Aiming for 3 consecutive away wins in a humid environment

Facing Vissel Kobe away in the 8th round of the 2nd stage.
In the previous match against Iwata, Muriqui recorded the team's "J1 Home Total 400 Goals" and Insoo YU, who made his first appearance in J1, scored the winning goal, leading to a come-from-behind victory. The stands were filled with an amazing atmosphere due to this dramatic home win, but the focus for this round will be whether they can continue this momentum and secure a victory away from home.

Manager Shinoda said, "We were able to win consecutive games thanks to the players' efforts, but I told them 'victory is in the past. Forget about it.' The most important thing is how we play for the full 90 minutes against Kobe. We need to focus on that and give our all once again, and show a more dynamic play and aggressive attitude," he said.

This round, Takahashi is suspended from playing. With multiple absences in the defensive midfield position, Nozawa and Tanabe, who came on as substitutes in the previous round, were selected.
Nathan BURNS will also enter the sub and sit on the bench.

Kobe's 2nd stage has 3 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses, ranking 8th. Although they have improved their position from 12th in the 1st stage, their recent matches have been alternating between wins and losses. In addition, they have only scored 1 goal in their last 3 matches, and their attacking power seems to be lacking, making it difficult for them to gain momentum. However, in the previous match, they switched to a 4-3-3 system midway through.
Although they lost 0-1, they seemed to have gained confidence in the form of the driving force of midfielders Tanaka and Mihara, as well as the attacking power of side backs Takahashi and Hashimoto. In this match, they should be wary of the attacking power of FW Pedro JUNIOR and Leandro, who are returning from suspension, as well as left side MF Watanabe.

The match started at 19:05 in the humid and muggy NOEVIR Stadium Kobe.

Maeda scores his 150th J1 goal and leads the first half.

4 minutes: Tokyo, who won a FK inside the center circle, expands to the left side with Tanabe. Muriqui traps behind the DF line, but the opponent GK Kim Sung-gyu jumps out and catches it.
6 minutes: Maruyama receives a through pass and Muriqui breaks through on the left side. Muriqui's cross is initially deflected by the opposing defender, but the second one finds a free Kono running into the area. However, his volley shot is not cleanly hit and does not result in a goal.

Intense competition at the ball, with continued back and forth in the midfield.
13 minutes: Muriqui on the left side, East, and Ogawa work together to attack. In the end, Ogawa sends a ground cross to Kono just outside the area, but it narrowly misses.

19 minutes: Tokyo earns a FK at a position about 20 meters in front of the goal. The shot from kicker Maruyama's left foot is deflected by opponent GK Kim Sung-gyu and results in a right CK for Tokyo.
21 minutes: Muriqui on the left side dribbles alone and breaks through. This is cleared by the opposing GK Kim Sung-gyu who jumps out.
25 minutes: Muriqui from the left side → expands to the inside with Higashi. Higashi breaks through the defensive line with a one-two with Maeda and enters the left area. He takes a shot, but it is blocked by the opposing GK Kim Sung-gyu.

35 minutes: Muriqui runs up the right side and receives a pass from Higashi. Higashi passes directly to Muriqui who runs into the area and crosses it back. Muriqui receives the pass but is fouled from behind in the area, but no penalty is given.
38 minutes: Keep the DF line high and do not give Kobe a chance to attack. Continue to press fiercely from the front line.
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 calmly scores a goal from the far side to make it 1-0. With Maeda's 150th J1 goal, Tokyo takes the lead.
42 minutes: Kobe attacks from the right side and sends a cross to the center. The shot from FW Leandro is slightly off target and goes over the goal, resulting in no harm.

Tokyo, led by Maeda's 150th J1 goal, takes the lead with one point at halftime.

Conceded goals one after another in the second half, resulting in a 1-4 defeat

Kobe will replace MF Tanaka with MF Nakasaka at halftime. The second half will start with Tokyo's kickoff.

48 minutes: Kobe - MF Nakasaka, who came on in the second half, dribbles into the area and takes a shot, but Tokunaga blocks it.
50 minutes: Tokyo launches a counterattack from their own half. Muriqui dribbles from the left and moves towards the center, passing to Erik on the left side of the area. Erik chooses to make a negative pass to Tanabe, who is running towards the edge of the area, but the pass does not connect.
56 minutes: From FW Pedro JUNIOR, who kept the right cross in the area, a pass to MF Watanabe on the right side, who then took an accurate shot from outside the area and scored, making it 1-1.

61 minutes: Tokyo makes their first substitution. Insoo YU, who scored the winning goal in the previous final round, comes on to replace Higashi.
62 minutes: Kobe changes their system from 4-1-4-1 to 4-4-2 in an attempt to break through.
64 minutes: A chance was created by Kobe's left side DF Hashimoto's cross, and MF Niuton in front of the goal was able to score with his head, allowing a goal and making it 1-2.
65 minutes: FW Pedro JUNIOR on the left side crosses to FW Leandro in front of the goal. He heads it in and we concede a goal... 1-3.
67 minutes: Tokyo makes their second substitution. In place of Kono, Hirayama is brought in.

72 minutes: Tokyo makes their final substitution. Hayashi comes in for Maeda.
74 minutes: Kobe loses the loose ball in the midfield, and FW Pedro JUNIOR reacts to it, shaking off Mori Shige and dribbling through. GK Akimoto is also avoided and the goal is given up, 1-4.
75 minutes: Tokyo has Hayabusa on the right side, Muriqui on the left side. Hiraoka and Insoo YU are positioned on the front line.
76 minutes: Hirayama takes a shot from outside the area aiming for the bottom left corner of the goal. However, it is saved by the opposing GK Kim Sung-gyu.

Maeda scored the first goal with his 150th J1 goal, but then allowed consecutive goals and lost 1-4.

[Player Comments]
"Maeda"
"It was a first goal when I decided, so I was happy, but now I only have regret because it turned out like this."
Q=Looking back on the goal scene.
"Muriqui's ball was fast, so I thought it would go in if I could match it because the opponent couldn't catch up at all. There was a person on the near side, so I waited for the ball to come out on the far side."
Q=Was there a time when you couldn't score until you scored 150 goals today?
"As a forward, I understand that scoring is the top priority, but I always believed that the team's victory comes first and if the team wins, chances will surely come and I played with that in mind."

"Tokunaga"
"The opponent changed their system to a 2-top formation in the second half, and our midfielders were positioned too far inside, causing gaps. We couldn't adjust to that and were pushed back. We were unclear on whether to go for the ball or create a block, and that ambiguity led to us conceding a goal. We were trying to press from the front, but we weren't sure who to mark in midfield, so the opponent's players were able to take up high positions. There are some things that we can only see on video, but maybe that's why we ended up dropping back."

[Coach Yoshiyuki SHINODA's Press Conference Summary]
"First of all, everyone needs to take this loss seriously. As for the game, we had a very good start. We were able to exploit the opponent's weaknesses and score goals, thanks to the players' efforts. However, in the second half, we seemed to have backed off a bit and dropped back gradually in order to fill the space. As a result, we couldn't get to the ball and the players worked hard until the end, but it ended up being a situation where we had to give it our all. I still think there is a lot for the team to work on. I had the image of increasing our output through player substitutions, but it ended up creating more space. Anyway, we need to switch gears and focus on recovering and preparing for the next week."

[Kobe NELSINHO Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"The first half was a very poor performance. I was watching the game thinking it wasn't our usual team. We couldn't even pick up second balls and the players' ball control was also bad. We couldn't create our own chances and couldn't even take the ball. At halftime, I told the players to put pressure on the ball holder and demanded improvement. At the start of the second half, we changed our tactics to a 4-4-2, bringing in MF Nakasaka and changing to a 2-top with FW Leandro and FW Pedro JUNIOR. As a result, the second half was an unbelievable turnaround in both performance and score. The difference between the first and second half was the players' mindset and attitude. In the second half, we were able to play with our quality and rhythm. We were able to make quick attacks and create our own chances."