Entering the final stage of the league, to the team that can win it all

Sec. 25 of the league, which will be played only 2 days after the previous match, will welcome Tokushima Vortis at home. The match against Kawasaki was intense, but ended in a scoreless draw, making it the 4th consecutive draw in the league. At the same time, it also became a club record of 12 matches without a loss, but there are still 10 matches left in this season's league. The focus now is on how to continue building up and secure 3 points from here on.

Tokushima, on the other hand, is currently in 18th place with 12 points. Since the start of the season, Tokushima has not been able to rise from the bottom, but during the season, DF Muramatsu, MF Esteban, and FW Adriano joined the team. In addition, top striker Takasaki has scored multiple goals and achieved 3 wins. Above all, in the away game of the first half, they were unable to break through Tokushima's solid defense and ended up with a draw. Therefore, coach Massimo also said, "Tokushima is a team that can fight. In order to win against them, we need to give our all and show our quality."

Unfortunately, Mita suffered an injury and had to withdraw, and coach Massimo expressed his regret, saying, "We couldn't turn over the attacking line and have no options," but also said, "Each player's condition is not bad and the team is playing well," and the starting lineup will be the same as last round. Sasaki (U-18) also made the bench for the second consecutive game. Tokushima will be without FW Adriano, but they have a lineup that can be considered almost the best. It can be expected that Tokushima will tighten their defense, but it is a game where we want to score first and lead to victory no matter what.

Ajinomoto on a clear autumn day, the game started at 3:03 PM with a kickoff in Tokyo.

Edu and Kono break the deadlock and take the lead!

Tokyo dominated the ball from the start. They were conscious of switching sides and shook up Tokushima while advancing the game in the opponent's half. However, they were unable to break through Tokushima's solid defense. There were opportunities to cross, as well as set pieces such as free kicks and corner kicks, but they lacked the finishing touch. However, their pressing from the front worked well. In the 27th minute, a back pass from Tokushima's DF was intercepted and reached Edu on the front line. Edu charged towards the goal. He tried to cut back with a feint to get past the approaching opponent DF and take a shot, but was blocked by the returning Tokushima DF... They took advantage of the opponent's mistake and created a decisive opportunity, but it only resulted in a corner kick.

But in the 33rd minute, from their own half, Yonemoto → Muto in the center quickly moves up, Hayabusa on the right side expands to Edu on the right. Edu strongly moves vertically in the right area and sends a final pass in front of the opponent's DF. In the left goal area, Kono, who was waiting freely, easily pushed in with his right foot and GOAL!! From Hayabusa's expansion, Edu and Kono broke through the deadlock and finally took the lead.

At 35 minutes, Edu from the area chest traps and turns a right cross from Hayu, but shoots outside the frame. At 37 minutes, Kono ran into the area with a pass from Edu -> Hayu, but the trap flowed and did not reach the finish. Unable to clear the ball from Tokushima and pushed in. At 39 minutes, Tokushima MF Hamada ran to the right front line and shot from an angleless position. Gonda saved it safely, but couldn't connect forward from here, and again Tokushima's cross was cleared and MF Estepan shot a middle, but it went over the bar. It was a slightly panicked development, but Tokushima lacked precision and ended the first half with a one-point lead.

After the introduction of Watanabe and Kajiyama, Sasaki also made his debut, and the FW team continued to score.

In the second half, which aimed for an additional point, we launched a powerful attack from the beginning. In the 51st minute, Ota's left throw-in, Yonemoto → Hanyu broke through the opponent's defense and sent a well-aimed through pass. Kono, who broke through, caught up with the line and made a last pass to the center. Edu, who was trying to score, was fouled and knocked down, earning a penalty kick. In the 52nd minute, Edu scored this penalty kick in a spectacular fashion, successfully taking the second point.

On the other hand, Tokushima made two substitutions in the 58th minute and started attacking, but Tokyo calmly responded and took advantage of their opponent's weaknesses to launch counter attacks one after another. In the 68th minute, Kono's pass from a quick attack reached Edu in the left area, but he couldn't shoot directly. In the 72nd minute, Mutoh from the right side of the area passed to Edu in the center and moved to the left. Edu skillfully evaded his opponent with the sole of his foot and passed to Kono in front of the goal, but his cross was off target.

Substituted Watanabe for Edu in the 73rd minute. In the 77th minute, Tokunaga steals the ball in a low position on the right side of their own field, and Hayashi follows up and connects with Kono in front. Kono, while almost being stolen by the opponent, carries the ball with a powerful dribble and makes a through pass to the front line. Muto takes advantage of his speed and brings the ball into the area, then moves to the left, avoiding the opponent's DF and GK, and scores! They successfully get their third goal in the intended way, utilizing their speed.

In the 78th minute, Kajiyama was substituted for Kono as a top midfielder. This helped push Tokushima forward by creating more time on the front line. In the 87th minute, Sasaki, who made his J-League debut, replaced Muto. Just after entering the 4 minutes of additional time, Sasaki aggressively pressed the opponent's goalkeeper. The resulting kick went to Yonemoto in the Tokushima area, who then passed it to Kajiyama with one touch. From there, Watanabe made a run, evading the defenders and scoring with his left foot!

In defense, they kept a clean sheet and with players like Kajiyama and debutant Sho Sasaki utilizing their strengths, they achieved a victory with a sense of unity among all members. This also led to the club's record of 13 consecutive games without a loss and their first 3 points in 5 league games.

[Player Comments]
"Edu"
"I couldn't score in the flow of the game and I feel frustrated for missing chances. However, even though my contribution to the team may be low, I was thinking of helping the team by defending and running if I couldn't score. I think not losing my aggressiveness led to the first goal. I will give my all with the limited strength I have. I have always approached the game with this mindset and I promise to continue fighting with 100% of my strength."

"Watanabe"
"I was thinking of moving as soon as Kajiyama received the ball. It was easy to demonstrate my aim, and he gave me a good vertical pass, so I was conscious of finishing it myself. There are many injured players now, but for healthy players, it's a chance, and if you play, you have to perform. Even in a short playing time, there will be a chance once, so it's important to make the most of those few chances. That will also increase competitiveness and lead to an improvement in team strength."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"Tokushima plays with a 3-top formation up front and leaves 5 players behind. We expected to have a tough time as it would be difficult to change sides, and that's exactly what happened. After taking the lead, the opponent pushed forward and created more space, making it a bit easier for us. As we scored 2 or 3 more goals, it became even easier. What I want to emphasize is the players' mentality. As a fundamental principle of the team, we always tell them to give 100% regardless of the opponent's ranking, and they also talk about it among themselves. Through the way they started the game and played, they truly showed that."

[Tokushima - Manager Shinji Kobayashi's Press Conference Summary]
"I feel like it was a tough game. In the first 20 minutes, especially the first 10 minutes, we were a bit disorganized, but I think our defense in our own half was good. The opponent struggled to attack and we were able to create chances. However, when we didn't know which way the game would go, we stopped for a moment and conceded the first goal from a counterattack. It was a shame. However, in the previous game, we collapsed here, so it was good that we were able to turn the first half around with a 0-1 score. We believed that if we could just hold on defensively, we would have chances. But then came the second goal. The third goal was from a counterattack after we attacked, and the fourth goal was from our own mistake. It's not that we were beaten, but it's a shame that we couldn't take care of it. Also, when we broke through, we went back instead of deciding whether to cross or shoot. There were some situations where we could have crossed after attacking, but we couldn't create those situations on the side. Going back too easily is a matter of individual skill. I think it's okay to challenge more strongly, but it's a waste if we can't. It's very heavy to concede a goal in a situation where we're struggling to score, and the second goal was very heavy. Today, we fell into the trap of Tokyo's defense. Once we conceded the second goal, we had to attack, but we couldn't create any chances. We couldn't push Tokyo to the edge."