Team united to aim for first victory of the season

J1 League 1st Stage Sec. 2, Vegalta Sendai vs. Away. Ogawa, the left fullback, continues to be named in the starting lineup after the ACL Bin Zoun match, and Tanabe also starts for the first time as the right midfielder.

Sendai won the opening game of the season, with MF Mita, who is on loan from Tokyo, scoring the winning goal and defeating Yokohama FM.
The MF Mita will not be able to play in this round due to his contract with Tokyo.

Tokyo, aiming for their first J1 victory this season, came together as a team and prepared for the match.
As kick-off time approached and the temperature began to drop, the game started at 15:30 with Tokyo kicking off at Yurtec Stadium Sendai.

Equalizing with an own goal, the score is tied 1-1 at halftime.

6 minutes: Sendai MF Yanagi receives a pass on the left side and enters the area. Tokyo DF aggressively presses and Sendai takes a corner kick.
7 minutes: Sendai MF Yanagi's left CK. Headed by DF Watanabe in front of the goal, resulting in a goal and 0-1.
9 minutes: Ogawa takes a free kick from the left side. Morishige on the far side receives it and shoots from a difficult angle. The ball hits an opponent and goes into the goal, equalizing the score with an own goal.
15 minutes: Tanabe on the right side crosses with his left foot. Maeda heads it in front of the goal, but the shot narrowly misses the target.
17 minutes: Abe, who dribbled in from the right side, took a shot-like cross from a deep position. It didn't connect with any of his teammates in the area, but it showed a wave-like attack centered on the right side.
31 minutes: Sendai DF Ishikawa cuts in from the left side and shoots from about 25 meters in front of the goal. The shot that flew into the frame was deflected by Akimoto with one hand.

Afterwards, both teams aggressively attacked, but lacked the finishing touch and ended the first half with a 1-1 tie.

With our first league victory, we also have two consecutive wins in official matches!

51 minutes: Hashimoto, who broke through with a one-two with Higashi, crosses from the left side of the area to the center. Maeda scores on the near side and Tokyo takes the lead!
54 minutes: Sendai pushes back to their own territory and tries to shoot by connecting finely, but Sendai also resists with persistent defense.
80 minutes: Sendai GK Rokutan injures his right foot and stops playing. When Sendai's GK Rokutan kicked the ball with his left foot, he slipped on his supporting foot and injured his right ankle. He is replaced by GK Seki.

FC Tokyo, who were aiming to hold on to their lead, substituted Ogawa for Hideto TAKAHASHI in the 88th minute. Despite Sendai's efforts to equalize in the 6 minutes of additional time, FC Tokyo managed to effectively use up the remaining time and hold on to their lead, ending the game with a score of 2-1. This marks FC Tokyo's first victory in the league and their second consecutive win in official matches.

[Player Comments]
"Maeda"
"Since good balls were coming from both sides, I believed that a good ball would definitely come. As a result, I just had to match it because Fist Person gave me a good ball."
(Q=Regarding the solid results we achieved)
After losing to Omiya, we talked about it together and I think it was a result of that. However, it's only one game so we want to continue this and work hard together.
(Q=What is the current condition?)
"Not just today, but my condition has been consistently good. I think having a clear role has led to our victory."

"Tanabe"
"We were able to approach the game with high tension as a team. I think that was a factor that led to our victory. We want to continue to face each game as a team and not think about the future, but only focus on the game in front of us."

[Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference Summary]
"In the opening game, we disappointed many fans and supporters who came to the stadium with high expectations. Considering our goal for this year, today's game was a must-win with 3 points. We need to reflect on our start to the game, but the players were able to execute their plans for the Sendai game on the pitch. I think we were able to play a solid game for the remaining 85 minutes. It was great to see many fans and supporters come to Sendai and celebrate with them after the game."

[Sendai - Manager Susumu WATANABE's Press Conference Summary]
"First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the 16,000 fans and supporters who came to our home opening game. Last year, we had a hard time winning at Yurtec.S, but this year, we want to prove that Yurtec.S is our place to win. We started today with the desire to make this year a successful one. It's disappointing that we couldn't get the result we wanted and we let down our fans and supporters, but the season is still long and we will not give up. We will continue to build our style together with the players. We want to achieve victory and share the joy of winning with our fans and supporters."