Facing top-ranked Urawa, taking advantage of last week's challenges

League Sec. 15 will be held. Away game against Urawa Reds. In the previous match against Hiroshima, we conceded a goal from a free kick in the final minutes. We had shown great defensive resilience until then, so it was a shocking defeat. We also created chances on the attack, but the players reflected, "We lacked aggressiveness," and will use what we learned from this bitter defeat to face this match.

This round, Kaga will be suspended due to accumulated warnings. As a result, Hyun Soo JANG will be placed as center back and Takahashi as defensive midfielder. On the other hand, Watanabe has returned from injury and will start. Lucas will be on the bench and Ishikawa has improved his condition and made it onto the bench as well.

Urawa, on the other hand, is currently in 2nd place. They are 3 points behind the top spot, and have been on a great streak of 8 games without a loss, including the Nabisco Cup, in their last 6 league games. With a formation of 3-6-1, they have a lineup of players such as FW Costa, and MF Haraguchi and Kashiwagi, as well as Marquinhos and Lishaldez, who can break through individually while maintaining coordination. Although they have a similar style to Hiroshima, their versatility in attack makes it harder for opponents to narrow down their targets.

It is expected to be an intense match, but we want to maintain our persistence and try to take the lead from the beginning, and also counter by keeping possession of the ball for a longer time. We will face Urawa, who is currently in a higher position, and it is an away game, but we will not be afraid and challenge them. The match started at 7:35 PM with Urawa's kickoff at Saitama Stadium, where the humidity can still be felt even after the sun has set.

Mita scores first goal of the league with an aggressive attitude on both offense and defense!

Showed an aggressive fight from the start. Pressing from the front, they were able to suppress and take away all of Urawa's vertical passes, leading to quick counterattacks. In the 11th minute, Urawa's right MF Hirakawa crossed the ball, but MF Kashiwagi was running into the center of the area when Chang Hyun Soo cut it off at his feet. The ball then flowed to the left side with that momentum, but the pass that connected to the front line ended up going to Urawa. However, Watanabe intercepted the pass and took it up himself, expanding to the right.

Mita, who received the ball, cuts in with a dribble towards the right corner of the area and aims for the goal. The ball grazes the opponent's defender, changing its course and landing in the near side of the net. Mita's bold attitude paid off, as he scored the first goal of the league match!

Afterwards, Urawa tried to break through the center while moving the ball. Tokyo intercepted it and the two teams continued to have an exciting back-and-forth. In the 28th minute, Nakawaki intercepted a loose ball in the midfield and quickly launched a counterattack. However, the pass to Mita on the right side, who had jumped out while taking care of the offside line, was delayed by one beat and did not connect.

After 30 minutes, they were shaken by Urawa's skillful passing, but they did not lose their persistence on the final line. In the 33rd minute, Watanabe picked up Urawa's DF clear and took a sharp shot on the right side, but it was blocked by the GK's great save. In the 35th minute, from Urawa's MF Kashiwagi's early cross, FW Koroki headed the ball, but it was saved by Gonda. In the 42nd minute, on Urawa's right corner kick, DF Makino changed the course with a header, but it narrowly missed FW Koroki on the far side. They managed to hold on and lead by one goal at the end of the first half.

Expanded the lead with Hasegawa's goal, but couldn't hold onto the 2-point difference...

Tokyo took the first chance in the second half as well. In the 55th minute, Urawa MF Suzuki was substituted for MF Marquinhos Lopes immediately after suffering an injury. In the 56th minute, Watanabe made a pass from the side to Mita, who ran into the center. Mita drew the opponent's DF near the right area, then made a last pass to Hasegawa in the left area. Hasegawa calmly avoided the opponent's sliding and scored in the bottom left corner. The team successfully scored an additional goal with a coordinated and speedy attack.

At 66 minutes, Watanabe pressed the front line and the Urawa GK kicked the ball, which hit Watanabe himself and flew high. East controlled it at his feet and moved to the left area. Hasegawa ran into the area, but couldn't take a shot as he drifted too far to the side. He returned it to the East, who then sent a final pass to the right area. Watanabe took a decisive shot, but it was blocked by the GK's great save...

If they miss this big chance, they will be put on the defensive by Urawa, who have been continuously bringing in attacking players. In the 76th minute, Lucas was brought in, but he was unable to effectively connect with the front line. In the 81st minute, Urawa connected directly and vertically, and the center forward KOROKUKE made a one-touch turn. CHOI Hyeongchan was beaten, and Lins was able to break free on the left side and easily score a goal, allowing them to catch up.

Unable to regain a good rhythm from this goal, Urawa was pushed back and in the 86th minute, Urawa MF Haraguchi dribbled and cut back to Takahashi in the center, skillfully controlling the ball and shooting to the bottom right, threading the needle between his teammate and Tokyo DF... In the end, despite the late substitutions of Ishikawa and Nemanja VUCICEVIC, they were unable to secure the win. Unable to hold onto their 2-goal lead, they were forced to settle for a draw.


[Player Comments]
《Hasegawa》
"I scored a goal, but it doesn't mean anything if we don't win. We had a disappointing game last week, so we came into today's game with the determination to do better. Our defense was solid and we were able to connect in our attacks, and we were able to push forward with momentum. But we couldn't get the win. We've had too many wasted games, but looking back over the year, I want to use today's draw as a stepping stone for the next game."

"Mita"
"I think I was lucky that the goal went in after hitting the opponent. However, I am very disappointed that I couldn't get a win as a starter in both the Hiroshima game and today. I think we started the game well. We tried to play aggressively. (About how we played after leading by 2 points) I think we started to retreat too early, with about 20 minutes left. We should have gone forward again and played aggressively. We lost our momentum and couldn't even hold the ball in the back."


[Coach Popovich's Press Conference Summary]
"We were able to show a high-quality game in terms of tactics and accuracy, and I think we played well, but we need to win firmly in this kind of situation. That is also a challenge for us throughout this season. I want to sincerely congratulate Urawa for catching up, but we let them come back to life. I think it was an interesting game for those who watched, but we cannot be satisfied with just one point."

Today, we faced the match with a young team with an average age of 24 years old. However, our youth showed in the two goals we conceded. In order to win as a young team, we must understand what we need to do and what we should do. Of course, we all fought to win, but we lacked the understanding of what we should not do in order to win. That's where we were vulnerable and conceded. On the other hand, being a young team means we have plenty of potential from here on. I believe we could have shown more today and I am confident that today's experience will lead us to success in the future."

[Urawa Petrovic Coach Press Conference Summary]
"After watching the Tokyo vs. Hiroshima match from last week, I was thinking about how we should play today. Tokyo approached the game today in the same way as they did against Hiroshima. We also thought about whether we should defend solidly in our own half and play defensively with counterattacks like Tokyo and Hiroshima, or stick to the same style of play as before. We thought about it for a long time. Before the match, we decided to attack as usual, but as expected, the opponent defended deep in their own half and aimed to counterattack by taking our ball."

The opponent scored by inducing mistakes as planned. In consecutive matches and high temperatures, it is more difficult to play offensively than defensively. Concentration and precision in play are necessary. It is not an easy task. It is relatively easy to play defensively and disrupt the opponent's attack. Neither team wanted to play a boring defensive match. We were behind, but we took risks and launched dangerous attacks. As the opponent became tired, the center opened up and we were able to utilize side attacks by changing the players on the sides.

Even in a tough situation, the players showed a strong determination to turn things around no matter what. Personally, I believe Tokyo is a strong team, both in terms of individual player abilities and as a team. We were able to catch up with the opposing team from behind and may have been able to turn the game around if we had just 5 more minutes. I want to commend the efforts of the players.