A match aimed at overcoming the lack of scoring ability and securing 3 points.

In a match against Tokushima, which is competing in J1 this season, it will be the first time in three years for Tokyo at POCARI SWEAT.S. In the previous match, despite dominating Omiya throughout, they conceded a goal in stoppage time, resulting in a third consecutive loss. Morishige commented on the goal conceded, saying, "It was my mistake. I have no excuses," but it can be said that it is harsh to place the blame solely on the defense, which has kept the goals conceded to a minimum.

Coach Massimo also said, "I think we created the most chances in the match against Omiya compared to our previous games. To earn points, we need goals, and we focused on that theme during our three-day training session." This match aims to resolve the lack of scoring ability and secure three points. Although this is the last match of a five-game stretch, Hanyu, who had been injured, and Kaku Hiju have fully rejoined training. The coach continued, "It's a series of matches, but the heat isn't too intense, and I believe the players' recovery is good. Hanyu and Kaku are important players for us. There will definitely be more choices for selection," approaching the match with positive factors for the team. Tokyo's attacking lineup aims for goals with Watanabe and Hirayama as the two forwards, and Kono positioned just behind them.

Tokushima is currently in 18th place with 3 points. Under the management of Shinji KOBAYASHI, Tokushima is competing in the top league this season as Shikoku's first J1 team, but they have only achieved one victory in the league so far. It can be said that they are in a difficult situation. In the midst of consecutive matches, there have been some changes to the lineup since the last match. On paper, it is a 4-4-2 formation, with FW Takasaki at the forefront and FW Sasaki in the attacking midfield. In the midfield, Koji MF is on the right and Hamada MF is on the left. Saito MF serves as the defensive midfielder, with Ohsaki MF and DF Lee on the wings. The defense consists of a three-back formation with Fujiwara, Fukumoto, and Hashinai.

Especially Tokushima is a team with a strong spirit that never gives up until the end, and they will aim for their first home victory. In contrast, Tokyo will maintain their usual strength in ball contests and quick transitions, wanting to create chances by linking good defense to good offense.

It was a clear day with a slight breeze, and the match started at 14:04 with Tokushima's kickoff.

Controlling the ball and attacking, but scoreless into the second half

In the early 7 minutes of the match, Tokyo quickly switched gears and Kono broke into the left area. He shot with speed, but it went over the top right. In the following 8 minutes, Kono made a through pass to the right area just before the box. Hirayama, who broke into the right front, calmly returned it to the center and behind, and Yonemoto boldly aimed for the goal, but it hit the opposing defender and resulted in a corner kick. From this corner kick taken by Higashi, Takahashi at the near post sent a header into the box, but they could not convert it into a finish.

In the 13th minute, the team pushed forward, and Tokunaga in the right area sent a shot-like ball towards the goal. Watanabe controlled it at his feet, turned, and took a shot, but it went to the left. In the 14th minute, a right corner kick. From Ota's kick, Morishige at the far post couldn't finish, but they persevered and connected, with Yonemoto meeting the loose ball for a mid-range shot. He aimed to drive a well-controlled shot, but it was thwarted by the goalkeeper's save.

15 minutes have passed. In the early stages, there was a struggle for the ball, and there were moments when Tokushima created opportunities on the right side and pressed forward, but the defense responded calmly. From there, they quickly transitioned and moved forward, getting close to the Tokushima goal, but still unable to capitalize on their chances. In the 26th minute, Kono on the right sent a heel pass to the front line, and Yonemoto, who moved into space from the outside, delivered a cross. Higashi at the far post attempted a header but was contested by an opponent and couldn't get a shot off, sending it wide. In the 29th minute, from a pass by Yonemoto, Tokunaga advanced on the right side and crossed. Hirayama at the far post struck a header, but it was caught by the goalkeeper at his feet...

30 minutes have passed without being able to score a goal. The temperature on the pitch has risen, and there is no wind. Despite this, Tokyo is running well and trying to connect to their attacks, but they often lose the ball in the front line against Tokushima's five-back defense, and conversely, there were moments when they were able to connect to the front line. In the 36th minute, Hirayama on the right side of the area sent a floated ball to Kono just outside the area, and Hirayama again sent it into the middle with a chest trap and a floated ball, allowing Higashi to get into a shooting position, but he was challenged by the defender... They created a chance from a wonderful idea and good coordination, but they couldn't finish it.

In the 40th minute, Ota's cross did not reach Watanabe in the center. Here, Tokushima intercepted, and midfielder Saito spread the play to the left. Forward Sasaki managed to get past Tokunaga once and attempted to dribble forward, but Tokunaga cut in to intercept just as he was about to take a shot. With tenacious defense, they did not allow a shot to be taken. As time passed, they controlled the ball and pressed forward, but the five-back defense of Tokushima eliminated space, leading to many lost balls in the forward line. Despite this, they created chances from crosses from both sides and passes from Kono, but could not convert. The match went into the second half scoreless.

Unable to score, scoreless draw

After the start of the second half, Tokushima brought in defender Alex MILLER. In the 52nd minute, Kono on the right side evaded a one-two with Hirayama in the center and turned inside, passing to Higashi who had broken into the left area. However, he couldn't take a shot and it resulted in a left corner kick. Higashi connected with a short pass, and Ota delivered a cross. Yonemoto at the far post headed it down, but it was defended by the opponent... In the following 54th minute, Tokushima's left winger Alex attacked and passed back to the center. Midfielder Hamada's short cross was headed by forward Sho SASAKI in the center, but it went wide of the goal.

In the 55th minute, Edu came on as a substitute for Hirayama. One minute later, in the 56th minute, Takahashi advanced to the right and passed to the center. Edu, with his back to the goal, turned and took a sharp shot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 60th minute, Ota's left corner kick could not be converted into a finish. Still, Tokunaga picked up the second ball and tried to advance it from midfield when it was taken away... Tokushima forward Takasaki charged forward with a dribble. Higashi desperately closed in, and the shot from just outside the area narrowly missed the target, avoiding a crisis... In the 63rd minute, Matsuda came on for Tokunaga, changing the system to a three-back formation. Then, in the 69th minute, Kono was substituted for Muto.

After 70 minutes had passed, despite pushing forward, they were unable to score, and perhaps due to growing impatience, mistakes began to occur. There were moments when Tokushima created chances, but the defense responded calmly. They made three substitutions, aiming for a goal. In the 83rd minute, they faced a counterattack from Tokushima, and Ota fouled to stop it. The resulting free kick from the center of the Tokyo defense was blocked by the wall, but they were pressed back by Tokushima after connecting with the second ball. Yonemoto's clearance went to Tokushima, and a pass was sent behind the last defender, but they raised the line to respond.

In the 87th minute, Edu in the area reacted to a pass from the right. He tried to get into a shooting position, but it was blocked. Still, he persevered and connected with Higashi, who followed from behind. However, the shot from just outside the area was also blocked, resulting in a right corner kick... From Higashi's kick, Morishige, who jumped in at the near post, headed the ball but it grazed the bar and went wide. As we entered added time, Muto, who contested a feed from Morishige, was fouled, resulting in a free kick almost directly in front of the goal, slightly left of the penalty arc. Edu aimed for this free kick, sending it towards the right side of the goal, but it was saved by the goalkeeper... and time was up.

In the second half, both teams' intensity dropped, leading to mistakes and a back-and-forth counterattack situation. Despite not conceding any goals, they just couldn't score a single point... resulting in four consecutive matches without a goal. The match ended in a draw, giving Tokushima their first point at home.

[Player Comments]
《Edu》
"It was a bit of a longer playing time after a while. I didn't have many shooting chances myself, but I still tried to fulfill my minimum role. There were moments when I made the last pass, and the feeling of play and coordination wasn't bad... However, I believe my job is to score goals. I'm very disappointed that I couldn't do that."
(Is there a sense of urgency as a team?)
Everyone definitely has the feeling of wanting to score a goal quickly and the desire to win absolutely. However, I don't think that's a bad thing at all. It's necessary to believe in ourselves, and we need to practice to create better opportunities from here, so that we can perform better and score goals.

《Gonda》
"This season, everyone is conscious of defense. The fact that we have been able to keep the number of goals conceded to a minimum lately is because everyone in the front line and midfield is contributing to defense. Today, when Tokunaga lost the ball, Higashi, who usually shouldn't be there, came back to the defensive line and covered in a one-on-one situation. Ota also fought to win headers against the opponent, and everyone is really putting in a lot of effort. If we are using so much energy on defense, it must be tough to push forward in attack. Therefore, I can't say to the attacking players, 'You can't score,' and it's clear that they themselves feel frustrated. More than that, I want to reflect on the fact that in this five-match stretch, we only managed 1 win, 1 draw, and 3 losses, earning just 4 points. If we could have turned those three losses into draws, we would have had 7 points. Even if we can't score, if we can hold firm in defense, we could have managed to get 4 draws. As a team, we may start working on more efficient ways to score from here, but as a defensive player, I want to continue making efforts to reduce the probability of losing as much as possible."

【Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference】
"We fought well and created many chances, but not being able to convert them into goals reflects the difficulty of soccer. I believe that the lack of results will naturally affect the players' mentality, but they are running hard and continuing to play wonderfully, so I hope they keep it up. In the second half, perhaps due to the desire to win, we became stretched and faced a few dangerous counterattacks. However, even considering that, I think it was a match that we dominated."

[Summary of the Press Conference by Tokushima's Shinji KOBAYASHI]
"I think we managed to make a system that we had never used before function well in just three days. In the tough situation of five consecutive matches, there were moments when Tokyo's pace slowed down a bit, but we were able to create chances as well. In the first half, we were able to win the ball on the right side as planned, although the left side was a bit awkward, we managed to defend well and connect it to our attacks. In the second half, we broke through on the ball side from our attacks, but we struggled to expand the play again and ended up facing counterattacks instead. If we could move and circulate the ball a bit more smoothly even when our pace slowed down, I think the players could rest while the back line and the defensive midfielders were attacking, but we couldn't reach that point. We earned one point at home, and although it's gradual, I think it's good that we are starting to see the parts where we are fighting and doing our best."