A crucial match to secure points away from home in order to stay in the top rankings.

In the 26th round of the league, we will face Nagoya Grampus away. In the previous round, Hirayama scored his second consecutive goal in the official match in the last minute, and in the match against Urawa, we achieved our first victory in 9 years and won 3 consecutive victories in the official match. As a result, there is a close battle between 4th place Kashima and 13th place Shimizu with a difference of 6 points. The weight of one victory will increase towards the end. The players say, "In order to move up in the rankings, we need to win consecutive matches. Therefore, we will focus only on winning the next match and continue to build on that," and aim for victory with all their might in each match.

Nagoya, who are currently in 10th place with 36 points. Although they lost to Shimizu in the last match, they have been on an upward trend with 6 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss in their last 10 matches. FW Kennedy, who was absent in the April home game, has fully recovered and become a key player in the attack, creating goals in combination with FW Tamada, MF Ogawa and Fujimoto on both sides. MF Danilson is out due to injury, but DF Tatsurio has returned to the bench. In particular, their height in set pieces will require attention as usual.

Tokyo made changes to their lineup from the previous match. Ishikawa started in place of Higashi, who is not in perfect condition. Gonda said, "Nagoya's strength lies in maximizing individual abilities. We will not try to match that, but instead fight in our own way. As a result, precision will be crucial." This will be a match where our team's accumulated strength will be put to the test. The game kicked off at 19:04 in Tokyo's kickoff at Nagoya Mizuho Athletic Stadium.

Hasegawa scores a beautiful goal to take the lead and turn the game around.

Both teams have been trying to take control and find their rhythm since the start of the match. In the 9th minute, Hasegawa passes to Watanabe in the center, who then drops it off to Lucas just outside the box. Lucas sets up for a shot, but it is blocked. Hasegawa follows up with a shot from the rebound, but it goes wide to the right. In the 10th minute, Ishikawa breaks free from Watanabe's pass and makes a speedy dribble towards the center, but his shot lacks power and is saved by the goalkeeper. In the 12th minute, Takahashi attempts a shot from a direct play with Hasegawa after entering the opponent's half, but it goes wide of the goal.

Nagoya also took the ball in the 18th minute, and FW Kennedy passed it to FW Tamada while attacking. Here, Morishige couldn't hold back and was dribbled past, allowing a decisive shot from the center of the area, but Gonda made a save. From here, Nagoya's midfield was dominated by skillful passing, but they were able to pressure from the front and counterattack. In the 30th minute, Yonemoto intercepted in Nagoya's territory. He tried to shoot with a loop, but the shot narrowly missed the frame.

In the 38th minute, Takahashi connected with Lucas with a header after clearing the ball for Nagoya. Lucas then advanced while evading the opposing DF and passed it to Hasegawa on the right side of the area. Hasegawa took a precise shot and scored the opening goal. Tokyo began to settle with this one goal and did not force their attack, instead keeping possession of the ball with their DF line and midfield, not allowing Nagoya to counter. They managed to use up time effectively and ended up leading by one goal going into the second half.

Nagoya's counterattack was held back with a persistent fight, resulting in a victory with no goals conceded!

Nagoya made a substitution in the second half, bringing on FW Nagai for MF Fujimoto. They tried to counterattack by feeding the ball to FW Kennedy up front. However, Tokyo's tight defense was able to steal the ball and go for an additional goal. In the 52nd minute, they intercepted Nagoya's long pass at the DF line. Immediately, Yonemoto launched a counterattack. He moved to the right side and sent a pass to the center with a slight negative angle, which Hasegawa met with a direct shot, but it was saved by the GK. In the 57th minute, Watanabe attempted a shot from outside the box, but it was also saved by the GK.

Nagoya also had a chance in the 58th minute, when MF Ogawa's left corner kick was met by FW Kennedy in the right area, but he changed the course with a back header and missed the target. In the 71st minute, right SB Tanaka Hayato made a speedy breakthrough on the right front line. He entered the right area and crossed it in from a close distance while facing Ota in a 1-on-1 situation. The ball hit Ota, but Konda reacted to it. The rebound skimmed past Chan Hyun Soo and went over the line. The ball bounced dangerously in front of the goal, but Nagoya managed to escape with a corner kick.

Tokyo, who wants to change the flow, substituted Hirayama for Ishikawa in the 71st minute. However, in the 72nd minute, Nagoya's right to left forward, FW Tamada, made a sharp left cross. Kennedy, the FW, made a diving header near the goal, but it narrowly missed to the right and avoided danger. After that, Tokyo created multiple chances from counters against Nagoya, who were pushing forward. In the 86th minute, Lucas in the left area had a clear shot, but it was blocked by the defenders in front of the goal.

In the 88th minute, Hasegawa on the right side put pressure on the opponent's ball, picked up the loose ball and dribbled into the right area. After feinting past the opponent's DF, Vucicevic, who came on as a substitute, took a shot and the ball neatly found the back of the net on the opposite side, adding another point. With this final goal, the game was decided. They fought tenaciously until the end and achieved their third consecutive victory without conceding a goal.


[Player Comments]
"<Hasegawa>"
"Today, I played as an attacking midfielder, so I was conscious of playing close to Chima and trying to find space between the opponent's center back and defensive midfielder. The goal came from a good one-two with Rucon and being able to play forward. I could also see the shooting lane, so I just focused on hitting the target. It's a shape we often practice. We had a lot of possession time against Nagoya, but we were able to defend and play with a common understanding of when to defend and when to keep possession. As for the game plan, I think we were able to execute it as we intended."

"Nemanja VUCICEVIC"
"I think it was a great game. We are on a winning streak and we want to continue this and keep winning. Even when we played well before, it didn't always result in a win. But now, I think our performance is finally being reflected in the results. I was able to score as planned and showcase my strengths. I am grateful to the coach for giving me the opportunity and to my teammates for delivering the ball to me. It wasn't just Aria, but the whole team worked hard to defend and connect up front. I think our strong desire to win, from every single player, led to our goals and the final result. The support from the fans also gave us courage and strength. I am grateful and happy that we could share this joy together."


[Coach Popovich's Press Conference Summary]
"After this kind of game, I can't find the words. I think what we have been trying to do as an ideal has been shown on the pitch. Nagoya had chances in the first half, but Gonda defended well. And we were able to turn our chances into a goal. I think the first half was a back and forth battle. But even after scoring the first goal, we didn't just defend, we maintained our attacking mindset. And while attacking, we were able to carefully control the game. I think we were able to show growth."

I can only say "well done" for being able to play a game like today against a strong opponent like Nagoya. It is very important for Tokyo's soccer to continue playing games like today and to continue showing that this is what it is. Of course, it will take time, but I think it is important to continue showing it. I would like to express my gratitude to all the fans and supporters who came all the way to Nagoya and supported us until the end.


[Nagoya Stojkovic Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"We haven't lost at home for a long time, but today we ended up with a defeat. I am disappointed with the result. Throughout the 90 minutes, I don't think we played well enough to deserve a win. Tokyo played well. They have a good team with good players. I think they are enjoying playing football. We were not. The absence of DF Tatsuki Nara and MF Danilson also had an impact. The chance FW Tamada had in the first half, was it a mistake or could he not score?"

Chance for FW Kennedy in the second half. About 2m. Couldn't finish that one either. Maybe it wasn't enough for the full 90 minutes. Our play was really poor."