 90 minutes! Despite feeling the chill as the sun sets, the match started at 5:04 pm with Sapporo's kickoff under the clear autumn weather.

Take the lead with Hyun Soo JANG's first goal

　Tokyo took control of the rhythm from the start and threatened Sapporo's goal. In the 2nd minute, Lucas and Kajiyama exchanged passes in front of Sapporo's goal, and Kajiyama sent a final pass to Lucas who had entered the area, creating a decisive opportunity. However, Lucas' shot was blocked by the right post. After that, Tokyo continued to dominate possession and progress the game in Sapporo's half, but in the 10th minute, Sapporo's FW Oshima started the attack and MF Okamoto passed to DF Iwanuma who entered the left area. They created a shooting chance, but Yonemoto cut it off with a sliding tackle, and it resulted in a corner kick.

　Gradually, Sapporo began to create attacking opportunities using counterattacks. In the 16th minute, Tokunaga boldly made a move up the side and earned a corner kick. In the 17th minute, Ishikawa's corner kick was cleared, but Kajiyama reacted quickly and passed it back to Ishikawa on the right side with a heel pass. From there, a precise cross was sent in and Jang Hyun Soo jumped in from the far side, skillfully evading the opposing defender and scoring a powerful header! This was the first goal scored in a league match since the 26th round, coming from a set piece.

　In the 19th minute, Sapporo MF Okamoto made a bold dribble shot from the left side, but it was saved by Gonda and turned into a CK. After that, Tokyo took control of the game. In the 27th minute, from a series of precise passes in Sapporo's half, Tanabe → Kajiyama → Lucas dropped the ball and Tanabe took a decisive shot in front of the goal, but it was blocked by the GK.

　At the 30-minute mark, Yonemoto moved to the right and changed sides, from the left side of Kajiyama to the right side of Ishikawa, to Lucas in the center. They created a decisive chance in unison, but Lucas' shot went just slightly to the left... Despite crushing the sprouts of danger centered around Yonemoto in response to Sapporo's speedy counterattack, they were unable to score an additional point and ended the first half with a 1-point lead.

Tanabe, Ishikawa, Vucicevic... with a furious goal rush, the first victory since Sec. 27

　In the second half, they aggressively attacked and in the 47th minute, Takahashi made a vertical pass into the area. Although it was cleared by the opposing DF, Tanabe dribbled and pushed through, with Takahashi following up on the ball that had fallen into the area again. Tanabe received the ball and dribbled to the left area, taking a shot with his left foot from a difficult angle. The ball passed through the legs of the opposing DF and grazed the post on the opposite side, going into the net! They successfully scored their second goal in the early stages of the second half.

　With this, we gained momentum and in the 59th minute, Tanabe took the Sapporo ball in our own territory and advanced. Lucas -> Ishikawa on the right made a vertical pass. Although it was taken by Sapporo once, Ishikawa pressed the opponent's DF and took back the ball, using his speed to score the third goal from the center of the area.

　In the 63rd minute, Nemanja VUCICEVIC came on for Yonemoto and moved to the left side. With Tanabe now in the midfield, Sapporo.D continued to attack and in the 64th minute, MoriShige passed the ball from their own half and sent a lofted pass into the box. Ishikawa made a perfectly timed run behind the defense and despite being challenged by the opposing defender, he skillfully placed a one-touch shot with his left foot, scoring his second goal of the match. With their fourth goal, they took a commanding lead over Sapporo.

　Despite that, there were also moments where Sapporo's counterattack tried to strike back, but in the 74th minute, Sapporo MF Yamamoto's decisive shot from the right area was saved by Gonda with one foot, and no goal was allowed. At the same time, they did not let up on their attack, and in the 81st minute, they connected passes with numbers from their own half, with Ishikawa → Tokunaga → slightly to the right, Vucicevic advancing with a dribble. Skillfully avoiding the opponent's DF, he controlled the middle from just outside the area and pushed the ball into the upper side of the opposite side.

　Vucicevic scores his 5th goal in a row with 2 consecutive goals, and also keeps a clean sheet in defense for a comfortable victory! This is the first win since the September 29th match against Iwata in Sec. 27.

　[Player Comment]《Hyun Soo JANG》"I think we were able to score 5 goals because everyone was moving well. Personally, I had a bit of a gap before starting, but I prepared my condition for today. I'm happy that we were able to win and I want to continue playing games like this and improve my condition even more."

　The goal was scored when player Ishikawa crossed the ball, and it was the first time in my life that I felt such inspiration. I ran in and hit it with all my might. I want to keep winning for the next four games. I don't want to put pressure on myself by thinking "if we don't win..." I want to take it in a positive direction.

　《Ishikawa》"We were able to score 5 goals in the end, but I always thought 'this one point is the key' and above all, we needed to score the first goal today. We aimed for that one point first. I think we were able to play simply throughout the game and had a good image of using different situations to contribute to the team and finish. We were able to share as a team."

　Goals are definitely addictive (laughs). Scoring and winning is my job, and in that sense, I haven't been doing my job until now. There are only a few games left, but I want to do my best to make plays that directly lead to goals, such as shots and assists, so that the team can win. (250 games played?) I think it's all about building up as an individual and as a team. We can't have a good game like today and then have a bad one next... That won't do. We want to continue to make positive challenges and turn them into results, so that we can keep building on good performances."

　[Summary of Coach Popovich's Press Conference] "I don't want to ruin today's performance and result by commenting. The players spoke eloquently, more than any beautiful words I could say. I think the players showed on the pitch what kind of football they played and the result they achieved. We can also evaluate that we kept a clean sheet and were able to score when we needed to. In the past, there have been games where things could have been different if we had scored when we needed to, and today we were able to put that into practice. It was a game that showed what can happen when we score when we need to."

　Before the match, I told the players, "This may be the toughest opponent we face this 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 their lineup hasn't changed much since then. We can't underestimate them and they don't have any extra burden, so I thought they were a scary opponent. But today, we were able to show on the pitch what we have been doing and what we need to do. Recently, we have been creating chances but haven't been able to convert them into goals, so we couldn't deliver a victory to our fans and supporters.

　And what I can't forget is the sight of everyone crying and their faces after losing in the second leg of the Nabisco Cup semifinals against Shimizu. It still remains vivid in my memory and that defeat was painful and tough for me as well. However, I believed it was important to continue building and pursuing what we were aiming for without wavering. I knew it would become our strength, so I want to continue showing attractive attacking football in the future."

　[Sapporo Ishizaki Coach's Press Conference Summary] "Because we have sent players to the suspended players and the Japan national team of the under-age group, there are no center-back players today. So, in order to fight, we pulled back players who can play in the midfield. There was a pinch at the start, but we also had a chance, and we couldn't decide there. The balance of defense was bad in the middle, and we were pushed in, so I think we calmed down a little in the first half after changing the system to 4 back."

　However, we conceded a goal early in the second half and ended up being too aggressive. It became the usual bad pattern of conceding goals. Nevertheless, the players never gave up and fought until the end. In order to carry this feeling into next year, we want to fight hard in the remaining four games. (Not only in terms of mentality, but also in terms of playing, did you fight aggressively until the end?) Yes, that's right. We have a lot of young players, so it's important for them to gain good experience here. I want them to feel what is lacking against Tokyo and have a good experience in terms of mentality, technique, and tactics, and then carry it over to the next game."