A crucial battle that cannot be lost, with survival at stake!

　Sec. 31 of the league, Gamba Osaka will play away. In the Emperor's Cup on 11/3, they struggled against the momentum of J2 Sendai but managed to advance to the 5th round. With a victory in the previous league match against Kashima, they somehow managed to stay in the championship race, but the situation of not being able to lose all four remaining matches remains unchanged. This round, which is crucial for survival, is particularly important. It is an away game, but we want to take away the points by any means necessary and carry it forward to the next match.

　G Osaka, who is currently in the middle of the ACL and has been playing hard matches in succession, showed their characteristic soccer and won 3-0 in the first match of the final round held on 11/5 (Wed). It can be said that they are currently riding the wave. In the league, they are in 7th place with a 1-point difference from Tokyo, but they should come up with aggressive soccer to naturally move up in the rankings. However, both the members and the system have changed since the ACL final. FW Ronnie and Hashido are placed as the top two, and FW Lucas is in the attacking midfield. DF Nakazawa is absent due to injury, so there are concerns in defense, but it can be said that they have approached the match with an offensive formation.

　Tokyo, with Shigeki returning to the starting lineup after missing the Emperor's Cup Sendai match. Just like in the home game on 7/16, the battle on the sides will be crucial in this match as well. Ishikawa said, "Interactions with the opponent are one of the enjoyable aspects. If Gamba's side comes forward in attack, we can exploit the space. However, we don't just aim for breakthroughs behind the defense, but also want to create numerical superiority quickly and break down the defense with coordinated movements. The team has a strong awareness of fighting together." With a compact formation, Tokyo will try to restrict the opponent's midfield as much as possible, switch quickly, and counterattack with Tokyo's soccer starting from the sides.

　As we approach the end of the league, intense matches continue. Sasaki says, "The more we win, the more weight we feel in the next match. I feel fortunate to be able to fight in this situation, and I must not let it break." Let's aim for a match against G Osaka, who is aiming for the Asian Championship, and win! The match started at 14:01 with G Osaka's kickoff at the Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium, where it was chilly and rainy.

Take the lead with Cabore's goal! Leading by one point into the second half.

　Allowing G Osaka to dominate the ball from the start of the match, Tokyo struggled to find their rhythm. G Osaka created chances with sharp movements targeting the space behind FW Hashimoto's defense, and Tokyo faced decisive moments in the 2nd and 8th minutes, but escaped the danger thanks to Shibata's excellent save. G Osaka continued their attacks, and Tokyo tried to counterattack while holding on. Then, in the 20th minute, Cabore kept the ball on the left side. Nagatomo sprinted up from behind and crossed the ball from the goal line. Although it initially drifted to the opposite side, Ishikawa followed up, evaded the opponent's defender, and crossed from the right. Cabore leaped and won the aerial duel against the opponent's defender, scoring the opening goal.

　However, the G Osaka pace remains unchanged. The midfield moves fluidly and cannot steal the ball. Even if they do steal it, they cannot launch an attack against G Osaka's quick check and instead receive second and third attacks. In the 32nd minute, G Osaka's DF Kaji shoots from close range after passing Nagatomo. In the 34th minute, FW Lucas creates another scoring opportunity by receiving a through pass, but again Hado is stopped by Shioda, avoiding a crisis.

　Towards the end of the first half, Tokyo also created a chance from a counterattack with Cabore as the starting point. In the 41st minute, Cabore on the left side sent a long ground through pass into the space on the right front line. Ishikawa won the ball against the opponent's defender and made a decisive chance, but the shot went over. In the 42nd minute, from Cabore's cross, Ishikawa dropped the ball in the center and Yamahira took a shot, but it went straight to the opponent's goalkeeper. In the end, the first half ended with a 1-point lead.

Ishikawa and Hirayama score additional points and win away!

　In the second half, we concentrated well from the start and created additional points with a strong desire to score. In the 45th minute, Nagatomo's long throw from the left side bypassed Hirayama, who acted as a decoy in the center, and rolled to the far side. Ishikawa, who was positioned there, scored the second goal perfectly! This additional point was valuable not only in terms of the flow of the game but also in frustrating the opponent's plans. However, in the 52nd minute, Shigetaka injured his knee, and Asari was substituted. We will face the game with a formation that moves Imamura to center back.

　G Osaka also made substitutions in the second half, replacing FW Hato with MF Sasaki and replacing FW Ronnie with MF Kurata in the 60th minute to increase the number of players in the midfield and launch a counterattack with FW Lucas as the lone striker. Tokyo also made a substitution in the 61st minute, replacing the visibly tired Kabore with Akamine. Then, in the 62nd minute, Tokunaga sprinted up the right side from a counterattack, and an early cross was perfectly delivered to Hirayama in the center of the box. Despite having an opponent's defender on his back, Hirayama turned towards the goal and smoothly shot the ball into the net. The ball slipped past the goalkeeper, giving them a three-goal lead.

　However, in the 66th minute, they allowed a header from FW Lucas, following a splendid pass work from G Osaka, and conceded a goal. After that, G Osaka continued to attack without giving up, while Tokyo countered. However, Tokyo defended by coordinating and putting their bodies on the line in dangerous situations, and managed to keep the number of goals conceded to a minimum until the end of the game. Although G Osaka had about half the number of shots with 7 compared to Tokyo's 15, Tokyo made sure to convert their few chances into 3 goals and secured 3 points at the Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium for the first time since 2004.

【Player Comments】《Shioda》"G Osaka has been in a series of ACL matches, and they must have wanted to take control and finish the game in the first half. So, I believed that if we could hold on to a 0-0 score in the first half, we would definitely get our chance in the second half. They took control early on, but I think it was good that we were able to prevent conceding during that time. (You saved G Osaka's scoring chances multiple times, right?) I knew from watching videos that FW Bando is very good at making runs. Even though the ground was a bit slippery after the rain, I boldly came out for the first play. From there, I felt like I could bring it into my rhythm with a good image. (You were targeted from behind, but what are the challenges as a defender?) I don't think we were the only ones being specifically targeted. If we let MF Endo and Nikawa look up and face forward, they can deliver through balls with various kicks. Just like how Lucas got us today, I knew there would be chip kicks and direct shots. G Osaka is known for their passing football, but actually, they switch quickly after regaining the ball, and they can deliver a pass in one go from there. That's what makes them scary. So, we were careful, and if we create a block and defend against that, they won't easily enter dangerous areas. We conceded one goal, but I think we can take confidence from the fact that we all held on together. Also, in the late stages of the league, there are parts that are not just about logic to continue competing at the top. It may be necessary to gather individual power and produce more than 11 players' worth. Being able to win consecutively against Kashima and G Osaka here is significant." 《Ishikawa》"(The team's second goal) At first, my reaction was a bit slow, but Nagatomo's throw-in came in longer than I expected. I was hoping it would come in longer! I didn't expect Yuto to throw it that far (laughs). The cross that led to the opening goal was just as I aimed. I thought if I went vertically there, the opponent's pressure would come, so I lifted it early with my left foot. If I could pass it well to Cabore, there would be a chance for a shot, or a return for Sota to score. Today, we were quite pressured by G Osaka, and the 0-0 period was the toughest. I didn't feel like we were being dominated, but there were several moments where they quickly brought the ball to shooting scenes. I think holding on during those moments led to our victory. After taking the lead, G Osaka came out attacking, so we aimed for counterattacks. I thought if the ball went to Cabore, I would break out from the opposite side. I couldn't finish, but I was aiming for chances like the one at the end of the first half. It was tough, but I think we created those kinds of situations several times. It wasn't exactly as I envisioned, but in the Kashima match, we had an aggressive approach, and today we were able to win in a different pattern. The ability to win in various ways is proof that the team is building strength. I want to keep working hard to build step by step."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "We are 5 points behind the top team, and our goal difference is not that significant, so today was a match we couldn't afford to lose in order to stay competitive. The players stood on the field with a very strong mindset, and I think it was very good that we were able to score 3 goals by showcasing our characteristics. Looking at the content, not everything was good; while we had some intensity in our counterattacks, we still lack precision in our slow attacks, and I think we spent too much time defending. We created a solid block in defense, and there were no breakdowns, but I want to create more of our own time. That was the challenge we saw today, and it's something we need to learn from Gamba. In any case, I think it was very good that we were able to create a solid block and limit the opponent to just one goal while earning points. (Did you press from the beginning?) In the vital area, if we give time in the space between our center backs and the defensive midfielders, it creates dangerous situations when they turn forward, so we must not allow them to have time there. To do that, since the ball is supplied from the opponent's defensive midfielders, it was important to approach them properly and not let them do their job. I think we managed that part. However, as I mentioned earlier, we need our own time after winning the ball. (You said winning against Kashima was your best match this year, how about today?) In terms of mentality, showing a solid commitment to stay competitive with the top team and to be a team that improves throughout the year, I think we demonstrated that. However, in terms of play, we still have a long way to go. It's not that we were good against Kashima and not good today; we still need to raise our quality. There are still many things we need to continue working on, and I think that became clear today."

　[G Osaka Coach Nishino's Press Conference Summary] "Since we had a good match in the ACL, I thought we should avoid matches like this. In the last game as well, after a good match in the ACL, we couldn't get a result. Are we going to tread the same path again? However, I think the players played a good game for 90 minutes. The content was not bad, and we were able to have a more aggressive development than usual. We couldn't capitalize on our chances and ended up giving away counters. From the bench, I thought this was going to be a tough situation. Unfortunately, that bad prediction came true. If we can't take our chances like this, we will end up with results like today. To avoid carrying this over to the next match, switching gears is the most important thing right now. (DF Nakazawa was absent, and MF Myojin played center back; what was the impact?) I don't think Myojin had a bad performance at all, and the midfield structure was not particularly new. We maintained possession well and were able to build our attacks. We just couldn't take our chances and couldn't establish our rhythm. I don't feel that the content breaks down even if positions change somewhat, and I think we dominated the entire game today, playing at G Osaka's pace. However, that was Tokyo's tactic. The inability to break through in the first half made us feel the harshness of the competition."