A match that we want to end the series of consecutive battles with a victory

In Sec. 11 of the league, we will face Montedio Yamagata away. In the previous match, we managed to keep a clean sheet for the first time since Sec. 4, stopping our losing streak, but we ended the game without scoring. While we created chances, it cannot be denied that there was a certain rigidity as a team, and Ishikawa reflected, "We are tightening our own noose." If we can just seize the opportunity for 'one goal', we can see signs of a resurgence, so we want to play freely, score goals, and finish the series of matches with a victory. Yamagata, on the other hand, is currently in 8th place with 14 points from 4 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses as of the last match. They have scored a total of 10 goals and conceded 12, indicating a situation where goals conceded exceed goals scored, but they have been accumulating points by winning closely contested matches. In last season's encounters, we struggled against Yamagata's solid defense and sharp counterattacks, but this season, they have added depth to their squad with the arrivals of FW Tashiro, MF Masuda, and South Korean striker FW Kim Kwan-ung and Han Dong-won. Coach Jofuku commented, "We are maintaining the style from last season, and everyone has a high defensive awareness. There are no lazy players, and both individually and as a team, our defensive unity is top class in the J-League." Tokyo will have Kajiyama on the bench considering his foot condition. Tokunaga returns to the defensive midfield, with Kim Yong-gun and Nagatomo as the left and right full-backs. Matsushita will play as the left MF, and the two forwards will be Hirayama and Shigematsu. As Coach Jofuku mentioned, "The concentration not to miss the opponent's chances and the thorough patterns are a threat," it is expected to be a challenging match. The key to victory will be whether we can suppress the source of Yamagata's ball and take control on the flanks. We want to break through from the sides, create many chances in dangerous areas, and increase our goal-scoring opportunities. The day before, we focused on strategies against Yamagata, and some tactical practices were kept private. The preparations for the match are similar to usual, but Coach Jofuku explained, "This is to unify the players' intentions and to consider the best approach in the current situation." He continued, "I apologize to everyone coming to Kodaira, but we want to instill something that surpasses that and express it on the pitch today." The match kicked off at 16:04 with Tokyo's kickoff at ND Soft Stadium Yamagata.

Take the lead with Shigematsu's skillful shot! Continuing with Hanyu, they go into halftime with a 2-point lead

　From the beginning, they evaded Yamagata's press, controlled the ball, and launched attacks from the sides. In the 10th minute, they quickly restarted in the opponent's half. Ishikawa's early cross was chased by Shigematsu, resulting in a left corner kick. Konno returned Matsushita's kick at the far post, but Hirayama couldn't shoot. In the 14th minute, on the right side, Tokunaga passed to Nagatomo, who then passed to Ishikawa, penetrating deep into the right side with a negative pass. Hirayama, receiving the ball with his back to the goal in the area, turned to shoot but was blocked and couldn't get a shot off. Hanyu rushed in for the rebound and aimed for a mid-range shot, but it went wide of the target. In the 23rd minute, they circulated the ball in the defensive line, and from Hanyu's vertical pass to Ishikawa, Tokunaga fed it forward. Hirayama in the area dropped it, and Ishikawa, gaining speed, shot! However, it went over the bar... Then in the 25th minute, after receiving a vertical pass from Hanyu, Hirayama dropped it, and Matsushita sent a through pass to Shigematsu, who was in the left area, adjusting his shot timing to score through the opponent's goalkeeper's legs! With calm play in front of the goal, they finally took the lead. After that, they continued to circulate the ball calmly between the defensive line and the holding midfielders, with Hirayama in the front line effectively controlling the ball, especially attacking from the right side. In the 38th minute, from a counter, Shigematsu passed to Hirayama on the left front line, who kept the ball and passed to Hanyu, who aimed for a mid-range shot from just outside the left area, which was sucked in just inside the bottom right of the goal! Their strong determination to score paid off, and they secured their second goal. In the closing stages, Yamagata's MF Kitamura broke through between the defenders and took a decisive shot from close range in the center of the area, but Gonda made a great save to avert the crisis, and they went into halftime with a two-goal lead.

They also scored additional points in the second half and achieved a complete victory with a score of 3-0.

　After the start of the second half, Yamagata aggressively attacks. In the 51st minute, Yamagata's FW Furuhashi directly aims for a free kick just outside the left area, and although he takes a sharp shot, Gonda saves it just barely off the bar! It results in a corner kick. In the 52nd minute, a quick attack sends a through pass to Yamagata's FW Tashiro at the front line. Tokyo's DF tightly closes in, preventing momentum, and Gonda catches the shot. There were moments when the defense was pushed back due to sharp counters and side attacks, but Tokyo's DF remained focused and responded, transitioning to attack. In the 55th minute, Kajiyama is brought in to replace Matsushita. The game is calmed down again, and they regain ball control. In the 64th minute, Kajiyama moves forward after receiving a return pass from Ishikawa, who is positioned centrally, and passes to the right to Jūmatsu as he enters the area. Jūmatsu takes a bold shot, but there is no angle, and it goes out of bounds. In the 68th minute, Tokyo launches a quick attack, with Jūmatsu dribbling in from the left side. He draws in the opposing DF sufficiently and delivers a last pass to Hirayama, who finds himself one-on-one with the opposing GK and shoots! However, the GK saves it, missing a great opportunity... After that, Suzuki and Akamine are brought in to replace Hanyu and Jūmatsu, maintaining their attacking efforts. There were times of counter exchanges, but they still aimed for additional goals with their own style of play. In the 78th minute, Hirayama's shot earns a corner kick. Then, in the 79th minute, Kondo pushes in the left corner kick taken by Ishikawa to score the third goal! They continued to create chances starting from Hirayama. Although they couldn't score a fourth goal, thanks to Gonda's good saves, they kept Yamagata from scoring. They achieved their first three goals of the season and secured a victory in the league since Sec. 4. 【Player Comments】《Jūmatsu》"(About the goal) I was aiming for the opponent's back from the moment I kept the ball on the left front line. From there, Hanyu's pass went to Sōta, and it connected to Wan-chan, so I thought it was a shot. However, I also ran behind, so I called out loudly, and Wan-chan switched at the last moment and gave a good pass. There was no angle, so I trapped it with my right foot and aimed for a strong ground shot with my left. I thought that if I hit it hard, it might spill somewhere. I was happy that it went in, and I was glad to score first. But I wasn't satisfied with just one goal; I wanted to score another. I was substituted because my leg cramped a bit. Still, it was significant that the team scored three goals and won without conceding. I want to continue having matches like this. 《Hanyu》"Right now, I feel relieved... that's honestly how I feel. Up until now, I think I was too nervous about scoring. To create a relaxed atmosphere, we prepared mini-games in practice and discussed how to score goals among the players. Today, the coach told us, 'It doesn't matter whether we score or not. The biggest point is whether we can be dynamic.' It has been tough, but I thought we just had to keep shooting even if we didn't score. I'm happy that it led to results. (Did you consciously aim to shoot whenever you had the chance?) Considering my shooting power and accuracy, I'm not a player who can score a dozen goals a year. But I wanted to instill the awareness of aiming to shoot as a team. Instead of being stiff and not shooting, I wanted to have the attitude that it's okay to shoot and miss. I wanted to keep expressing that being in a position to shoot is important." 【Coach Jōfuku's Press Conference Summary】"The situation our team is currently in is very tough, and it seems that the players' sense of despair has outweighed their dynamism in recent matches. Today, I sent them out with the hope that they would clearly show their dynamism. I think it was very good to win 3-0 against a wonderful team like Yamagata, but the struggles we have experienced in the last few matches are far from resolved. I strongly believe that if we don't achieve three points next, today's victory will mean nothing." 【Yamagata Coach Kobayashi's Press Conference Summary】"My first impression was that the players were more fatigued than I expected and couldn't move. Because they couldn't move, they had to defend with a lowered line, but I felt they were able to defend at key points. Not moving means they are tired. Even so, if they have quick judgment and accurate skills, there are things they can do without moving, so we need to demand that. It won't change suddenly, but I think we need to improve our precision through experiences like this. All three goals started from mistakes, so it's a bit disappointing. It's not that FC Tokyo pressed from the front; rather, when the ball circulated a bit, the line dropped, so both full-backs could take a high position, but we couldn't circulate the ball enough to get there. I think it would have been better if we could distinguish between quick counters and ball circulation. I was wondering how it would be with just one conceded goal, but it's disappointing that we conceded the second goal from a mistake. Honestly, I felt it was heavier than I expected, and I wondered if it would have been better to bring in refreshed members. I had received reports that the condition was good, and I had judged that as well, so that's disappointing. I felt that I could have used the players who came on more actively from the second half."