Temperature 34.5℃!

The third match of the season against Kofu was held at Nirasaki Chuo Park Athletics Stadium in the scorching heat of 34.5℃, resembling midsummer. According to Kofu officials, it was considered a "cool" day, but the heat that cannot be experienced in Tokyo at this time of year was a concern for the Tokyo Eleven in terms of its impact on their physical stamina. Furthermore, the location of the match venue, described as a "stadium surrounded by mountains with a seating capacity of about 2,000 people (all grass seats in the goal end and back stands!)," made us truly feel like we were playing "away." Despite the "harsh conditions" of a weekday 2:00 PM kickoff in Nirasaki, approximately 100 fans from Tokyo came to support us. With no shade to shield them from the intense sunlight, they supported us with strong and energetic cheers in the same harsh environment as the players, and we couldn't afford to lose in front of such dedicated fans.

Only scored one point (?) in the first half

As the match began, Tokyo immediately launched a fierce attack. Tokyo's ace, Amaral, who had missed the previous match due to accumulated warnings, showed energetic movements as if to vent his frustrations, demonstrating stable post play as a focal point in the front line. Along with Amaral, Almir also displayed proactive post play in the front line, while Okamoto aggressively targeted the opposing defense with forceful runs, and Yukihiko made sharp dribbling breakthroughs on the right side to deliver crosses, overwhelming Kofu with their "attacking midfield". Particularly, Okamoto, who started for the second consecutive match since the previous game, showcased his characteristic ability by vigorously chasing long passes from the back with abundant stamina, putting pressure on the opposing defense. In the 20th minute, he broke free from a vertical pass from a teammate's defense, creating a scoring opportunity. On the other hand, Kofu occasionally seized the ball from Tokyo's mistakes and aimed for a simple "one-shot" with the speed of Horii, Yoshida, and Ooba running behind Tokyo's defense. However, despite getting into good positions, they failed to create scoring opportunities due to inaccurate passes at crucial moments. Occasionally, they seemed poised to get behind Tokyo's defense, but they could not overcome the "final wall" of Komine and Sandro.

Tokyo took the lead. In the 27th minute, Almir broke through the right side and centered the ball. Amaral took a shot, but it hit the opponent's defender and the ball floated to Yukihiro in the center, who took a direct shot. Although the shot didn't have much power, it had a good trajectory and was sucked into the bottom left corner of the goal. Tokyo continued to dominate the ball with a 70-80% possession rate, but their attacks lacked intensity and seemed complacent with their one-goal lead against a defensive-minded Kofu. They were unable to score an additional goal and ended the first half.

In an instant, the situation turned around and became a difficult development.

In the first half, Tokyo, who had been worried about a power down due to the heat, maintained their energy and dominated the game throughout. In the second half, they continued to play strongly. In the 48th minute, Amaral's volley, in the 49th minute, Okamoto, and in the 52nd minute, Almir's diving header created a series of scoring opportunities, but Tokyo could not manage to secure an additional goal. In the 59th minute, as Tokyo began to show signs of impatience, they shifted their focus to attack with a corner kick, but faced a crisis from Kofu's quick counterattack. Kofu took advantage of a momentary lapse from Tokyo, who had stopped due to a foul, with a quick restart from their left-side defender, advancing up to the halfway line and delivering an exquisite through pass to the center. Kofu's speedy forward, Horii, reacted sharply to this. He broke free from the marking of Tokyo's defender, Komine, who had been kept in check until then, and calmly scored the equalizing goal, shaking off Komine's desperate chase. With this momentum, Kofu cut off a misplaced pass from the unsettled Tokyo midfield in the 60th minute, shifted to the right, and with an easy cross, forward Yoshida dove in and powerfully scored the turnaround goal with his head.

Four goals in a furious 15 minutes remaining!

Tokyo, who was turned around in an instant, moved here. Replacing Okamoto, who had lost his energy due to fatigue, with the speedy forward Go KABURAKI. KABURAKI showed fierce chasing from the front line, bringing vitality back to Tokyo. The match developed into a back-and-forth battle, with Amaral's aggressive charge for Tokyo and Kofu's Horii making sharp movements and maintaining possession to threaten the goal. The game changed in the 75th minute when Fujiyama broke through the left side with persistent dribbling and passed to Amaral in the center from a deep position. Amaral, before the Kofu defender could tackle, took a one-touch (without stepping) and powerfully scored the equalizer with his left foot. With this, Tokyo regained momentum and launched a fierce attack. In the 78th minute, KABURAKI, who received a pass from Koike at a right 45-degree position in front of the Kofu goal (after coming on as a substitute), quickly turned around and shot as he turned. Although there was no angle, the ball slipped past the goalkeeper's left and shook the goal net, successfully turning the game around (3-2). Two minutes later, in the 80th minute, Fujiyama sent a long pass to the front line, and Almir dashed fiercely. The Kofu defender, flustered, made a back pass with a header to the approaching goalkeeper from close range, but the goalkeeper fumbled it. Almir seized the ball and kicked it into the empty goal for the fourth point. Tokyo, pushing forward, in the 86th minute, KABURAKI stole the ball in his own half, ran solo for about 60 meters down the right side, and passed to Amaral in the center. The Kofu defenders desperately tried to defend, but Amaral passed to Almir, who calmly took a shot, and the ball hit the goalkeeper and went into the goal. Completely confident of victory, Tokyo later conceded an unnecessary point in stoppage time just before the end, and the match ended 5-3. At one point, it was a bit nerve-wracking, but in a tough environment, they secured a valuable three points away.

<Coach Okuma's Comment>

I am not able to switch my mindset after conceding a goal, just like in the Sapporo match on August 29th, and it is not good to concede goals consecutively. It is a future challenge, and I want to ask the players for mental strength. Overall, I am satisfied that we were able to surpass (Kofu) in terms of physical fitness in this heat and carry the game at our pace. Regarding the (5 goals) attack, instead of making aggressive moves in a desperate situation, we need to be able to do it from the first half. I also consider this a future challenge.