GAME RESULTGame Result

Sec. 27 2010/10/23 (Sat)
Audience 23,074 people 
Weather: Clear, temperature 18.9 degrees, humidity 44% 
Referee: Toshimitsu YOSHIDA Assistant Referees: Koji MURAKAMI/Naoya OKAWA Fourth Official: Haruhiro OTSUKA

J1 Sec. 27

Ajinomoto

HOME

FC Tokyo

1-1

Match Finished

First Half0-1

Second half1-0

AWAY

Albirex Niigata

FC Tokyo Albirex Niigata
61' Yohei KAJIYAMA
Scorer 45' Marcelo Rishardes
55' Naotake HANYU → Ricardinho
84' Naohiro ISHIKAWA → Toshihiro MATSUSHITA
88' Masashi OGURO → Yohei OTAKE
Player Substitution 60' Hideo Oshima → Yoshiyuki KOBAYASHI
78' Kazuhiko CHIBA → Daisuke SUZUKI
88' Yuta Mikado → Yudai TANAKA
15 Shoot 7
4 CK 3
11 FK 13
44' Yuhei TOKUNAGA
68' Ricardinho
90'+2 Kenta MUKUHARA
90'+3 Ricardinho
Warning 39' Honma Isao
53' Kazuhiko CHIBA
63' Marcio Richardes
90'+3 Ricardinho
Ejected
FC Tokyo Starting Lineup
GK 20 Shuichi GONDA
DF 33 Kenta MUKUHARA
DF 3 Masato MORISHIGE
DF 6 Yasuyuki KONNO
DF 14 Hokuto NAKAMURA
MF 2 Yuhei TOKUNAGA
MF 10 Yohei KAJIYAMA
MF 18 Naohiro ISHIKAWA
MF 22 Naotake HANYU
FW 39 Masashi OGURO
FW 13 Sota HIRAYAMA
FC Tokyo Substitutes
GK 1 Hitoshi SHIOTA
DF 17 Kim Yong Gun
MF 7 Takuji YONEMOTO
MF 8 Toshihiro MATSUSHITA
MF 16 Ricardinho
MF 19 Yohei OTAKE
FW 24 Kentaro SHIGEMATSU
Albirex NiigataStarting Lineup
GK 21 Masaaki HIGASHIGUCHI
DF 22 Daigo NISHI
DF 3 Kazuhiko CHIBA
DF 6 Nagata Mitsuru
DF 24 Gotoku SAKAI
MF 14 Yuta MIKADO
MF 15 Honma Isao
MF 10 Marciolishardes
MF 9 Yong-Tae Cho
FW 16 Hidefumi OSHIMA
FW 8 Micheu
Albirex NiigataSubstitute
GK 1 Takaya Kurokawa
DF 2 Kazunari OHNO
DF 4 Daisuke SUZUKI
DF 26 Yoji NAKANO
MF 32 Yoshiyuki KOBAYASHI
MF 29 Masaru KATO
FW 23 Atsumu TANAKA

【Player/Coach Comments】

We cannot afford to lose, let's secure the points at home!


 The league Sec. 27 was held. We face Albirex Niigata at home in Ajinomoto. In the previous match against Sendai, we suffered a painful come-from-behind loss due to consecutive goals conceded near the end. Although we regret not being able to stop Sendai's momentum, we took the lead twice and always played in a leading position. As the number of chances is increasing, it is necessary to calmly assess the situation and fight in the final stage from here without losing heart, and surely convert it into points.For this match, we changed the lineup from previous league matches. Kajiyama and Hanyu, while managing their injuries, adjusted their condition and started. Morishige and Konno formed the center backs, Tokunaga and Kajiyama played as defensive midfielders, and Ishikawa and Hanyu took the flanks. Also, Yonemoto, who had been out for a long time, made the bench for the first time this season.On the other hand, Niigata currently stands 10th with 38 points. At the end of August, FW Yano transferred to Germany, and since then, they have had a series of matches without wins. However, in the previous match against Nagoya, MF Marcio Richardes returned from injury. He immediately made an impact, scoring 4 goals against the top team for a comfortable victory. MF Marcio Richardes can break through situations and is also known for his sharp through passes and free kicks. Since he has the individual ability to "decide the game," we must be highly cautious.However, Coach Okuma emphasized the mindset of not being passive but boldly challenging, saying, "We need to prepare for Niigata, but first, we must think about plays that the opponent dislikes." By initiating plays that the opponent hates, we need to score goals and secure points at home at all costs. The weather was clear at Ajinomoto. The match kicked off at 15:05 with Niigata starting.

Despite dominating possession and advancing advantageously, they are now trailing behind after a free kick...


 From the beginning, they launched a vigorous attack, creating decisive chances starting from the flanks. At 2 minutes into the game, Tokunaga sent the ball into the space on the right front, Ishikawa chased at high speed and delivered a quick cross inside. Ohguro rushed to the near post, creating a decisive chance, but his header went off target... At 9 minutes, Nakamura advanced from a pass by Hanyu and went for the finish. At 10 minutes, from a cross by Mukuhara, they earned a right corner kick, and Morishige connected perfectly with Ishikawa's kick for a header, but Niigata's goalkeeper made a great save. At 15 minutes, Niigata's MF Marcio Richards held the ball in the center and easily passed into the space on the left front. The overlapping left side back Sakai sent a cross, but it drifted to the far post. Even after that, there were moments when possession was lost during attacks, and Niigata's sharp counterattacks, their strength, posed a threat, but focused defense forced mistakes from the opponent and prevented any danger. Tokyo also launched quick transitions in attack, and at 37 minutes, Tokunaga, who advanced to the front line, dropped a pass from Nakamura, and Ishikawa received it on the left side, cut inside and took a shot, but it went off target. They were controlling the game, but just before halftime at 44 minutes, from Niigata's left throw-in, the ball was connected inside and could not be fully cleared. Tokunaga fouled MF Marcio Richards, who tried to use his speed to enter in front of the goal from the right. This gave a free kick just to the right of the penalty arc. MF Marcio Richards directly targeted this free kick, and his sharp shot hit the net... From the free kick they had been wary of, Niigata converted one of their few chances, taking a 1-goal lead going into the second half.

Kajiyama's penalty kick equalizes, and Gonda's fine play earns 1 point


 In the second half, chances were created again through the defensive midfielders pushing forward. At the 47th minute, Tokunaga advanced to the left front line and passed to the center. Hirayama laid it off, and from a pass by Kajiyama behind, Ishikawa, who was free in the right area, struck with his right foot, but it went wide... After that, Niigata connected passes and almost gained momentum, but the midfield and DF line coordinated to regain possession and prevented them from finishing. At the 60th minute, Hirayama received a pass from Tokunaga in the area, was fouled, and earned a penalty kick. Kajiyama calmly took a powerful shot to the lower left of the goal, leveling the score. With the home crowd's momentum rising, the team launched a speedy attack toward Niigata's goal. At the 71st minute, Kajiyama sent a lobbed ball behind the opposing DF, and Daikoku in the right area volleyed a direct shot, but it went across the goal. At the 76th minute, from Nakamura's left throw-in, Ricardinho passed to Kajiyama in the center, who stepped forward and prepared to shoot but was blocked. However, Hirayama ran in to the ball that spilled to the right area and took a decisive shot, but the GK saved it. Also at the 76th minute, from a cross by Mukuhara, Daikoku attempted a diving header but could not hit the target. As counterattacks exchanged, the team failed to convert key chances, and time passed. Even during 3 minutes of stoppage time, they pushed for all three points, but at 90+3 minutes, Gonda's goal kick was intercepted in the opponent's half, and Niigata MF Marcio Richardes launched the ball into Tokyo's territory. Unable to clear it, Niigata's right side back Nishi charged into the area. Substitute Ricardinho fouled from behind, conceding a penalty. Ricardinho received his second yellow card and was sent off. In the final moments, an absolute crisis was faced, but Niigata MF Marcio Richardes' penalty was saved by Gonda in the lower right corner!!! Thanks to Gonda's fine play, defeat was avoided, but despite taking more than twice as many shots as Niigata, only one goal was scored from the penalty, resulting in just one point earned. 【Player Comments】 《Gonda》"Regarding Niigata's penalty, if I move first, it becomes a gamble, so I calmly watched MF Marcio Richardes' kick and judged. That is a basic principle I always keep in mind. However, including the previous goal kick, there are things to reflect on, and I can't say I was completely satisfied just because I saved the penalty. It is important to make the one point earned meaningful going forward." 《Kajiyama》"We regained possession through tough defense and aimed for an additional goal until the end. I wasn't thinking about a draw. I focused on moving forward and playing up front, and the feeling wasn't bad... I aimed left on the penalty because I kicked right in the Liga de Quito match. The GK moved after I kicked, so I didn't feel it could be saved. I want to keep winning by continuing to play matches like this." 【Coach Okuma's Press Conference Summary】 "There were some self-inflicted mistakes like careless passes that somewhat strangled ourselves, but overall the amount of running has been sustained for 90 minutes in both offense and defense. The conceded goal was not due to being broken down near the area or attacking third, but can be called self-inflicted. We want to confirm that as a team. The players are working hard. As I said before, I want to approach every match as if it were a tournament. (Regarding challenges and future efforts) I think the amount of running has increased the individual traits and the tasks that annoy the opponent. The issue with finishing chances is something we see as a team challenge, and we want to continue working hard in both offense and defense. We will fight the remaining matches with the mindset of creating goals together. (What was the intention behind bringing in Matsushita?) It was not because Ishikawa had problems with running or shooting chances, but also to raise the overall strength of the 18 registered players. We wanted to bring in fresh players and apply more pressure through Matsushita's crossing accuracy. There was criticism that the flow stopped, but we cannot fight the remaining matches with just 11 players, so we want to evaluate substitutes and strengthen the team even with limited time. (There were moments when Hirayama dropped back; what about that?) There is a dilemma there. The number of times the ball comes to him should have increased compared to before. Also, with Kajiyama in, the number of passes connecting increased. However, since passing causes the opponent to pull back, we need to examine high balls and vertical passes as well. Also, not only in heading situations but also when isolated, we want to avoid spending too much time there. We want to thoroughly do the unpleasant work for the opponent, especially in front of the goal." 【Niigata Coach Kurosaki's Press Conference Summary】 "We knew it would be a difficult match for us at FC Tokyo's home. We thought Tokyo would push forward at the start, but in the first half, they pulled back and aimed for counterattacks. We also had places to connect passes, but in slow attacks, passes were intercepted, and there were several dangerous moments in the first half. On the other hand, when we could steal well and launch counters, we did not speed up. If MF Cho Yong-chul and others could have moved at top speed to exploit behind, chances would have increased. Despite that, we took the lead with MF Marcio Richardes' free kick but gave away a penalty in the second half due to a careless foul. Regarding the last penalty, we trust MF Marcio Richardes, so missing it was unavoidable. Overall, the players fought aggressively, many supporters came, and I think we were able to play a Niigata-style match."