J.League resumes! More aggressive, always win at home!!

　The J-League resumed after the World Cup. Manager Hara said, "We want to push forward with our emotions and play a more attacking style of soccer. Especially in home games, we want to attack aggressively and absolutely not lose." The first game after the break is an important game that will determine the direction of the 1st stage. With Manager Hara's desired attacking soccer, we want to defeat Sanfrecce Hiroshima and gain momentum for the future.

　Today is the 6th anniversary of Samba Night. The stadium is filled with the passionate rhythm of one of Japan's leading samba teams, belonging to the Asakusa Escola de Samba Association, reaching its climax.

　The starting lineup for Tokyo is a 3-5-2 formation on the lineup sheet, but MF Kaji plays as a right back, FW Toda plays as a left outside, and Fukuda plays as a lone striker in a familiar 4-5-1 system. On the other hand, Hiroshima kicked off with a 3-5-2 system with DF Komano playing as a right wing.

J-League Kicks Off To A Samba Rhythm 

Following a three month break for the World Cup J-League football returned to Tokyo Stadium on Sunday evening with Sanfrecce Hiroshima the visitors for the sixth edition of Samba Night. The thunderous rhythms provided by Japan based samba teams organized in conjunction with the Asakusa Escola Za Samba whipped the expectant crowd into a pre-match frenzy,
as did manager Hara's comments: " We're going for all out attacking football. We will absolutely not lose at home. "
The Tokyo starting eleven read 3-5-2 on paper but with midfielder Kaji as right side-back, forward Toda as outside left and Fukuda as lone striker, lined up as 4-5-1 on the pitch. Sanfrecce opted for 3-5-2 with Komano as left winger.

Oshareru mo Doi ga mamori, Toda ga nagare o kaeru

　From the start, both teams showed a determined attitude towards the goal. In the 1st minute, Hiroshima's FW Oki quickly took a shot, and in the 3rd minute, Tokyo's Jean headed the ball from a set play. In the 4th minute, Ishikawa, who had changed positions, took a shot from the left side. In the 9th minute, Miyazawa aimed for the goal with a shot from a throw-in, actively seeking to score. However, Hiroshima's midfielders quickly returned and their concentrated defense did not allow an easy goal.

　Both teams were pressing each other from the front line, but Hiroshima slightly slowed down after 15 minutes. They stopped attacking aggressively and instead focused on using a combination of slow and fast passes.

　However, Tokyo's decisive pinch comes after this. In the 26th minute, a pass was made behind the defense line from Daiki who attacked the left side, and Kubo flew out with excellent timing, facing off against Doi one-on-one. The shot, which was almost a goal, was saved by Doi's fine play. In the 28th minute, Fujimoto dribbled into the penalty area and when he was approached by a defender, he showed a movement as if moving away from the center of the goal to the right side, and took a shot, hitting the crossbar. In the following 29th minute, a pass was made to Kubo who broke free behind the shallow defense line, but the shot narrowly missed to the left of the goal.

　Hiroshima created decisive chances with efficient and effective attacks, but it was Tokyo who first shook the net. In the 36th minute, Ishikawa briefly kept the ball outside the penalty area after receiving a pass from Shimodaira. He quickly made a decision and played a through pass to Toda, who had run behind the defense. Toda took a shot with his foot and scored a goal! With Toda's first goal of the season, Tokyo took the lead.

Doi Preserves, Toda Excels 

Both teams launched into attack straight from the kick off, Sanfrecce's Oki having the first attempt on goal with only a minute on the clock. Jean went close with a header after 3 minutes and Ishikawa fired in a shot from the left a minute later. In the 9th minute, Miyazawa latched onto a loose ball from a throw in but was blocked by some desperate defending.
From around the 15th minute, Sanfrecce dropped the tempo and began to roll the ball around, looking for openings behind the F.C.TOKYO back line. In the 26th minute, Oki picked out Kubo's run with a superb ball that set the lanky striker free inside the penalty area; Doi stood up then dived sharply to his right for a stunning save. Two minutes later, the Tokyo stopper was beaten by Fujimoto's volley from an acute angle but the ball scraped the bar and bounced harmlessly into touch. Kubo wasted another glorious chance in the 29th minute as he blazed a shot past the post with only Doi to beat.
Their profligacy in front of goal proved to be their undoing as Tokyo took the lead against the run of play in the 36th minute, with a goal as sharp as it was surprising. Shimotaira found Ishikawa on the edge of the penalty area; he held the ball for an instant before gently rolling it into the path of Toda who burst into the narrowest of spaces between the last defender and the keeper to prod the ball home for his first goal of the season.

Outstanding combination play, Miyazawa's free kick pushes Hiroshima away

　Tokyo, which attracted the flow, scored an additional goal in the closing moments of the first half at the 43rd minute. This time, Miyazawa received a pass from Shimodaira and immediately passed it to Toda. Toda, who had moved out from the second row in a similar way to the first goal, received the ball and slipped past the defense line with one touch, then took a shot. With a combination play that utilized Toda's speed, Tokyo scored an additional goal at an unbeatable timing. The number of shots in the first half was equal, with 8 shots each. However, Tokyo had 7 shots on target, including Toda's 2 goals. The difference in finishing ability was reflected in the halftime score.

　Shortly after the start of the second half, Ishikawa cleverly chased after Hiroshima DF's loose pass and won a corner kick. However, Hiroshima also launched a fierce press from the front line and counterattacked. In the 50th minute, MF Matsushita dribbled into the center of the penalty area and took a shot, but Doi saved it. Kubo's shot from the rebounded ball missed the target. In the 54th minute, Matsushita took a shot directly from a free kick. In the 59th minute, in a direct play similar to Tokyo's goal, Ohki -> Kubo came close to scoring, but the shot missed the goal.

　In the second half, Tokyo was unable to create chances, but in the 58th minute, Amaral was substituted for Fukuda. Amaral became the starting point and launched a counterattack. In the 70th minute, Ishikawa attempted a solo dribble from a quick attack, causing the opponent's defender to commit a foul. They obtained a free kick outside the right penalty area. Miyazawa took the kick, and the ball grazed the opponent's goalkeeper's hand and went into the bottom right corner of the goal! With a brilliant free kick, Tokyo pushed Hiroshima, who was chasing, away.

Just Like Watching Brazil 

Toda had to wait eight games for his first goal of the year; he waited just seven minutes for his second. In an almost identical move Shimotaira found Miyazawa on the edge of the area and this time Toda took one touch before sweeping a delightful layoff beyond the Sanfrecce keeper. The first half ended 2-0 to F.C.TOKYO; both sides managed eight shots but,
including Toda's two goals, the home team had seven on target, to Sanfrecce's one.
The visitors came out revitalized in the second half and produced a string of opportunities but again failed to capitalise on some fine approach work. Manager Hara replaced Fukuda with Amaral after 58 minutes and the momentum switched back to F.C.TOKYO almost immediately as the " King of Tokyo" was able to hold the ball up in advanced positions, relieving the pressure on the defence. In the 70th minute Ishikawa charged at the Sanfrecce defence until felled about 25 metres out on the right. Miyazawa stepped up and curled a sublime free kick inside the near post which the keeper could only help into the net.

Complete victory with Speed Star Toda's hat-trick!

　Tokyo, which is gaining momentum, continues to attack without letting up, with Amaral as the starting point, showing a wide-ranging attack. In the 80th minute, Amaral in the center passed to Kelly on the right, then to Ishikawa on the left, and Ishikawa's final shot missed the goal to the left, but it shook the Hiroshima defenders with a big development. Then, in the 84th minute, Amaral in the center again passed to Kelly, who had moved to the left side this time, and Kelly dribbled to attract the defenders before entering the shooting motion and passed the ball in front of the goal. Toda, who was waiting freely, trapped the ball with his chest and unleashed a beautiful volley shot to score a goal! "Until now, we were creating chances but couldn't finish them. But there is no player who can run as much as him, and it is wonderful that he is contributing to the team both in defense and attack," said Coach Hara, delighted with Toda's hat-trick, which was the fourth goal to seal the victory.

　In the 88th minute, Kelly was substituted for, and Kina, who returned from injury, made his first appearance of the season. Although it was a short time, he ran around the pitch from side to side and showed us his energetic figure.

　In the end, there was not much difference in the score, but Tokyo's victory was achieved by not letting up at crucial moments and by performing their "job" diligently, such as Doi's fine play and Toda's goal. This marks the sixth year of undefeated games for Sanbanight since the JFL era. Of course, they are also undefeated in home games this season. They want to continue this momentum and sprint through the remaining 7 matches of the 1st stage.

[Summary of the press conference by the former coach] "At first, the performance was poor to the extent that I didn't want to watch the video of the first half. After the break, we resumed training and increased the amount of practice. We tried various systems due to player injuries, but due to fatigue, it was difficult to regain our form. Even today's start felt heavy. In the first half, there was a decisive pinch, and I think if we had been taken there, we would have lost. We were helped by Doi's good positioning and the opponent's mistake, and Toda scored at a good time, changing the flow. There were dangerous moments in the second half as well, but I think we finally settled down around Miyazawa's goal and the rhythm of Tokyo came out. There were many injured players in the first half, but players like Toda emerged and Kina also returned. I want to make good preparations for the next match against Iwata, utilizing the positive aspects."

[Summary of Hiroshima Kimura's interim coach press conference] "We were able to fight in a good rhythm in the first half, but our defense became fragile after conceding a goal. We tried to connect to the second half with a score of 0-1, but we conceded a second goal and it became difficult overall. In particular, I tried to make adjustments to Ishikawa during the game, but it didn't communicate well and we conceded a goal in a form that didn't work. In the midst of the situation where Coach Gadzhi GADZHIEV suddenly returned to his home country, we have been practicing to connect passes and attack in a good way as much as possible. I think that was partly evident in the first half."

Hat Trick For Toda-Four For Tokyo

F.C.TOKYO kept the pressure on as Amaral stretched the Sanfrecce defense hither and yon. Ishikawa flashed a shot inches wide in the 80th minute before Toda scored his third, and Tokyo's fourth, four minutes later. Amaral found Kelly just inside the area on the left; he dribbled inside, faked a shot and lofted a delicate ball to the unmarked Toda who controlled
it on his chest and smashed a volley past the keeper. Manager Hara said of Toda "Until today he had created a lot of chances but had been unable to finish any of them himself. However, nobody runs harder or works harder for the team."
Kina made his first appearance of the season following a long injury layoff, received a hero's welcome from the fans and galloped around gleefully for a few minutes until the referee blew the final whistle. In truth, the final score didn't really reflect the differences between the teams: Doi's saves and Toda's hat trick being the principal ones. F.C.TOKYO
are now unbeaten in six Samba Night games stretching back to their JFL days and unbeaten at home this season. Hopefully, the team can maintain this form in the remaining seven games.

Manager Hara :
" The first half was terrible. Doi and our opponents' finishing kept us in the game until Toda put us ahead with two timely goals. The second half wasn't plain sailing either but the third goal was the clincher. Then we really found our rhythm. We've struggled with injuries this year but with players like Toda coming through and Kina coming back from injury things are looking up."

Sanfrecce manager Kimura:
"We played well in the first half and had a good rhythm. 0-1 at half time wouldn't have been too bad but conceding a second
made it very difficult for us."