Enter the Golden Week consecutive game and start the first game in good shape!

Sec. 9 of the league will be held. We will face Yokohama FM away. In the previous match against C Osaka, we grabbed a victory with a spirited performance that emphasized our fighting spirit and was full of energy on both offense and defense. While preparing for our opponents, our team has been building a solid foundation and we want to continue to build on that momentum and achieve more victories. Especially from this match to Sec. 13 on May 10th, we will have 5 matches in a short period of time. In a series of matches, it will not be easy to recover once we lose our momentum. Therefore, we want to continue our good flow and turn it into victories.

Yokohama FM, who are currently tied with Tokyo at 11 points in 11th place. Last season, Yokohama FM was in a fierce title race until the end. This season, FW Marquinhos left the team, but MF Saito and MF Nakamura, who are also candidates for the Japan national team, have shown their strength and accumulated experience, leading the team to 3 consecutive wins since the opening. However, they have struggled with their schedule, which includes the ACL, and have not won in the following 5 games with 2 draws and 3 losses.

Still, Manager Massimo says, "We cannot underestimate their 'experience'. For example, MF Nakamura is an essential presence for the team, not only in terms of playing, but also in terms of awareness on and off the pitch. He is a true professional, and all the players are like that." He is becoming more vigilant. In order to prevent Yokohama FM from demonstrating their experience and skill in the game, they do not want to give up the first goal. At the same time, one of the highlights is whether they can launch a speedy attack and score.

Tokyo will have Kono, who has discomfort in his knee, out of the squad. The defensive line and midfield will have the same members as the C Osaka match, with Yonemoto and Mita as the inside halves. Watanabe and Hirayama will be the two top players. They will face the match with Higashi in the top position.

The match started at 2:04 PM with Yokohama FM's kickoff under the warm early summer weather.

Tokyo takes the lead with the first goal of the season from a combination between Watanabe and Hirayama!

The match moved early in the game. In the 7th minute, Watanabe in the center of the opponent's field pressed hard against the Yokohama FM player and stole the ball. Hirayama on the right dribbled and took a sharp middle shot with a controlled trajectory. Although it was blocked by the GK's hand, Higashi, who had been running up front, followed up on the loose ball and pushed it into the goal with one touch! Higashi marked his first goal of the season and scored the opening goal.

After that, they maintained their intensity in the ball and quickness in their movements, pressing from the front line and not allowing Yokohama FM to play freely. In the 12th minute, Ota's early cross was met by Hirayama who made a run, but it was ruled offside. In the 18th minute, Mita skillfully controlled the ball and passed it to the left area line, creating a decisive last pass in front of the goal. It was a similar play to the goal scored against C Osaka, but Watanabe's shot went wide as he was challenged by the opposing defender.

Even if Yokohama FM holds the ball, they were able to take it back with powerful plays from the front line and midfielders such as Yonemoto and Mita, and quickly connect it to their attacking plays. In the 31st minute, a pass was connected from Yokohama FM's FW Fujita's drop, and MF Nakamura moved to the left front line. He cut back against the Tokyo DF facing him and made a last pass to the center. It was received by FW Fujita near the goal, but he couldn't hit it and the ball was caught by Kanda. From there, they quickly brought the ball up and Watanabe tried to shoot, but it was blocked by a DF.

At 42 minutes, Takahashi steals the ball from Yokohama FM's MF Nakamura and launches a counterattack. Watanabe dribbles up the center and sends a final pass to Takahashi, who had run up freely on the right... but the ball goes too far and he can't control it. They couldn't score an additional point, but they didn't allow Yokohama FM to create any real chances and maintained a lead throughout the first half.

In the second half, Yokohama FM was pushed back but the entire team defended and secured a 1-0 victory!!

The second half was expected to bring additional points, but Yokohama FM made two substitutions, with FW Ito and DF Narawa coming in. MF Nakamura dropped back to defensive midfield, creating a formation closer to a two-striker system. As a result, the rhythm of the game changed completely. In the 48th minute, Yokohama FM's MF Fujimoto dribbled towards the center and passed to FW Fujita, who took a shot from the post. However, GK Konda made a close save and the ball went out for a corner kick.

After that, the time continued to be threatened by set plays, and in the 52nd minute, Yokohama FM's left-back Shimodaira's early cross passed through the goal and flowed into the right area. Here, Julian of Yokohama FM ran in freely and took a decisive shot, but... it went over the bar and escaped danger.

While changing the formation to 4-4-2, Muto was substituted in the 59th minute in an attempt to break the flow of Yokohama FM. In the 65th minute, Ota → Mita on the inside made a timely run into the left area. He sent a minus last pass from the sideline, but it did not reach Muto and was cut off by the DF. They were unable to take a shot, and in the 66th minute, Yokohama FM's MF Fujimoto went around from the right and played a one-two with a player in the area before moving to the left area. They created a decisive opportunity, but Tokyo DF put their bodies on the line and the shot went wide.

Edu came in at 67 minutes. From around this time, Takahashi changed to a 5-back formation with Takahashi in the center of the DF line. Immediately after, Takahashi intercepted a pass in his own zone and sent it to Edu on the front line to launch a counterattack. Edu tried to pass to Muto, who was advancing on the right front line, but it was cut off by the Yokohama MF and the time without being able to finish continued. In the 78th minute, Hayashi was brought in. They defended as a team and repelled Yokohama FM's attacks. In the 89th minute, from Yokohama FM's left side back Shimodaira's cross, MF Sato in the area had a perfect header, but it went outside the frame.

In the second half, including additional time, the game was dominated by Yokohama FM and Tokyo had zero shots in the second half.
Despite that, all members showed a high level of defensive awareness and demonstrated outstanding stability until the end. They truly defended the goal in the east and secured victory, achieving consecutive wins with no goals conceded in 3 official matches.

[Player Comments]
《East》
"The goal came right to me, so I was thinking about kicking it firmly into the frame. Today, I played as an attacking midfielder, which is the most comfortable position for me. I was able to score a goal there, which was great. It's nice to score my first goal, but it was also a good thing that we were able to keep a clean sheet in a tough game. It was tough, but I had confidence that I could do it even in the heat. It's a great help to have fans cheering for us even when we're away. I'm grateful and I hope many fans and supporters will come to our next home game."

"Takahashi"
"We were able to take the lead early on thanks to our pressing. In the second half, we were pushed back, but I thought that if we conceded a goal, we wouldn't have the ability to bounce back. It was good that we were able to keep the score down and I'm happy about that. However, Yokohama FM was able to create numerical advantages on the wings and play in a way that focused on finding the best gaps with MF Nakamura as the center. That's why not only the defense, but also the midfield players were crucial. However, in the future, we want to push up our line and increase our own time on the ball."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"We were able to play well as a team in the first half. We created 2-3 decisive chances even after taking the lead, and I think we were able to close the game in the first half. Overall, it was a good performance. We were able to put pressure on the opponent at a relatively high rhythm in the first half, but the rhythm dropped in the second half. The players from Yokohama FM are of high quality and experienced, so defense became even more important for us. In particular, Yokohama FM brought in another FW and their side players took high positions, while MF Nakamura appeared in various places, maintaining a high density. That's why I gave instructions to defend with a backline of 5."
Despite Yokohama FM's aggressive play, the two center backs were able to cover the space behind them and defend well during difficult times. The only area that needs improvement is the quality of counter attacks. Throughout the game, we were unable to score additional points after taking the lead, but the players fought well in the heat and prevented the opponent from creating any decisive chances. It's a great feeling to have kept a clean sheet and secured a victory.

[Yokohama FM - Yasuhiro HIGUCHI Manager's Press Conference Summary]
"It is regrettable and I feel sorry that we were not able to achieve results on the first day of GW, with many children and fans/supporters coming. It is a really difficult time, but this is where we need to stand firm as a team. We must share a sense of crisis and what we need to do as a team. As for the game, when we concede a goal and fall behind Tokyo, we end up falling into their game plan. This year's Tokyo team seems to have become more realistic, changing their system and focusing on a stronger defense while aiming for counterattacks when they take the lead. In contrast, our game plan was disrupted by conceding a goal at that time, and it became a game within the opponent's plan. We have to accept the reality that we were unable to score. In the second half, we had more chances to put the ball in front of the goal, but we couldn't finish with a shot and there was no space. However, we should be more aggressive in taking shots, such as sending crosses with power and pushing in second balls. There are various strategies that can be considered, but the only way to overcome this difficult time is to organize and share them firmly and move on to the next game. The only thing we can do is to organize what we can do and do our best."