Calmly initiate our own soccer and aim for goals and victory

　The league season is one-third complete, and Sec. 12 is being held. We will invade the away Nissan Stadium and compete against Yokohama F.Marinos. In the previous match against Kyoto, we created many chances but were unable to convert them into goals. On the other hand, we kept the opponent from scoring by prolonging our own possession time. In this match, the focus will be on how we can prevent goals while capitalizing on our chances with our own style of play.

　Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU said, "We conceded the most goals in the first 10 matches. In the next 10 matches, we aim to be the team with the fewest goals conceded." However, he added, "That doesn't mean we will play defensively. We will minimize goals conceded by increasing our awareness of holding onto the ball for longer and being careful with how we lose it. We are also working on how to make the most of our chances."

　In this section, Ishikawa, who injured his foot, will be absent. Suzuki, who has not started since the 2nd section against Urawa, will start as the right midfielder. Nakamura, who has fully recovered from his injury, will be on the bench for the first time since transferring. Regarding Nakamura, Coach Jofuku expects him to have high abilities and skills such as strength in one-on-one situations, accuracy in kicking, and a calm way of holding the ball, and to be able to be used both when attacking and when defending. He also has experience and is expected to bring what the team lacks in various situations.

　Yokohama FM, on the other hand, is currently in 8th place with 15 points. They have only won once in the league so far, just like Tokyo, so it can't be said that they are riding a wave. However, they have speedy ball movement and high individual player abilities, so we need to be cautious. Especially in the forward line, players like FW Sakata, Watanabe, and Yamase can break through the defense on their own, and their set plays are also a threat. In addition, DF Kurihara has returned from injury in this match and the formation has changed from the familiar 3-back to a 4-back. FW Watanabe is placed in the front line, with FW Sakata and MF Karino in the forward line. MF Yamase and Hyodo in the midfield, and MF Matsuda playing as the defensive midfielder, they have been playing in a 4-3-3 formation.

　In response to this, Coach Shirofuku said, "The best countermeasure is to continue playing the soccer we aim for," and aims to increase possession by aggressively pressing and taking the ball. They will calmly initiate their own soccer and aim for goals and victory. The match started at 19:04 with the kickoff by Yokohama FM at Nissan Stadium, where the sky was cloudy and the temperature was chilly.

Develop a soccer style that starts from the side and initiates attacks

　Both teams concentrated on defense from the beginning and did not allow the opponent to move freely. Shortly after the start, Yokohama FM took advantage of a chance from a throw-in and allowed FW Watanabe to enter the area, but Yonemoto quickly returned and escaped with a corner kick. In the 8th minute, Kajiyama sent a lobbed pass to the front line, and Akamine closed in on the opponent's defense, falling just outside the area, but the whistle did not blow. In the 14th minute, Suzuki -> Tokunaga advanced on the right side with a dribble from Inoue's interception, but was cut off upon entering the opponent's territory.

　There were scenes where Tokyo panicked and couldn't connect passes against Yokohama FM's intense press, but gradually settled down and played. They approached Yokohama FM's goal with attacks starting from the sides. In the 20th minute, Akamine headed in near the goal from Tokunaga's right cross. Immediately after, Akamine, who had drifted to the left from Kajiyama, crossed the ball and Suzuki ran into the far post to attempt a volley shot, creating a decisive opportunity, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper's excellent save...

　35 minutes, Yokohama FM FW Sakata was attacked from the starting point, and SB Tanaka, who went up to the right, crossed. Tokyo DF's clearance was spilled to the far side, and then SB Komiyama, who attacked from the left, took a shot, but it went over the frame. In the 38th minute, Kajiyama was fouled on the left side of his own field, and Imakawa quickly restarted. He sent a long ball to the left front line, and Nagatomo ran in and crossed. They launched a speedy attack, but the coordination was not there in the end, and they couldn't take a shot.

　Both teams attacked each other, and in the 39th minute, Yokohama FM launched a quick counterattack. FW Sakata, who broke through on the left side, made a fierce dribble towards the penalty area. The Tokyo defenders tried to stop him, but in the end, they managed to regain possession of the ball and avert the danger through their defensive coordination. They continued to stay focused in defense and successfully contained Yokohama FM's attacks. In the 43rd minute, Suzuki's cross was dropped by Akamine, and Nagatomo followed up, showcasing a strong offensive play. Although there were few shooting opportunities, they managed to find their rhythm and headed into the second half.

Nakamura scores his first goal! Protecting this one point, they secure a valuable victory.

　Kajiyama injured his ankle at the start of the second half and was replaced by Nakamura, who made his first appearance after transferring. However, with Nakamura's entry, the game became more dynamic, with both teams attacking and defending swiftly. The exchange of offense and defense continued fiercely. In the 56th minute, Nakamura, who had just come on, received a ball from the left and boldly attempted a shot from just outside the right area, but missed the target. In the 57th minute, Yonemoto unleashed a powerful shot, but it did not hit the target and went to the goalkeeper.

　In the 61st minute, Nakamura -> Akamine, the last pass sent by Hayu into the area was cut off by the Yokohama DF, earning a right corner kick. In the 62nd minute, Suzuki kicked this right corner kick, and Hirayama, who was competing with the DF, dropped it off his body. The loose ball came to Nakamura, who was positioned in front of the area and in the center. He spectacularly kicked it into the goal with a left-footed volley! Nakamura scored his first goal and made a brilliant debut, taking the lead.

　Riding the momentum, Tokyo repeatedly threatened the Yokohama FM goal. In the 67th minute, from the right side, Nakamura passed to Hirayama in a post play, and once again Hokuto brought the ball inside, carefully observing his surroundings before passing to Suzuki, who had advanced on the opposite side. Suzuki took a shot at speed, but it hit the opposing defender and resulted in a corner kick. From the rebound of this left corner, Tokunaga's shot fiercely attacked the goalkeeper but was saved... Meanwhile, Yokohama FM also made substitutions and launched a counterattack. In the 72nd minute, FW Saito, just after coming on, dribbled from the right to the center and delivered a floating cross to the middle. MF Hyodo headed the ball in front of the goal, but it narrowly missed the target, avoiding danger... In the 78th minute, Yokohama MF Matsuda stole the ball inside Tokyo's territory and launched a counterattack. The shot went just wide to the left, but it was a dangerous moment.

　In the 81st minute, Tokyo swiftly moved the ball and attacked Yokohama FM's goal. Substitute player Otake cut in from the left with a dribble, smoothly evading the defenders, and made a last pass to the center. Hayashi ran in from behind the center and got into a shooting position, but couldn't shoot as he was closed down by a defender. Nevertheless, he persisted and picked up the loose ball, passing it to Nakamura on the right, who then passed it to Suzuki, who had just barely avoided being offside. Suzuki dribbled inside and took a shot from a close distance to the goal, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper and they couldn't score an additional point.

　In the final stages, Yokohama FM faced a fierce attack from DF Kan in the front line. In the 88th minute, MF Hyodo smoothly broke through in response to a pass to the front line, creating a decisive opportunity, but the shot was saved by Konda's excellent save, avoiding a crisis. Even during the long 5 minutes of stoppage time, everyone in Yokohama FM repelled their power play with all their might and the time was up. It was an intense match, but they defended Nakamura's first goal and earned valuable 3 points away.

　【Player Comments】<Nakamura> "With the score at 0-0 and entering the midfield, I focused on defending from the front and getting involved in scoring. I tried to play with a strong awareness of the goal. I thought about what was expected of me as I stepped onto the pitch. The goal came when the ball came to me nicely. Since the ball came in front of my left foot, I thought about controlling it and shooting. I'm glad I was able to shoot calmly. (I struggled with injury for a long time) It took longer than I expected, but I tried not to rush. Still, I wanted to move quickly. However, I was fitting in well with the team during practice, so I wasn't worried about playing today. I wanted to do some kind of celebration after scoring, but everyone gathered around and I couldn't do anything (laughs). Still, since it was my first goal after transferring and I felt like I kept the supporters waiting, a guts pose came out naturally." <Suzuki> "I focused on becoming a starting point in a high position on the side and thought about making use of our strong point, the fullbacks. I think the will to take action ourselves was expressed in our play. Including myself, we had chances to score the first and additional goals, and if we had finished those, I think we could have won more comfortably, but ultimately, this kind of win unites the team. The next game is important to keep winning from here. I want to connect today's victory to the future."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "We have had a series of matches where we couldn't secure a victory, so today was a match we absolutely could not lose. The players themselves felt that strongly and stepped onto the pitch with that mindset. Until Sec. 10, we were the league's highest conceding team, so our current motto is to become the team with the fewest goals conceded in the next 10 matches until Sec. 20. This doesn't mean playing defensively, but rather keeping possession longer and aiming to finish is the best approach. Until we scored the first goal today, we made a good effort to do just that. Whether it went well or not is another matter, but unlike before, we connected passes instead of just kicking the ball away. Regarding defense, both small and tall players went for the ball headfirst and played with strong determination. There are still various issues and it's not perfect, but today the players' spirit was contagious and we managed to keep a clean sheet. In the last few matches, we took nearly 20 shots and got close, but couldn't score. Still, we have improved by about 50-60% compared to last year in getting shots on goal, which is progress. I think it's something to be proud of. As for finishing, it won't improve overnight, so continuing to work on it is important. We have been able to carry the ball that far, so we are working on improving skills and unifying the team's will."

　(It will be a series of consecutive matches again from next week,) but the challenge for today is to create more opportunities for ourselves after scoring the first goal. We want to be able to play soccer by keeping the ball in the opponent's territory and spending time there. This year, there are unstable aspects that change after scoring a goal, so we will also address those aspects in the Levain Cup and aim to reach the knockout tournament. We want to make good preparations and strive to build on today's victory. (About Nakamura player) We are grateful as a team that we were able to earn 3 points with his swing. However, in terms of his ability, we expect him to create opportunities for the second goal. We don't want him to be satisfied just because he scored one goal today."

　[Yokohama FM Manager Kimura's Press Conference Summary] "After the five consecutive matches during Golden Week, this was the first game where we slightly adjusted the system. However, in the first half, we became defensive against the opponent's momentum. Even when we won the ball, the forwards couldn't hold it properly, resulting in many mistakes and difficulty creating attacking opportunities. We made adjustments at halftime, but conceded from a loose ball after a corner kick. After that, the players switched their mindset and went on the attack. In the last 10 minutes, we pushed defender Kin forward, but in our eagerness to win, it turned into long balls. It wasn’t so much about the system, but rather the number of mistakes. When FC Tokyo is playing well, as they did today, they press from the front, and if you let them gain momentum, the game becomes their style. We talked about this, but unfortunately, the first half played out just like that. However, today we played defenders Tanaka and Komiyama as fullbacks, and compared to when we play 3-4-3, there was a lot of space in front of both sides, allowing us to push forward. I think the timing of advancing was good. Still, there were parts we couldn’t fully execute or didn’t fully commit to, so corrections are needed there. Next week we have the Nabisco Cup, and with consecutive matches continuing, we want to make adjustments while playing."