FC Tokyo U-23 showed great performance in Okinawa.

2016 Meiji Yasuda Life J3 League Sec. 17 will be an away game against FC Ryukyu, following the previous round.
In the home opening match, FC Ryukyu lost 2-3 despite a comeback from 0-3 with goals from Yajima and Matsuoka.
I don't want to lose to the same opponent again.
Tokyo will line up in a 3-5-2 formation, just like last match. Many players who played in the previous match will also start in this match.
Enomoto will guard the goal for the first time since Sec. 4.
DF line consists of Okazaki, Suzuki, and Ogawa as a three-back.
The midfield anchor and inside half are the same as last match, Nozawa, Sasaki, and Tanabe.
On the left, Oyama and on the right, Mizunuma hold the wings, with Hayashi and Insoo YU in the front line.
Ryukyu, on the other hand, employs a 4-5-1 formation with Keita TANAKA (8 goals), who is at the top of the scoring rankings, as the focal point.
They come attacking with aggressive plays, connecting short passes just like Fujieda.
About 60 FC Tokyo fans and supporters rushed to the stands and united as one to challenge Ryukyu in the temperature of 31.9℃.

【First Half】
It was Tokyo who played aggressively on both offense and defense.
From the start, Tokyo players rapidly change positions and connect short passes.
Switching between offense and defense is very fast, especially the first press after losing the ball is very quick, so it doesn't give Ryukyu any freedom.
Although there are times when they are pushed back to their own goal, the defense led by Enomoto works together to protect the goal.
Tokyo, who took the lead, moves the game in the 19th minute.
Deep on the right side of the opponent's field, Lin steals the ball by taking advantage of the opponent's mistake and holds it inside the penalty area.
Hayashi passed the ball to Insoo YU in the center after carefully observing the opposing GK who came out, and scored the first goal into the unguarded goal.
After that, Tokyo continued to dominate the game without any change in momentum, even with a water break.
Ryukyu attempts to build up from the DF line and send a vertical pass to the FW, but Okazaki and Ogawa do not give them any freedom with their intense pressure on the ball.
In addition, Nogawa, Sasaki, and Tanabe quickly react to second balls and continue to recover the ball.
The attacking unit, supported by such a stable defense, launches a strong offensive.
34 minutes, when Tanabe faces one-on-one with the opponent on the left side, he breaks through vertically and crosses to the near side.
The forest here will jump in, but it will be cleared once.
Pick up this loose ball again and launch a wave attack by crossing from the right side, but fail to score.
Then the momentum gradually shifts to Ryukyu.
41 minutes, when expanded to the left side of Ryukyu, the approach was delayed for a moment and they were able to advance to a deep position.
This cross is headed far but goes outside the frame.
In addition, at the end of the first half at the 45th minute, a cross was allowed from the right side and DF cleared it near the goal.
During this time, second balls are also picked up, making it a difficult situation, but the defense calmly responds and leads 1-0 at halftime.

【Halftime】
Coach Yasuma's Comment
"Towards the end of the first half, our build-up position was getting lower, so we need to play in a higher position. To do that, we need to effectively attack the opponent's side."
Be careful not to stretch out in defense. Instead of just defending the first point, let's go for the second point.

【Second Half】
Ryukyu brings in Pablo to add power to their attack.
Tokyo entered the second half without making any player substitutions, with Ryukyu taking the kickoff.
After the start, the defense repels the attack from the right side and the attacking team responds.
50 minutes, Tanabe who broke through the right side back dribbles diagonally into the PA.
The cross from Grander goes near, but the ball passes through the goal area just out of reach for Hayashi and Insoo YU.
Two minutes later, Ogawa broke through the left side and sent a sharp cross to the near post, but Insoo YU's header was saved by the GK in a difficult position.
Picking up the loose ball, Mizunuma crosses from the right side and Hayashi takes a shot, but the Ryukyu defense blocks it and earns a corner kick on the right side.
Mizunuma connects this right corner kick to the far side, and Okazaki heads it to Insoo YU for a header shot, but it doesn't go in.
"During halftime, the players chose to go for a second goal instead of just defending the one point," said Coach Yasuma after the game.
55 minutes, Mizunuma who received the ball on the right side attempts to break through diagonally and enters the kicking motion from around the PA diagonally at 45 degrees.
The opponent's GK thought this was a cross and moved their center of gravity to the far side, but we didn't miss it and pierced the back of the opponent's GK to shoot near.
Tokyo, who took the desired additional point, further strengthens their offensive.
60 minutes, when they get a free kick on the left side of the opponent's field, the kickers are Mizunuma and Ogawa.
Mizunuma sends Ogawa to the far side with a fake, and Nozawa jumps in completely free to score a direct volley goal.
Tokyo had a 3-point lead, but then they were hit with Ryukyu's persistent attacks.
74 minutes, a shot from the cross of Grander from the left side is saved by the bar.
Just when we were relieved, in the 76th minute, we allowed a cross from the left side and conceded a goal in the center, narrowing the gap to two points.
Tokyo scored an additional point with Mizunuma's swing, but the flow completely changed and they were pushed into a Ryukyu development.
81 minutes, when Mizunuma holds the ball on the right side of the midfield, he passes it to Hirayama who came on as a substitute and ran through the center.
Ryukyu stopped this with a foul, and Mizunuma directly twisted the FK in front of the goal into the left corner for a 4-1 score.
Tokyo, who didn't want to easily give up the flow, continued to make player substitutions and in the 89th minute, Hirayama used his speed to break through and score a goal.
Hiraoka runs up the center on the counter.
When the opponent DF's response is slightly delayed against this dribble, Hirayama breaks through the opponent with speed.
Shake the far-side net from around 40 meters away, bringing it in alone from a right diagonal angle of about 45 degrees.
Afterwards, the defense held on tightly for 4 minutes of additional time, securing a 5-1 victory.

Thank you very much for your passionate support for FC Tokyo U-23 today.
Thank you for your continued warm support.

[Coach Yasuma's Press Conference Summary]
"I am extremely grateful to the fans and supporters who came all the way to Okinawa in this hot weather and showed their unwavering support. It is a great joy for me to be able to show them our winning and proactive playing style."
The game was really tough last time we played against them, but I am confident that our players have grown and will be able to play a solid game this time.
We were able to dominate our opponents in every match, just like today, but we couldn't make the play that would decide the game. In other words, we couldn't score a goal and it didn't lead to a win.
I think that actively challenging without running away led to today's score.
However, not only in this one game, but also in future games, I want to continue to train with the players and improve the quality.

【Player Comments】
《Nozawa》
"(What are your thoughts on the game?) It was good that we were able to win with a large number of goals, but it was a shame to concede one goal. I want to reflect on that."
In the past few games, even though the performance was good, we have been unable to achieve results. It was great to be able to have a game with both results and performance in such a situation.
(How was your play?) I was very happy to score my first goal in the J-League. However, I was even happier that the team was able to win.
There are still things I can do as an individual player, and in the end, I cramped up and caused trouble for the team. So, I will continue to work hard in practice and do my best to improve my play.
(Did you aim for the scoring scene?) In the pre-match meeting, my role was to not enter the goal area and aim for loose balls. In the scoring scene, I wasn't marked so I thought I could become free if I went to the far side, and I asked Insoo YU to run near me and I'm grateful to Insoo YU for being able to shoot freely on the far side, and I'm really happy to have scored a goal.
(Please share your enthusiasm for the next game) I definitely want to play in the J1 league, and in order to do so, I am giving my all in my performance here. I hope to continue my efforts here and connect them to the top team.

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