Get your first victory in the league at home at Ajinomoto Stadium!

Facing Sagan Tosu in the first league match of April, as Sec. 6.
In the Nabisco Sendai match, a fresh lineup was used. Although it ended in a draw, the players talk about the harvest of being able to catch up with the development of catching up while allowing the first goal, saying, "I think we did what we should do as a team no matter who played and did not break the momentum." Based on that feeling, we aim to turn the strength into victory and aim for the first league victory at home at Ajinomoto.

This round, which we will face in 3 days, we will consider the condition and opponent's measures again and face it by changing the members. However, Morishige will be suspended due to accumulated warnings. On the other hand, Kaga, who was injured in the Kawasaki game, will return and play as a center back with Yoshimoto. In the midfield, Nozawa will be the anchor, with Yonemoto and Higashi as the inside halves. Up front, Edu and Hirayama will form a two-top, with Kono playing as an attacking midfielder.

Tosu, on the other hand, is currently in 4th place with 3 wins and 2 losses in the league.
Under the guidance of coach Yin in his fourth season, the team has been steadily growing and can be said to have made a good start this season. The team's organized style of play, utilizing individual running ability, speed, and FW Toyota's scoring ability, is thoroughly implemented, and their attacking style of collecting long balls in the front line is powerful. At the same time, FW Toyota, DF Yasuda, and GK Hayashi have been selected for the Japan national team training camp next week, making them one of the most highly anticipated teams right now.

On the other hand, Tokyo aims to win by taking the second ball and prolonging "their own time" to compete for dominance.

Before the start, there were changes in the weather such as thunder, and the coldness remained intense, but just before the game, the rain stopped and the match started at 4:04 PM with a kickoff in Tokyo.

Gradually regaining composure from a hectic development

Both teams quickly switched to attacking and the pace was high in the beginning. Tokyo took advantage of a gap in Sagan Tosu's defense and created a chance in the 14th minute. Kono received the ball on the left side and crossed it from the left area. The ball was dropped by the near post and Edu immediately reacted to the loose ball. He took a direct shot from the center of the area, but it narrowly missed to the right. In the 15th minute, Kono entered the right area freely. He took a soft touch to avoid the oncoming goalkeeper and tried to shoot, but missed the target.

At the 20th minute, they were caught off guard by Tosu's counterattack after losing the ball in their own half. Despite Tosu's MF Mizunuma's passes to FW Ikeda and FW Toyota, who made runs into the area one after another, Tokyo's DF held strong and defended well. As the game settled down, Tokyo started to create a rhythm from their defense, but they often lost the ball in the front line due to Tosu's strong pressure and were unable to make successful attacks.

At 36 minutes, a long ball from the left side of Tosu's own field was met by FW Ikeda, who broke through to the front of the goal. The shot was saved by Gonda, but MF Kin was aiming for the rebound and narrowly avoided danger. Immediately after, Nozawa suffered an injury and was unable to continue playing. As a result, Takahashi was substituted in at 42 minutes.

Still, without losing the flow, in the first half additional time, Edu dropped the ball and Kono from the left area got into a shooting position. However, it was blocked by the Tosu DF and the first half ended scoreless.

Kawano scores consecutive goals, Hirayama marks his first goal of the season, and the league wins two in a row!

In the second half when we really needed a goal, the game started moving early on. In the 50th minute, Yoshimoto bounced back a long ball from Tosu and sent it to the front line. Kono then took back the ball that had been passed to the opponent, and Yonemoto dribbled up the left side and passed it to the space on the left front line. Here, Higashi ran in and put in a ground cross in front of the goal. Kono followed by passing it to Hirayama, who then passed it to Edu who had become free in the right area and took a shot, but... it bounced off the GK's save and the near post. However, Kono quickly followed up and pushed it in with his left foot for a GOAL!!

Scored a goal following the Shimizu match to take the lead. However, Tosu also launched a counterattack with momentum.
The cross from the side change and left side back Yasuda puts pressure on the goal, but manages to escape with a corner kick in the end. In the 63rd minute, Muto comes in. In the 70th minute, the opponent's defender clears the ball to Muto on the left side. He takes it inside and takes a powerful shot, but it narrowly misses to the left. In the 73rd minute, Mita comes in for Kono. The third substitution card is used to aim for an additional goal.

In the 75th minute, Hirayama aggressively dribbled and earned a right corner kick. In the 76th minute, Ota's right corner kick was headed down by Takahashi near the goal. The pass from Hirayama in the center did not reach his teammate, but in the midst of a scramble with the opposing DF, Tosu was unable to clear the ball and Hirayama seized it. Despite being surrounded by defenders, he turned and shot with his left foot, scoring in the upper left corner of the net! With Hirayama's first goal of the season, they added another point and widened their lead.

Still, Sagan Tosu did not give up and launched a fierce counterattack. In the 85th minute, right back Tamba made an early cross, but it could not be cleared. Sagan Tosu MF Kan was dropped in the left area and a decisive shot was taken by Sagan Tosu MF Takahashi who made a run. Although Gonda reached out and saved it, the ball bounced to the far side and was slid in by Sagan Tosu FW Toyota, resulting in a goal against them...

After that, Tosu put a DF player on the front line and launched a power play. However, Tokyo did not stop until the end and defended with all members, and the time was up. They grabbed their first victory in the league at Ajinomoto Stadium and achieved their first consecutive win of the season.

[Player Comments]

"Taira"
"Tosu had a lot of long balls, so we had to be careful with our defense. There was tension, but I think we may have adapted too much to the opponent's style of play. Still, it was good that we didn't lose to their intentions. The goal came from Ota's accurate kick, and Takahashi was able to drop it nicely for me. The opponent's defenders were all lined up, so there was only one option, but I'm glad we were able to score. We want to keep winning and especially do our best to win at home."

"East"
"I think everyone really did their best and played a good game. Personally, I focused on defense first. The flow of the game can change depending on whether we can win second balls or not, so I paid attention to that. I think the three midfielders did well. Everyone had the desire to win, and I think my position is one where I have to fight. There are still many things I'm not used to, but especially today, I went after the ball. I want to continue improving while constantly challenging myself."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"We knew that Tosu would come with this style. They are a very physical team and played exactly the kind of soccer we expected. They were able to put in many throw-ins just like long balls, and the game unfolded in a different way than usual. The defenders were required to be strong in aerial battles as the ball was thrown into the center. There were also situations where we couldn't predict what would happen in the crowded goal area, but this was the first time we faced a team playing this kind of soccer since I became the coach. Still, the players responded well. We also have physical players like Edu and Hirayama, and we were able to use our height just like Tosu. Most importantly, the players who haven't been able to play in the games so far are now playing very well. I want to praise them for that."

[Summary of Tosu Manager Yoon's Press Conference]
"There were many people who came today, and there were many times when our concentration was disrupted. I am very sorry about that. However, even in such a situation, we did not give up and showed the potential for the team to develop in the future. As for the game content, we have been conceding goals from set pieces in the past few games, and it has exposed our weaknesses. Above all, we were pushed by the opponent in the battle for control in the midfield. We couldn't take control and couldn't create the game. We knew it would be a difficult game away from home, but we want to forget about it and prepare for the next one."