Returning to the basics, aiming for victory after three league matches.

After two days since the Nabisco match against Kofu, we welcome Sec. 13 of the league. We will face Nagoya Grampus at Ajinomoto. Although we struggled, we managed to secure a victory against Kofu. It cannot be said that we have fully regained the good flow and momentum from our winning streak, but Coach Massimo positively views it as "an important result for us" and adds, "Taking this victory as an opportunity, I want to regain the fighting spirit that we have somewhat forgotten recently." By reflecting on various points of improvement and "revisiting our origins and the essence of football (Yonemoto)," we aim for our first victory in the league after three matches.

However, this round will see Canini and Higashi suspended. On the other hand, Tokunaga and Kono, who missed the Nabisco Cup, will return to the starting lineup. The center backs will be Morishige and Yoshimoto. At the same time, considering the strategy against Nagoya, Takahashi and Kajiyama will form a double pivot, with Yonemoto and Muto on the flanks. They will approach the match in a 4-4-1-1 formation with Maeda at the forefront and Kono just behind.

Nagoya is currently in 11th place with 14 points. This season, FW Leandro Dmingues and MF Taguchi have been sidelined due to injuries, and they have struggled to gain momentum, currently on a three-match losing streak without scoring. However, in the previous Nabisco match, MF Danielson and DF Honda returned from injury. FW Koyamatsu and Novakovich scored goals, securing their advancement to the knockout stage. In this match, the lineup appears as 4-4-2, but FW Novakovich is utilized at the forefront. The two shadows are MF Koyamatsu and MF Ogawa. On the wings are DF Yano and FW Nagai. MF Danielson and MF Yada form a double pivot in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Against Nagoya, who have high individual abilities, Tokyo will aim to seize three points with a sense of unity, leveraging their team coordination and maturity as weapons.

The cloudy sky at Ajinomoto, the match started at 19:03 with a kickoff in Tokyo.

Control the ball and take the initiative, preventing Nagoya from creating chances

With momentum from the start, they attacked, and in the 2nd minute, Yonemoto, who entered the goal area, headed a cross from Ota. It went over the bar, but they displayed intensity and fighting spirit from the beginning, not allowing Nagoya to find their rhythm. In the 16th minute, after a series of passes on the left flank, Takahashi at the edge of the area turned and prepared to shoot. It was blocked, but they earned a left corner kick. In the 19th minute, Muuto dove in to meet an early cross from Ota, but it was cleared by a Nagoya defender just before he could make contact, resulting in a corner kick.

In the 21st minute, after a quick passing sequence in the front line, Ota cut inside and initiated an attack, winning a free kick just outside the left area. Ota sent this to the right area, where Morishige, free at the far post, headed the ball. However, the cross was half-hearted, and the ball was collected by the Nagoya goalkeeper. In the 32nd minute, they earned a free kick from the left sideline, and Maeda jumped into the center of the area but lost his balance and couldn't take a shot. In the 38th minute, a cross from Nagoya's MF Yada grazed the Tokyo defense, resulting in a corner kick. From this left corner kick, MF Koyamatsu took a shot, but Gonda made the save. This was Nagoya's only shot in the first half, but Tokyo also failed to capitalize on set pieces, including five corner kicks in the first half.

In the first half's added time, they quickly connected from their own half, with Maeda in midfield facing forward and sending Muto running down the right flank with a one-touch pass, earning a right corner kick. From the resulting loose ball, Yonemoto attempted to connect, but the shot lacked power. They attacked with a consistently good tempo in their passing, progressing at Tokyo's pace, but Nagoya pulled both wide players back into a formation close to a five-back. As a result, they were unable to create any decisive chances and ended the first half scoreless.

Conceded the opening goal due to an own goal... The counterattack in a total war effort did not bear fruit.

In the second half, Nagoya brought in forward Kawamata to try to regroup. Still, Tokyo's pace remained unchanged. In the 48th minute, Muto unleashed a powerful dribbling shot from just outside the right area, but it was thwarted by a one-handed save from the goalkeeper, hitting the bar just barely. By the time it passed the 55th minute, they continued to win the ball in midfield, preventing Nagoya from advancing, but on the other hand, they could not exploit any gaps against the Nagoya defense, which was solidly positioned in front of the goal. Even when they delivered crosses, they were repeatedly cleared away.

In the 59th minute, Nagoya MF Danilson was substituted due to injury, and MF Isomura came in. In the 69th minute, Ota's left cross found Muto, who made a connection with his foot in the center of the area, but it went straight to the GK. Unable to capitalize on the chance, they were instead hit by a counterattack from Nagoya. In the 60th minute, a right cross from Nagoya led to a decisive header from FW Novakovich, but Gonda made the save. In the 61st minute, Nagoya FW Nagai broke through from the left side, but Yoshimoto cleared it with a sliding tackle.

Immediately after, Maeda dribbles up the center. From the left, Muto enters the area while dragging along a Nagoya defender, but Kono on the left is unable to follow up. Maeda takes a shot through the crowd in front of the goal, but it goes straight to the goalkeeper... In the 73rd minute, this time Muto dribbles through the center. However, he is blocked by multiple Nagoya defenders and cannot finish. As the counterattacks continue, Nagoya's goalkeeper kicks the ball, and MF Yada dribbles up the center, passing to MF Koyamatsu on the left flank. Tokyo is unable to contain this. MF Koyamatsu delivers a ground cross to FW Kawamata, who has broken into the area. Morishige tries to cut it off, but the ball goes into his own goal... An unfortunate own goal allows the opponent to take the lead.

In the 73rd minute, Tokyo brought in Mita, and in the 82nd minute, Hayashi. On the other hand, Nagoya received a second warning for MF Isomura in the 84th minute, resulting in his ejection. Against the 10-man Nagoya, Lassad made his debut in the 86th minute. They launched a counterattack with all their might. However, in the 87th minute, Ota on the left passed to Mita, who broke through behind the opponent in the left area, delivering a ground pass in front of the goal. Hayashi slid in at the far post but... just barely missed it. It was a decisive moment, but they couldn't convert. In the 90th minute, from a short corner on the left, Mita's cross was headed back by Lassad at the far post, but Nagoya managed to defend it. In the 4 minutes of added time, Yoshimoto also aimed for a shot, and everyone continued to attack without giving up, but they couldn't break through the solid defense of Nagoya's DF. They suffered a defeat without scoring, marking their third consecutive loss in the league.

[Player Comments]
《Morishige》
"We were able to fight well from the first half. Although we couldn't convert it into goals, we created chances from crosses. However, if we can't score, we should have kept it at 0-0. I feel very frustrated and apologize for that."

《YoneMoto》
"We let the opponent do what we were supposed to do. We needed to win this kind of match, or at least draw, but we couldn't, and I'm really frustrated. I believe that if we had scored just one goal, the game would have changed. I was once again reminded of how important that 'one goal' is."

【Summary of Coach Massimo FICCADENTI's Press Conference】
It was an unbelievable defeat that left us at a loss for words. We delivered countless crosses and continued to create chances. It was a one-sided match, and we were able to apply good pressure. However, we need to improve our accuracy in the area.
(What words did you say to the players after the match?)
I told them that if they continue to play football like today and score even 10% of the chances they create, they can achieve victory against any team. The players showed wonderful play and did not allow the opponent any freedom. They were constantly pushing into the opponent's territory for 90 minutes. However, in football, you cannot win without scoring goals. Today, we just lacked precision in finishing. The players gave their all and showed true team spirit, but Nagoya is an experienced team. They capitalized on a few chances, but I also think luck played a significant role.
(Shouldn't we have made more side attacks from the first half?)
Soccer is all about balance. There was a close chance for Yonemoto, and Tokunaga was also actively moving forward, completely outpacing the opponent. We exploited space with fast attacks and had opportunities from set plays. Despite conceding a goal on a counterattack and losing, we must keep our heads up and continue playing our game in times like this. We must have courage and move forward with our heads held high.

【Nagoya - Akira NISHINO's Press Conference Summary】
"While I want to celebrate stopping the losing streak, the performance was not something to be happy about. In offense, there were hardly any clear chances, and we couldn't execute satisfactory attacks. In recent matches, we created many opportunities but lacked finishing ability, and today the number of chances was also scarce. Regarding defense, I think we achieved a decent level of unity among the players. We managed to score while focusing solely on defense, but as a team, we want to improve further."