What the team needs to do now is to earn points.

　J1 League Sec. 9 was an away game against Oita Trinita. In the previous match against Kashiwa, we attacked rhythmically from the first half and had control of the game, but despite that, we fell into the trap of their defense and counterattacks after conceding the first goal, making it a frustrating match for both the players and the fans. In this match, we challenged with fresh members, including Danilo, who made his first start as a catalyst, and Sakoi, who made his first appearance in the J1 League in 5 years, but we couldn't break the losing streak. Since Manager Hara took over, we had a 3-game losing streak in 2002, but this is the first time we have had a 4-game losing streak. With 3 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses, we are currently in 10th place. We have already played against Oita in the 2nd round of the Nabisco Cup (Ajinomoto Stadium), where we had a scoreless draw against them with 10 players, and we haven't won against Oita, including last season.

　Oita had a tough start to the season, but since April they have had 3 wins and 3 losses. In the previous match, they suffered a comeback loss to Omiya, but before that they had 2 consecutive wins and changed their system to a 4-4-2, which has improved their performance. In particular, their attacking line is in good form. With the fast and skilled FW Magno Alves leading the way, along with new foreign player FW Dodo and the currently in-form FW Nishino, these three players have scored 7 out of the team's 10 goals. Additionally, MF Abe and FW Yoshida contribute to the attack from the left and right sides, creating chances with a balanced approach.

　 　Tokyo, on the other hand, welcomes back Norio Suzuki on the right side after being sidelined due to injury since the Iwata match. With the team continuously losing since Suzuki's absence, he is expected to be a savior-like figure. On the contrary, Kanazawa on the left side is out with a left quadriceps injury, and Noriyuki Suzuki will make his first start of the season in his place. While there may be some concerns about the defense, there is also an increased expectation for chances to be created from the left side in terms of attacking. In addition, there have been changes in the lineup since the previous match. Kurisawa has been replaced by Toda on the left side, and Miyazawa has been replaced by Asari in the defensive midfield, partnering with Konno.

　Although we have slipped into a four-game losing streak, we must believe in our own strength and continue to fight. Kashima has fallen slightly behind in the title race, but the league is still in a tight spot and it will be a tough situation. However, we want to play with all our might and momentum and earn as many points as possible.

　Today's Big Eye closed the roof, so the pitch is windless and humid. The game started at 2:03pm with a kick-off in Tokyo, aiming to break the losing streak.

Launch a fast attack from the side...

　Before leaving the locker room, Doi fired up everyone by saying, "Let's forget everything up to now and go for the win," and that spirit was evident from the start of the match. They stole the ball with intense pressing in the midfield and launched quick attacks from both flanks. Then, in the 6th minute, a big chance arrived. On the left side, Ishikawa and Noriyuki Suzuki broke through and passed to Lucas in the center, who then laid it off to Toda, charging up the right side, for a cross. Ishikawa, waiting for it, took a shot but unfortunately hit the bar. The attacks continued from both sides. In the 11th minute, Toda dribbled from the right side to Ishikawa in the center, but the through pass to Lucas didn't connect. In the 13th minute, a throw-in from Noriyuki Suzuki on the left led to Kondo passing to Toda, who brought it to the center, but they couldn't take a shot. Although Tokyo completely held the initiative in the match, they struggled to find a decisive blow.

Oita slowly circulated the ball with the DF line, and in order to avoid Tokyo's midfield press, they only had a monotonous attack of kicking the ball to the front line FW Magnol Alves and FW Dodo. In the 16th minute, Dodo dribbled into the center and finally Magnol Alves took a shot, but it was cut off by the DF. This seemed to be the only chance in the early stages.

　Toda creates a chance from the left side in the 17th minute, and Ishikawa creates a chance from the right side in the 19th minute, but it doesn't connect with Lucas or Danilo in front of the goal. In the 20th minute, Imakano passes to Kaji on the right side, who crosses it from the end line to the center, but Toda's header misses the goal to the right. In the 22nd minute, Nori Suzuki switches sides with a big pass, but it is cleared once, and Kaji picks it up and passes it to Ishikawa for a one-two, but he misses the goal from outside the penalty area. In the 30th minute, Imakano switches sides from a free kick, and Kaji picks up the cleared ball and dribbles it for a shot, but this time it is saved by the GK.

　In the midst of that, an accident occurs. In the 36th minute, there is a heading contest and Norio SUZUKI dislocates his right shoulder. He returns to the pitch once, but it is determined that he cannot continue playing. In the 44th minute, Noriyuki SUZUKI is substituted in. Towards the end, Toda and Danilo take consecutive shots, but no goals are scored. The first half ends with a score of 0-0.

The difference in scoring ability decided the match, with a loss of 2 points.

　At halftime, Manager Hara's instructions were simple: "Adjust Danilo's positioning and shoot when you can." However, despite everyone's aggressive efforts to score in the second half, another accident occurred. In the 51st minute, Lucas injured his left ankle and was substituted by Baba, changing the formation to have Danilo as the lone striker. However, Tokyo continued to attack Oita's goal without losing their spirits. In the 52nd minute, Baba passed to Ishikawa on the right side for an early cross, but Danilo couldn't connect. In the 53rd minute, Asari dribbled into the center and took a shot from around 25 meters, but it was saved by the GK. Shortly after, Asari passed a liner ball to Danilo from the right side, but he couldn't shoot after heading it back to Toda. In the 56th minute, Asari, Baba, and Danilo combined for a quick direct play in the center, but the GK saved Danilo's shot.

　However, after 60 minutes, due to fatigue from consecutive games and the hot and humid conditions, the pressing from the front line becomes ineffective and there are more scenes where loose balls are taken away. Still, in the 61st minute, Ishikawa directly aims for a free kick from 30m in front of the goal, and in the 65th minute, Asari takes a long shot, but both miss above the goal and they cannot score. Then, in a moment of vulnerability, Oita takes the lead. In the 71st minute, FW Dodo enters the penalty area with a dribble from a counter attack, and although the defense manages to hold him back, FW Magnolauves scores from the loose ball.

　73 minutes, Tokyo substitutes Danilo for Kurisawa and places Baba at the top. However, they are unable to launch effective attacks against Oita, who have gone into defense. Both sides are completely blocked, and even when attacking from the center, they are either intercepted or pushed back by the final line, unable to reach the finish. Then, in the 80th minute, the combination of FW Magnowaubes and Dodo launches a counter attack, resulting in the worst possible outcome of conceding an additional goal.

　Tokyo, which had no choice but to attack, took risks and launched an attack. In the 83rd minute, Kurisawa took a free kick from the left side and the ball went straight into the goal, narrowing the gap to one point and continuing the counterattack. Jean was brought up to the front line and attacked relentlessly, but in the added time, Kurisawa and Jean both missed their shots, sealing the fate of the game with a 1-2 loss. Tokyo attacked with a good rhythm throughout the game, but only managed to score one goal from Kurisawa's set piece. On the other hand, Oita demonstrated their superior finishing ability with two goals from two shots in the second half. In addition, Lucas and Norio Suzuki were both injured and had to leave the game, making the situation even more difficult. However, in the next match, they will face the top-ranked Kashima. It is without a doubt an extremely important game that will determine the fate of the team this season.

　[Player Comments] {Asari} "I think we needed to defend a bit earlier and take one more step forward. In the final stages of the match, there was space to move the ball in the midfield. Creating that kind of space might have been necessary from the first half. (Asari experienced a 7-game losing streak with a draw in 2000, right?) The situation is different from that time. The fact that we have injuries now is also a factor. The content hasn't been consistently bad, so we just have to switch our mindset and keep going." {Kaji} "It has been the case until now, but I think the biggest reason for our defeat today was that we couldn't capitalize on our chances. All the goals we conceded were from counterattacks. For the first goal conceded, I wasn't able to keep up with the man when we were played a one-two. That should be correctable. However, we also needed to increase the time we held onto the ball a bit more. It is a tough time now, but it is a trial that may make Tokyo truly strong. There are definitely times like this. I want to fight hard with the players who are still here. I want us to overcome this together and start again." {Kurizawa} "In terms of participation, I should be able to receive the ball in the midfield, so I tried to distribute it to the sides from there. (For the FK) I kicked it with the feeling of wanting someone to connect with it. I think that not giving up until the end led to the goal, but I really wanted to score the decisive goal... However, I just have to go for it without thinking about unnecessary things. I want to show the desire to win rather than just the technique."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "Recently, the team has been lacking momentum, so we decided to not be afraid and to play the ball forward and follow it. In the first half, especially on the right side, we created some good opportunities. I think there were several good chances, like Ishikawa's shot hitting the bar, but we struggled to convert those chances, which is our current issue. We had many instances where we passed when we should have shot, and shot when we should have passed, leading to a disjointed performance. Early in the first half, Suzuki dislocated his shoulder. He came back once, but it didn't work out. This injury caused the whole team to become unsettled. I told Danilo to get involved with the ball and to receive it in midfield and do his job at halftime. We decided to be patient and see how it went, but in the meantime, Lucas got injured. It was an unexpected injury, and honestly, we were more focused on dealing with injuries than making tactical changes. I thought we could create chances while defending in the second half, but the first goal slipped under the opponent's feet in front of the goal, and for the second goal, we lost the ball poorly while attacking, allowing a clean counterattack, which reflects our lack of strength and a sense that things are not clicking. I wanted to bring Baba and Kurizawa in early, but given the heat and the injuries, and Kaji being back after a long time, we were cautious in our decisions, which is regrettable. However, there are still many matches to come, so we must find a way to overcome this difficult flow."

　[Oita Kwan HWANGBO Director's Press Conference Summary] "We lost to Omiya in the previous away game, so today's match felt really heavy. In these consecutive games, the players' physical strength is really tough, so we changed the players a little today, but it was good. We expected Ishikawa and Kaji on the opponent's right side, but Yoshida has a higher defensive awareness than Abe, so we had Yoshida take care of Kaji. I don't think we completely stopped Tokyo's attack, but in soccer matches, various things happen. The point is how much we can maintain the team's tactics in the midst of that. Today, everyone faithfully defended. Young players like Shibakoya, Fukaya, Komorita, and Pat are working hard and staying calm. There are still mistakes, but we want to reduce them as a future challenge. We still have consecutive games, so we want to prepare and think carefully. The players followed what they prepared and that led to today's victory."

Late Goals Sink TOKYO 

J.League started our markers when they played the one two but that's something we can fix. We need to increase the amount of time in possession a little. Things are difficult now but it's like a test of how strong we can become. This kind of thing will always happen. The players left want to fight together, ride out the slump and make a fresh start.

Kurisawa:
"When I got on the field I aimed to receive the ball in the middle and play it out to the wings. At the free kick I was just hoping somebody would get on the end of it. We fought to the end and that's why we could pull one back but we just couldn't find another goal. More than anything we need to play with desire right now".


F.C. TOKYO manager Hara:
" The team has lost its vigor recently so I told them not to be afraid, to get the ball out to the wings and follow up. In the first half we made several good moves, particularly on the right wing. Ishikawa hit the bar and we had some chances but that's our major problem right now; we just can't take those chances. We're passing when we should shoot and shooting when we should pass. Suzuki was injured and we sent him back on but he couldn't continue and that disturbed our rhythm. Danilo couldn't really get into the game so at half time I told him to drop back to pick up the ball in midfield. We decided to stick with it and see how things developed but then Lucas was injured. We were forced to find a response to that. And then the ball just landed at the striker's feet for the first goal and the second came from a good counter attack after we had lost the ball. What with the injuries, the heat and Kaji's absence for a few games it was a very disappointing game to lose. But the games go on and we'll just have to find some way to overcome this situation ".

Trinita manager Kwan:
"We had lost away to Ardija in our last game and felt today was extremely important. The schedule is tough so I made a few changes and that worked very well. We know all about TOKYO's right side and since Yoshida is better defensively that Abe I sent him out to deal with Kaji. I didn't think we would be able to completely hold the TOKYO attack but you never know what's going to happen during a game and the key point today was how well our tactics would hold up. The players defended very well I think. Shibakoya, Fukaya, Komorida, Patrick and the younger players were all very steady out there. We weren't mistake free but that's something we have to work on from now. There are more games coming up and we want to think about it as we prepare. The players followed our preparations to the letter today and that's how we could gain the victory ".