Feeling a sense of crisis, we will welcome Chiba at our home National stadium.

　Sec. 6 will be held at Japan National Stadium, welcoming JEF United Chiba as the home team. In the previous match against Kashima, although they showed a promising fight, they couldn't secure a victory. Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU expressed his concern, saying, "The challenges that we have been working on as a team were clearly evident in the first 15 minutes of the game. It hasn't been resolved yet."

　And in order to break this situation, he continued, "It is necessary to change the combination of members once again and to have a sense of responsibility and crisis individually under intense competition." In this round, the members were changed from the previous round, and Imano was assigned as a center back, and Yonemoto, who made his first professional start, was appointed as a defensive midfielder. Kondo will lead the front line and face the game.

　Chiba, on the other hand, has not yet won in the league with 3 draws and 2 losses. However, Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU is not letting his guard down, saying, "Under Coach Miller, they will come up with measures to firmly suppress the opponent's strong points." Above all, their strong determination and eagerness to bet on this crucial match have already been proven in the final match of last season. It is an absolute requirement for victory to not just defend against Chiba's strong determination, but to concentrate from the start of the match.

　Chiba is also sharp on the counterattack, with FW Makoto Kashiwagi hitting the ball and FW Fukai and others making bold runs. MF Kudo's movements are also skillful, and we want to thoroughly prevent them from easily playing. In the attack, it will be necessary to break through Chiba's compact defense by basing it on the wide shape shown in the Kashima match. The goal, of course, is to acquire 3 points, but we want to take advantage of every opportunity and ideally score 2 or more goals step by step. Under the spring-like weather, the National Stadium was enveloped in the twilight. The match started with Chiba's kickoff at 19:04.

Taking the initiative on the right side, Ishikawa scores the first goal of the season!

　From the beginning, both teams showed intense fighting spirit and went towards the ball. The match continued with both teams exchanging kicks, but Ishikawa fought well in both attack and defense, creating chances from the right side. In the 6th minute, Tokunaga, who had advanced forward, was fouled on the right front line, earning a free kick. Ishikawa pretended to kick a lofted ball and instead sent a ground pass to Kondo just outside the penalty area, but the kick was weak and they couldn't synchronize their timing. In the 9th minute, Cabore stole the loose ball and dribbled forward, expanding to the right front line. Ishikawa caught up and passed to Tokunaga, who had moved up to support. Kajiyama met the subsequent cross with a half-volley from the far side, but it went straight to the opponent's GK.

　At 15 minutes, Chiba's long pass was successfully dropped by FW Maki, and MF Kudo advanced from the position of defensive midfielder to create a shooting opportunity, but Kanda caught it. In the 18th minute, Yonehara cleared the pass to Chiba's front line with a header. Kajiyama received this and passed it to Cabore, who then passed it back to Kajiyama. Kajiyama passed it to Ishikawa, who was drifting to the left. Ishikawa dribbled into the middle and skillfully evaded the defenders with a powerful right-footed shot that grazed the goalkeeper's hand and went into the top right corner. Ishikawa's strong first goal of the season gives the team the lead!

　In the 20th minute, Chiba's quick attack was received and FW Fukai broke through to the front line, but Nagatomo stopped him. From the FK given, they were attacked in front of the goal, but the defense cleared it with their bodies. There was also a save by Kanda, and they defended the subsequent CK. In the 26th minute, Kondo broke through to the front line and took a powerful shot, but couldn't find the target. In the 38th minute, Ishikawa caught up with a long side change pass and connected with Hayashi, who went up on the outside. They showed good coordination, but the ball sent inside by Hayashi hit the opponent's DF. Although they couldn't capitalize on the chance, they remained calm in defense and held back Chiba's powerful counterattack, leading by one goal going into the second half.

Lost two points in the last 5 minutes and suffered a comeback defeat...

　In the second half, Chiba quickly grasped the rhythm. However, Tokyo responded firmly at the backline and calmly defended, gradually taking control of the pace with speedy attacks. In the 53rd minute, after Kondo's reliable post play, Hayashi, who had moved up front, attracted the attention of the defenders and quickly spread the ball to the left. Cabore swung his right foot freely from just outside the central area, but his shot was blocked by Chiba's goalkeeper, resulting in a corner kick. Cabore then connected with the clearance from this left corner kick, and finally, Tokunaga's shot from the left area found the back of the net, but it was ruled as offside and disallowed... In the 56th minute, Kondo received a vertical pass and attempted a shot from a difficult angle, but it was also blocked by the goalkeeper.

　The time passed without being able to score an additional goal. Here, Chiba substitutes MF Yonekura with MF Tanizawa in the 63rd minute. Tokyo also substitutes Suzuki for Ishikawa in the 64th minute. In the 67th minute, Chiba FW Fukai sprints from the left side to the center. Yamamoto is turned around and shot at by Tokyo's defense. The course changes as it hits Tokyo's DF, making it a close call. It narrowly misses the goal and avoids danger, but the game becomes intense and the lines become stretched, leading to a counterattack. In the 69th minute, Asari is substituted for Yamamoto in an attempt to calm the game down.

　However, in the face of Chiba's determination, both teams had a "one-shot" chance. In the 78th minute, Cabore was replaced by Akamine. They tried to press from the front line, but in the 82nd minute, Chiba stole the ball in the midfield and launched a counterattack. The ball was floated in front of the Tokyo goal, and finally FW Maki headed it. The floating ball went over goalkeeper Kanda's outstretched hand and hit the crossbar... It was a breathtaking moment, but they were also helped by a mistake.

　However, in the 86th minute, from Chiba MF Tanizawa's throw-in, MF Alex, who had moved up to the left front line in a deep position, passed the ball to the center on the ground. This took advantage of Tokyo DF's gap and reached FW Maki, who was free in front of the goal. He slid and kicked it in, resulting in a goal... Our feet stopped during the restart, allowing the equalizer.

　Tokyo, who desperately wanted a victory at home, attacked in the remaining few minutes of injury time to try to take the lead, but instead Chiba threw a long ball and Chiba FW Makoto connected it to the front line with a header from Chiba GK's long kick. Unable to take this ball, FW Fukai was persistent, MF Tanizawa was passed to FW Fukai who broke out on the right side. They were able to score this goal with certainty, and all hope was lost... In the final moments, Chiba, who never gives up, took advantage of Tokyo's momentary pause and scored 2 goals, resulting in a shocking comeback defeat. They suffered their second consecutive loss at home.

　[Player Comments]《Ishikawa》"I feel frustrated and there are many things I need to reflect on. On the other hand, there were parts where I performed well. I need to keep that in mind and work through trial and error to connect it to results. Last year, there were tough times, and I felt considerable frustration in today's match and the previous match against Kashima. I believe this frustration will strengthen both the team and individuals. Regarding scoring, I missed some close chances in the last match, so it was good that I was able to kick calmly this time. However, including myself, we continue to struggle to score the second goal. Even though the defense is working hard, having only one goal is indeed tough. (Were there harsh voices from the supporters?) That just means they are cheering passionately. We are the ones fighting on the pitch, so we take those voices seriously and will continue to work hard to be welcomed with applause next time. I am filled with frustration, but I have no choice but to keep going." 《Yonemoto》"Personally, I think there were moments when I played well, and my body moved well. I was determined to give my all and fight until my legs cramped, so in that sense, it was good, but... it's disappointing and frustrating that the team lost. I approached the match thinking that what was required of me was defensive work in the midfield. I think there were parts where I could hold my own defensively, but I only managed to make one pass that led to an attack. Moving forward, I want to be more proactive in getting involved with the ball as a plus. I also want to be able to add more rhythm to the team. Today, I felt more the lack of technique than physical stamina. I want to use the frustration from this defeat as fuel to work hard for the next match."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "Very disappointing. I apologize for making the fans feel frustrated. (What was the intention behind the player substitutions?) Some players were tired, had conditioning issues, or had minor accidents with their legs. There were substitutions made for those reasons, as well as to convey tactical messages. (Did the team panic when the opponents exploited the defense's blind spot?) We were in a leading position, so we knew the opponents would come attacking. We should have stayed calm and defended properly... In a situation where we could have scored the second goal, I think I went a bit too far when I made the third substitution, and we lost control. We went too far forward both in terms of numbers and consciously. Even if it's said that the message didn't get across in the end, there's nothing we can do about it."

　[Chiba - Summary of Coach Alex MILLER's Press Conference] "I think the first half was an even game, but we couldn't maintain possession and lost the ball easily, which allowed the opponent to attack us easily. Even when we had the ball, we only managed to complete one or two passes before losing it again, leading to repeated attacks from the opponent. In the second half, the players started to close in on the opponent more, and we were able to win the ball back from there, with good movement from the attacking players, allowing us to utilize the flanks. In the last 15 minutes, we completely took control of the game. Regarding the second half, our defense performed well as we pushed forward against Tokyo's counterattacks. Particularly, DF Sakamoto changed his position from the right side to center-back and did a fantastic job. Sakamoto is an experienced player. The player wearing number 18 for Tokyo was targeting behind DF Aoki, but Aoki responded well to that. Therefore, we kept things as they were, bringing DF Wada to the right side and moving Sakamoto to center-back. Having played well in several previous matches, the players should have understood what kind of play was required. In that sense, we were able to respond well to Tokyo."