Defeating the battered Iwata, advancing to the top

　The 7th match of the 2nd stage will be played at home against Júbilo Iwata. The schedule is tough with only 2 days of rest since the previous match, so there are concerns about the players' condition, but the same can be said for the opponent. Iwata's performance in the 2nd stage has not been good, with 1 win, 3 draws, and 2 losses. In the previous match, we lost 0-1 with a goal from MF Raul Sudati, who has also transferred overseas, and it is generally believed that we have not been able to fill the gap left by him. Furthermore, today's top scorer, Grau, is suspended. Nakayama, Hattori, and Namba are also injured, so we can say that the team is in a state of complete disarray.

　However, it is a match against Iwata that has not seen a victory since 2000. We must challenge the dominant team no matter who the opponent's members are. Today, Amaral will start for the first time in 5 league matches for Tokyo. Without a goalkeeper on the bench, we will go for the victory with an attacking lineup and attitude.

Despite overwhelming Iwata, they concede the first goal from a free kick

　The game that started with the kickoff in Tokyo saw Toda taking a corner kick in the first 30 seconds, and Ishikawa taking another corner kick in the first minute. Then, Miyazawa attempted a direct goal from a free kick, and in the third minute, Amaral was fouled by Ishikawa's dribble breakthrough, resulting in a free kick. Miyazawa once again aimed for the goal. Tokyo's proactive attitude to move forward is noticeable from the beginning. In the 10th minute, Miura took a middle shot. In the 11th minute, Miyazawa stole the ball from Iwata in their own half, and Kelly aggressively took a shot. In the 14th minute, Amaral and Toda created chances by attacking the goal from Kaji's cross.

　Iwata excels in calm build-up play from the defensive line, but Tokyo puts pressure on at key moments and doesn't allow any chances. In the 17th minute, Ishikawa receives a return pass from Miyazawa, who had moved up in front of the goal, and takes a shot. In the 20th minute, Toda makes a run in response to Ishikawa's sharp through pass, but is slightly offside. Iwata, who has been on the defensive, takes their first shot in the 20th minute when Nishi, the right-sided midfielder, cuts inside with a dribble and takes a shot. In the 22nd minute, Nishi cuts back from the right end line and sends a through pass into the box, but Mochida intercepts it. Tokyo's defense is completely solid and not in danger at all.

　However, it was the 24th minute. Iwata, who got a free kick inside the Tokyo team's territory, had MF Fukunishi pass a ground ball to FW Nishino in front of the goal. Then, Maeda appeared from the right side, circling around FW Nishino as a starting point from the post, and switched with Nishino to break through in front of the goal, scoring easily. There was a momentary gap in marking... but Iwata did not miss the moment when Tokyo's concentration was broken and took the lead.

Equalized with a beautiful Tokyo-style attack!

　Tokyo, who fell behind, did not let up on their attack. In the 27th minute, Toda seemed to score from the rebound of Kanazawa's powerful shot, but it was offside. In the 30th minute, Ishikawa crossed directly from Kelly's persistent keep. Amaral attempted an overhead shot. In the 35th minute, Amaral received Kelly's pass with his back to the goal and turned to shoot. However, it lacked power and missed the target, but it was just 2 minutes later.

　Kaji's pass is threaded through the center by Ishikawa. Amaral, who was positioned behind, makes a good decision and sends the ball to the right goal. Ishikawa, who charges without hesitation, crosses the ball to the center along the ground. Toda meets this ball and scores with his left foot! A fast attack that connects everything directly from Kaji's pass, and in Tokyo's familiar pattern, they quickly snatch the equalizer!!

　Tokyo had a big chance in the 41st minute. Kelly sent a long pass to the right side space, and Ishikawa used his speed to catch up and pass to Amaral in the center. Amaral was initially surrounded by Iwata defenders, but he showed persistence and the ball spilled in front of the goal. Kelly ran into the space between the Iwata defenders who had stopped, and took a shot... But the shot, taken freely from the front of the goal, grazed the post and missed, leaving Kelly with his head in his hands. However, Tokyo had 9 shots in the first half compared to Iwata's 2 shots. They dominated Iwata and headed into the second half with the score tied.

Before the Iwata, who embodies the skillful player...

　However, it was Iwata who attacked at the beginning of the second half. They moved midfielder Kawamura to right back and changed their formation to a 4-back. They pick up second balls and connect them to their attacks. In the 48th minute, from a persistent keep in front of the goal, MF Jivković takes a shot. In the 50th minute, Tokyo tries to score from a right free kick by Miyazawa, but Kelly fails to connect. In the 55th minute, Iwata substitutes rookie Kikuchi for injured DF Tanaka and puts him in as a center back. Immediately after that, in the 56th minute, Tokyo creates another decisive scene. Kelly charges into the left penalty area, Amalao, who has moved to the outside to provide support, dribbles into the center again and sends a sharp final pass, which reaches Toda in front of the goal. However, the shot from close range, with a defender on his back, is saved by the goalkeeper.

　In the 62nd minute, Tokyo aimed for the Iwata goal with 34 consecutive corner kicks, and in the 64th and 66th minutes, they tried to shake the net from a free kick, but they couldn't do it. Gradually, Tokyo was pushed back and pressed by Iwata's passing, which was slow and old-fashioned. In the 70th minute, Iwata took the chance to counterattack and substituted Jivković for the speedy forward Kawaguchi. Then, in the 74th minute, when Tokyo was preparing to replace the visibly tired Miura with Abe, Iwata connected the ball from their own half, and Fukunishi passed it to the right side. Kawaguchi bypassed Miura and broke through the right side, then passed it again to Fukunishi, who had advanced freely into the penalty area. Fukunishi evaded Shigetani with a one-touch and attacked inside the right area, shooting. The ball pierced the net, and they scored the go-ahead goal.

　Tokyo, who replaced Abe with Miura in the 75th minute and Kondo Yu in place of Ishikawa, who collided with an opponent and bruised his left thigh in the 82nd minute, tried to score a goal. However, they lost their attacking power against Iwata, who pulled back their side and created a solid defensive line, and took their time to pass the ball. In the 83rd minute, Amaral unleashed a heading shot from a free kick, and in the 89th minute, Kanazawa broke free in front of the goal and took a direct shot from a long cross from the right, but neither of them could find the target. In stoppage time, Doi also joined the attack, but they couldn't score a goal. Tokyo suffered a painful defeat at home in the league for the first time this season against the tenacious Iwata.

[Player Comments] "Miyazawa" "Not being able to score when we had the chance really affected us until the end. In the second half, we should have been more composed and attacked from the sides, but we ended up focusing too much on the center and could only rely on the fullbacks and midfielders to cross the ball. I think it's proof that Iwata has the strength to achieve results with that lineup and style of play. We need to aim to be able to play like that as well." "Kanazawa" "In the second half, the opponent changed to a 4-back system, which made it difficult for us to play our own style of soccer. We adapted too much to the opponent, our distance was off, and we were easily exploited in the midfield. In times of adversity, I think it's important for everyone to unite their will and make use of different tactics, such as quick attacks and maintaining possession. We wanted to win and gain confidence, but..."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Iwata was missing players due to injuries and suspensions, so we moved the ball more than usual, created good opportunities, and controlled the game for a long time. In the first half, except for the moment we conceded the first goal, there was no danger. We exploited the space between their three-back and wing-backs, especially creating good chances from Ishikawa's side, which allowed us to equalize. We repeated such attacks, and Kelly and Toda had goal chances, but we couldn't convert them and ended up conceding the second goal. However, even with key players missing and young players on the field, Iwata managed to hold on well. They used the time wisely, kept possession, and escaped with the win, which is very disappointing. Even when trailing, we should not have panicked and should have broken through carefully from the sides as we did in the first half, but it is true that we couldn't do that during that period and flow of the game. It will probably take time to be able to do that. Perhaps because we had the attitude of pressing forward fearlessly from the start, we became too impatient. We need to win games like this, and as our style, we want to build a team that can score steadily and win by accumulating such experiences. We will not give up yet and will prepare to earn 3 points in the remaining 8 matches."

[Summary of Coach Yanagishita's Press Conference at Iwata] "I believe that ending the first half at 1-1 led to this result. In the first half, Tokyo had more speed and momentum moving forward, their movements were quick, and we could hardly do anything. Even when we regained possession, our movement was slow, our work rate was low, and the two forwards couldn't hold the ball up front to create attacking opportunities. The game proceeded at Tokyo's pace, but it was a relief that we scored one goal from a single chance. Tokyo's fullbacks pushed up, leaving four players up front, so in the second half we responded by setting four players in the back line. The opponent's work rate and speed dropped, allowing us to move the ball. Although we didn't have many chances, we took a good shot at the end and ultimately won 2-1. Looking at the full 90 minutes, I think it was Tokyo's game, but all the players showed great resilience until the end and expressed their determination to earn 3 points on the field, which I think was very good. We chose a four-back formation considering both offense and defense. With three at the back, the midfield had to drop back to cover the sides, delaying our push-up and support. By switching to four at the back, the outside players could play one step forward, creating space inside, reducing defensive burden, and making it easier to launch attacks."