League 6 matches winless... Aiming for 3 points at home

　Sec. 19 welcomes Yokohama F.Marinos at home. In the previous match against Kyoto, they managed to secure a draw in the final moments. Taking the gained 1 point as a starting point, they aim to rise from here on. It is also a game where they desperately want to win at home. This week, Nagatomo and Kajiyama, who are preparing for the Beijing Olympics, have left the team. However, Coach Shirofuku said, "Rather than filling the gap left by them, I want to find a different advantage," and decided to use Kanazawa as a defensive midfielder in this match. At the same time, Imakawa will play as a defensive midfielder, Fujiyama as a center back, and Mukuhara as a right fullback. Akamine, who achieved results in the Kyoto match, will also start, with Emerson as the right midfielder and Hayashi as the left midfielder.

　Yokohama FM is currently in 16th place and on a 6-game losing streak. Under the new coach Kokichi KIMURA, they have not achieved any results in the two games they played, both of which they lost by a narrow margin. In particular, forward Koji YAMASE, who was "defeated" in the first half of the season, is a player who can make decisive plays. It is necessary to not only take good care of him, but also pay attention to accurate long balls and set plays with a high scoring rate, centered around defender Nakazawa. Maintaining concentration with a compact formation and continuing organized defense is one key point. In terms of attack, we want to finish with a goal from dynamic plays. With Yokohama FM's strong central defense, it would be ideal to create chances by exploiting the spaces on the sides of the 3-back formation and between the defensive midfielder and defenders.

　It will be a difficult match as both teams have not won in 6 games. In the first half of the season, we were completely defeated with a score of 0-3. We want to achieve revenge and not lose in terms of our mindset. The match started at 19:04 at Ajinomoto Stadium, with cloudy skies and a tough heat.

Despite conceding the first goal in the early stages, Emerson's skillful goal equalized the score!

　In the 1st minute, Yokohama FM launched a counterattack from their attack, and Cabore was fouled inside the opponent's territory, earning a free kick. Kanazawa took the kick from the left side, but it was cleared by the opponent's defender. Hanyu, who followed up on the clearance, attempted a volley shot after controlling the ball with his chest, but it was caught by the goalkeeper. However, in the 4th minute, Yokohama FM's left midfielder, Komiyama, shook off Mokuhara and sent a left cross. Although Tokyo's defender initially cleared the ball, it ended up with forward Yamase Koji in the left area. Without hesitation, he aimed for the goal and the shot found its way to forward Oshima. He neatly kicked it in, resulting in an early goal conceded.

　However, Tokyo never let their spirits down and showed an aggressive attitude. In the 9th minute, Kanazawa -> Cabore dribbled up from the left side and passed to Emerson, who ran into the middle from the right. Emerson skillfully lifted the ball with a clever trap near the penalty area, leaving the opponent's defender Matsuda behind. He calmly scored a goal in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, equalizing the score!

　The game continues with both teams launching speedy attacks and progressing at a fast pace. In the 25th minute, Kanazawa takes a precise kick towards the goal from a free kick on the right side, but Imano narrowly misses it. In the 32nd minute, Akamine breaks free on the right area, following Sawa's free kick, creating a decisive opportunity, but the shot narrowly misses to the left. Amidst the quick transitions between offense and defense, chances were created. In the 41st minute, Fujiyama seizes a loose ball in their own half and quickly moves it to the left front line. Akamine breaks free, turns towards the goal, and aims for a direct shot, but it goes wide.

　On the contrary, in the 42nd minute, FW Sakata of Yokohama FM received a pass in the left area and made a fierce dribble. He was brought to the front of the goal and prepared to shoot, but escaped with a sliding tackle from Sasaki. Then, from a left free kick, FW Yamase Koji headed the ball, but it went over the bar. In injury time, Yokohama FM's long ball was cleared once, but Yokohama FM MF Hyodo shot a middle from the loose ball. There were also moments when they were pushed back by Yokohama FM's long ball towards the end, but they still concentrated and defended, and the score remained 1-1 as they entered the second half.

Unable to grasp the rhythm and unable to bring about a counterattack... A tough draw at home

　In the second half, Yokohama FM took control of the pace. Tokyo was unable to connect passes and was pressed hard. On the contrary, they were pushed back by Yokohama FM's long balls. In the 49th minute, Yokohama FM forward Koji Yamase took a pass from the left in the midfield and boldly aimed for a shot, but Shioda made a save! In the 51st minute, Yamase, who was free in the center, received a pass from right-side midfielder Hayato Tanaka and took a shot. It was off target, but they couldn't catch his movement. In the 55th minute, Tokyo had a free kick from the right side, which Fujiyama kicked. Habu, who was persistently supporting in the right front line, made a last pass from the right area. He found an open space, but Emerson and Kanazawa were unable to close in.

　Tokyo made substitutions in the 59th minute, bringing in Hirayama and Ishikawa for Cabore and Emerson. They aimed to score additional goals through player changes, but the momentum remained with Yokohama FM. In the 67th minute, Yokohama FM's right midfielder, Hayato Tanaka, crossed the ball low and early, and it was headed in by forward Sakata. In the 69th minute, Hayama received a vertical pass from Hirayama and was fouled, earning a free kick on the left side of the penalty arc. Ishikawa took a direct shot, but the ball hit the crossbar. In the end, Tokyo only had two shots in the second half, the direct free kick by Ishikawa and a middle shot by Hirayama in the 74th minute. In the 75th minute, Otake was substituted for Kanazawa and played as the left midfielder, while Hayama moved to the central midfield position, as they launched a counterattack. However, both teams struggled to maintain their defensive lines, resulting in intense counterattacks.

　79 minutes, Otake keeps the ball on the left side and invites Tokunaga's attack, Tokunaga's cross from a high position results in a corner kick. However, Otake's left corner kick is cleared. In the 81st minute, Ishikawa receives a pass from the left and drops it with his chest in the penalty area, Akamine breaks free in front of the goal. However, he collides with the opponent's goalkeeper and it results in a handball foul for Yokohama FM. In the 84th minute, Inamoto lifts a left cross from Tokunaga's throw-in. Akamine is there in the far post, it was a great chance, but the opponent's goalkeeper escapes with a punch.

　88 minutes, Yokohama FM won a free kick on the left side of Tokyo's field, and Koji Yamase's kick was headed by Kawai. In the 89th minute, Tokyo's right side was penetrated and a cross was lifted. MF Mizunuma, who filled the loose ball from Tokyo's defense, was shot from the right area, but it went wide. In injury time, Ishikawa, who tried to cut off the opponent's counterattack, was fouled, and Yokohama FM won a free kick from the right side of Tokyo's field. From here, Imakita headed the ball from Otake's kick, but it was blocked by the defender and resulted in a corner kick. While helped by Yokohama FM's missed shots, they were unable to take advantage of the set piece at the end of the game, and it ended in a 1-1 draw. They narrowly escaped with a draw at home.

　【Player Comment】《Emerson》"(Regarding the goal) Whether I'm passing or receiving the ball, I'm always aware of the movements of other players. Today, I anticipated receiving a pass from Cabore and started moving accordingly. As expected, a good ball came and I was able to trap it well and calmly score a goal. It was good that we were able to equalize. However, after that, we couldn't continue to bring the ball forward while connecting passes. In such situations, I think we should actively shoot from outside the box to create a rhythm. I want to strongly focus on that in the future. If we could play more calmly, we might have achieved better results."《Kanazawa》"We conceded a goal early on, which made it a difficult start. It was good that we were able to equalize quickly, but we couldn't control the game at our own pace. We have some regrets. Personally, I tried to play with balance. And I approached the game with the intention of getting 3 points, but unfortunately, we couldn't. We also allowed the opponent to gain momentum with the first goal we conceded. After that, it became a situation where the opponent could showcase their attacking strengths. We had few opportunities to shoot, so I want to increase the patterns and numbers of offensive plays. I wish we could have posed more of a threat to the opponent."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "We wanted to taste the joy of victory together with the nearly 30,000 people who came to the stadium. It's unfortunate that we couldn't do that. I can't say that the game was even. There were 2 or 3 shots that could have been scored, and although we weren't completely dominated, Yokohama FM had the advantage in terms of momentum. The players had the determination to get 3 points, and I think we could have prevented the first goal after that. However, we continued to make mistakes in our attacks and missed opportunities in our decision-making, which made it difficult for us to create good opportunities within the flow of the game. Yokohama FM was very focused, and in order to exploit their weaknesses, we should have moved the ball more. I recognize that although the players were confident in their play in various positions, there were also moments where they lost confidence little by little. (The intention behind substituting both players Hirayama and Ishikawa at the same time) It wasn't satisfying in terms of physical performance, so I made the substitution to stimulate the team. I don't know if the substitution prevented us from taking shots, but I think there were times when we couldn't carry the ball forward in a good condition to compete. Whether it's the fault of the forwards, midfielders, or the build-up of the defense... we need to carefully analyze and consider that."

　[Summary of Yokohama FM Manager Kimura's Press Conference] "This is my third game as a manager, but today our game plan was slightly disrupted. The pitch was not as good as expected, and both our players and Tokyo players were struggling with their footing. As a result, we faced some difficult situations and there were times when we couldn't control the ball in the midfield as we wanted. In the first 5-10 minutes, we pressed aggressively and tried to create a rhythm from the front. After that, our plan was to use the sides effectively... but due to the pitch condition, we couldn't exploit that. In the second half, our physicality was not as good as in the first half, and although not everything was perfect, we got used to the pitch. We also tried to use energetic players, but there were too many long passes. However, there were also moments when we could attack from the sides, and I think we are just one step away from getting a win. We had chances, so now it's about scoring goals. I told the players that conceding one goal is inevitable. On the other hand, you can't win in soccer if you can't score two goals. We don't intend to score one goal and then defend. We always aim to attack regardless of the opponent, and I don't think there is a significant difference in level among the 18 teams in J1. In the last three games, we have been using players in good condition, and today we played our best game. We maintained our physicality until the end, and I am confident in that aspect."