The J1 League is back! The whole team aims for consecutive wins with hard work!

After an interval of about two weeks, the J1 League resumes. In Sec. 15, we will face Júbilo Iwata at the away Ecopa Stadium.

In the previous match, Maeda's goal became the decisive point, leading to a victory over G Osaka. As a result, the team's league record has finally balanced out, and they have not conceded any goals in the last three matches. Based on the hard work of the entire team, the time they hold the initiative in both offense and defense is also increasing.

During this break, Morishige and Maruyama participated in the activities of the Japan national team, so the time for everyone to prepare together was short. However, without losing the confidence and aggressive attitude they had gained up to that point, they aim for victory in each match as they head into the upcoming five consecutive matches.
In this match, Yonemoto is suspended due to accumulated warnings. In the midfield, Tanabe and Hanyu are included in the starting lineup.

Iwata, which has returned to J1 this season, is currently in 10th place with 19 points. Currently, GK Kaminski is out due to injury. This round, DF Fujita is suspended. However, despite this, the attacking lineup centered around FW Jay, side MF Adailton and MF Ota, and attacking MF Kobayashi not only has finishing ability but also shows tenacity and never gives up until the end.

For Maeda, who is just one goal away from his 150th goal in J1, Ecopa Stadium is also the stadium where he scored his first J1 goal (September 1, 2001, against Shimizu), which he describes as the most impressive. Maeda expressed his determination, saying, "I might be able to fight with a feeling similar to home in a good way. I want to do my best to contribute to Tokyo's victory," and we hope for his second consecutive goal.

Thin clouds block the sunlight, but the humidity remains at Ecopa Stadium. The match started at 15:03 with Iwata's kickoff.

In a fierce battle, lacking a decisive factor, the first half ends scoreless.

2 minutes: Iwata's MF Kobayashi connects with FW Jay, and finally, MF Adailton brings the ball into the left side of the area and takes a shot, but the ball goes wide to the right of the goal, marking an immediate crisis at the start of the match.

10 minutes: Tokyo launches a wave attack. Tanabe makes a big cutback just before the area, and his left-footed shot is blocked by the opposing DF. He picks up the rebound, and Hashimoto on the right side aims for his teammate with a cross, but this too is headed away by the opposing DF.
15 minutes: Both teams are fiercely contesting for the ball in a compact midfield.

20 minutes: Kicker Mizunuma's right corner kick was headed by Morishige, but GK Shimura caught it directly. No opening goal.
24 minutes: Takahashi fouled MF Ota. In response to this play, a player from Iwata approached Takahashi, but the referee intervened. A yellow card was issued to Takahashi.

The match continued with both teams attacking each other, but neither team could find the decisive moment, and the first half ended scoreless.

Unable to convert opportunities into goals, scoreless draw

48 minutes: Tokunaga advances into the right area. Maeda connects with a ground cross, but his close-range shot is deflected by goalkeeper Shimura, missing a great opportunity.
55 minutes: Higashi stole the ball in the opponent's half. From there, a pass was made to Mizunuma, who was running from the right to the left of the area, but his left-footed shot went over the goal.
59 minutes: Kono enters the pitch in place of Mizunuma.

67 minutes: Kajiyama enters the pitch in place of Tanabe.
69 minutes: Tokunaga, who evaded the opposing defender with a sharp turn, delivered a cross. Maeda, who won the aerial duel in front of the goal, headed the ball but it went just over the goal.

74 minutes: The cross from the left side was cleared by Tokyo's defense, but the loose ball was volleyed directly by MF Miyazaki. The shot that flew on target was brilliantly saved by GK Akimoto with a quick reaction.
75 minutes: Muriqui comes on for Higashi.
78 minutes: Substitute Kajiyama dribbled forward, bewildering the opponent with quick changes of direction. He passed to Hashimoto on the right, but the connection was not made.
80 minutes: Tokyo launches a counterattack. Kono dribbles up from his own half and sends a long pass to Muriqui, who is sprinting up the opposite side. Muriqui receives the pass, advances into the right side of the area, and attempts a shot, but fails to score.
82 minutes: Muriqui steals the ball from the opposing DF. Kajiyama, who received the pass on the left side, sent a cross to the far side, which was cleared by the opposing DF.

87 minutes: Muriqui stole the ball from the opposing defender and faced GK Shimura in a one-on-one. However, his right-footed shot was blocked by the body, resulting in no goal.
Unable to convert the scoring opportunities into goals, it ended in a scoreless draw.


[Player Comments]
《Maeda》
"I approached the match against my former club as usual, but since I couldn't score, I feel like I didn't fulfill my role. It's hard to put into words the calls from both teams' supporters after the match, but I can only express my gratitude."

《Muriqui》
"I received instructions from the coach to mark the opponent closely and to play as usual. It was my first time back in J1 in a while, but I think I started well, and my condition is close to 100% since I had been playing in J3. Of course, I want to score a goal as soon as possible. Even while sitting on the bench, I can hear the loud voices of the fans and supporters. I believe that because of their support, we can achieve good results."

【Summary of Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference】
"Many fans and supporters came and created a great atmosphere. I approached the match thinking we would take home the 3 points with them, but it's disappointing that we couldn't achieve that."
《Q&A》
Q=About the coordination of the attacking players from the attacking third to the goal
"That point is something we have been pursuing all along. Based on the foundation of solid defense, we are always striving to improve the quality of our attack without being satisfied. We missed three one-on-one chances in the second half, but if we had scored even one, it wouldn't have been said that we did poorly. I believe we need to improve our finishing accuracy while also creating more scoring opportunities. I want to delve deeper into good attacks stemming from good defense."

[Press Conference Summary of Hiroshi NANAMI, Coach of Jubilo Iwata]
"First of all, I feel very good to be here now because our supporters showed such behavior towards Maeda. A top-class club needs top-class supporters and a top-class front office to always compete for championships. The encouragement from the supporters today, the volume of their voices, and the rhythm were all very good, and I think it was a wonderful attitude of respect towards someone who has worked hard for the club for 15 years. Regarding the game, I think we earned a fair point. However, we had several one-on-one situations due to our own mistakes, and I don't know what would have happened without Shimura's fine play. Other than that, I have a strong impression that both sides struggled to attack each other."