J-League Opening, Facing Omiya's Return to J1

The J.League is finally starting. In Sec. 1, Omiya Ardija, who won last season's J2 and achieved promotion back to J1 in one season, will face off. They will be welcoming the match at home.

Tokyo will be missing Ha DAESUNG and Komano due to injuries, with Kajiwara starting in the defensive midfield position. Tokunaga will play left back and Hashimoto will take the right in a 4-4-2 formation. Additionally, Ogawa will make his professional debut on the bench, while Takahashi and Tanabe will also be on the substitutes' list for the first time this season in official matches.

Omiya also has FW Dragan Murja at the forefront, with FW Kaneshiro in the attacking midfield. The formation is a 4-4-2 with MF Neitz Pechunik and Izumizawa on both sides.

The opening match, held for the first time in February in the history of the J-League. Although there were glimpses of sunshine during the day, the match started at 19:04 with Omiya's kickoff under weather conditions where the cold wind remained.

Overcoming Omiya's momentum, we maintained possession and created chances, but...

In the early stages, we were a bit on the back foot against Omiya's decisiveness and quick transitions. Omiya attacked from both flanks, leading to consecutive set-piece opportunities, but we managed to respond calmly. We did not allow any decisive moments to be created, and gradually Tokyo began to create more time with ball possession.

12 minutes: Kajiyama on the left side → Azuma → YoneMoto, who broke through on the left front line, managed to catch up while losing his balance and sent the ball to the center. Mizunuma couldn't take the shot, but the ball spilled to Maeda in the right area. Maeda calmly passed it to the center just before the area, and Azuma, who ran in, took a precise shot. However, it hit the Omiya defender in the area.

27 minutes: Tokunaga, positioned high, made a direct pass from near the left area to Mizunuma, who sent it behind the opponent. Abe connected with the third movement and took a shot from the left area, but it was saved by the goalkeeper.

After that, they pushed the entire team forward with a compact formation, almost playing the match entirely within Omiya's territory. However, Omiya also responded by properly adjusting the distance and lines between players.

38 minutes: Abe on the right side → Mizunuma delivers a short cross to the far post. Higashi's header spills into the center, and Abe reacts quickly. He closes in swiftly to create a scoring opportunity. However, he slips slightly and is unable to finish. They couldn't break through Omiya's defense, ending the first half scoreless.

Caught off guard and conceded a goal, we fought back but suffered a bitter defeat.

In the second half, Tokyo substituted Kono for Mizunuma on the right side. Higashi moved up front, and Abe shifted to the left side, attempting to break through Omiya's solid defensive block from the sides.

52 minutes: Koyano made a run to meet Yonemoto's feed to the right front line, skillfully turning past the opposing DF while being challenged. He charged into the right goal area, and Higashi rushed in for the last pass from close range, but... He was blocked by the opposing DF and couldn't shake the net. Following that, Koyano exchanged passes with Kajiyama on the right front line and moved into the right area. Hashimoto pushed up and delivered a through pass. They tried to create a chance with the combination of the three players they had shown in the first half, but the timing was just slightly off.

68 minutes: Nakajima is brought in on the left side to replace Higashi. Abe moves up to the top again. Immediately after, Maeda attacks while passing the ball and takes a shot, but it lacks power and goes to the goalkeeper. Omiya connects the ball from their own half, and Wada, the right side back, feeds it to the right front line. In response, FW Murja tries to break free. Maruyama was marking him while running alongside, but he moved ahead and made a ground pass to the center. Omiya FW Ienaga's shot from the left area was blocked by Hashimoto, but the ball spilled in front, and free MF Iwakami rushed in and scored powerfully... Omiya outpaced them with quick transitions and allowed the first goal by exploiting the gap.

77 minutes: Tanabe was substituted in for Kajiyama as a defensive midfielder. The tempo of the attack was increased in preparation for a counterattack.
82 minutes: Tanabe's pass to the right area was dropped by Hashimoto, who advanced, and Kono took a powerful shot, but it hit the crossbar... In the closing stages, they continued to press Omiya, making various challenges towards the goal, but they could not break through Omiya's defense until the end. The match ended without scoring, resulting in a bitter defeat at the league opener.

For post-match comments from players and coaches, please visit the official FC Tokyo mobile site.