Fourth Day of the France Expedition
Today also started with a morning walk.
I spent a pleasant morning while watching the river flowing in front of me and the group of churches.
In the morning, we moved our bodies at the Oxair Academy ground, just like yesterday, in preparation for the afternoon match.
By training in the same place for two days, the academy players became friends, and we witnessed heartwarming moments where they ran together during cooldowns.
We had lunch at the academy cafeteria, just like yesterday, and finally departed by bus towards the venue of the tournament, SANS. Before leaving, we heard that the top team had won against Hiroshima and took the lead, which further boosted the members' spirits.
After leaving my luggage at the police academy dormitory, which serves as the accommodation for the tournament, I got on the shuttle bus and headed to the venue.
The opponent in the first match is Grand Senonais.
This is the selected team of SANS for the tournament.
Before the match, Coach Miyazawa commented, "As representatives of FC Tokyo, let's work hard and win," which boosted our spirits as we approached the game.
The first match of the tournament kicked off in clear weather with many spectators watching.
Although the match progressed with a slight advantage, it was difficult to convert chances, leading to a challenging period.
In the midst of this, in the 15th minute, Miyazaki took a free kick from the right side, which Watanabe headed in to score the long-awaited opening goal.
In the 19th minute, Watanabe sent a ball behind the opponent from the left side, and Brian, who broke free, struck it directly to add another goal.
We finished the first half with a score of 2-0.
Continuing the momentum from the first half, they attacked fiercely in the second half. In the 28th minute, Watanabe broke through on the right side and delivered a cross, which Samata headed in with a high leap to make it 3-0.
However, in the 29th minute after scoring, we were caught off guard by the opponent and conceded a goal. It became 3-1.
Just as the atmosphere was starting to turn a bit negative, in the 30th minute, Bryan dribbled from the right side to the center, evading two opponents, and powerfully struck the ball into the left corner of the goal, making it 4-1.
Furthermore, in the 35th minute just before the end, Miyakawa pushed in the rebound from a free kick taken from the right side by Miyazaki, making it 5-1.
Okada, Tegawa, Tosa, Miyagawa, who joined the match midway, also got into the flow of the game, played well, and it was truly a victory earned by everyone.
After the match, Coach Miyazawa conveyed to the players, "Everyone fought hard and played a passionate game both in offense and defense. Starting tomorrow, we will face stronger teams, but let's work hard to improve our performance and turn it into results."
The victory in the important first match was the result of the team coming together as one.
Starting tomorrow, we will face even more challenging matches, but we will do our best to achieve good results and gain valuable experience.
