Fight with all your heart and aim to take 3 points away!

2nd Stage Sec. 10 will be an away game against Nagoya Grampus.
In the previous match, we defended the goal in a tenacious battle and won against Yokohama FM. From there, we continued to do high-intensity training for this match.

Manager Shinoda says, "I have been practicing in my own way for about a month now. The players may be reaching their peak fatigue, but right now, the results are showing more than that." He continues, "If we weren't getting results, the players would simply feel 'tough'. But by winning 3 out of 4 games, there is a change in the players' mindset. It's not just about increasing the amount of running. By training in a way that simulates a game, I think the intensity and speed of decision-making have also improved."

On the other hand, Nagoya is currently winless in 17 league matches, and is in 18th place in the 2nd stage. In the annual standings, they are in 16th place.
Due to the continued difficult situation, the coach was replaced after the previous match. Coach Bosko Djurovski was appointed as the new commander.
In addition, DF Toujiro's return has been decided, but at the moment he is not registered in the league, so he will not be able to play in this round.

On the other hand, following coach Shinoda, the Tokyo players analyzed their feelings, saying "We can understand their desire for victory as if we could take it in our hands." However, they also expressed their determination, saying "We don't want to lose to that feeling. And even if Nagoya changes their way of fighting, we want to do what we have to do regardless of the opponent."

Nagoya has been using a 5-4-1 system in recent matches, with FW Shimobich's injury affecting the team. FW Nagai has been playing as the lone striker, but there has been a change to a 4-back system. FW Nagai and FW Kawamata will be on the wings, with Noda starting as the center forward.
　
Tokyo, who will face Nagoya with the same members as the previous round, aims to take 3 points away from home, surpassing Nagoya in terms of team cohesion.

Toyota Stadium, which has high humidity even as the kickoff time approaches. The match started at 6:04 PM with a kickoff in Tokyo.

Conceded a goal just before the end of the first half, trailing 0-1 at halftime

7 minutes: Takahashi takes the ball in the opponent's territory. Takahashi passes to Higashi and takes a shot, but it hits the back of the opponent's DF.
11 minutes: East, who broke through the right side, made a low cross in front of the goal. It was a chance, but the opposing DF who entered in front of Maeda, who was running in, cleared it.
18 minutes: East takes a middle shot from about 25 meters from the goal, but misses the target.

32 minutes: Tokyo picks up the loose ball and advances to the left of the area with a pass from East to Muriqui. Muriqui crosses the ball on the ground to Kono, who jumps into the goal area, but just misses.
36 minutes: Muriqui and Maeda bring the ball to the left side of the area, creating two chances with crosses, but unable to take a shot.
37 minutes: Muraya, who passed the opponent on the right side, supplies a ground cross to the front of the goal aiming for Kono. However, the ball hits the stretched leg of Nagoya DF in front of Kono and is blocked.
39 minutes: Muroya dribbles again and enters the inside while feinting. He shoots near the area, but it doesn't go in.

45 minutes + 1: Nagoya MF Taguchi's middle shot is blocked by Akimoto, but FW Noda follows up and scores. We concede the first goal.
Nagoya conceded a goal just before the end of the first half and ended the first half one point behind.

Nakajima's equalizer goal earns 1 point away from home

48 minutes: Muraya's cross does not match his teammate and flows to the left side, from where Tanabe shoots a ground middle shot. It didn't go into the frame, but they have been attacking aggressively since the beginning.
53 minutes: Nakajima replaces Kono as a substitute.

55 minutes: Tokyo changes formation, with Nakajima on the left side, Higashi on the right side, and Muriqui in the center.
57 minutes: Nakajima and Muriqui on the counter. A pass from Muriqui on the left side to Nakajima in front of the area, but the shot misses the target.
58 minutes: A through pass to Muriqui running into the center of the area from the east. Muriqui receives the pass and takes a shot, but GK Narazaki makes a save in front.

62 minutes: Maeda → Nakajima sends a floating ball to the east inside the area, but it narrowly misses.
64 minutes: Insoo YU is substituted for Maeda.
70 minutes: Nakajima crosses from the left side, but it goes over the goal line. Then, Muroya on the right side creates a chance. However, he is unable to take a shot.

73 minutes: Nakajima advances into the area from a one-two with Insoo YU. He crosses from the edge of the goal line, but it doesn't connect with his teammate.
74 minutes: Kajiyama replaces Takahashi and takes over the defensive midfielder position.

78 minutes: Nakajima takes a right-footed shot from outside the area. It bounces in front of the opposing GK, but is deflected by their body.
81 minutes: Nakajima takes a shot from the left corner of the area to the right of the goal. Insoo YU's shot is blocked by the opposing GK.

85 minutes: Muriqui breaks through alone from Kajiyama's through pass and passes to free Insoo YU. YU tries to score with a chip kick, but the shot goes over the goal. Unable to convert the scoring opportunity.
90 minutes + 1: Muriqui passes to Erik in front of the East area, who then receives a pass from the East and takes a right-footed shot from the left side of the area after a one-touch! It's a goal! They equalize 1-1 and continue to push for a winning goal, but the game ends in a 1-1 draw. In the second half additional time, Nakajima scores to equalize and they earn 1 point away from home.

[Player Comments]
"Nakajima"
"In the scoring scene, I hit the opponent and scored, so I want to practice to be able to kick and score in the exact spot I aim for. I want to continue playing towards the goal in the future."
Q=I wanted to score when I played in the game, but it was truly a play of words and actions.
"Since we were losing, of course we had to aim for a goal, and the first half was a difficult situation, so I wanted to change the atmosphere somehow and went out onto the pitch."
Q=It was a shot from the left, which is your specialty, into the center, but did your teammates understand that and pass to you in that form?
"Yes, that's right. Because they trust me with the ball, I am able to make forward plays more easily."
Q=Was it a shot while turning around, and were you able to see the opponent's position?"
"I was just thinking about shooting as strong as possible. Even if the opponent was in front of me, I wouldn't be able to score unless I shot, so I think I was hesitating whether to shoot or not before going to the Olympics. Neymar and other top players overseas have an amazing attitude towards scoring, so I want to imitate their good points and improve myself."

"Kajiyama"
"It was a difficult game, but we were able to continue playing our game without giving up until the end, so it was good that we were able to catch up in the end. The coach told us to create the game and join in the attack. The opponent was leading, so they tried to defend by pulling back. In the midfield, there was no pressure, so I was trying to bring out the power of Muriqui, Higashi, and Nakajima. Apart from accuracy, I think we were able to shake the opponent well."

[Coach Yoshiyuki SHINODA's Press Conference Summary]
"I thought today's game would be a very difficult one from the start. We wanted to overcome Nagoya's motivation and the atmosphere of the stadium and start strong. However, in the first half, we seemed to be holding back a lot. We couldn't shake Nagoya's defensive line and there were many situations where we were pushed back in our build-up. We were hoping to end the first half without conceding a goal, but after conceding, we had to use our energy from the start of the second half to go for a goal. At halftime, I told the players that we had to challenge and that it would be meaningless if we didn't go for a goal. The players ran really well. If we had caught up a little earlier, I think we could have finished off the opponent, but that was our task for today. We were able to work hard together with the fans and supporters to secure points. We want to have a good conversation with the players and carry today's points over to the next league match."
《Q&A》
Q=You put Kajiyama in as a defensive midfielder, was that with the intention of being more attacking?
"I wanted to increase the tempo of passing and asked him to make through passes and spread the ball left and right. The ball from Muriqui to the counter was from Kajiyama. I think that scene was created by putting him in, who can see one more step ahead. I asked him to create rhythm in the midfield and do work that leads directly to the goal."

[Nagoya - Manager Bosko Djurovski's press conference summary]
"We played a very good game. I think both teams played good soccer against Tokyo. The first half was a balanced game, both teams were attacking, and I am satisfied with the first half. Especially in the attacking part, we were able to do what we have been practicing this week, but in the last 15 minutes of the second half, fatigue affected our play. We need to analyze this and make changes. In the end, it was a 1-1 draw, and the opponent played well enough to deserve that result. However, if we had scored one more goal and made it 2-0, we could have won. It's not enough to win 1-0 at home. But overall, I think we were able to show what we have been working on this week."