Facing Niigata at home under a series of consecutive games, aiming for our first victory in the 2nd stage.

Sec. 2 of the 2nd stage, which will be played only 3 days after the previous match. We will face Albirex Niigata at our home ground, Ajinomoto Stadium. We suffered a painful 0-2 defeat against Kawasaki. Manager Massimo analyzed, "The problem was not being able to take advantage of our chances and conceding the first goal, especially the second one. When facing a high-quality opponent, if we lose our balance, that's what happens." However, he also vowed to "maintain our confidence and always be aware of our balance, while continuing to assess the situation and move forward as a team."

Therefore, there were not many changes in the lineup from the previous match, but Takahashi was chosen as the starter. The formation consisted of Kajiyama and a double pivot, with Yonemoto and Higashi on the wings. Ishikawa and Maeda formed the top two in a 4-4-2 formation. In addition, following Nathan BURNS from the previous match, new signing Sandaza also made his first appearance in the squad and was on the bench.

Niigata, on the other hand, finished 17th in the 1st stage with 14 points. In the opening match of the 2nd stage, they held the lead against Kashima, but conceded 2 goals in additional time and suffered a defeat. However, their organized style and attacking utilizing the height of FW Shibukusa also worked well. They can be said to have a high level of aggressiveness and ball control. On the other hand, Kanda is becoming more cautious, saying, "If we don't play at our best, we will be beaten."

If we can't maintain our defensive coordination against the passing game centered around Niigata MF Silva, we will be pushed back. Even if we find ourselves in that situation, we need to stay focused as a team and regain our solid defense. In attack, it will be crucial to exploit the space behind Niigata's fullbacks and take shots on goal. It will be a tough battle, but we need to identify the key moments in both attack and defense and show our strength in this match.

Strong winds blew during the day, making it extremely hot, but in the evening, under a slightly cooler breeze, the game started at 7:03 PM with a kickoff in Tokyo.

East takes the lead with a cross from Ota, showing great teamwork!

We fought aggressively together from the start and headed towards the goal. In the 9th minute, Kajiyama in the center of our own half sent a pass, which was dropped by Higashi and then Takahashi expanded to the left. Ota dribbled up to the front line and sent a well-aimed ground cross from a high position. Ishikawa attracted the opponent's DF near the goal, and Higashi, who ran a long distance in the center, ran in and smoothly put the ball into the net with his right foot. GOAL!! We demonstrated our speed and coordination and scored the opening goal in the early stages.

Grabbing the rhythm from this point, he continued to attack from the side. In the following 11 minutes, Morishige fed the ball to the left front line. Ota's floating cross went over Maeda in the near post and East ran in right behind him. However, he was unable to shoot as he was challenged by the Niigata DF. In the 20th minute, East passed to Niigata on the left front line and Yonemoto followed up. When he was closed down by the Niigata DF, he calmly spread the ball to the left side. Ota, who had taken a high position, sent a ground cross and Takahashi made a run, but it only resulted in a corner kick.

Niigata, who is trying to counterattack, gradually dominates the ball. In the 22nd minute, MF Leo Silva in the center plays a one-two with a player in the area. Tokyo is unable to stop it here, and MF Leo Silva receives a direct return and skillfully moves to the center of the area. However, the shot is blocked by Morishige's sliding tackle. In the 26th minute, Kajiyama is cut back again by Niigata's MF Leo Silva, allowing a pass to the back of Tokyo's defense. Niigata's FW Yamazaki receives the ball and dribbles skillfully towards the center, where Yoshimoto is evaded, but the decisive shot narrowly misses to the right, avoiding danger.

In the latter part of the first half, Niigata had possession of the ball for a long time and threatened Tokyo's defense with direct passes. However, they remained calm and fought tenaciously, not allowing any goals. On the other hand, in the 36th minute, Takahashi scored a header from a left corner kick. In the 41st minute, Morishige took a direct volley from a free kick earned by Ishikawa. Although they were unable to capitalize on chances from set plays, they maintained a one-goal lead going into the second half.

Takahashi scores his first goal of the season, Morishige scores the third goal, and everyone wins!

The second half also saw the game move in the early stages. In the 49th minute, Mori Shige of the home team sent a free kick to the front line. Maeda controlled it with his chest and rushed into the area. Despite being sandwiched between Niigata MF Leo Silva and DF Ooi in the left area, he persistently dribbled and broke through. Then calmly assessed his surroundings and made a final pass to the center. Takahashi, who had timed his run perfectly, drove the ball into the net for a goal! From the restart, Maeda showed strength and composure. Takahashi also used his forward momentum and scored his first goal of the season to add to the score.

In the 52nd minute, Maeda once again created an opportunity in the left area, and East, who received the ball freely, cut back the defender who came to close him down and created a scoring chance... but the shot was blocked. In the 55th minute, Hanyu was substituted for Kajiyama. In the 69th minute, Sandaza made his debut, followed by Nakajima. The team continued to increase their attacking power by continuously substituting offensive players while maintaining balance, and took control of the game by launching counterattacks.

76 minutes, Sandaza chased after the pass sent by Yonemoto to the right front line and crossed from the sideline. Nakajima, who had been running in near the goal, headed the ball over the bar, but in the 78th minute, Nakajima boldly made a move and earned a free kick on the left side. Ota's sharp kick was met by Morishige, who jumped in and successfully scored the third goal with a powerful header. In an attempt to add another goal, in the 83rd minute, Sandaza on the left side received Yonemoto's vertical pass, evaded the Niigata DF with a trap, and broke through. He created a decisive opportunity, but the shot lacked power and went straight to the goalkeeper...

In the last part, we were focused on holding off Niigata's counterattack without conceding any goals, but in the 4-minute additional time, Niigata's MF Naruoka took a sharp shot that hit the frame. Konda made a fine save with one hand and it went out for a corner kick, but in this situation, Morishige committed a foul in the area. Niigata's MF Leo Silva scored a penalty kick, and we lost a goal... Still, we showed a performance and game management that went beyond conceding a goal, and we won 3-1. With a sense of unity, we grabbed our first 3 points in the 2nd stage.

[Player Comments]
《East》
「Ota's crosses are Tokyo's weapon. I believe that good crosses will always come, so I ran up to the front line. Not just myself, but the whole team has built a relationship of trust. I think we were able to show that. We were able to score early on, but I didn't want us to only focus on scoring and neglect other plays. I wanted us to work together as a team, including on defense.」

"Sandaza"
"I think I played well both as a team and individually. It was a substitute appearance after we were leading by two goals, but I wanted to work hard to score another goal. I couldn't score myself, but as a team we were able to score a third goal and it was a good performance throughout the game. I also thought the fans and supporters in Tokyo were amazing. It was my first time playing at Ajinomoto Stadium, but I was very happy to share the joy with everyone at the end."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"We were able to score early in the game. After that, Niigata FW Yamazaki had a chance, but I think we had a well-balanced game. Our midfielders fought hard and we were able to counterattack against Niigata's strong offense. In the second half, we scored a goal from a good start and were able to calm down a bit at 2-0. And the goal scored by Morishige from a free kick was an important one that gave the team confidence. We wanted to end the game without conceding a goal, but we showed a good performance. Being able to perform like this gives us a positive outlook for future games."

[Niigata - Masaaki Yanagishita's Press Conference Summary]
"As for defense, it's something I always tell the players, but when we're in a bad position or in a bad situation, we couldn't follow the rule of not forcing ourselves to go for the ball and ended up being challenged and losing it. We gave them chances. The third goal clearly showed our weakness. As for offense, the communication between the passer and receiver didn't go well. Maybe not being able to take points in the previous game affected us, and the start of the game wasn't good. We have another game coming up, so we want to switch our mindset and approach it."