Facing the tough opponent Urawa at home

Facing Urawa Reds in Sec. 12 of the 2nd Stage.
In the previous match, there were times when we were pushed back by Shonan, but by changing the system to 3-4-3, we shut down the opponent's counterattacks while scoring from our own counters. We effectively utilized the lead we had, demonstrating our ability to make adjustments and respond during the match. This match will be held at Ajinomoto following the game against Shonan, and we aim for victory by leveraging the momentum from our consecutive wins, including the Levain Cup, and the advantages of playing at home.

The record against Urawa in league matches since 2004 is only one victory, which was achieved on September 14, 2013, at the National Stadium. It is often pointed out that there is a 'bad matchup,' but they express a strong desire to overcome the pressure and fight for victory. Additionally, Coach Shinoda stated, "We want to clearly show what we aim for at home," and declared, "We will apply pressure from the front." They will confront Urawa with an aggressive fighting style and a dynamic approach.

In place of the suspended Tanabe, Hashimoto will start for the first time since the match against Niigata on July 30, forming a double pivot with Kajiyama. The rest of the lineup will remain the same as the previous match, adopting a 4-2-3-1 system.
Urawa will be missing DF Makino. Therefore, DF Ugaki will be used as one of the three backs. MF Komai will be on the right wide, and MF Sekine on the left. Up front, FW Zlatan, with MF Takagi and Muto playing as shadows in a 3-4-3 formation.

The temperature is 25.9 degrees, but with high humidity suggesting the possibility of rain, the match started at 19:04 with Urawa's kickoff.

Aggressive defense to win the ball and gain rhythm, but scoreless

The match started with intense battles in midfield, but gradually Tokyo applied pressure from the front line to win the ball and launched short counterattacks to seize the momentum.
7 minutes: A left cross is received by Higashi in the center, who drops it with his chest and sends it into the front area with a one-touch pass. Maeda runs in to meet it, creating a decisive opportunity, but his shot misses. However, he persists and drops it, but it barely misses Muroya, who followed up. Furthermore, connecting the second ball, Nakajima aimed for a long shot, but it went over the bar.
8 minutes: A left cross was sent in, but Hashimoto headed it down inside the area, and it did not reach Nakajima, allowing Urawa to clear the ball.
14 minutes: Higashi plays a direct pass to the left forward from a midfield contest. Kawano brings it forward and delivers a low cross. Hashimoto, who jumped in at the near post, connected with his right foot but missed the target.
Tokyo showcased a fighting spirit, ran well, and seized the pace with a dynamic battle, but could not capitalize on their scoring opportunities.

24 minutes: From a long kick by Urawa's GK Nishikawa, Tokyo's defense was caught off guard, allowing MF Muto to break free. However, Yoshimoto quickly returned and blocked the shot from MF Muto's cutback. The ball spilled into Tokyo's left area, where Urawa FW Zlatan pressed, and another decisive shot was taken but... it hit the side netting. Tokyo struggled to capitalize when they had possession of the ball and continuously faced quick counterattacks from Urawa, who transitioned rapidly from defense to offense.

35 minutes: Right MF Komai advances and delivers a low, fast cross in front of the goal. FW Zlatan dives in at the near post and takes a decisive shot with his left foot, but it just goes over the bar.
36 minutes: Tokyo's Nakajima dribbled forward from the left side. After a one-two with Kajiyama in the center, he took a decisive shot as he entered the left area, but was thwarted by a great save from Urawa GK Nishikawa, resulting in a right corner kick.
37 minutes: Against a floated ball to the front line, Maeda held on and dropped it, and Hashimoto took a shot from just outside the right area with one step, but it went to the left.
38 minutes: Urawa's left DF Ugakami provided space to central MF Sekine, who took a shot from distance, but Akimoto saved it in the bottom left corner.

As time passed, it became a tense exchange of counterattacks, but neither side could score, and they went into the second half scoreless.

Nakajima won a penalty kick, Morishige scored to take the lead, but they collapsed in the final stages and allowed a comeback...

In the second half, Urawa substituted FW Lee for MF Takagi.
46 minutes: Nakajima, who broke into the area following a through pass from Kajiyama, was tripped and won a penalty kick.
48 minutes: Morishige kicks this penalty straight into the center of the goal, and the ball grazes the hand of Urawa GK Nishikawa, resulting in a goal. They take the lead early, 1-0.

However, this triggered Urawa's counterattack, and Tokyo was often pushed back into their own territory.
58 minutes: Maruyama was brought in to replace Kono. The defense was set with Morishige on the right, Yoshimoto in the center, and Maruyama on the left. Muroya and Tokunaga were positioned wide. The formation was changed to a 3-4-3 to respond, with Higashi on the right side of the front line and Nakajima on the left.
64 minutes: Urawa substitutes in FW Koroki.
67 minutes: Tokyo substituted Nakajima for Takahashi in the defensive midfield position. Hashimoto moved to the left side to suppress the opponent's playmaker. Immediately after that, taking advantage of the opponent's gap, Hashimoto surged into the area from Maeda's drop. The Urawa defender couldn't keep up, leaving him one-on-one with the goalkeeper. It was a crucial chance for an additional goal, but the shot was blocked by the goalkeeper's save... No goal.

The back-and-forth between offense and defense was rapid, and the tense battle continued without a moment of relaxation.
77 minutes: Urawa MF Abe switches to the left front line. MF Sekine delivers a cross from a dribble. The Tokyo DF had enough players, but FW Lee jumped in front of Maruyama, allowing a headed shot and conceding a goal... The score is now tied at 1-1.

79 minutes: Aiming to take the lead, Hashimoto catches up to a long pass to the front line. Maeda runs into the goal area, and Hashimoto on the left side chooses to pass. He played it short to the near post, but it was half-hearted and cut off by the Urawa defense.
80 minutes: Insoo YU was brought on to the front line in place of Kajiwara. He teamed up with Maeda in a two-top formation, aiming for a goal in a setup close to 3-5-2.

As they become more aggressive, the lines between the front and back stretch out, and their feet begin to stop.
85 minutes: A pass is sent to Urawa MF Kashiwagi on the right front line, allowing FW Zlatan to shoot. Akimoto made the save, but... the rebound hit Higashi, who was returning to defense, and went into the goal. The score is now 1-2, allowing a turnaround.
87 minutes: Urawa MF Aoki breaks forward on the right flank, returning to MF Sekine in the right area. Tokyo could not contain this and allowed a cross, leading to FW Koroki heading in front of Muroya. The side was breached, resulting in consecutive goals... This makes it 1-3.
Despite taking the lead, we collapsed in the final stages of the match and suffered another frustrating comeback loss to Urawa.

As a result, the annual points remained at 39, but due to the results of other matches, it has been confirmed that we will compete on the J1 stage next season.

[Player Comments]
《Morishige》
"Anyway, I'm frustrated. That's really the only feeling I have. Today unfolded as expected, and overall, I don't think it was bad. The last 20 minutes went as anticipated. The fact that we couldn't become the winners there means that we still lack something. There may have been physical issues, but I think one of the reasons for our defeat was that we slowed down our own pace. Urawa was just a step ahead... I want us to discuss together and pinpoint what we are missing."

《Yoshimoto》
"Before we changed the system, we were watching the opponent's five players with our four defenders, so it was physically tough. From there, we needed to clarify our marking with five players and consciously go in strong against the opponent's feet, but... we conceded a goal after being caught out. It wasn't about the system; we needed to be a bit more careful in our response. After conceding at least one goal, we might need to fight to 'secure at least one point' without collapsing. However, it's important not to carry the burden of such losses. We need to switch our focus to the league and prepare to win against G Osaka."

【Summary of Coach Yoshiyuki SHINODA's Press Conference】
"It is disappointing and frustrating to have this result. I feel sorry to the fans and supporters. The start of the game went as planned, and we were able to create several situations where we left the opponent's five players behind, showing some short counterattack scenes. By continuing to press to nullify Urawa's strengths, we managed to score a goal early in the second half. Although the timing was a bit early, we made substitutions to switch to a 3-4-3 formation, aiming to suppress Urawa's wide players' side changes. When we replaced Nakajima with Hashimoto on the side, we had a chance to score the second goal, but we couldn't finish it off to close the match. After that, we were caught up with an equalizer, and our defensive posture dropped too far back, causing our pressing to become disorganized. The overall plan for the 90 minutes did not go well. However, the players applied high-paced pressure, and if we could have extended the time to regain possession from further up the pitch, I think the result could have been better. It turned out to be a frustrating game."

[Summary of the Press Conference of Urawa's Coach Zoran PETROVIC]
"In the first half, we couldn't really play our own game. The build-up from the back and carrying the ball didn't go well. In an important game like today, the forwards might have been somewhat cautious or nervous at the start. Because of that, passes were intercepted midway, and we ended up just kicking long balls. It was a first half where we couldn't show our strengths. Although it was 0-0, I think the players had the mindset that 'that's not a problem.' That led to conceding goals in the second half. However, whether this expression is correct or not, conceding early in the second half had a positive side for us. The players woke up and realized they needed to take more risks and attack courageously. After that, we created chances where scoring 4 or 5 goals wouldn't have been surprising. Especially after scoring two goals, the team didn't ease off but showed the attitude to go for the third and fourth goals. In Japanese football, it's common to protect a lead, but I believe that if the opponent shows any weakness, Japanese football needs an aggressive approach to score more goals and crush the opponent. We often talk about this, and the players expressed it on the pitch. When the opponent is forced to score and commits many players forward, if we try to defend passively, we get overwhelmed by their pressure. In Japan, many think that once leading, you should defend the lead, but I think attacking aggressively is also a valid approach. In the second half, the players woke up and expressed their way of playing. The match was very different between the first and second halves, but in the end, we played a game worthy of victory, which was very good. Important matches continue, and we want to keep challenging ourselves so that good times continue for us with this style of play."