Facing Tough Opponent Urawa at Home

Facing Urawa Reds in the 12th round of the 2nd stage.
In the previous match, there were times when we were pushed back by Shonan, but we changed our system to 3-4-3 and shut down their counterattacks while scoring goals on the counter. We were able to use our lead to our advantage and showed our ability to make adjustments and respond during the game. This match will be held at Ajinomoto Stadium following the Shonan match, and it will be a battle to aim for victory by utilizing the momentum of consecutive wins, including the Levain Cup, and the strength of our home ground.

The league record against Urawa has only one win since 2004, which was achieved on September 14, 2013 at the National Stadium. Although they are often criticized for their "bad chemistry", they will fight with a strong determination to overcome the pressure and achieve victory. In addition, coach Shinoda stated, "We want to show what we are aiming for at home," and declared that they will "press from the front." They will face Urawa with an aggressive playing style and a sense of dynamism.

Tokyo will start with Hashimoto instead of Tabata, who is suspended, and will form a double pivot with Kajiyama for the first time since the Niigata match on July 30. The rest of the team will face the match with the same lineup as the previous round, in a 4-2-3-1 system.
Urawa, on the other hand, will be without DF Makino. As a result, DF Uga will be used as one of the three backs. MF Komai will play on the right wing, while MF Sekine will play on the left. Up front, FW Zlatan will be supported by MF Takagi and Muto in a 3-4-3 formation.

The temperature is 25.9 degrees, but the humidity is high enough to suggest rain, and the match started at 7:04 pm with Urawa's kickoff.

Aggressive defense steals the ball and grabs the rhythm, but the score remains tied.

The beginning of the game saw intense back-and-forth action in the midfield, but gradually Tokyo started pressing from the front and were able to steal the ball and take control of the game with short counterattacks.
7 minutes: Left cross, East in the center drops it with his chest and sends it to the front area with one touch. Maeda runs in to match this and creates a decisive opportunity, but his shot misses. He still manages to keep it alive, but it just misses the follow-up by Muroya. Then, connecting with the second ball, Nakajima aims for a shot but it goes over the bar.
8 minutes: Left cross flew into the area, but Hashimoto headed it down, but it didn't reach Nakajima and Urawa cleared it.
14 minutes: From the midfield battle, Higashi goes directly to the left front line. Kono carries the ball forward and puts in a low cross. Hashimoto jumps in near the ball and hits it with his right foot, but it goes wide of the goal.
Tokyo pushed their fighting spirit to the forefront, ran well, and grabbed the pace with an energetic battle, but they were unable to capitalize on their scoring opportunities.

24 minutes: From a long kick by Urawa GK Nishikawa, Tokyo DF is caught off guard and MF Muto is left open. However, Yoshimoto quickly returns and blocks Muto's shot from the turn. The ball falls to the left area of Tokyo and is followed up by Urawa FW Zlatan, who takes another decisive shot... but it hits the side net. Tokyo is unable to attack when in possession of the ball, and they continue to receive quick counterattacks from Urawa, who are quick to switch from defense to offense.

35 minutes: Right MF Komai makes a low and fast cross while attacking, and FW Zlatan jumps in near the goal to take a decisive shot with his left foot, but it narrowly goes over the bar.
36 minutes: Tokyo also, Nakajima dribbles from the left side and rushes to the front line. From the one-two with Kajiyama in the center, he took a decisive shot after entering the left area, but was blocked by Urawa GK Nishikawa's great save, and only got a right CK.
37 minutes: Maeda stuck to the floating ball to the front line and dropped it, and Hashimoto in front of the right area took a one-step shot, but it curved to the left.
38 minutes: Urawa left DF Uchigami → central MF Sekine given space, but Akimoto saved the middle shot in the lower left corner.

As time passed, it became a tense back-and-forth counter, but neither side could make a decisive move, and the first half ended scoreless.

Nakajima won a penalty kick, Morishige scored first, but collapsed in the end and allowed a comeback...

In the second half, Urawa substituted FW Lee for MF Takagi.
46 minutes: Nakajima, who broke through the area after receiving Kajiyama's through pass, was tripped and awarded a penalty kick.
48 minutes: Mori Shige kicks this PK right in the middle of the goal, and the ball barely grazes the hand of Urawa GK Nishikawa, resulting in a goal. They take the lead early in the game, 1-0.

However, this triggered Urawa's counterattack and Tokyo was often pushed back into their own territory.
58 minutes: Maruyama is substituted for Kono. The defense is lined up with Morishige on the right, Yoshimoto in the center, and Maruyama on the left. Muroya and Tokunaga on the wings. In an attempt to adapt, they changed to a 3-4-3 formation with Higashi on the right side of the front line and Nakajima on the left.
64 minutes: Urawa substitutes in FW Okazaki.
67 minutes: Tokyo substitutes Nakajima for Takahashi as a defensive midfielder. Hashimoto moves to the left side to try to contain the opponent's starting point. Immediately after, Hashimoto charges into the area from Maeda's drop, taking advantage of the opponent's gap. The Urawa DF cannot keep up and Hashimoto is left one-on-one with the GK. They have a chance for a decisive additional goal, but the shot is blocked by the GK... no goal.

The exchange of offense and defense was fast-paced, and the intense battle continued without a moment's rest.
77 minutes: Urawa MF Abe changes sides to the left front line. MF Sekine receives a cross from a dribble. The number of Tokyo DF players were in place, but FW Lee jumps in front of Maruyama and scores a header... We have conceded a goal and the score is now tied 1-1.

79 minutes: Hashimoto chases after a long pass to the front line in an attempt to take the lead. Maeda runs into the goal area and Hashimoto on the left side chooses to pass. He passes it short to the near side, but it ends up being half-hearted and is cut off by the Urawa defense.
80 minutes: Insoo YU was substituted for Kajiyama and was put on the front line. He formed a two-top with Maeda and aimed for the goal with a formation close to 3-5-2.

As the team becomes more aggressive, the front and back lines become stretched and their movements start to slow down.
85 minutes: Urawa MF Kashiwagi passes to the right front line, allowing FW Zlatan to take a shot. Akimoto makes a save, but... the rebound hits East and goes into the goal. We allow a 1-2 comeback.
87 minutes: Urawa MF Aoki is sent flying to the right front line and returns to MF Sekine in the right area. Tokyo couldn't hold on here and FW Koroki heads in a cross in front of Muroya. The side is broken and they concede in quick succession... This makes it 1-3.
Despite taking the lead, we fell apart towards the end of the game and suffered another heartbreaking comeback loss to Urawa.

However, this resulted in only 39 points for the season, but due to the results of other matches, it has been confirmed that we will continue to fight on the J1 stage next season.

[Player Comments]
"Mori Shige"
"I'm just frustrated. That's all I feel. Today went as expected and overall, it wasn't bad. The last 20 minutes went as planned too. But the fact that we couldn't come out as winners means there's still something missing. It could have been a physical issue, but I think one of the reasons for our defeat was that we let our pace drop. Urawa was just a step ahead... We want to discuss together and work on what's missing."

"Yoshimoto"
"Until we change the system, we were watching five players from the opponent with four defenders, so it was physically tough. From there, we changed to five and made sure to mark clearly and go for the opponent's feet... but we conceded a goal by being beaten behind. It wasn't about the system, we should have been more careful and responded better. After conceding at least one goal, it may be necessary to fight for "one point at all costs" without collapsing. However, it is important not to be dragged down by this kind of defeat. We want to focus on winning against G Osaka and prepare for the league match."

[Coach Yoshiyuki SHINODA's Press Conference Summary]
"It's disappointing and frustrating to have this result. I feel sorry for the fans and supporters. We were able to start the game as planned and create opportunities to leave the opponent's five players behind, and we also showed scenes of short counterattacks. As a result of continuously pressing to eliminate Urawa's strengths, we were able to score a goal at the beginning of the second half. It was a bit early, but we made a substitution and changed to a 3-4-3 formation to try to control Urawa's wide players from switching sides. When we brought in Hashimoto for Nakajima, we had a chance to score a second goal, but we couldn't finish the game there. After that, we were caught up in a tie, and our focus dropped a bit too much, causing our pressing to become disjointed. Our plan for the full 90 minutes didn't work out well. However, the players put pressure on at a high pace, and if we could have gone to win the ball earlier, I think we could have achieved a better result. It was a frustrating game."

[Urawa Petrovic Manager's Press Conference Summary]
"We couldn't play our game in the first half. Our build-up from the back and ball movement didn't go well. In important games like today, our forwards may have been a bit cautious or nervous when entering the game. As a result, we were cut off from passing and ended up just kicking long balls. It was a first half where we couldn't show our strengths. It was 0-0, but I think the players had the mindset of "that's not a problem." That led to conceding a goal in the second half. However, I'm not sure if this expression is correct, but it was good for us to be behind early in the second half. The players woke up and realized that they needed to take more risks and play with courage. After that, we created scenes where we could have scored 4-5 goals. Especially after scoring 2 goals, they showed a willingness to go for the 3rd or 4th goal without easing up on the attack. In Japanese soccer, it's common to try to protect the lead. However, I think it's necessary for Japanese soccer to have an attacking mindset to score more goals if the opponent shows an opening. We always talk about this, but the players showed it on the pitch. When the opponent needs to score, if we try to defend and receive their attacks with more players, we will be overwhelmed by their pressure. In Japan, it's common to try to protect the lead, but I think it's also important to have the mindset of attacking. In the second half, the players woke up and showed their way of playing. It was a game with a completely different content in the first and second half, but in the end, we were able to play a game worthy of victory, and it was very good. We have important games coming up, but we want to continue challenging ourselves to have good times by playing in this way."