Aiming for the first victory in 3 league matches, returning to the starting point

Sec. 13 of the league, which comes just two days after the Nabisco Kofu match. We will face Nagoya Grampus at Ajinomoto Stadium. We managed to grab a victory in the Kofu match, although it was a struggle. While we cannot say that we have regained the good flow and momentum of consecutive wins, Manager Massimo takes a positive view of it as "an important result for us" and further states, "With this victory, we want to regain the fighting spirit that we have been forgetting a little lately." By reflecting on various points of improvement, we aim for our first victory in three league matches by revisiting our roots and the essence of soccer (Yonemoto).

However, Canini and Higashi will be suspended for this round. On the other hand, Tokunaga and Kono, who missed the Nabisco Cup, will return to the starting lineup. Center backs are Morishige and Yoshimoto. Taking into account the strategy against Nagoya, Takahashi and Kajiyama will form a double pivot, with Yonemoto and Muto on the wings. Maeda will lead the front line, with Kono playing behind him in a 4-4-1-1 formation.

Nagoya, on the other hand, is currently in 11th place with 14 points. This season, FW Leandro Domingues and MF Taguchi have been injured and unable to gain momentum, resulting in 3 consecutive losses with no goals scored in the league. However, in the previous Nabisco match, MF Danilson and DF Honda returned from their injuries. FW Koyamatsu and Novakovic scored goals, securing their spot in the final round. In this match, the lineup is shown as 4-4-2, with FW Novakovic leading the front line. MF Koyamatsu and MF Ogawa as the two shadows, DF Yano and FW Nagai on the wings. MF Danilson and MF Yada form a double pivot in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Tokyo will face Nagoya, a team with high individual abilities, with their team cohesion and maturity as their weapons to secure 3 points.

Ajinomoto under cloudy skies, the match started at 7:03 PM with a kickoff in Tokyo.

Take control of the ball and dominate, not giving Nagoya any chances.

Started with momentum and attacked, in the 2nd minute, Robert headed in Ota's cross in front of the goal. It missed above the bar, but they showed intensity and fighting spirit in the early stages, not allowing Nagoya to find their rhythm. In the 16th minute, Takahashi turned and got into a shooting position from a pass exchange on the left side. It was blocked, but they earned a corner kick. In the 19th minute, Muto jumped to meet Ota's early cross, but it was cleared by Nagoya's defender just before and resulted in a corner kick.

In the 21st minute, Ota cut inside from a quick pass on the front line and earned a free kick just outside the left area. Ota then sent the ball to the right area, where Mori Shige was left free for a header. However, the cross was not accurate and the ball was saved by the Nagoya GK. In the 32nd minute, Maeda jumped into the center of the area from a free kick on the left side line, but he couldn't get a good shot off. In the 38th minute, Nagoya's MF Yada's cross grazed the Tokyo DF and resulted in a corner kick. From this left corner kick, MF Koyamatsu took a shot, but it was saved by Gonda. This was Nagoya's only shot in the first half, while Tokyo had 5 corner kicks but couldn't capitalize on any set pieces.

In the first half additional time, Maeda from the midfield quickly connected with Muto on the right front line with a one-touch pass from his own half, earning a corner kick on the right. Yamamoto followed up on the loose ball, but his shot lacked power. Tokyo maintained a fast-paced passing game and pushed forward, but Nagoya's defense was deep with a 5-back formation. Despite this, they were unable to create any clear chances and the first half ended scoreless.

Allowed the first goal due to an own goal... The counterattack in the all-out battle was also unsuccessful.

Nagoya made a comeback by bringing in FW Kawamata in the second half. However, Tokyo's pace remained unchanged. In the 48th minute, Mutoh took a powerful dribble shot from the right area, but it was saved by the goalkeeper's fingertips. Around the 55th minute, Tokyo continued to steal the ball in the midfield, preventing Nagoya from moving forward. However, they were unable to take advantage of Nagoya's defense, which was sitting back and protecting their goal. Crosses were continuously blocked.

59 minutes, Nagoya MF Danilson was substituted due to injury, and MF Isomura came in. In the 69th minute, Muto jumped out to the center of the area and scored with his feet on Ota's left cross... but it was right in front of the GK. Unable to score a chance, they were hit by Nagoya's counterattack, and in the 60th minute, a decisive header from FW Novakovic was saved by Gonda from Nagoya's right cross. In the 61st minute, Nagoya's FW Nagai was allowed to break through from the left side, but Yoshimoto cleared it with a sliding tackle.

Immediately after, Maeda dribbles up the center. Mutoh comes in from the left, bringing Nagoya DF with him, but Kono on the left is unable to cover. Maeda takes a shot from the crowded area in front of the goal, but it goes straight to the GK... In the 73rd minute, Mutoh dribbles up the center again. However, Nagoya DF blocks him with numbers and he is unable to finish. In the midst of a counterattack, Nagoya GK kicks the ball and MF Yada dribbles up the center, passing it to MF Koyamatsu on the left front line. Tokyo is unable to hold them off here. MF Koyamatsu sends a ground cross to FW Kawamata who has run into the area. Morishige tries to cut it off, but the ball ends up in their own goal... A devastating own goal gives up the first goal.

Tokyo made substitutions in the 73rd minute with Mita and in the 82nd minute with Hayashi. On the other hand, Nagoya received their second warning in the 84th minute with MF Isomura and was sent off. In the 86th minute, Lassad made his debut as a substitute for Nagoya, who were now down to 10 players. They launched a full-scale counterattack. However, in the 87th minute, Ota on the left side passed to Mita who broke through the opponent's defense in the left area and sent a ground pass to the front of the goal. Hayashi slid in from the far side, but just missed the ball. It was a decisive opportunity, but they couldn't convert it into a goal. In the 90th minute, Mita's cross from a short corner on the left was returned by Lassad from the far side, but Nagoya's defense held strong. In the additional 4 minutes, Yoshimoto also attempted a shot, but they couldn't break through Nagoya's solid defense in front of the goal. They suffered a defeat with no goals scored, marking their third consecutive loss in the league.

[Player Comments]
"Mori Shige"
"We were able to have a good game from the first half. We were creating chances from crosses, but we couldn't convert them into goals. However, if we couldn't score, we had to keep it at 0-0. I feel very disappointed and sorry."

《Yonemoto》
"We were supposed to do what we were supposed to do, but the opponent did it instead. We had to win or at least draw in this kind of game, but we couldn't do it and it's really frustrating. If we could have scored one goal, the game would have been different. It made me realize once again how important 'one goal' is."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"It was an unbelievable defeat where words cannot be found. We put up countless crosses and continued to create chances. It was a one-sided game and we were able to put on 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 we continue to play like we did today and even if we can score just 10% of our chances, we can beat any team. The players showed great play and didn't let the opponent play freely. We pushed them into their own half for the entire 90 minutes. However, in soccer, if you don't score, you can't win. Today, our finishing accuracy was lacking. The players gave it their all and showed true team spirit, but Nagoya is an experienced team. They took advantage of the few chances they had, but luck also played a big part.
(Shouldn't we have made more side attacks from the first half?)
In soccer, balance is important. There were close chances for Yonemoto, and Tokunaga also actively moved up to the front line, completely surpassing the opponent. There were opportunities to break through the space with speedy attacks and also chances from set plays. Despite conceding a goal from a counterattack and losing, this is the time to lift our heads and continue our own play. We must have courage and move forward with our heads held high."

[Nagoya - Manager Akira NISHINO's Press Conference Summary]
"Although I am happy to have stopped the losing streak, the performance was not something I can be completely satisfied with. We had few chances in offense and were unable to create a satisfactory attack. In the past few games, we have been creating many chances but lacking in finishing, and today we had even fewer chances. As for defense, I think we were able to unify our intentions among the players and put up a decent performance. We were able to score while focusing on defense, but as a team, we want to continue improving."