GAME RESULTGame Result

Sec. 2 2018/3/03 (Sat)
Audience 16,990 people 
Weather: Sunny, Low Temperature: 16.5°C, Humidity: 38% 
Referee: Koichiro FUKUSHIMA Assistant Referees: Masahiro HORIKOSHI / Naoya OKAWA Fourth Official: Genki TAWARA

J1 Sec. 2

Ajinomoto

HOME

FC Tokyo

0-1

Match Finished

First Half0-0

Second Half0-1

AWAY

Vegalta Sendai

FC Tokyo Vegalta Sendai
Scorer 57' Naoki Ishihara
70' Takuji YONEMOTO → Takefusa KUBO
71' Ryoichi MAEDA → Cayman TOGASHI
83' Sei MUROYA → Kento HASHIMOTO
Player Substitution 84' Shota KOBAYASHI → Naoki SUGAI
88' Takuma ABE → Takuma NISHIMURA
90'+4 Naoki ISHIHARA → Ryo GERMAIN
11 Shoot 6
4 CK 3
18 FK 20
45'+1 Hyun Soo JANG
Warning
Exit
FC Tokyo Starting Lineup
GK 33 Akihiro HAYASHI
DF 2 Sei MUROYA
DF 48 Hyun Soo JANG
DF 3 Masato MORISHIGE
DF 6 Kosuke OTA
MF 39 Kota MORI
MF 7 Takashi Yonemoto
MF 8 Yojiro Takahagi
MF 38 Keigo HIGASHI
FW 20 Ryoichi MAEDA
FW 9 Diego OLIVEIRA
FC TokyoSubstitute
GK 1 Yu OKUBO
DF 5 Yuichi MARUYAMA
DF 29 Makoto OKAZAKI
MF 18 Kento HASHIMOTO
MF 11 Kensuke NAGAI
MF 15 Takefusa KUBO
FW 17 Cayman TOGASHI
Vegalta SendaiStarting Lineup
GK 21 Kentaro SEKI
DF 13 Yasuhiro HIRAOKA
DF 27 Kazuki OIWA
DF 6 Ko Iwakura
MF 17 Shingo Tomita
MF 7 Hiroaki OKUNO
MF 29 Shota KOBAYASHI
MF 2 Katsuya NAGATO
FW 16 Taketo Notsuda
FW 20 Takuma ABE
FW 11 Naoki Ishihara
Vegalta SendaiSubstitute
GK 22 Goro KAWANAMI
DF 39 Kane Shoya
MF 25 Naoki Sugai
MF 31 Shunsuke MOTEGI
FW 18 Rafaelson
FW 19 Ryo GERMAIN
FW 30 Takuma NISHIMURA

[Highlight Video]

[Player/Coach Comments]

"Yojiro TAKAHAGI"

"I started as a top midfielder, but in the first half, I think I was able to get into the areas that the opponent didn't like well."
Sendai made corrections and in the second half, they were unable to create such situations.
After conceding the first goal, we were unable to create any space as they formed a solid block.

(What are the points to reflect on?)
We should aim to exploit the opponent's backline with myself and the FW, just like in the first half.
Even if the ball doesn't come out, we need to aim for the back and not let the line drop or break. Let's discuss it with three people and prepare for the next one.
It's a shame that we lost, but there were many good parts.
Rather than focusing on the negative, I believe it is important to continue and increase the good things.

(I was moving quite a bit?)
By moving myself, other players became free, and I was able to create time for them to become free again by moving again. I was aware of that.

(The top under the 2 top should have been a long time ago?)
I was able to play facing forward in a place close to the goal, so it was a comfortable feeling.
"If I continue to play in this position in the future, I want to be more involved in the attack. However, it was a game where I could feel that sense of accomplishment."

"Diego OLIVEIRA"

"The first half was very good, we created a lot of chances. However, we couldn't finish them. I think that was one of the reasons for our defeat."
Football is a sport where no matter how good you play, the outcome is determined by whether you score a goal or not.
That's something we don't have today, but Sendai does.
Unfortunately, we want to prepare to win next time without losing focus.

(There were more scenes where I utilized my teammates rather than shooting myself?)
I think there were a lot of moments where I made the final pass or cross, but I'm not too worried about that.
My shooting opportunity should naturally come within the flow.

As a team, the result is important and today is disappointing, but we fought hard. We have to accept the result as it is.

"Summary of Tokyo - Kenta HASEGAWA's press conference"

"I think it was a game where there were many opportunities to approach the goal compared to the opening game, and if we had scored first, it would have been a different game."
Unfortunately, despite Sendai's strong defense centered around the CB, they were unable to prevent that shot from going in, even though they did not allow any dangerous situations to arise.
I think the current challenge is not being able to score one point in the remaining time. However, we were able to smoothly move the ball in areas where we could expand it.
There are many games where it is difficult to shoot when facing a 3-back, but today I think we were able to get close to the goal to some extent.
"So, while taking a positive view, we still need to continue building and training in order to aim for 3 points and fight for it."

"Q&A"
Q=Did the game change in the second half?
"Our defense was weak. Especially in the scene where we conceded, our defense was weaker compared to the first half."

Q=What specific areas have become smoother in terms of expansion?
"Takahagi added an accent as a top midfielder. It was a situation where we were chasing one point, so I moved him to the anchor position, but I think his strengths were better shown than when he was playing as a double pivot in the previous game."

"Press Conference Summary by Sendai Manager Shin Watanabe"

"First of all, thank you very much to all the supporters who came all the way from Sendai. Actually, there was a lot of snow in Sendai during this week's training, and the ground was in a situation where we couldn't do anything without shoveling the snow. But many supporters, front staff, and academy coaches helped us shovel the snow. Without them, we wouldn't have been able to prepare for the match against FC Tokyo, so I would like to take this opportunity to thank them. Thank you very much. As for the match, FC Tokyo changed their system, which confused us in the first half. We had information about it, but we didn't expect it to come from the beginning of the game, so we were pushed back for a long time. So we changed our position and continued the game. With the change, our defense became clearer, so we were able to calmly continue the game. In terms of attack, we made it clear at halftime that we could always create a numerical advantage, and we were able to create a place for us to move forward. Looking back, we also had a 1-0 winning streak from the opening last year, but after that, it wasn't good at all, so we won't be satisfied with this and will continue to prepare calmly for the next Levain Cup match against Kobe."

Q=Was the change in the system due to the positioning in the middle of the game?
"We started with a 3-4-3 formation, but changed to a 3-5-2 like the previous game in the middle of the first half. At halftime, we gave instructions for the attacking part and I think we were able to progress the game well."

Q=Was it your first victory at Ajinomoto Stadium?

"I talked to the players this morning. However, what I told them was, 'There's no point in lamenting the past that cannot be changed. We can change the games from now on. Let's put our energy into that.' I don't know if they appreciated it, but I think it was a result of them focusing on the game in front of them and doing their best."