League games resume, aiming to win the battle

The league resumed and Sec. 23 was held. We will face Vissel Kobe at home. In the 4th round of the Emperor's Cup, we lost due to poor timing of conceding and losing the ball. As a result, the only remaining tournament for this season is the league. Also, the team's undefeated record in official matches was broken after 10 games, which will undoubtedly leave some damage. However, the players are looking forward and saying, "If we can't switch gears from here, we won't grow."

Manager Massimo also emphasized, "Rather than starting from a state of '2 draws and 1 loss' just by looking at recent results, we want to continue to improve our team strength and aim for victory based on the accumulation of the past few months."

Kobe, on the other hand, is currently in 5th place with 35 points. With a strong attacking lineup and a pressing style of play, Kobe's key to victory will be to withstand their opponent's early momentum and keep the scoreline in check. This will be especially important as they are playing at home. They will need to maintain possession and create scoring opportunities by breaking through Kobe's pressing. This will be a battle of determination as they aim to come out on top and secure the win.

Tokyo's Nozawa and Nakajima have left the team for the activities of the U-21 Japan national team, but Mori Shige, Muto, and Ota, who have just returned from the Japan national team, will start in the starting lineup. On the other hand, Kobe's U-21 Japan national team DF Iwanami is absent. In defense, Kawamoto and FW Tashiro are starting, and it is close to a 2-top formation with FW Marquinhos. They have faced the game with MF Morioka and Edamura on both sides.

Ajinomoto, which had calmed down in the evening, even in the harsh lingering summer heat between Japan and China. The game started at 6:34 pm with a kickoff from Kobe.

Kobe maintained the pace throughout, but patiently endured and overcame it.

1 minute into the game, Kobe's left back Hashimoto sends an early cross to the center where MF Morioka jumps out and the ball hits his chest, heading towards Gonda's goal. Mori Shige, who was competing for the ball, clears it just in time, escaping the danger with a corner kick. However, this is where "Kobe time" begins. In the 12th minute, Tokyo's Kono receives a long feed from their own half and skillfully traps it, then passes it to Muto on the left. Muto tries to return it to Kono with a direct pass, but it is intercepted by Kobe.

At 15 minutes, Hayabusa's right early cross was dropped by Edu in the area, and Muto ran in, but couldn't finish it off due to Kobe's quick defense. It was a back and forth game, but gradually Kobe created opportunities from long balls and picked up second balls, passing them around. As a result, Takahashi was placed in the center of the defense and the number of defenders was increased to counter. However, even when they won the ball in their own half, they struggled to connect and made mistakes.

At 38 minutes, Erik on the right side of the field snatched the ball in their own territory and made a long feed to the front line. Mutoh jumped out, but was caught by the opposing GK. At 42 minutes, Ota overlapped and received a foul, earning a FK just outside the left area corner. Ota sent this FK to the front of the goal, but it went through the center of the chaos and to Takahashi on the far side, who was offside.

While persistently enduring the opponent's time, Kobe was unable to maintain accuracy in the last play, and although they did not allow any points, they were unable to advance in the attack. In the first half, Tokyo's number of shots remained at zero, resulting in a scoreless finish.

Edu changes the flow and takes the lead with a PK! However, they immediately concede a goal...

In the second half, we tried to take the ball from the front line and create a rhythm to turn things around. In the 48th minute, MF Simplicio was left free in front of the goal from Kobe's right cross, but his perfect header hit the post. After escaping the danger, Tokyo also tried to create chances by attacking from the side. In the 54th minute, Kobe took the ball and quickly switched to the right side, where Yonemoto made a long cross. Ota on the opposite side carried the ball forward and sent a low, fast ground cross into the box. Mutoh jumped in, but his timing was just off...

Around the 60th minute, Edu, Muto, Ota, and Hanyu attacked the area, and in the end, Edu dropped a vertical pass from Muto to try to connect with Muto, but was cleared by the Kobe DF who put his body on the line. In the 61st minute, Kobe counterattacked by quickly connecting vertically and taking a decisive shot by MF Morioka just in front of the area, but Kanda made the save! Both teams attacked with momentum, and in the 63rd minute, Edu took a middle shot. In the 64th minute, Yonemoto took consecutive shots, and the scenes in front of the goal increased.

At the 68th minute, Mutoh, who received a pass from Ota, sprinted down the left side. He entered the left area, attracted the DF, and made a last pass to Edu, who was free in the center. Edu's shot was blocked by the opponent's DF Masukawa's hand, resulting in a PK. Edu then scored a powerful kick that bounced off the opponent's GK's hand and GOAL!

After a tough development, we were able to take the lead as planned. However, right after that, Kobe connected the ball from their kickoff and passed it to FW Marquinhos on the right front line. Ota and Kono responded to this, but it resulted in a right corner kick for Kobe. And from MF Cho Won-yeong's corner kick, DF Masukawa headed the ball with a high point from above Morishige. The ball was dropped in front and FW Marquinhos, who had jumped out to replace Yonemoto, scored with a header... Just like in the Emperor's Cup Shimizu match, we allowed a goal right after scoring...

In the final stages, both teams stretched their lines and created space for counterattacks. Tokyo also launched quick attacks centered around Muto. In the 90th minute, a perfect last pass was sent to Edu from Muto, who had broken through the left area, but Edu's trap was off by one beat and he couldn't finish. In the 90th minute +2, Kajiyama replaced Hayashi, and Watanabe replaced Kono immediately after. They continued to push for a winning goal, but in additional time, Muto was fouled and they were awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area. However, Ota's kick went over the bar and the game ended. Despite taking the lead and changing the momentum, they ended up with a draw for the third consecutive game in the league against Kobe.

[Player Comments]
"Edu"
"We can't be satisfied with just one point at home, but Kobe is also a strong team. It was a minimum, but not a bad result. I couldn't kick the PK as I intended, but I think it was good that I was able to imagine kicking it strongly and score. However, there was a scene where I couldn't shoot because my trap was off. I have to improve on those small plays myself."

"Hanyu"
"We had to finish with a 1-0 score. Our immaturity was shown when we conceded a goal there. We couldn't show the attitude of moving forward again. Personally, there were things I couldn't express as an experienced player. That's very disappointing. We needed to work more carefully."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"In the first half, we struggled a lot because we couldn't keep possession of the ball. It didn't feel like Kobe completely dominated us, but in the second half we were able to come out with a completely different approach. Not just in terms of mentality, but also by aggressively pressing from the front, we didn't allow them to play freely. Kobe had some chances, including one for MF Lins, but we also had many opportunities. I told the players that the second half was good. I am proud that the players gave their all and showed their strong mentality in the second half."
It was a performance worthy of a win, but the result did not go as expected. However, I am satisfied with the players."

[Kobe - Manager Ryo Adachi's Press Conference Summary]
"The impression was that we could only get one point. It's frustrating. In the first half and the second half, we were able to do what we wanted overall, but it's frustrating that we conceded a goal first. However, we were able to catch up, so it would have been good if we could have scored a second goal. The accuracy, ideas, and power were lacking when we went for the second goal. It was a very disappointing game."