Fight without stopping, facing forward, aiming for victory

Away game following the previous match, facing Nagoya on enemy territory. G Osaka took the lead and suffered two painful goals. However, the substitution strategy worked and Matsuda, who came on as a substitute, scored his first professional goal and showed a comeback. However, the multiple goals conceded since the 22nd round against Kashima on August 30th proved costly and they were defeated. They also dropped to 7th place and their chances of winning the season disappeared. In addition, there was an accident where Kanda injured his neck, and there was a "depressed" atmosphere in the team after the match.

However, as Morishige says, "If we stop here, this season's battle will be meaningless," no one is giving up on victory. Shioda also vows, "The loss against G Osaka was a regrettable defeat, but this week we have been focusing on training for tomorrow. We will do our best to improve our ranking and strive for victory in the upcoming match."

Tokyo started with GK Shioda as the first starter of the season, and DF Yoshimoto as the first starter since the Sendai match on October 5th. In the midfield, Hanyu was used. The front line started with FW Watanabe, Edu, and Muto as the top three.

Nagoya, on the other hand, is currently in 12th place with 40 points. In the middle of the season, MF Leandro Domingues and FW Kanamata joined the team. Since then, the team has recorded a 6-game unbeaten streak and their performance has been improving. However, they are currently struggling with injuries, including MF Leandro Domingues. In addition, MF Danilson and Taguchi will be suspended due to accumulated yellow cards in this match. On the other hand, FW Nagai will return from suspension and start in the starting lineup. The starting lineup consists of FW Matsuda and Kanamata as the two forwards, with MF Tanabe and Nagai on the wings. MF Isomura and Yada will play as the two central midfielders.

Covered in clouds, Mizuho where you can occasionally feel the presence of light rain. However, under a mild climate, the game started at 1:04 PM with a kickoff in Tokyo.

2 goals conceded from own goal and free kick. 1 goal behind going into the second half.

Although there were moments where the opponent attacked immediately after the kickoff, Tokyo gradually took control of the ball without giving up the lead. While they were unable to create scoring opportunities, they were trying to break through from various challenges.

At the 19th minute, Nagoya's right SB Yano advances and crosses. Mori Shige's posture is slightly disrupted as he tries to clear, and the ball is sucked into his own goal... They have conceded an own goal... However, at the 21st minute, Ota advances to the front line and crosses parallel to the goal. Edu jumps in from the far side and scores a high header over the opponent's head, GOAL!! They quickly equalize.

29 minutes, Takahashi fouls against opponent FW Nagai. Nagoya is given a FK from the left side. Nagoya MF Yada takes a sharp kick. This is followed by a powerful header from DF Toure in the right area... Goal. Unfortunately, we conceded the first goal in an unlucky way, but immediately after, Ota's cross was headed in by Edu to equalize! After that, we continued to dominate the ball and control the game, but Nagoya took advantage of one chance from a set piece... putting us behind by one goal again.

At 38 minutes, Nagoya FW Nagai broke through the left front line. Tokunaga was facing him, but he was able to cross and MF Tanabe from the far side took a header shot over Ota. It was a decisive moment, but Shioda made a big save to avoid danger!

The first half saw Tokyo keeping possession of the ball for most of the time, but they were unable to capitalize on an own goal and a free kick, resulting in 2 goals against them... Tokyo only managed to score 1 goal with Edu's goal, and they head into the second half behind.

Unable to win, it ends in a draw

Entering the second half at the 49th minute. Ota sent a vertical ball, which was deflected by the opponent DF and reached Muto. Muto rushed into the left area. He cut back the opponent DF who came to close him down, but in the end he chose to pass. He sent a short floating ball to the far side, but it went over Watanabe and no one was there to receive it, and they couldn't create a scoring opportunity. In the 51st minute, Muto broke through the left front line again. However, his final cross didn't reach Edu and went to the right. In quick succession in the 52nd minute, Watanabe received a wedge from the right and passed it directly to the right front. In a coordinated move, Edu broke through, but he couldn't shoot past the quick jump of the GK... They created a chance, but couldn't create a decisive moment, and time passed. On the contrary, the opponents were able to launch counterattacks.

59 minutes, Matsuda enters the right side in place of Hanyu. Takahashi and Yonemoto form a double pivot in a shape close to 4-4-2. In addition, Mita is substituted for Yonemoto in the 62nd minute. He continues to play in the central position.

In the 76th minute, following Mita's vertical pass, Tokunaga cuts in from the right and puts in a wedge, but it is cut off. However, he tenaciously regains possession of the ball and Mutoh uses his strength to dribble through the left area. It was a dribble that seemed to take him away from the goal, but he changes his body direction and shoots, scoring a fantastic goal in the bottom right corner! This brings the score to 2-2. Mutoh shows his determination as he heads towards the goal, marking his 13th goal of the season, tying the record for most goals scored by a rookie!!

In the second half, we were caught on the counterattack while attacking, and Nagoya continued to receive counterattacks. However, with Yoshimoto, Morishige, and Shiota at the core, we did not allow any additional points. We used player substitutions to launch a counterattack, and Muto marked his 13th goal of the season, tying the record for most goals by a rookie, bringing the score to a tie! In the end, it was a back-and-forth of counterattacks, but we were unable to take the lead... We were only able to earn 1 point away from home.

[Player Comments]
"Muto"
"It was good to be able to score with a "one-shot" attempt. However, we couldn't win and even when we scored, I think our performance throughout the game was only at a "mediocre" level. Other than the goal, I couldn't make plays to help the team win. Nagoya DF player Yano, who we faced, was very physically strong and had speed. He was a tough opponent. Regarding the first goal we conceded, it was a situation that I should have been able to handle. I tried to cut off Yano's dribble by going vertical, but I couldn't stop him and ended up in a situation where I was even with Ota. If I had stopped him, there wouldn't have been a cross and it wouldn't have been an own goal. We also couldn't convert chances from counters and there were times when I chose to pass instead of taking a shot. I feel sorry that we couldn't turn the game around, even though our defense was putting their bodies on the line.
(Tied for most rookie records?)
I often get asked about that, so to be honest, I feel relieved (bitter laugh). However, what I aim for is even higher. I want to keep my consciousness high and score more and more goals for the team to win above all else."

"Shioda"
"It's frustrating to have conceded 2 goals in the first half. However, the attacking players did their best and managed to equalize twice... As a defender, I need to reflect on the 2 goals we conceded. However, as a team, it may be a positive thing that we were able to equalize from being 1-2 down to 3-3. In the second half, the game opened up too quickly and we were not able to organize ourselves properly. We need to rethink this and the midfield and defense did a good job of putting their bodies on the line. Nagoya created many dangerous situations, but we were able to hold on and counter effectively. I think we were able to prevent them from scoring at crucial moments. There are still things we need to reflect on in terms of how we attack and how we can equalize when we are behind, but we want to use today's lessons to improve in the future."
(There was also a great save by Shioda)
Personally, I have been away from playing for a long time and didn't have enough game sense, so I felt frustrated in the G Osaka game. That's why I approached today's game with the feeling of "let's do it". However, I couldn't produce results. Still, even though we conceded 2 goals, we were able to hold on until the end without collapsing, and I think that's what led to us getting 1 point. The voices from the stands also reached us and it was a great source of strength."

[Press Conference Summary by Massimo FICCADENTI]
"Regarding the first half, we played very well but conceded two goals. In the second half, we were determined to equalize and ended up giving the opponent too much space. The team believed in victory until the end and continued to create chances. After equalizing, both teams fought with the desire to win until the very end."

[Nagoya - Manager Akira NISHINO's Press Conference Summary]
"It was a frustrating game where we couldn't win at home as usual. We created numerous scoring opportunities and it was an aggressive game, but when we couldn't convert those chances, we were equalized and the overall image of the game became negative. In this situation, it was a game that tested the team's strength. It was important to see how much the players could fight, but it was not satisfactory."