Aiming for the first victory at home with a fighting spirit

　In the 3rd round of the league, we will face Montedio Yamagata at home. Although we suffered two consecutive defeats since the opening, the players have no doubts about "let's go positively" to overcome the difficult situation. This round will be an important match where we aim for a result and want to seize the confidence by taking 3 points with our desired style of soccer. Sasaki and Ishikawa, who have fully recovered from their injuries and prepared their condition, will start this round. Hirayama will also be in the starting lineup, and rookie Yonemoto will be on the bench. We hope that these fresh players will stimulate the team and become an opportunity to grasp the rhythm.

　Yamagata, on the other hand, has been promoted to J1 this season. They have a solid defense and a sharp counterattack, which they have been playing freely and confidently since the start of the season with 1 win and 1 draw. The counterattack led by FW Furuhashi and Hasegawa in the front line is sharp, and the accuracy of MF Kim Byung-suk, who becomes the accent of the attack, as well as the kicks and crosses of MF Miyazawa and DF Ishikawa, is also high. The double defensive midfielders, Akiba and Sato Ken, also have a high work rate, making them a team where everyone can "do their best".

　It will be the first match since 1999 (J2), but we cannot afford to be overwhelmed both mentally and in terms of play against Yamagata, who will come to challenge us boldly. We want to seize the first victory of the season by returning to our roots and emphasizing our fighting spirit. The weather was calm and sunny at Ajinomoto Stadium. The match started with Yamagata's kickoff at 14:04.

Grab the rhythm from defense and create chances from counterattacks

　At the beginning, Yamagata tried to take the initiative with intense pressing and attacking from the sides. However, Tokyo also calmly entered the game and tried to establish a rhythm from defense. In the 7th minute, Nagatomo intercepted Yamagata's side change. He connected with Hirayama on the left side, and Hirayama sent a low and fast cross into the goal area. From the resulting right corner kick, Sasaki perfectly met Ishikawa's kick with a header shot, but it was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper.

　As time passed, both teams launched quick attacks and created decisive opportunities on the counter. In the 23rd minute, Yamagata FW Furukashi started the play with a post, and MF Kim Byung-Suk ran in from the right to receive the final pass. He was able to take a decisive shot, but it was saved by goalkeeper Gonda and resulted in a corner kick. Tokyo also launched a counterattack from the opponent's corner kick in the 24th minute, with Kajiyama passing to Ishikawa, who then found Cabore. Cabore took a decisive shot from inside the left area in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, but it narrowly missed to the right.

　After that, he continued to connect with powerful attacks and in the 27th minute, Tokunaga dribbled into the right area and passed it short to Hirayama, who was near the goal. Hirayama tried to score, but was blocked by the defender. In the 28th minute, Hirayama connected a throw-in from the right and Imakono ran in from behind to take a shot, but it was blocked by the defender. In the 32nd minute, Kajiyama received a lofted pass in front of the goal area and in the center. From skillful control, he aimed for a shot that would catch the opponent's goalkeeper off guard, but it was saved right on the edge of the goal and resulted in a corner kick. They were unable to break through Yamagata's solid defense and the first half ended scoreless.

Hanyu's goal is the winning point! Secure a clean sheet and take 3 points

　In the second half, Nagatomo boldly aimed for the goal from the left side and showed a passionate play, but was stopped by the opponent's goalkeeper's great save. In the fast-paced game, in the 55th minute, Ishikawa flowed to the left side and fiercely pressed the Yamagata full-back. After stealing the ball, he connected with Nagatomo who overlapped, and Nagatomo ran up the side and towards the center. Cabore, with the defender on his back, made a one-touch pass to Hayu who came up from the right. Hayu controlled the ball with one touch and confidently scored with his left foot, taking the long-awaited opening goal!

　In the 62nd minute, Suzuki replaced Ishikawa, and in the 69th minute, Kondo was substituted for Cabore. Tokyo wanted to build on their lead with a second goal, but they made mistakes and the game became frantic. While there were no clear chances for Yamagata, there was a scramble for the ball. In the 80th minute, after a interception by Nagatomo, a pass was made in front of the goal, but Suzuki's shot from just outside the area missed the target.

　Both teams started to show signs of fatigue, but in the 82nd minute, Yamamoto made his professional debut, replacing Hayu. Yamagata also made a substitution, bringing in Sono as a forward in place of FW Furuhashi. They went on the offensive, but the Tokyo defense remained calm and composed. In the 87th minute, Kajiyama passed the ball to Suzuki, who made a run deep into the right area and delivered a perfect final pass to the center. Hirayama jumped in with a header, but was blocked in the midst of the chaos. Towards the end, there were moments when Yamagata, who never gave up, put pressure on Tokyo, but the entire team stayed focused and shut down their counterattacks. They held on without conceding a goal and secured their first victory of the season.

　【Player Comments】《Hanyu》"The goal was the shape we practiced. However, in that moment, I was completely focused. It was a chance that came to me as a result of everyone working hard to connect the play. I believe it was a goal we scored together. This season, we have tried various things from the start, but I may have been too caught up in that and hesitated to show my individuality in the matches. I think we lacked the fundamentals of fighting and winning loose balls before tactics and technique. So today, I wanted to bring that out. We were able to win today, but the place we are aiming for is much higher. Still, if everyone doesn't play with determination, we won't get results. That was the lesson learned today." 《Sahara》"The team had been a bit lacking in energy lately, but we couldn't let it continue like this, so we tried to return to our roots and fight with passion. There were moments when we were attacked by Yamagata, but I don't think there were many dangerous situations. In the end, everyone was able to defend with their bodies. If we could have scored the second goal, the game might have been a bit easier, but right now, we need results more than content. Winning without conceding a goal is a positive outcome."

　[Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference] "The joy of our first victory is half relief. Despite two consecutive losses, many fans came to support us, and I am happy that we were able to meet their expectations. While we needed to prepare for Yamagata, it would be counterproductive to win points by deviating from what we have been doing since last year and what we aim to do this season. First, we tried to stick to what we want to achieve. Not everything went perfectly, but the players made a solid effort. We did not change our approach significantly since the start of this season; rather, we discussed with the players when we should take risks and when we should not during these two matches. The soccer we are challenging this season will not dramatically change from last season, but we aim to position ourselves and define roles that allow us to showcase our members' strengths more effectively. Within that, we reaffirmed 'how to take risks.' I do not think we were perfect, and while we only scored one goal, we must reflect on the several gaps we created. I want to ensure that we address those issues moving forward. Yamagata is a very good team, and I felt they have the strength to compete in J1. They will likely be a strong opponent even in away games, but it is important to connect this victory to the next and return to an even record. We will prepare from tomorrow to give our best in each match of the Nabisco Cup."

　【Summary of Coach Kobayashi's Press Conference】 "Both side midfielders became too defensive. If we could have positioned ourselves a bit higher and involved the fullbacks to effectively utilize the space on the sides, we might have created 2-on-1 situations. We were unable to do that. One of the reasons was that when Tokyo's player Konno drifted to the left side, our midfielders ended up in a shape where there were two players outside, which hindered our attack. Especially in the first half, right midfielder Kim Byung-seok was pulled back, passing the ball and moving forward, while forward Furuhashi was pulled to mark Konno, causing the midfield to break down. Overall, we were able to defend well in the first half. This was different from Tokyo's previous matches, as they did not commit many players to attack. Unlike the last two matches, they seemed to have a mindset of managing risks while pushing forward. The four defenders included a holding midfielder, and they entered the match solidly with three or even five players remaining, which we could not break down. The goal we conceded came when our legs started to slow down. The opponent's press also eased a bit, and just when I said, 'Let's move the ball without forcing it,' we allowed a quick counterattack. That was unfortunate. Substituting the players on the sides created some chances, and in the end, we resorted to power play, but we could only do that a few times. It would have been better if we could have simply thrown the ball in more, but it took a bit of time to get that to sink in. Additionally, our attacking variations were limited. From the next match, while continuing to maintain solid defense, we need to think about how to score. Today, overall, the midfield press was quick, and there were easy mistakes there. We were dispossessed just before entering the attack, and we struggled to find our rhythm, which is something to reflect on."