Maintain good form and aim for a 3-game winning streak!

　Sec. 12 will welcome Omiya Ardija at home. It is a crucial match that we want to end the last league game before the break with a victory, taking advantage of the momentum of two consecutive wins. On the other hand, Omiya is currently in 12th place. After winning against Yokohama FM in Sec. 7, they have been struggling with 3 consecutive losses, with a draw in between. However, in the last match against Hiroshima, they dominated the game but suffered a defeat by conceding a single chance. Coach Garro also analyzed that they are a team with technique, good passing, and the ability to control the game, even among J-League teams.

　Especially with the highly accurate MF Kobayashi Da at the center of the kick, it's scary when they ride the momentum with the keep power of MF Fujimoto and Kobayashi Yoshiyuki. Attention is also needed for the set plays that they initiate. On the other hand, Tokyo wants to take control in the midfield by utilizing the mobility of the front line, including Lucas and the two top players. They aim to take the lead and proceed with the game in their favor to achieve victory.

　Manager Garo spoke about the factors behind the team's good form, saying, "In the four months since I took office, the players have understood my tactics very well." Literally, Garo's soccer has begun to permeate the team, but when it comes to achieving a "three-game winning streak," they haven't been able to do it in the past. If we only look at league matches, we have to go back to the 2nd stage of 2002 (from the 8th round against Sapporo to the 11th round against Sendai, including a victory with a V goal in the 9th round against Kobe) to find a four-game winning streak. Today, taking advantage of the home advantage, we aim for a three-game winning streak in the league for the first time since 2002.

　The starting lineup is the same as the previous match against Kofu. Additionally, Toda, who has been absent from the team since the preseason, has returned and made his first appearance on the bench this season. Omiya has set up a 4-4-2 formation with FW Grau and tall FW Morita as the two forwards, and a box-shaped midfield. Before the match, a ceremony was held to celebrate Miyazawa's 100th appearance in J1 league matches this season. The match kicked off at Ajinomoto Stadium under clear skies at 15:04 with Omiya's kickoff.

Lucas scores the first goal with a penalty kick! Despite dominating Omiya afterwards...

　Omiya took a shot at the start. In the 1st minute, FW Grau cut in from the left side and swung his right foot. In the 3rd minute, midfielder Davidson Jun Marcus aimed from the middle. However, both attempts were single shots and lacked threat. Tokyo created a decisive chance in the 4th minute. Tokunaga dribbled up the right side, evaded Kawaguchi with a one-two pass, and received a return pass inside the box. From there, he sent a fast ground cross directly in front of the goal. However, just before Akamine and Lucas could connect, the Omiya defender cleared the ball and it resulted in a corner kick.

　At 6 minutes, we got a free kick on the left side of the opponent's field. Jean jumped in from the area to meet Miyazawa's long kick. The shot hit the right post and bounced back, and the opponent's defender tripped Jean, who was trying to get up quickly and follow up, resulting in a penalty kick. At 8 minutes, Lucas scored it perfectly and took the lead already! With Lucas scoring in three consecutive games, the team's morale is high, and Tokyo has completely taken control of the game. They took control in the midfield, attacked from both sides in high positions, and created numerous chances.

　13 minutes, Kawaguchi connects from Akamine's post, Miyazawa takes a middle shot. In the 15th minute, Lucas -> Akamine on the left side -> Kajiyama in the center expands to the right. Tokunaga runs into the goal and takes a powerful shot directly, creating a decisive opportunity from a wide attack, but it was blocked by the good save of the opponent's goalkeeper Aratani. In the 16th minute, Konno, who advanced into the area, receives a pass and crosses it back in front of the goal. Akamine meets the sharp cross, but it goes just outside the frame.

　23 minutes, Omiya launches a counterattack from a free kick. Kawaguchi, who broke through the front line, keeps the ball after receiving a precise long feed from Miyazawa and passes it to Suzuki who came up from the left. Suzuki takes a shot from just outside the area with speed, but once again the opposing goalkeeper makes a save. Kawaguchi follows up with a shot, but it goes over the bar. In the 29th minute, Kawaguchi drifts to the right from a free kick and sends a ground cross to the front of the goal. Jean swings his leg in front of the goal, but the goalkeeper catches it. The team continues to create chances but struggles to convert them.

　At 34 minutes, Shigeki Shigeno, who was chasing the opponent, injured the back of his right thigh and was substituted. Masushima was brought in. However, without being shaken by this incident, they firmly held back Omiya's attacks in defense. At 38 minutes, they launched a counterattack from Omiya's corner kick. At 42 minutes, Omiya's midfielder Fujimoto entered the area and connected with forward Grau and midfielder Yoshiyuki KOBAYASHI, but Jean cut it off and launched a quick attack. However, they were ultimately unable to score an additional goal, and the first half ended with a score of 1-0.

Conceded a goal from a set piece and suffered a heartbreaking comeback defeat

　In the second half, Omiya substituted FW Sakurai and MF Saito. Sakurai was placed as an attacking midfielder, forming a lineup with FW Grau + FW Morita + MF Kobayashi as the front three. Tokyo was unable to respond to this change and started to be pushed back. In the 54th minute, Omiya launched a wave of attacks. Crosses were continuously sent in from the right and left, and finally FW Morita headed a shot. However, the ball was caught firmly by goalkeeper Toi with his body in front.

　In the 55th minute, Tokyo substituted Rychely for Akamine, and in the 60th minute, Inoha was substituted for Kawaguchi in the defensive midfield. Kajiyama moved up one line to try to regroup with player substitutions. Immediately after each substitution, in the 55th minute, Mashima had a heading shot from the left corner kick. In the 60th minute, Imakano -> Jean scored with a header from the right corner kick, but both shots narrowly missed the target. On the other hand, Tokyo increasingly prevented Omiya's aggressive attacks by committing fouls, resulting in many free kicks and corner kick opportunities.

　However, the final line held firm and defended well. In the 76th minute, Omiya's right throw-in led to a powerful shot from MF Kobayashi Daiki, who received a through pass from FW Grau and entered the penalty area. The shot was saved by Doi, resulting in a corner kick. From this corner kick, Omiya's DF Tomita scored a header, equalizing the score. After that, Omiya continued to attack, while Tokyo tried to counter using Rychely's speed to exploit spaces.

　In the 89th minute, Suzuki, who was attempting a breakthrough, was fouled and earned a free kick from about 20 meters outside the left area. Kajiyama aimed directly but couldn't find the target. Nevertheless, Omiya's attack didn't stop, and as the game approached the 3-minute stoppage time, a free kick was awarded to Omiya outside the left area. It was a tense moment, but MF Kobayashi took this free kick and his sharp shot trajectory went into the top left corner of the goal... They conceded a goal just before the end and the time was up. They suffered a regrettable comeback defeat. As a result, they enter the break period in the league with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 5 losses in 12 matches, leaving the Nabisco Cup remaining.

　【Player Comments】《Imano》"There were a lot of Omiya players in the midfield, so we couldn't go for the ball. I also had to drop back to the defensive line, and Kajiyama, Miyazawa, and Tokunaga had no choice but to drop back as well. We were focused on defending and couldn't threaten the opponent. Each of us needs to be more proactive in shouting and aggressively going for the ball, and then connect it to the attack. We couldn't make that adjustment during the game."《Tokunaga》"In the first half, we couldn't score when we had to, and we lost our pace. We tried to score the second goal, but couldn't finish it and lost the momentum. I had a chance too, but if I had scored there... In the second half, the opponent's passing was good, and we had no choice but to defend. We need to avoid making the same mistakes next time. Switching focus is important, so I want to make solid adjustments during this week."

　[Summary of Coach Garo's Press Conference] "In the first half, we created the shape we wanted, took the lead with one goal, and had many chances. However, with so many chances created, we needed to score an additional goal. I mentioned this at halftime as well. In the second half, Omiya, who was losing, came at us aggressively, and our rhythm was disrupted. We couldn't mark as tightly in midfield as we did in the first half, and we gave them space. At that point, I brought in Inoha and tried to apply pressure again. At the same time, I introduced Rychely to utilize his speed. Unfortunately, we couldn't change the rhythm. We had a really good fight in the first half, but we dropped off in the second half; however, it was a match that we could have at least drawn. It's disappointing that we couldn't do that. (What is the condition of Moniwa's injury? Did his substitution have an impact?) At this point, we won't know until we conduct tests. Moniwa is an important player for the team, but including the fact that we couldn't mark properly, his absence was not the reason for our defeat. Masushima, who came on as a substitute, also played well. (Having completed a third of the league matches, what points should be corrected during the break?) The Nabisco Cup is still remaining. The conditions are tough, but as long as there is a chance, we are not giving up on advancing in the qualifiers. I want to think about the points to correct during the break after it is over."

　【Summary of Omiya Coach Miura's Press Conference】 "FC Tokyo has changed coaches, and their style has started to take root. In response, we confirmed our defensive and offensive strategies before entering the match. However, we ended up being passive. Especially in defense, it wasn't about blaming anyone, but we lacked aggression. Setting aside the penalty we conceded, we were completely dominated by Tokyo. Losing 0-1 in the first half was reasonable, and if we had conceded a second goal there, it would have been a very difficult situation. Since the content was poor, I decided to make two substitutions to change our approach. I brought in FW Sakurai and MF Saito, placing Sakurai in the attacking midfield role. In the first half, the support from FW Morita and FW Grau was too far away, so I thought we should have one player in the attacking midfield. Also, considering that if we conceded a second goal, the game would be over, I brought in MF Saito, who can control the defense. Thanks to these two, I believe the flow of the game changed dramatically. Even after equalizing, we had no intention of defending and didn't want to break the good flow. The fact that the players maintained the attitude of 'let's go for the goal' was significant. (Was there a lot of long throws?) When we have tall players in the front line, I always try to play simply. From there, we aimed to pick up second balls, and FW Morita and FW Wakabayashi entered the area to instill fear in the opponent. After all, you can't score unless you get into the area. In the previous match, we completely lacked that, so I instructed the wide players to deliver crosses early. (In the end, we were helped by Daigo Kobayashi?) Both teams had chances from set pieces. The result is influenced by whether or not there are players who can finish. Not just him, but in other teams as well, there are many games where a decisive striker helps even when the content is poor. After all, players who can score are valuable in soccer. Recently, we have been playing evenly matched games, but we weren't getting results, and it was easy to become negative. We knew that FC Tokyo wouldn't easily lose if they took the lead, so in that sense, it was a valuable victory. I am satisfied with our performance in the second half."