Aiming for a third consecutive victory by defeating the in-form Shimizu

　Sec. 20 of the J1 League is an away match against Shimizu S-Pulse. In the previous match against Fukuoka, although the opponent had a player sent off and we had a numerical advantage, we were able to dominate Fukuoka with a fast attack based on defensive play from the front line, including goals from set pieces, and won 5-1. In addition to the previous match against Chiba, the entire team is showing a spirited and passionate fight.

　Shimizu is currently in 4th place with 11 wins, 2 draws, and 6 losses. In the previous match against Oita, they ended in a 3-3 draw, failing to achieve a 5-game winning streak, but the mental damage should be minimal as they managed to equalize in the late stages. Especially in home games, they have shown overwhelming strength with 7 wins and 2 losses so far, and have been undefeated since the 7th section against Oita. Coach Kuramata says, "Shimizu has scoring power, but they are actually a team with few goals conceded and a good defense. We want to take the opportunity when fatigue sets in and not disrupt our own rhythm."

　Tokyo, the members remain the same as the previous match. Due to the consecutive matches in two days, they have been focusing on adjusting their condition during practice. Manager Kuramata has no worries at all, saying, "It would be a lie to say that there is no fatigue, but there are no players who are severely dropping their form." Against Shimizu's solid defense, if they exploit the space between the defenders and midfielders and Lucas and Akamine become the starting point in the front line, and repeatedly challenge from the sides, they should be able to create chances. They also want to aim for goals from set plays, just like in the previous match.

　In the past, we have to go back to the 2002 2nd stage to find a 3-game winning streak, but by valuing the current momentum and fighting together as a team without losing focus, there is a good chance of winning against the strong Shimizu. The match started at 7:04 pm with a kickoff in Tokyo at the Nihondaira Stadium, where a pleasant breeze was blowing.

Given a penalty kick just before the end, they go into halftime trailing by one point.

From the start of the first half, Shizuoka has been pushing forward with the support of the home crowd, and they are dominating the game. In the 3rd minute, FW Cho Je-jin breaks free from a long pass from the left side and takes a shot while carrying Jean on his back, but it goes over the bar. In the 6th minute, Tokyo intercepts Lucas' pass and connects with Akamine, Kajiyama, and Ishikawa, ultimately winning a corner kick on the right side using Tokunaga. Akamine heads Kajiyama's kick, but the distance to the goal is too far and the opponent's defender clears it. Despite facing tough marking from the front line and waiting for a chance, Shizuoka's offensive continues.

　10 minutes, from the throw-in, left MF Fujimoto's cross, MF Hyodo, who had been closing in on the goal, takes a free header shot. It goes wide to the right. In the 12th minute, it was judged that Tokunaga fouled MF Fujimoto inside the penalty area, giving Shizuoka a penalty kick, but FW Marquinhos' kick goes well over the bar. Tokyo gradually takes control after preventing this absolute pinch.

At 15 minutes, Akamine, starting from Kajiyama, persistently connected while being brought down by the defender in the opponent's territory, and Kawaguchi brought it to the front line. Kajiyama ran into the center for a pass and took a shot, but unfortunately it went to the left of the goal. At 16 minutes, Akamine received a pass from the right side. From a post-play, he turned towards the goal and took a shot, but the goalkeeper caught it. At 18 minutes, Ishikawa drifted to the left side and crossed the ball, and Lucas connected with a header in the penalty area, and Akamine took a direct shot from the right area, but it went high.

　However, from the midfield to the front line, Shimizu freely changed positions and surpassed Tokyo in ball possession. In the 21st minute, FW Marcinhos scored a goal from the front of the goal. In the 26th minute, midfielder Edamura took a shot from a close distance. In the 29th minute, FW Marcinhos, who received a through pass, turned towards the goal and took a shot. It was a decisive moment, but they couldn't score.

　After that, Shimizu took the initiative and launched an attack, while Tokyo capitalized on few chances through concentrated defense, counterattacks, and set plays. The first half ended with both teams scoreless, but in stoppage time, an unexpected goal was conceded. From Shimizu's right corner kick, Tokunaga received his second warning and was sent off after a contest in front of the goal. Shimizu was awarded their second penalty kick of the day, which was converted by forward Cho Je-jin, and the game ended shortly after.

Despite attacking until the end without giving up, they were unable to score and suffered a defeat.

　Tokyo substituted Inoha for Akamine in the second half. Lucas played as the lone striker. Despite being at a numerical disadvantage, the team aimed to stabilize the defense first, launch counterattacks opportunistically, and switch to an endgame strategy if they were still losing. As expected, Shizuoka dominated possession from the start, but Tokyo's backline held firm and prevented any additional goals. On the other hand, Tokyo launched counterattacks in response.

　51 minutes, Jean heads the ball from Kajiyama's kick after Kawaguchi's ground cross from the left side, but fails to hit the target. In the 58th minute, a counterattack starts with Lucas as the starting point. Kawaguchi is fouled on the left side, resulting in a free kick. Lucas jumps in to meet Kajiyama's sharp kick, but fails to connect. In the 61st minute, Ishikawa is fouled while trying to regain possession of the opponent's ball and earns a free kick from the central position 27-8m away. Ishikawa takes a direct shot at the goal, but it goes well above the crossbar.

　The situation remained unchanged, and with 15 minutes remaining, Tokyo made a move while still in a stalemate. Miyazawa was substituted for Kawaguchi. Ishikawa was moved to the front line, with the midfield consisting of three players. Just as they thought things were about to change, an accident allowed the opposing team to score an additional point. In the 77th minute, Inoha was taken down after colliding with the opponent, and Shimizu's forward, Jesiel, scored a spectacular goal, resulting in the second point being taken away.

　Despite being tired towards the end of the consecutive two-day matches, all players chased after the ball from the front. They continued to attack without giving up until the end, with Lucas and Ishikawa taking shots, but they were unable to break through the goal and the game ended. In the end, they were unable to recover from the disadvantage against Shimizu's momentum and suffered a defeat.

　【Player Comments】《Miyazawa》"We changed our system to cope with being one player down, but that created space in the midfield, and we ended up allowing the opponent to pass the ball around more. The coach told me, 'To score a goal, make a pass that gets Nao running!' but I found myself often under pressure defensively and couldn't even touch the ball. From the first half, Shimizu's defense was solid, and I thought it would be difficult to break through while connecting plays, but I wanted to create plays that could lead to a goal from Nao's side. At 0-1, the outcome was still uncertain, but it became tough after they scored the second goal. Everyone was putting their bodies on the line and working hard, but in that second goal situation, we should have communicated and defended until the whistle blew. My entry was a substitution to score a goal. If it doesn't lead to victory, it has no meaning. For me, it's a big shock. I really wanted to win." 《Masushima》"I was prepared to come on at any time. I was thinking about not conceding a goal, but it's disappointing that we lost. However, even with one player down, I felt the desire to attack, and I think the content was different from before. Personally, I haven't been able to deliver results, but I want to stay positive and not dwell on it."

　[Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "From the beginning, we wanted to attack behind the Shizuoka defense, but it didn't go well. On the contrary, they quickly put the ball on top and created dangerous situations by picking up the loose balls in the second row. In response, we tried to squeeze the midfield to some extent and compete, but due to an accident, one player was sent off and the overall game plan changed. In the late stages of the second half, we tried to make a comeback with a two-top formation, but immediately after that, we conceded another goal when a player's foot stopped due to a foul. (We brought Ishikawa forward from the second half, but?) We switched to a two-top formation and changed the midfield from four to three to compete. With Lucas as the lone striker, the marking became tight and he couldn't hold the ball, so we changed to two strikers to take a gamble. However, we conceded a goal the moment we made the change, and it backfired."

　【Summary of Shimizu and Coach Hasegawa's Press Conference】 "I really want to praise the defense today. They did well to keep a clean sheet. That was the key to our victory today. From the start, there was a heavy atmosphere as we had chances and a penalty but couldn't convert. Although FW Cho scored the penalty, we missed a big chance at the beginning of the second half. FC Tokyo formed a solid block, and we were countered a few times in strange ways. There were some tense moments, but the defense held strong until the final whistle, preventing Tokyo's attacks. I believe this was the biggest reason for our victory. In a match like today, even if we score one goal, we could easily be turned around and lose, which I felt was a bad flow, but everyone stayed focused until the end. After the draw, we managed to turn it into a win. Even during the bad flow, we patiently believed in the players and fought with perseverance. From around the 20-minute mark, we started to control the ball at our own pace, and from then on, I could watch with peace of mind. We are able to play soccer in a good atmosphere. Although it was a game after traveling and the players were tired, they wanted to play an intense game in front of many home supporters, and the momentum to push forward has strengthened. This is the reason we are winning."