Aiming for victory in a difficult away match!

　Sec. 11 of the J1 League is an away match against Ventforet Kofu. They will be heading to the Kose Sports Park Athletics Stadium for the first time since April 18, 2001 (Nabisco Cup Kofu match). In the previous match against Nagoya Grampus, Tokyo dominated the game from start to finish, with Lucas scoring two goals from side attacks, which was an ideal development. With this momentum, they aim to achieve their first away victory of the season.

　Kofu is currently in 13th place with 3 wins, 2 draws, and 5 losses. Although they are a team that has been promoted to J1 this season, they are not an easy opponent, as they have defeated top teams like Kawasaki and Yokohama FM. Ace forward Vale, who was absent in the previous match, returns to the starting lineup, and the team lines up in a 4-3-3 formation with forwards Ishihara and Uruno. They will press from the front with unified intentions to win the ball and launch counterattacks. They also have strong attacks from the midfield and sides, with depth. Coach Garo is cautious, saying, "Kofu is strong both physically and in pressing. They will come at us aggressively, especially fueled by the energy of their home stadium."

　Tokyo, on the other hand, needs to switch quickly between offense and defense and gain an advantage in the midfield in order to win. From there, they want to bring about side attacks like they showed in the Nagoya game. It is important to challenge with even more determination rather than just defending against Kofu's aggressive approach. Although there are concerns about their condition due to consecutive matches, Kajiyama confidently says, "We have been able to take the initiative here recently. We can also initiate attacks from our defense, so we are not tired. It's okay."

　The starting members are the same as the Nagoya game. Makoto IMANO, who injured his left knee during practice on Jan 1 (Mon), had a separate menu but it was not serious. We want to achieve consecutive victories before the break in order to advance to the top. Let's seize 3 points away this time! The temperature is 22.4℃, the sunlight is strong, and it feels hot at the Kose Athletics Stadium. The game started at 2:04pm with the kickoff in Tokyo.

Although we took control of the pace in the early stages, we ended the first half while allowing the opponent to take the lead.

　From coach Garo: "Even on a holiday, so many fans came to the away game. We cannot afford to have a shameful match." Tokyo gains momentum from the start of the game. In the 1st minute, Suzuki attacks from the left side and wins a corner kick. The kick he takes himself is saved by the opponent's goalkeeper, but Kajiyama picks up the rebound and takes a powerful shot, which is also saved by the goalkeeper. Then, they suffer a counterattack from Kofu, but they steal the ball and Kawaguchi enters the shooting position on the left side of the area, only to be called offside.

　7 minutes, chance for a free kick from the right side of the opponent's field. Miyazawa's kick is blocked by the wall. In the 12th minute, Lucas sends a lobbed through pass in front of the goal. Miyazawa jumps out, but the opponent's goalkeeper catches it one step ahead. In the 15th minute, a free kick from the right side. Miyazawa aims directly but is blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's great save, resulting in a left corner kick. From that corner kick, Kawaguchi takes a direct shot from the right side of the area. However, it is blocked by the Kofu defender.

　23 minutes, right corner kick is taken. Kawaguchi picks up the loose ball and Miyazawa initiates a left corner kick. Kajiyama picks up Miyazawa's kick clearance, evades the opponent's defender, and takes a middle shot! It flew perfectly into the bottom left corner of the goal, but once again, it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's excellent play and did not result in a goal... In the 26th minute, Suzuki breaks through to the middle and Akamine drops the ball, Lucas takes advantage of his speed and shoots. However, it goes over the bar. Despite completely dominating, they fail to make a decisive strike.

　And in the 29th minute, Tokyo was caught off guard and allowed the opening goal from Kofu FW Uruno on a counterattack. After that, the momentum shifted to Kofu's pace as if it was all a lie. In the 31st minute, FW Vale made a shot, and in the 32nd minute, FW Hosaka also took a shot. The marking in the midfield became lax, and Tokyo was pushed back by Kofu's strong attack.

　Tokyo also tries to counterattack, albeit few. In the 39th minute, Miyazawa shoots from the right side of the area with an overhead style, but the goalkeeper catches it. In the 42nd minute, Kawaguchi's shot from the right side after a quick attack goes over the goal. Despite that, Tokyo couldn't score against Kofu's resilient defense and went into the second half trailing by one goal.

Kawaguchi, Lucas's goal leads to a comeback! Achieving the first away victory of the season

　In the second half, Rychely was substituted for Akamine. "The coach Gallo instructed to aim for the space behind the opponent's defense," but Kofu continued to dominate the game with the same momentum as the first half. In the 49th minute, Kofu's midfielder Yasuhisa dropped a pass from the right side, and forward Ishihara took a powerful shot. In the 54th minute, the loose ball was picked up in the midfield, and Kofu's left full-back Yamamoto passed to midfielder Yasuhisa in the front line, but Doi caught it quickly. In the 57th minute, Kofu launched a counterattack, and the right side forward volleyed to the center forward Ishihara, who took a shot but it went to the right.

　In the 61st minute, Kofu quickly passed the ball and FW Uruno broke free on the front line. Doi also came out and a decisive shot was taken, but the ball hit the bar! It was a development that could have allowed an additional point at any time, but they managed to hold on, centered around Doi. Tokyo also brought in Ozawa to replace Miyazawa, and he aggressively moved around in both attack and defense, starting to connect passes to Kawaguchi and Rychely on the front line. Gradually, they began to regain their rhythm, possibly due to fatigue on Kofu's side.

　Then in the 62nd minute, Lucas skillfully evaded the opponent's defender on the left side and connected with Rychely. Rychely played a strong ground pass in front of the goal. The ball flowed to the far side and Kawaguchi scored, equalizing the game. With this equalizing goal, Tokyo completely took control of the game. In the 63rd minute, Ozawa missed a diving volley from Tokunaga's cross on the right side, going wide to the right of the goal. In the 73rd minute, Shigeno fed the ball to the left front line. Kawaguchi attempted to break through, cut back the opponent's defender, and took a shot from inside the box! The ball narrowly missed the goal frame. In the 75th minute, Kajiyama dribbled from Suzuki's corner kick to the left side. Lucas in front of the goal perfectly headed the ball from Suzuki's kick, finally scoring the winning goal.

　Kofu also attacks from the starting point of FW Valley. In the 78th minute, a shot from the right area is spilled and passed to FW Yamazaki in the left area, but Tokunaga prevents him from shooting by getting close to his body. In the 80th minute, a through pass is passed to FW Valley, who ran through the area, and it was a decisive scene, but the shot does not meet. In the 82nd minute, Inoha is substituted for Kajiyama, forming a double defensive midfielder with Imakawa, and tries to stop the momentum by picking off the buds of Kofu's attack in the midfield.

　Supported by the home crowd's loud cheers, Kofu launched a counterattack. However, in the 89th minute, Tokyo countered from the right side with a ball played behind the opponent's defense by Ozawa. Kawaguchi caught up with the ball and sent a cross to the far side. Lucas, who was unmarked, received the ball and aimed for the goal with a shot. The ball, which drew a beautiful arc, was sucked into the right side of the goal, sealing the victory. The match ended like this, and Tokyo celebrated their first away win of the season.

　[Player Comments]《Lucas》"My first goal was set up by Norio with a great ball from the corner kick. I was in a different position than usual, but I switched places with Jean and managed to score well. For the second goal, I hesitated whether to shoot or hold the ball at that moment. But since there was a clear path to the goal, I decided to take the shot. Right now, both the team and I are in very good condition. I can play with confidence. Playing as an attacking midfielder for 90 minutes and continuing with back-to-back matches is tough, but I need to build the physicality to handle it. On the other hand, I think I can improve my fitness by continuing to play in matches. I may not be able to score in every game, but I definitely feel that the team is leveling up."《Miyazawa》"After we conceded a goal, Kofu's atmosphere became 'push, push,' and it was intimidating. It would have been better if we could have scored before that. In the 10th minute of the first half, I made a run to the front of the goal to meet Lucas's pass, and I wanted to score there. If I can keep making those runs that surpass the FW, it will create space and help me as well. Today, we developed a fast attack targeting the opponent's DF until the end, but maybe we could have been a bit calmer. However, since Kofu maintained a high DF line throughout, I think this approach was okay for today."

　[Summary of Coach Garo's Press Conference] "We were able to play a very good game. Looking back at the first half, until about the 30-minute mark, we were passing well, controlling the game, creating chances, and had some decisive opportunities. However, we couldn't convert those chances, and due to conceding a goal, the opponent found their rhythm. Our marking in the midfield became lax, and we were dominated. In the second half, we brought in Rychely and launched an attack utilizing his speed, which was very effective. Also, Ozawa did well to mark the opponent and connect the ball. Although we didn't get a result in the last match against Nagoya, we have been able to play well in the last three matches, including the previous Nabisco match against Yokohama. I am happy that we were able to win. (What are the strategies against Kofu?) I considered Kofu to be a very tough opponent, especially at home with the support of many fans. However, we haven't practiced anything specific for that during this series of matches. More importantly, it was about how we play. We aimed to connect the ball well and play our style of soccer. (Regarding the substitution of player Ozawa) Since we were in a losing situation, we brought in Ozawa to connect passes and attack aggressively. Kofu's number 31 (Hayashi) was the key player, so we first needed to mark him. While marking, I instructed to connect passes to Kawaguchi and Rychely. As a result, we were able to score after Ozawa came in, and I believe we were able to contain Kofu's chances."

　[Summary of Coach Oki's Press Conference] "Right from the start, it felt like the opponent had the momentum, and I thought we might be in trouble, but we managed to score a goal from a counterattack and I believe we were able to take control of the pace. After we were equalized in the second half, it gradually turned into a physical battle, and we started to be pushed back. The last goal conceded was unavoidable. It is certain that there is a one-day gap between us and the opponent, but that is not the reason. We simply could not endure. It wasn't that the opponent had many clear chances, and we also created opportunities but couldn't convert them. In other words, it was a difference in finishing ability. Even though we weren't being dominated, it felt like we were. The strength of Tokyo is to push forward. Instead of just responding to the balls that come out, I thought it was important to control the source, so we played without dropping the DF line. We have been in a situation where we can't score while somewhat controlling the pace and have been conceding goals, and the quality of our play has been gradually declining. With two consecutive losses, the mental aspect, including the toughness of the team, is being tested."