Compete and win in a 1-1 situation, always aiming for victory!

　Sec. 10 of the league will be playing against Nagoya Grampus Eight at home. We will enter the Golden Week consecutive matches and continue with a tough schedule, but we want to turn the momentum gained from the previous match against Yokohama in the Nabisco Cup into a victory and make a comeback. It will be an important match towards breaking the losing streak.

　Nagoya, who is currently in 14th place with 2 wins, 4 draws, and 3 losses, is also struggling to ride the wave. However, they have a strong attacking lineup with FW Tamada, FW Sugimoto, skilled MF Nakamura, Fujita, Yamaguchi, Honda, and others. In addition, although coach Vergoossen will be suspended from the bench for this match, coach Verdenik said, "That doesn't mean the game will be easy," suggesting that it will be a difficult match. The opponent should also be desperate to produce results and come at us.

　To surpass that momentum, it is important to first not lose in one-on-one situations. Then, take the initiative and push the whole team forward to score the first goal. In defense, we want to seal Nagoya's speedy attacking lineup and keep them from scoring. Shigeno also expressed his determination, saying, "The opposing forwards are scary when they face forward, so we want to shut them down early." In the pre-match locker room, Doi and Miura took the lead in encouraging the team. Coach Garo also said, "Today is an important match. Let's concentrate and fight," and sent the players onto the pitch. The match started at Ajinomoto Stadium, which had cleared up after the daytime rain, at 19:04 Tokyo kickoff time.

Lucas takes control and scores 2 goals from an ideal flow!

　From the start, both teams showed their fighting spirit with fast-paced attacks and defenses. In the 3rd minute, Nagoya launched a counterattack, with midfielder Honda sprinting up the left side and crossing the ball. Forward Tamada jumped in with a header, hitting the post with his shot. It was a moment of suspense, but in the next scene, Tokyo quickly turned the tables and Kajiyama took a mid-range shot. In the 10th minute, Nagoya's midfielder Yamaguchi made a through pass and forward Sugimoto made a run, but he was offside. In the 12th minute, Tokyo created an opportunity with Kajiyama's through pass and Imamura making a run, but the ball drifted and went to the opponent.

　Just as Tokyo took the lead in the 14th minute, Lucas sent a long pass to the front, which Akamine firmly received and expanded to the right. Kawaguchi, who had drifted to the side, crossed the ball, and Lucas jumped in and scored with a header! He scored a powerful opening goal. In the following 17th minute, this time Lucas passed to Suzuki on the left from the midfield. Suzuki lifted an early cross, and Lucas, who matched it, shook his head again! The ball skimmed past Nagoya GK Narazaki's fingertips and went into the goal. With Lucas's two goals, they quickly extended their lead in the early stages.

　After that, Lucas, the attacking midfielder, continued to function. Miyazawa and Kajiyama also boldly attacked and initiated movements in coordination with the forward line and the sides. In the 23rd minute, Tokunaga was surrounded in his own half, but Imano provided support and cleanly regained possession, immediately making a through pass to the forward line. Kawaguchi made a run but was caught offside, yet it was a promising attacking play. In the 31st minute, Tokunaga caught up with a deep pass on the right side and boldly made a move inside. He was fouled, resulting in a free kick, and then a left corner kick, but they couldn't convert it into a finish from there.

　On the other hand, Nagoya also strengthened their midfield by pushing up left SB Abe and marking Lucas with MF Kan, changing their formation to a 3-back to counterattack. In the 36th minute, they were attacked by a wave of attacks as FW Sugimoto cut into the area. From there, MF Nakamura crossed from the right, and Doi jumped out to catch it, but it slipped away in a collision with the opponent. FW Tamada, who closed in on the area, had his shot blocked by Tokunaga, who quickly got into position, but the ball ended up in front of MF Yamaguchi, who was free in front of the goal. However, Doi made a sharp save to prevent a decisive shot! He bravely defended the goal and went into the second half with a 2-point lead.

Hold Nagoya's counterattack to one goal and snatch victory

　Nagoya made a substitution in the second half, replacing Abe with MF Yoshimura in the defensive midfield position. They seized an opportunity at the beginning. In the 47th minute, FW Tamada exchanged passes with MF Kin on the left side and cut inside the box to take a shot. Doi made a save, resulting in a corner kick. The kick was initially cleared, but it was picked up again, and Tamada took a sliding shot from a very close distance in front of the goal. However, Doi kicked it away with his foot and prevented the goal from being scored.

　In the midst of a fast-paced exchange of offense and defense, Tokyo created opportunities through Kajiyama's aggressive play. In the 51st minute, Kajiyama intercepted the ball in the opponent's territory and charged towards the goal. He faced the goalkeeper one-on-one, but his shot was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 59th minute, Miyazawa's sharp left cross found Kajiyama, who was free on the right side of the penalty area. Kajiyama controlled the ball with one touch and volleyed a shot, but once again, goalkeeper Narazaki made the save. In the 60th minute, after Mogi's attacking run, Akamine headed the ball from Kawaguchi's fast cross, but missed the goal and no additional points were scored.

　In the 74th minute, Lucas, who injured his leg, was replaced by Inoha in the defensive midfield position. Kajiyama moved up one row. In the 75th minute, Rychely came in to replace Kawaguchi. The game continued with a quick exchange of attacks and defenses. In the 83rd minute, Nagoya Grampus brought in forward Fujita and defender Koga moved up to the front line, launching a power play. In response, Tokyo brought in Miura to stabilize the flow and aim to neutralize Nagoya's counterattack.

　However, in the 87th minute, Suzuki's left cross reached Akamine in front of the goal, but both of them failed to take a shot and were counterattacked. Although it was cleared once, it was passed to Nagoya MF Yoshimura, who was free in the midfield, and he took a shot from mid-range. The powerful shot grazed Shigeki's head and went into the goal. The deficit was reduced to one. After that, intense attacks and defenses continued, but everyone defended the goal with their bodies and the time was up. They achieved a long-awaited victory by combining the strength of everyone!

　[Player Comments]《Lucas》"In the first half, we were able to play as we intended. In the second half, we had some good opportunities, but it became difficult as we couldn't score. Not just this time, but in the past, there have been many crosses coming in from Suzuki and Tokunaga. I'm glad we were able to convert one today. In soccer, there are times when the performance is good, but the results don't follow. However, we are improving. No matter what team it is, it can be difficult to adjust when the system changes. But we are gradually understanding the new system. We will continue to face tough matches and schedules, but we want to play well and achieve results. Today I played as a midfielder, but during attacks, I fight with the same mindset as a forward. In defense, I am helped by Kawaguchi and Akamine who chase the ball for us."《Doi》"Last time, we had a good performance but didn't get the results, so I'm glad we got the results today. The team is moving in a good direction. This victory will lead to confidence. We conceded a goal at the end, but conceding is something that happens in soccer. More than that, we want to accumulate points. Before the match, we all talked about 'not losing to ourselves.' Today we were focused and put our bodies on the line. We want to continue this and play the same soccer away as we did today."

　[Summary of Coach Garo's Press Conference] "The match against Yokohama FM was also a good game, but unfortunately, we didn't get the result. Today we were able to achieve a result and it was a good match. The players showcased their technique, connected passes, and fought with focus. However, while we started well in the early part of the first half, we lost our marking towards the end, and our rhythm was poor. In the second half, Nagoya, who were behind, applied pressure from the front and created good opportunities, but we were able to defend against that. Both Nagoya and we had chances in the second half, but if we had scored one more goal, it would have been 3-0 and we would have been more comfortable. Instead, we conceded a goal to Nagoya at the end, which made it difficult. It was a match where we could have scored more goals. Nagoya was a good team, but I think we also played well. (Regarding Lucas's use in the attacking midfield position) For crosses, I instructed the two forwards, Kawaguchi and Akamine, plus Lucas, to aim for goals with three players. It was good that Lucas was able to score. Our defense was also effective and outstanding."

　[Summary of Coach DWIGHT's Press Conference at Nagoya] "First of all, I apologize for the absence of Coach VERGOOSSEN here. Today, we considered using a 4-4-2 system to counter Tokyo's diamond-shaped midfield 4-4-2. We aimed to defend aggressively from the front and not give the opponent any space. However, after conceding two goals, the situation changed, and we had no choice but to switch to a 3-5-2. We created several good chances, but it was too late to pull one back. The issue in the first half was that Tokyo's midfield was diamond-shaped, and Lucas was always free. It would have been better if we had pushed the midfield up properly, but we ended up defending while falling back, allowing them to be free. Since we couldn't respond to that, we assigned MF Kan to Lucas, moved DF Abe up a line, and brought MF Yamaguchi inside to switch to a 3-5-2. After that, I think we gradually improved. Today, the 4-4-2 did not function, but in the match against C Osaka, we were able to defend from the front in the same formation. The inability to do that today was the reason for our defeat."