The joy of defeating a championship contender!

The J1 League, 3rd round, which is two weeks after the previous round, will be an away game against Júbilo Iwata. During these two weeks, Júbilo participated in the Asian Club Championship in Indonesia, and key players such as Nabu, Hattori, and Takahara represented Japan in the match against France. Looking at the starting lineup, all field players are experienced representatives in their respective categories, but fatigue and poor condition due to consecutive matches are also expected. If we are going to strike, now is the time. In the first stage of last year, we undermined this strong team with a thrilling counterattack, but in the second stage, we were defeated, showing the difference in strength. Today, we hope for victory and are curious to see how Tokyo will confront this number one contender.

Tokyo, with Shimodaira making his first appearance this season, formed a double pivot with Asari in the midfield, Miura on the left, and Masuda on the right. Kelly replaced the injured Amaral in the forward position. The match kicked off at Júbilo Iwata Stadium, where the sun had cleared up in the afternoon.

Respond with a tough press that captures the opponent's strengths

As if both teams were demonstrating the importance of today's match with their bodies, a fast and intense play has unfolded from the beginning. Both teams are trying to take control with a tough press. Júbilo has high individual abilities and set plays are also a concern, so they continue to compete for the ball in the midfield, avoiding fouls in dangerous zones. In the midst of that, in the 6th minute, Júbilo sends an exquisite cross from the center's Fujita to the left's Nabe. Nabe dribbles up the left side and sends the ball between Tokyo's GK and DF line. The ball just missed Nakayama's head, but they showed a fast combination play. On the other hand, Tokyo also responded in the 8th minute, as Kelly dribbled up the left side and connected a direct pass from Fujiyama to Shimodaira to Lopes in front of the penalty area, and finally, Masuda took a shot from the right. Unfortunately, it missed to the left of the goal, but they responded firmly.

However, Júbilo gradually breaks through Tokyo's press and goes on the attack. At the 15th minute, from a direct free kick by Nanami to Nakayama. At the 16th minute, from consecutive corners, finally a headed shot by Yu FUJITA, although neither resulted in a goal, they managed to gain the upper hand in the match. On the other hand, Tokyo is not overwhelmed by the fast passing but struggles to enter the opponent's territory. At the 22nd minute, Nanami attempts a middle-range shot with individual skill. At the 27th minute, Oku, positioned deep on the left, sends a long ball to top striker Nakayama, Yu FUJITA connects, and Oku takes another middle-range shot. Mixing short and long passes, their ability to build attacks from anywhere seems to work like a body blow... Immediately after, Tokyo responds as Naito reacts to Shimodaira's pass, runs into the space left open by Júbilo's three-back defense, and prepares to shoot, but the defender cuts it off. Kelly drifts to the side for a wide attack, and Shimodaira tries to initiate from the center, but lacking decisiveness in front of goal, they fail to create a clear chance.

A momentary gap? An accident? Easily allowing the first goal

The accuracy of passes and shots, among other things, Júbilo is not in top form, but Tokyo has been fighting well up to this point. However, in the 28th minute, Sandro passed the ball to GK Doi from a deep position near the goal line, and Júbilo Nakayama chased after it fiercely. Doi kicked the ball in desperation, and it ended up at the feet of Júbilo Takahara. Takahara, who tried to dribble it into the penalty area from the right, was stopped by Doi's foul... In the 29th minute, Júbilo scored a penalty kick obtained from this play, calmly taken by Hattori, and Tokyo conceded the first goal from Nakayama's cunning play.

Once the tension was released for a moment, in the following 30 minutes, Júbilo Nakayama dropped the ball in the post-play and Takahara shot freely. The ball narrowly escaped to the right of the goal, but it became a vulnerable situation that allowed for a decisive chance. However, Tokyo regained their composure and counterattacked. In the 37th minute, Masuda and in the 43rd minute, Miura -> Masuda connected, and Kelly, who had run behind the defensive line from the left penalty area, took a shot but couldn't break the goal. In injury time, Shimohira dived for a header from Masuda's cross on the right, and Robisu followed up, but couldn't take a shot. On the contrary, Júbilo counterattacked quickly, and Takahara flew out behind the Tokyo DF in an offside position and shot freely. However, Tsuchihi made a super save with one hand, and Takahara shot again, but Tsuchihi saved it with his body! Tokyo showed their determination and did not allow an additional goal, ending the first half.

Trampled on the bud of counterattack

Although they conceded the opening goal, the halftime instructions from Coach Okuma were "There is nothing wrong. Keep going as chances will come someday." However, right after the start of the second half, Júbilo's kickoff ball passed to Nakayama running on the left side, and Nishi sprinted with tremendous speed for a side change to the right and took a shot, causing a close call. When Iwata sees an opportunity, even their defenders, including Hattori, dribble up to the penalty area, truly launching an all-out attack and defense. In the 53rd minute, Nakayama once again snatched Naito's back pass and took a shot, but it was caught by Doi. Tokyo counterattacked with a quick attack, and Rokusu in the front line dropped the ball at the post, connecting it to Kelly for a shot. However, they couldn't threaten the goal with their wave-like attacks.

At the 63rd minute, Sato was brought on to replace Asari. Miura was positioned in the center, with Sato on the right and Masuda on the left in the formation. Immediately at the 65th minute, Lins received a through pass from Sato with his back to the goal, turned his body, and took a shot, but the ball went straight to the goalkeeper. However, from around the 70th minute, Tokyo seemed to rush their attacks and lose balance, allowing Júbilo Iwata to create many shooting opportunities. At the 72nd minute, Takahara connected with a cross from Nakanami and Nakayama took a shot. Then at the 73rd minute, Nakayama again faced the goalkeeper one-on-one after Sandro’s clearance error and took a shot. Time passed with Júbilo Iwata’s missed shots providing some relief. At the 74th minute, Kina was brought on for Shimodaira, and at the 83rd minute, Matsuda made his season debut replacing Naito. Sometimes Miura also advanced to the front line, adopting an ultra-offensive formation, but they could not break through the situation. Defensively, they managed to block Júbilo Iwata’s persistent attacks until the end. Although the match content was not bad, the 90 minutes ended without a decisive moment that said, “This is it!”

In the end, the number of shots was 15 for Jubilo and 5 for Tokyo. The numbers clearly showed the difference, but Jubilo's ace, Namiwa, spoke in the post-match hero interview saying, "Tokyo is a well-trained, good team, and it was a tough match," expressing his impression of Tokyo's improved strength compared to last year. Kelly's outstanding technique, Robisu's hold-up play, and the strengthened midfield structure. If the energetic KING Amaral had joined them... Although it's pointless to speculate with "what ifs" here, it was certain that the gap had definitely narrowed compared to last year's encounter. Restart speed, quick transitions, approach to loose balls, passing speed, and awareness of the goal... in all these aspects, Jubilo was slightly ahead, but what is needed to close that gap? Following the loss against Kobe, suffering consecutive defeats was tough, but feeling a "definite sense of progress" even in such a hard match was significant. Confidence in having fought back this far against the Asian champions... The mindset is already set on the next match. The next game is the first home game in three matches. The excitement of March 10th is still fresh in the memories of players, staff, and fans alike. The home ground, Tokyo Stadium, is surely awaiting the return of its "masters." Tokyo, strong at home... Next time, we will definitely win!

[Coach Suzuki's comment]

The team is satisfied with the victory in a tough situation where both the condition and combination were difficult, with a score of 1-0. We must win in any situation. Otherwise, we cannot achieve our goal for this season. In that sense, today's victory is considered a point in this stage.

[Coach Okuma's comment]

I think we were doing well before conceding. In terms of direction, I think we were doing well at the time of the starting lineup. I wanted the substitute players to function a little better. Let's not get discouraged and face the next challenge.