Aiming for three consecutive away wins in a high humidity environment

Facing Vissel Kobe away in Sec. 8 of the 2nd Stage.
In the previous match against Jubilo Iwata, Muriqui recorded the team's '400th goal in J1 home matches', and Insoo YU, making his first appearance in J1, scored the winning goal, achieving a comeback victory. The dramatic win at home created an excellent atmosphere in the stands, but the focus of this match will be whether they can maintain this momentum and secure a victory away.

Coach Shinoda said, "Thanks to the players' efforts, we were able to achieve consecutive victories, but I told them, 'Victory is in the past. Forget about it.' The most important thing is how we fight for the full 90 minutes against Kobe. We need to focus on that, give our all again, and show more dynamic play and an aggressive attitude."

Takahashi is suspended for this match. With multiple absences in the defensive midfield position, Nozawa and Tanabe, who came on as substitutes in the last match, have been selected.
Nathan BURNS is also on the bench, ready to come in.

Kobe's 2nd stage has 3 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses, placing them 8th. Although they have improved from 12th in the 1st stage, their recent matches have alternated between wins and losses. Additionally, they have only scored 1 goal in the last 3 matches, indicating that their attacking line is somewhat lacking in brilliance and not fully in rhythm. However, they changed to a 4-3-3 system midway through the last match.
Although they lost 0 to 1, it seems they gained confidence from the driving force of midfielders Tanaka and Mihara, as well as the attacking power of full-backs Takahashi and Hashimoto. In this match, they want to be cautious of the attacking strength of forward Pedro JUNIOR, Leandro, and left-sided midfielder Watanabe, who is returning from suspension.

The match started at 19:05 with Kobe's kickoff at NOEVIR Stadium Kobe, in a humid 83% and muggy conditions.

Maeda opened the scoring with his 150th J1 goal, and the first half is now over.

4 minutes: Tokyo, having won a free kick in the center circle, saw Tanabe play a long ball to the left side. Muriqui trapped the ball behind the defensive line, but the opposing GK Kim Seung-kyu rushed out to catch it.
6 minutes: Muriqui breaks through on the left side to meet Maruyama's through pass. Muriqui's cross was deflected by the opposing defender once, but the second one found the free Kōno running into the area. However, the volley shot couldn't connect properly, and it did not lead to a goal.

Both teams fiercely compete for the ball, and the battle in midfield continues.
13 minutes: Muriqui on the left side passes to Higashi, then to Ogawa to break through. In the end, Ogawa sends a ground cross to Kono just in front of the area, but it barely misses.

19 minutes: Tokyo earned a free kick about 20 meters in front of the goal. The shot taken by kicker Maruyama with his left foot was deflected by the opposing GK Kim Seung-kyu, resulting in a right corner kick for Tokyo.
21 minutes: Muriqui on the left side breaks through with a solo dribble. This is cleared by the opposing goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu who came out.
25 minutes: From the left side, Muriqui passes to Higashi and moves inward. Higashi breaks through the defense line with a one-two with Maeda and enters the left side of the area. He takes a shot, but it is blocked by the opposing goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu.

35 minutes: A pass from Muriqui reaches Higashi, who runs up the right side. Higashi returns the ball directly to Muriqui, who runs into the area. Muriqui, receiving the pass, is brought down from behind in the area, but no penalty is awarded.
38 minutes: Maintain a high defensive line, giving no opportunity for Kobe to attack. Continue to apply intense pressure from the front.
40 minutes: Muriqui and Nozawa break through the left side with a one-two. Muriqui sends a cross from the edge of the line, and Maeda, free at the far side, calmly scores to make it 1-0. This is Maeda's 150th goal in J1, giving Tokyo the opening goal.
42 minutes: Kobe attacked from the right side and sent a cross to the center. The header shot by the opposing FW Leandro just missed above the goal, and the situation was resolved without incident.

Tokyo took the lead with Maeda's 150th goal in J1, leading by one point at halftime.

Conceded consecutive goals in the second half, resulting in a 1-4 defeat

Kobe substitutes MF Nakazaka for MF Tanaka at halftime. The second half starts with Tokyo's kickoff.

48 minutes: Kobe's MF Nakazaka, who came on in the second half, made a dribbling breakthrough into the area and took a shot, but Tokunaga blocked it.
50 minutes: Tokyo launches a counterattack from their own half. Muriqui dribbles from the left to the center and passes to Higashi just before the area. Higashi chooses a backward pass to Tanabe, who is making a run into the area, but the pass does not connect.
56 minutes: From FW Pedro JUNIOR, who kept the right cross in the area, a pass was made to FW Leandro on the right side to MF Watanabe. Watanabe then took an accurate shot from directly outside the area, allowing a goal and leveling the score to 1-1.

61 minutes: Tokyo makes their first substitution. In place of Azuma, Insoo YU, who scored the winning goal in the last match, is brought on.
62 minutes: Kobe changed their system from 4-1-4-1 to 4-4-2. They are trying to break through.
64 minutes: Kobe's left-side defender Hashimoto made a cross, creating a chance, and MF Newton headed it in, allowing a goal, making it 1-2.
65 minutes: FW Pedro JUNIOR, who drifted to the left side, crossed to FW Leandro in front of the goal. He headed it in, allowing a goal... 1-3.
67 minutes: Tokyo makes their second substitution. Hirayama comes on for Kono.

72 minutes: Tokyo makes their final substitution. Hanyu comes in for Maeda.
74 minutes: Kobe stole the loose ball in midfield, and FW Pedro JUNIOR reacted, breaking past Morishige with a dribble. He also evaded GK Akimoto and conceded a goal, making it 1-4.
75 minutes: Tokyo has Hanyu on the right side and Muriqui on the left side. Hirayama and Insoo YU are positioned in the front line.
76 minutes: Hirayama shoots from outside the area aiming for the bottom left corner of the goal. However, it is saved by the opposing goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu.

Although Maeda opened the scoring with his 150th goal in J1, the team allowed consecutive goals and lost 1-4.

[Player Comments]
《Maeda》
"I was happy at the moment I scored because it was the opening goal, but now that it has ended up like this, all I feel is regret."
Q=Reflecting on the goal scene.
"Muriqui's ball was fast, and the opponent couldn't keep up at all, so I thought it would go in if I connected. There were people on the near side, so I waited for the ball to come out to the far side."
Q=There was a time when I couldn't score as much before reaching 150 goals today, was there?
"As a forward, I understand that scoring is the top priority, but I always believed that the team's victory comes first, and I played with the thought that if the team wins, opportunities will definitely come."

Tokunaga
"In the second half, the opponent changed their system to a two-top formation, and the midfielders positioned themselves centrally, which caused some misalignment. We couldn't respond adequately and were pushed back. I think we conceded a goal during the ambiguous moment of whether to go for the ball or to create a block. While we were trying to apply pressure from the front, it wasn't clear who to mark in the midfield, which allowed the opponent's wide players to take up higher positions. There are aspects that can only be understood by watching the footage, but perhaps that led us to drop back somewhat."

【Summary of Coach Yoshiyuki SHINODA's Press Conference】
First of all, everyone needs to properly accept this loss. As for the game, we started very well. We were able to effectively exploit the opponent's weaknesses, and it was the players' effort that allowed us to score and go into halftime with a lead. However, in the second half, I felt that we became a bit hesitant, gradually falling back to fill the spaces. This led to us not being able to go for the ball, and the players were tough and gave their all in the end, but I realized that as a team, we still have a lot to work on. I had the image of increasing our output through substitutions, but we ended up creating even more space. In any case, we need to switch gears and focus on recovering and preparing well over the next week.

[Summary of Coach NELSINHO's Press Conference]
"The first half was very poor. I was watching the match thinking it wasn't the usual team. We couldn't pick up second balls, and the players' ball control was bad. We couldn't create our own time, and we couldn't win the ball back. At halftime, I told the players to apply pressure on the ball holder and sought improvement. To start the second half, we switched to a 4-4-2 formation, bringing in midfielder Nakazaka and changing tactics to have forwards Leandro and Pedro JUNIOR as a two-top. As a result, those who watched the first half saw an unbelievable development and score in the second half. The completely different points between the first and second halves were the players' awareness and attitude. In the second half, we were able to play the game with our quality and rhythm. We were able to attack with speed and create our own time."