1st Stage Final Round: Want to Finish with a Victory

The first stage of this season will already reach its final match, facing Yokohama F.Marinos. We will go away.
In the Urawa match, Muriqui scored his first J1 goal and Hashimoto marked his second goal of the season, but they couldn't stop Urawa's comeback and suffered a reversal defeat. Now, they face the next match in just two days. They must have suffered some physical and mental damage, but the players are determined to "grab a victory in this match and carry it over to the 2nd stage in a good form."

However, it will be the last of the 5 consecutive games, with Tokunaga, Takahashi, and Hanyu starting on the bench. Hashimoto will be on the right side back. The midfield will also have a change in members, with Kajiyama as the defensive midfielder and Kono and Higashi on both sides. The two top players will be Muriqui and Nathan BURNS, who will continue from the Urawa game.

Yokohama FM, who will face them, will be without MF Nakamura, with FW Kaique leading the front line and MF Hyodo playing as an attacking midfielder. MF Martinez and MF Saito will be on the wings, with a 4-5-1 formation.
A match aiming for victory with a well-balanced offense and defense, based on the solid defense and scoring ability from set plays of Yokohama FM, which boasts high individual abilities.

Despite the wind, the game started at 7:05 PM in the hot and humid Nissan Stadium in Tokyo.

Despite an accident happening to Nathan BURNS, he fought with patience.

The game started with both teams playing tough defense, leading to a series of counter attacks.
3 minutes: Kono carries the ball up to the right front line and crosses it back in front of the goal, passing through the opponent's defense. East, in front of the area, takes the shot but it is saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the early stages, Tokyo had slightly more ball possession and tried to break through with Muriqui as the starting point, but there were many instances where they lost the ball due to lack of accuracy in the front line.

15 minutes: Nathan BURNS hit his head in a clash with the opponent, temporarily going off the pitch, but continued playing.
19 minutes: From Muriqui in the center, to Nathan BURNS who has moved around to the left front line. Nathan BURNS carries the ball forward and sends a precise final pass between the opponent's GK and DF, but Muriqui and Kono in the far side were unable to reach it and the opponent's DF cut it off.

24 minutes: Yokohama FM steals the ball from their own half in the flow of a FK, and Nathan BURNS moves up into the central space. He tries to pass to Muriqui on the right, but is blocked by the opposing DF.
28 minutes: Kajiyama, who dribbled up the center, received a foul and earned a FK just outside the area on the left. Morishige aimed for it, but his shot just missed the frame.

After 30 minutes: Nathan BURNS, who had been making a good impact, was forced to be substituted due to dizziness. As a result, Hirayama came in at the 33rd minute. However, from here on, Yokohama FM was able to grasp the rhythm and launch quick attacks.
35 minutes: MF Hattori breaks through on the right side and Maruyama blocks the cross, but the loose ball is quickly passed to MF Saito in the right area. However, Tokyo continues to hold on patiently and prevent a finish from being made.

45 minutes: Muriqui -> Kajiyama's trap miss is aimed at, and they are hit by a counterattack. A decisive shot was taken by MF Saito, who went up to the right area, but it hit the post. Furthermore, MF Hyodo's middle shot was blocked by Kajiyama. Then, MF Saito's shot, which went around to the center, was also blocked by Yonemoto, and they managed to survive the crisis.
Just before the end of the first half, the opponent created a big chance, but Tokyo concentrated and defended it, and the score remained 0-0 as they headed into the second half.

Akimoto's great plays continue, and a goal by Hirayama in the final moments leads to victory!

47 minutes: From the opponent's sharp counter, FW Kaique was sent flying to the center of the area, but the shot was saved by Akimoto.
50 minutes: From Tokyo's restart, Kaique cuts off the pass sent to the area by Yonemoto and Yokohama FM's MF Nakamachi sends a long pass to the left front line. Kaique catches up to it and charges into the area. He falls down as he collides with Maruyama, but there was no foul for either of them.
51 minutes: Kono sends a right corner kick into the central space, where Morishige tries to score but misses the timing by a hair. Muriqui in the right area takes a direct shot at the loose ball from the opponent's clearance.
54 minutes: Muriqui heads the ball from Kono's right cross, but both shots go wide of the goal.

60 minutes: A long pass sent to the right front line is chased by MF Martinez, and MF Hyodo takes a powerful shot in the center. However, it is saved by Akimoto! The ball that was spilled is shot again by MF Martinez, but it misses the frame and avoids conceding a goal.
62 minutes: Tokunaga is substituted for Kajiyama. Hashimoto moves to MF. Both teams are making speedy attacks during this time, creating chances for both sides. However, after the 75th minute, Yokohama FM gradually increases their momentum.

77 minutes: FW Tomigashi was sent behind the front line with a through pass and faced a 1-on-1 with Akimoto. A decisive opportunity was created, but Akimoto threw his body to block it!
82 minutes: Yokohama FM MF Saito and MF Endo are aiming for a dribble breakthrough, and here they are receiving a wave attack from the left side of Tokyo. They were repeatedly pressed towards the goal, but the clearance was short, and in the end Muriqui held them back with a foul, resulting in a FK for Yokohama. They were also threatened with a goal from a set piece, but they managed to defend it with Akimoto at the center.

89 minutes: Despite being at a disadvantage, they did not give up on scoring and managed to steal the second ball in the opponent's territory. Tokunaga crosses from the right and Kono chases after the ball that drifted to the far side, earning a left corner kick from a left cross.
90 minutes: From the left corner kick taken by Ogawa, Hirayama's header was deflected by the opposing GK and sucked into the goal. 1-0.
The team seized a dramatic victory in the final moments by taking advantage of a set play opportunity, securing their first win in 5 games. They also ended the first stage with a win, earning 23 points and finishing in 9th place.

[Player Comments]
"Hirayama"
"The strategy of utilizing counterattacks from solid defense had been ingrained in all of us. I was conscious of that and entered the pitch, but in the first half, I was a bit flustered. At halftime, I made adjustments and started pressing from the front."
(About scoring)
I thought the header was going to be stopped by the opposing GK for a moment, but the momentum of the cross added power to the shot. I'm glad it went in.
(After the goal, I headed towards the stands)
The game was not over yet, but I thought that scoring at that time would bring us closer to victory. Above all, I had the desire to respond to the fans and supporters who came all the way to Yokohama to support us, even though we haven't been winning lately.

"Akimoto"
"I haven't been able to win in this consecutive game, and I conceded a goal from my own careless mistake in the Niigata game. So I was determined to win today's match. I definitely wanted to keep the number of goals conceded to zero. Especially in this consecutive game, there were also difficult mental aspects. However, I thought that these situations would help me grow and I confidently stepped onto the pitch. In the end, I think it was good to be able to grab the victory."

[Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference Summary]
"Under the motto of not making excuses for the '5 consecutive games' in high humidity, we faced today's game, but three days ago we suffered a tough loss and it was physically demanding. I wanted to have more possession of the ball and go forward, but there were also unavoidable circumstances. The players fought patiently and defended with their bodies until the very end. I think that spirit gave us the gift of a goal. Today, there were more dangerous situations than in the past few games. Even though we have been able to keep the number of dangerous situations low, we have only been able to get one point in the games. I had mixed feelings about whether we could get three points in a game like today's, and I'm not satisfied, but I'm sorry for the fans and supporters. It was really good to be able to win here. There were many scenes where the goalkeeper saved us today. It was a long time since we had a game like that, but in the future, Akimoto will save the team. I think we got three points as a team. In the future, I want to make the team that can score the second and third goals. I am grateful to the players who won in tough conditions today."

[Yokohama FM - Erick MOMBAERTS' press conference summary]
"It's difficult to accept today's result. It wasn't a performance that would lead to a loss. It was a close game, but we were able to create chances against a strong defensive team like Tokyo. However, we couldn't convert those chances into goals and ended up conceding from a set piece in the end. It's very disappointing."