We focused on winning 3 points even though we were away.

　In the 22nd round of the league, we will play against Montedio Yamagata away. In the previous round against Yokohama FM, despite being forced to make substitutions, we showed unity and resilience and earned 1 point. This round will have a tight schedule with only 2 days in between, but Coach Jofuku said, "The efforts from the previous round will only be rewarded if the players who play in this round earn 3 points." He vowed to use the draw as motivation and turn it into a victory.

　Yamagata, on the other hand, is currently in 14th place with 24 points. Although they have not been able to achieve victory in their last three matches, Coach Jofuku stated, "We can have a close match against any team and have the possibility of earning 3 points. They are particularly well-prepared in both offense and defense, and have a clear understanding of crucial moments and battles." Yamagata has a unified consciousness among all players and quickly transitions between offense and defense. In their attack, they utilize the wings as a starting point and their tall forward, Takumi Hasegawa, and the powerful forward, Kitamura, are their strengths in counterattacks.

　Tokyo, in addition to Kajiyama, who has returned from a suspension, Bruno QUADROS and Nagatomo have returned to the starting lineup after conditioning. Suzuki has replaced Ishikawa in the lineup. Nagatomo declared his strong return, saying, "I didn't rest for a long time, so there are no issues with my condition. While regaining my game stamina and match sense on the pitch, I intend to play for 90 minutes. I want to aggressively push forward and switch on when the ball enters the field, while also being conscious of defense." Yamagata's defense is proud of its strength in one-on-one situations and is solid. We want to break them down with Tokyo-like passing and combinations.

　Coach Jofuku said, "It's not easy to break down a team that defends deep. Therefore, we need to engage in one-on-one battles and also think about creating chances." From the 19th round match against Hiroshima on July 25th, we have not been able to achieve victory in the last four matches. Today, even though it is an away game, it is a match where we must go for not just 1 point, but "3" points. We will show an aggressive attitude in both offense and defense, aiming for goals and victory! The match started at 19:04 with the kickoff in Tokyo, at NDsoft Stadium Yamagata, which is visited for the first time in the J1 League.

We focused on winning 3 points even though we were away.

　In the 22nd round of the league, we will play against Montedio Yamagata away. In the previous round against Yokohama FM, despite being forced to make substitutions, we showed unity and resilience and earned 1 point. This round will have a tight schedule with only 2 days in between, but Coach Jofuku said, "The efforts from the previous round will only be rewarded if the players who play in this round earn 3 points." He vowed to use the draw as motivation and turn it into a victory.

　Yamagata, on the other hand, is currently in 14th place with 24 points. Although they have not been able to achieve victory in their last three matches, Coach Jofuku stated, "We can have a close match against any team and have the possibility of earning 3 points. They are particularly well-prepared in both offense and defense, and have a clear understanding of crucial moments and battles." Yamagata has a unified consciousness among all players and quickly transitions between offense and defense. In their attack, they utilize the wings as a starting point and their tall forward, Takumi Hasegawa, and the powerful forward, Kitamura, are their strengths in counterattacks.

　Tokyo, in addition to Kajiyama, who has returned from a suspension, Bruno QUADROS and Nagatomo have returned to the starting lineup after conditioning. Suzuki has replaced Ishikawa in the lineup. Nagatomo declared his strong return, saying, "I didn't rest for a long time, so there are no issues with my condition. While regaining my game stamina and match sense on the pitch, I intend to play for 90 minutes. I want to aggressively push forward and switch on when the ball enters the field, while also being conscious of defense." Yamagata's defense is proud of its strength in one-on-one situations and is solid. We want to break them down with Tokyo-like passing and combinations.

　Coach Jofuku said, "It's not easy to break down a team that defends deep. Therefore, we need to engage in one-on-one battles and also think about creating chances." From the 19th round match against Hiroshima on July 25th, we have not been able to achieve victory in the last four matches. Today, even though it is an away game, it is a match where we must go for not just 1 point, but "3" points. We will show an aggressive attitude in both offense and defense, aiming for goals and victory! The match started at 19:04 with the kickoff in Tokyo, at NDsoft Stadium Yamagata, which is visited for the first time in the J1 League.

Unable to score until the end, defeated with no points

　Entering the second half, in the 50th minute, Tanabe was substituted for Suzuki. However, Tokyo was intercepted while attacking, and Yamagata continued to counterattack. Still, in the 60th minute, Cabore aimed for a shot from the loose ball but it went over the crossbar. In the 64th minute, Hayashi rushed into the area from a typical Tokyo combination play. He evaded Cabore with a one-two pass and took a decisive shot, but... it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's excellent save. In the 65th minute, Kanazawa was substituted for Hayashi as the left full-back, and Nagatomo moved up one row to join the attack.

　In the 67th minute, Cabore received a vertical pass from Tanabe to Yonehara, entered the center and shot with his left foot, but it went wide. In the 76th minute, a right corner kick was awarded from Cabore's shot. Kajiyama grabbed the loose ball from Tanabe's corner kick near the area, turned past the opponent's defender, and took a shot, but the goalkeeper made a save. In the 77th minute, Akamine replaced Cabore. He tried to break through Yamagata's deep defense by crossing from the side.

　However, taking advantage of the opportunity to attack, in the 85th minute, Yamagata's left SB Ishikawa broke through the left side. Kanazawa cleared the cross, but it ended up with the opponent's right SB Kobayashi. From here, a right cross was lifted and pushed into the center by FW Hasegawa, resulting in a goal... After that, Bruno QUADROS and Imano also pushed forward and launched a fierce attack with more players in the front line. In the final stages, Tanabe and Bruno QUADROS took consecutive shots, but none of them were able to score a goal. The team fell behind by one point and suffered a defeat with no goals scored.

　[Player Comments]《Nagato》"I had the image of moving up a line and finally stretching out on the side for a cross... However, since we were trailing, I really wanted to score, so I tried to not only stretch out but also exploit the space behind the opponent. Especially after Shingo came in, I aimed for the loose balls, but... it didn't go well. I played for 90 minutes, but my condition is fine. As for game sense, it's something you can only gain by actually playing matches, but I think I was able to regain that." 《Kajiyama》"In the first half, we tried to launch quick attacks before the opponent's defense could recover, and when they fell back, we aimed to connect passes starting from Sota to break through. We were able to create chances, and I don't think we did badly in terms of game management. However, in the second half, it felt like we were targeted when we tried to play vertical passes and look forward in the front line. Even so, we created a few good opportunities, but... if we had scored one goal, I think the development would have been completely different."

　[Director Jofuku's Press Conference Summary] "First of all, I would like to apologize to the fans who came to support us despite it being a weekday and far away. Regarding the content, I think we have to accept the result of 0 to 1. We should not capture the game based only on the impression of the last few minutes, and we need to analyze it calmly. Just because we played well until we broke through does not mean it was a game where we could comfort ourselves. We must firmly accept that the absence of players who can shake the goal net reflects the level of our team, and we have to act accordingly. However, I do not want to decide the content of the game based solely on the impression of the last few minutes; I want to remain calm about that. (The response to player Hirayama changed in the second half; how did you respond?) We are not building up only by looking at player Hirayama, but if we cannot score as a result, it is said that we could not respond, which is our position, and even if we were breaking through, it is said that we could not break through, which I believe is our position as well."

　[Summary of Coach Kobayashi's Press Conference] "In the first half, Hirayama dropped back, creating a vertical relationship similar to a lone striker. We were exploited well in that area. It was difficult to manage the transitions and marking in the first half. In the second half, I think we did a bit better with the holding midfielder either capturing the ball or passing it off, with one of the center-backs marking and both full-backs narrowing down. When the aerial battles centered around Hirayama, it was intimidating, but our defense repeatedly put their bodies on the line, which made the opponent's shots rushed and not on target. Regarding our attack, compared to the last match, I think we had a bit more time to circulate the ball ourselves, but we often lost the ball when trying to push forward using the holding midfielder or when the holding midfielder could turn, so I think we need to correct that. Once the opponent got past the frontline and midfield, our final line had a slightly soft approach, so I believe Kitamura and Hasegawa were able to do what they thought they could. If we could have sensed that a bit earlier, I think we could have acted without panic. Kim got injured midway, so we had to change the lineup quickly, which made it tough at the end, but I think we did well to hold our ground until the end even when the opponent was playing power play. I believe we expressed well the reflections from the two games where we lost to FC Tokyo in both the league and the Nabisco Cup, showing the video and discussing it. I am really glad we were able to take all three points in the end."