Stick to our style and aim for victory as one to break out of the losing streak.

In the 6th round of the league, we will face Vegalta Sendai away. In the Nabisco Cup C Osaka match, we tied with Lee's goal, but we lost with 2 goals against the opponent's effective attack. We have not won in the last 4 matches in official games, and we have lost 3 consecutive league matches. It will be a consecutive match in 2 days, but it is necessary to concentrate until the end and fight tenaciously even when tired. We need to stick to our style, unite as one, and take 3 points away to overcome this difficult situation.

FC Tokyo, on the other hand, is currently in 11th place with 1 win, 2 draws, and 2 losses in the league. They are also competing in the ACL this season, but have been struggling due to long-term absence of DF Uemoto and continuous injuries after the season started. However, DF Kakuta returned to the field in the ACL match on 4/10 (Wed) and FW Yanagisawa, who made his first appearance this season, scored a goal to secure a victory and give the team a boost. Coach Ranko POPOVIC commented on Sendai, saying "They are a disciplined and well-organized team."

Tokyo will face Sendai with a lineup of Takahashi and Yonemoto as double defensive midfielders, Hasegawa and Lucas as left and right midfielders, and Higashi as attacking midfielder and Watanabe as the lone striker. In particular, we want to increase our awareness of covering against Sendai's attacks that often exploit the space behind our defenders. We also need to be cautious of Sendai's set plays, which often revolve around MF Yanagi's kicks. In attack, we want to utilize the movements of Watanabe and Higashi to create quick passing plays and break through Sendai's defense.

The match started at 14:04 with a Tokyo kickoff at Yurtec Stadium Sendai.

Although they dominated throughout, the first half ended scoreless.

Tokyo has been focusing on defense since the start of the game, quickly switching to an attacking style to create chances. In the 9th minute, they cleared Sendai's left cross and started a counter attack. From the center, they tried to pass to Hasegawa running towards the left front, but the play was called a foul as they tried to outpace the Sendai DF. In the 11th minute, Hasegawa quickly brought the ball up the center and passed it to Lucas on the right. However, he was surrounded by the opposing DF in the right corner of the area and couldn't connect with Azuma who was running forward due to mistiming.

Gradually, Sendai also sends long balls to the front line and tries to attack from there, but they are able to respond to the competition and do not allow any clear chances. In the 25th minute, Yonemoto, who stole the ball in the opponent's territory, immediately took a middle shot, but it went slightly to the left. In the 28th minute, they launched a quick attack and Takahashi passed from the right side to the middle. It went over the center and reached Hasegawa, who was free, but his touch was too long and he couldn't take advantage of the scoring opportunity.

Despite creating opportunities near the goal multiple times, the precision of the final play was lacking and they were unable to take a shot. In the 34th minute, Watanabe carried the ball up and passed it to Higashi on the left, who then sent a final pass to Higashi in the center, but it was ruled offside. In the 42nd minute, Ota was fouled and they were awarded a free kick from just outside the box in the center. MoriShige quickly took the shot, but it hit the wall and resulted in a corner kick. Despite dominating the game, the first half ended scoreless.

Despite changing the system and making a fierce comeback, we were unable to score an additional point and lost the game by one point.

From the reflection of the Nabisco Cup C Osaka match, despite being careful about the start of the second half, a simple connection to MF Kakuta from the right side in the 2nd minute resulted in a shot from the middle. The ball was out of reach even for goalkeeper Kanda's extended hand. We ended up conceding the first goal. In the 55th minute, Tokyo tried to counterattack, with Takahashi aiming for a shot from the center after a keep by Higashi in the right area, but it slightly curved to the left. In the 56th minute, Lee was substituted in for Watanabe.

In the 58th minute, Yonemoto stole the ball in the midfield and made a vertical pass into the area. Lucas skillfully received it and turned to take a shot. It was a decisive chance, but it narrowly missed the right post. However, in the 60th minute, the ball was stolen from a mistake and passed to Sendai's FW Wilson on the left front line. Kaga tried to defend him one-on-one, but he was dribbled into the area and the shot was powerfully struck into the net, resulting in the second goal conceded.

Tokyo made a substitution in the 68th minute, replacing Lucas with Hirayama. Hirayama as the top striker, Li and Higashi in the second row. Changes to the formation with Yonemoto and Arlia as double defensive midfielders, and Takahashi in the back three. From here, a fierce comeback begins. In the 79th minute, Kaga runs up the right side and earns a corner kick. Higashi then passes it to Hirayama near the goal with a header, and Li stabs it into the left area to score a goal.

In the 84th minute, Hirayama received a perfect through pass from Higashi, carried it into the area while carrying the defender, and took a shot but it was saved by the goalkeeper. The ball slipped from his hands but he couldn't follow up. In the 86th minute, Hirayama dropped a cross from Tokunaga in the area and Aria followed up with a shot. They created a great opportunity but the ball went wide. They continued to attack but couldn't break through and the game ended. This was their fourth consecutive loss in the league.


[Player Comments]
《Hirayama》"(About scoring opportunities) I was able to enter near the goal by switching well with Tokunaga. I thought I had sent the header into the goal myself, but Chung-Son closed in on it firmly. I've been focusing on scoring and assisting, so it was good to achieve one today, but there were more chances. I need to be able to produce not just one, but two or three results."

We know what we need to do and it won't change in the future, but right now, I think our mistakes and carelessness are leading to conceding points. I believe it's important to stay focused throughout the first and second half, and to express plays on the pitch that will lead to results."


《Yonemoto》"I don't think we played badly in the beginning or in the first half. But after conceding a goal at the start of the second half, we became too aggressive and ended up conceding a second goal... It became a vicious cycle. We still haven't become a strong team. It's true that we started to feel anxious after conceding the first goal. We rushed forward too much. Even if we conceded a goal, if we had stayed calm and fought, it would have been better."

Even if we become negative here, nothing will start and changing our style won't make a difference. We have no choice but to do it and it's important to take it in a good direction. The atmosphere before today's game was good too, and we were able to have a good start by discussing with everyone, "Let's enjoy soccer without worrying about our 3 consecutive losses."


[Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"Coach Ranko POPOVIC: "I think we showed what we needed to do and what we have been doing today, but we were still caught off guard and conceded when our concentration dropped or when we showed a gap. I remember that the shot the opponent scored was their first shot on target, but we couldn't fully concentrate during that time and let them do it. As a result, we ended up conceding and giving them the lead."

Before that, we also created decisive chances many times, so it is important to finish them there and improve the accuracy there. It is important to finish the final touch when we are creating chances at our own pace, and we need to improve the accuracy there. We are currently in a losing streak, but we believe that we can escape from this losing streak and continue to win. We also believe in the players' abilities. In times like this, we will come together as a team and quickly turn things around and get results.

(It became a push-in development from the middle of the second half, but was it due to a system change?) It is also true that we were creating chances before switching to a 3-back. There was also a big chance for Lucas. Speaking only of chances, it may have been a more decisive chance than the opponent's two goals. It was simply a strategy to score and turn the game around. We were imagining holding the ball closer to the opponent's goal and approaching the goal. At the same time, we were also thinking about pressing from the front and inducing mistakes from the opponent.)


"Sendai Teguramori Coach" "We regained our style and won on Wednesday's ACL. We will firmly focus on our attitude and motivation towards our goal. If we can win today, we can gain more than 3 points and we can win even in difficult schedules, we told them to be confident. We wanted to enter the game with momentum, but we ended up receiving Tokyo's possession soccer."

The players showed patience without forcing themselves during the consecutive games. When we played for 90 minutes, I felt that this common understanding was correct. In the first half, we focused on defending and played a solid game. When I saw Tokyo's attacking style, I was worried that they might get tired after playing five consecutive games. I just wanted them to come back with a 0-0 draw. In the second half, we were able to make the first punch while attacking well. It was good until we scored the second goal. After the game, I apologized to the players. We couldn't turn the score from 2-0 to 3-0. One of the reasons for that was the substitution of MF Heberchi.

In the Niigata match, MF Heberthi was substituted in the middle and the game was lost. I wanted him to make up for it in today's official match. On the other hand, we had to change the substitute player due to being caught up by one point. However, I think everyone now understands the importance of substitutions and realizes that in a game like today's, we need to turn a 2-0 game into a 3-0 game.

I felt a strong sense of unity in this team when we were able to hold on to a 2-1 lead. We were able to gain the understanding that we need to do even more. We want to continue winning from here on out with this as our motivation."