A battle against arch-rival Kobe, betting on the opening winning streak

Kobe's compatibility is not good. Last year, we played two matches and lost both, and we were overwhelmed by Kobe's intense press from the front line, unable to create attacking opportunities and unable to showcase Tokyo's strengths. It was a somewhat unsatisfactory performance. Kobe's coach, Ryoichi Kawakatsu, played with Tokyo Gas, the predecessor of Tokyo, and is familiar with Tokyo's (i.e. Kiyoshi Okuma's) style of soccer. He is also a J1 coach who knows Okuma's personality and way of thinking the best, making Kobe a difficult and incompatible team for Tokyo to compete against.

However, for Tokyo, this day is an important match that determines the consecutive opening victories. In order to achieve the best opening dash that surpasses last year's 3 consecutive victories in the 1st stage and 5 consecutive victories in the 2nd stage, they couldn't afford to worry about past compatibility and aimed for a victory. In the previous round's home opening match at Tokyo Stadium, they were riding the wave with a dramatic V-goal victory, and the team's atmosphere was good, so they couldn't even think about losing.

On the other hand, Kobe, like Tokyo, also achieved a big victory by defeating Yokohama F.Marinos in the previous match with a dramatic V goal and is riding on a wave of momentum. Furthermore, this day is also the home opening game, so it is a crucial match that cannot be lost. It is expected to be a fierce and intense game where both teams' intentions and determination collide, making it an exciting game.

Struggling against Kobe's counterattack without establishing a base in the front line

Before the match, Coach Okuma's instructions were "Because the opponent's center back and goalkeeper are tall, we need to supply fast balls from the side that can be headed by Lopes or NDAO with a diving header. Also, in building the attack, we need to firmly wedge the ball to Lopes' feet first."

This year, Kobe has a strong center back, Shijikurei, who is 187cm tall, and an experienced Santos who, despite being 40 years old, still shows no signs of decline in the defensive midfield. The defensive strength is higher than last year. As for Tokyo, first of all, they aim to keep the ball to Robisu, who has good ball control, and then break through the sides with attackers like Amaral and Kobayashi, or with attacking participation from side backs like Sato and Fujiyama, or Naito.

However, when the game started, just like last year, due to the intense press throughout the Kobe ground and the slippery ground conditions, the wedge to Lopes did not fit perfectly and the desired attacking shape could not be formed. In a hurry to go forward, even when supplying long balls to Lopes or Amaral in the front line, they were either bounced back by Shijikurei's powerful defense or cut off by the sharp Santos, resulting in a difficult situation of receiving sharp counters.

When Kobe takes the ball, they always go through the game makers, Mochizuki and Daniel, and then distribute the ball to the top to Kazu and Hattori before expanding to the side. In the meantime, Yoshimura and Matsuo from the midfield have been aggressively crossing the ball. In the 9th minute, Hattori aimed for a goal with a high header from a cross from the left side (Tokyo's right side), but it went slightly to the right. In the immediate 13th minute, the same left side was broken through, and a sharp ground cross passed in front of the goal, creating a dangerous situation. Furthermore, in the 17th minute, Shijikurei joined the attack and expanded to the left side, where Matsuo ran in and cut back inside, unleashing a powerful middle shot with his right foot that hit the crossbar. "Kobe is playing the soccer that Tokyo wants to play..." Such developments continued.

Naito's side change and Miura's middle shot

The first chance for Tokyo, who couldn't attack as they wanted, came in the 14th minute. Naito, who had the ball near the center line on the right side, sent a big side change pass to Kobayashi, who ran into the center with a header. Kobayashi dribbled past one player with momentum and took a powerful shot from the front of the goal, but it narrowly missed to the right of the goal. This was the first chance that directly led to a goal opportunity, but Naito's big side change, a veteran move, became an effective attacking option afterwards.

Another player who showed effective movement and provided stimulation in this indecisive situation was Miura. Frustrated by the inability to create a focal point in the front line, Miura gradually began to make runs forward. In the 31st minute, he reacted to a ball played to Ropius from the defensive line. Ropius contested for the ball that spilled loose, and with good positioning, he picked it up and immediately unleashed a powerful mid-range shot, but unfortunately, it was deflected by the Kobe goalkeeper. This bold run, decisiveness, and accurate shot surprised the opponent and gave courage to his teammates. In the 36th minute, Naito took a strong volley from a loose ball following a corner kick, but again, he could not score due to a fine save by the Kobe goalkeeper. Tokyo, gradually gaining momentum, earned a free kick in the center in the 39th minute. Sato carefully aimed and crossed the ball into the goal area, where the rushing Sandro headed it in for a goal!!! Or so it seemed, but for some reason, it was ruled offside. The opening goal became a phantom.

Two goals conceded from regrettable set plays

After 5 minutes into the second half, the game started to move. Kobe conceded a goal from a corner kick to Tsuchiya, falling behind. Due to the movements of Miura and others, the marking on Robisu and Amaral started to shift, and Tokyo gradually found a way to attack. It was a very regrettable goal to concede at such a crucial moment. Immediately after that, taking advantage of the opponent's carelessness, a through pass from Robisu to Amaral who had run forward reached him, but just before the shot, it was cleared by a defender. The game became more intense, and the transition between attack and defense for both teams became faster.

Tokyo is moving here. In the 11th minute of the second half, Kelly was substituted for Sato. Kelly, who has been in Japan for 13 days, immediately showed the difference in level. After entering the right side, Kelly easily broke through the opponent and distributed accurate crosses. Furthermore, not only did he go by himself, but he also broke through the sides one after another with Amaral, Lopes, and others through one-twos, creating chances. In the following 17th minute, Kobaashi was substituted for Kina. Tokyo, who wants to quickly get into rhythm here, aimed for a continuous attack.

However, in the 22nd minute of the second half, Kobe scored an additional goal from a set piece at a time when we had to endure once again. Until then, the defense had been well protected by a high level of concentration and intense play, mainly centered around Sandro and Tetsuya ITO's center backs, despite being broken down on the sides. However, the FK from a deep position on the left side was initially cleared but picked up by the opponent and crossed into the goal area, where it was headed in by "Kobe's King" Kazu, making it a 2-goal difference. Tokyo was perplexed by the ironic and difficult turn of events, conceding goals in periods where they seemed to have grasped the rhythm twice.

Challenges and Expectations

Tokyo, pushed into a difficult situation, brought in Masuda for Asari in the 25th minute, attempting to break through with the same ultra-offensive formation as in the previous match against Verdy. However, there was no space against a completely defensive Kobe, and despite passing the ball outside the penalty area to break through the center or sending crosses from the sides, they struggled to score. Conversely, they continued to face tough situations as Kobe kept the ball in the space left by Asari's absence during counterattacks, wasting time. Nevertheless, Tokyo created chances until the end with several breakthroughs from Kelly and sharp movements from Masuda, aiming for a goal. In stoppage time, Masuda dove to meet a cross from the right by Kina, delivering a powerful header, but this too was stopped by a fine save from the GK. And then the time was up. On this day, it seemed like it was a lucky day for the Kobe GK, who made a series of miraculous plays, but not scoring in the decisive moments of the first half was significant. The situational judgment of Miura and Naito when there was no focal point in the front line, and Kelly's potential, all evoke great expectations for the future. At the same time, the lack of runs into the space on both sides and the low accuracy of crosses in the first half indicate an urgent need for countermeasures. While issues were highlighted, it was a match that also felt promising and exciting for the future.

[Coach Okuma's Comment]

The inability to convert chances in the first half had an impact until the end. It was disappointing to concede a goal due to a lack of concentration from a set piece at a time when we wanted the defense to hold on a little longer.

Today, I instructed the team to focus on attacking from the outside because the opponent's center back is tall. However, after Kelly was substituted in the second half, we were able to launch good attacks. However, towards the end, we became flustered due to the score and time, resulting in many rushed attempts to score, and we were unable to break through. In the future, we want to switch our mindset and prepare to compete in the next match in a good condition.