Stop the losing streak with the first victory in a month of league play

　A match between both teams who suffered losses in the previous round and want to break the bad streak. Especially for Tokyo, they haven't won a single game in the league since the Sec. 3 match against Tokyo V about a month ago, and they have been in a tough situation with consecutive shutout losses in the last two matches. They desperately need a win. Although they narrowly won against Kashima in the Nabisco Cup match on April 29th, preventing "early goals" within the first 5 minutes of the game, including that match, in the last 3 matches will be the key to breaking the losing streak.

　On the other hand, Kobe Univ has been updating their "home undefeated record" this season with 3 wins and 2 draws in home games, despite losing in the previous away game. Additionally, at the venue of this day, Kobe Univ, they have continued their unbeaten streak with 3 wins in league matches against Tokyo in the past. It is expected that they will aggressively attack from the beginning of the kickoff, aiming for a certain victory at home with absolute confidence in order to ride the rising air current again.

　Tokyo's starting lineup will face the same members as the previous match, except for Fujiyama replacing Wu at left back. Miyazawa will replace Miura, who is suspended, on the bench, and Baba will replace Kurizawa. It was expected that the performance of 18-year-old Kajiyama, who has played a key role as an attacking midfielder in four consecutive matches including the 6th round against Iwata and the Levain Cup, and the midfield duo of Konno and Asari, who formed a double pivot in the previous match, would have a significant impact on the outcome. The match kicked off at 2:04 PM under perfect sunny conditions.

Another early goal conceded...

　It was the home team Kobe that showed momentum right after the kickoff. Kobe targeted the tall Brazilian striker FW Leandro with long balls from the defense line, and FW Bando, who formed a two-top with him, made sharp movements to get involved and headed towards the goal. Although Jean was marking Leandro and was not at a height disadvantage, Kobe reacted faster to the second balls, with not only Bando but also right MF Kojima and left MF Fujimoto quickly picking up the ball and supplying passes to the front line or attempting to break through with dribbles to apply pressure. In the 4th minute, a series of short passes led to Bando being free on the left side of the penalty area in front of Tokyo's goal, and he received the final pass and took a shot, but this was barely blocked by Kaji. In the following 6th minute, from a scramble in front of Tokyo's goal, the ball was played behind the defensive line, and Bando broke free, but GK Doi bravely rushed out and caught it just in time. It seemed they had survived this series of crises and navigated through the 'cursed time right after the kickoff' without conceding, but the relief was short-lived.

　11 minutes, when a floating pass from MF Tsubouchi on the left side reached Leandro who was preparing in the center, he skillfully trapped it and shot with his left foot while blocking the marker with his right foot. The low and powerful shot grazed Doi's hand and went into the goal. Once again, they allowed a goal in the early stage when they should have taken enough care and were put in a difficult situation from the beginning.

Passive play was noticeable in the first half

　From the early stages, Kobe showed their fighting spirit, while Tokyo entered the match with a lack of intensity, and this "temperature difference" was reflected in the results early on. Even after that, Tokyo did not wake up; instead, they continued to be pushed back by Kobe's power play as the match progressed. The atmosphere felt heavy. Did conceding a goal again in the early stages, which should have been well managed, rob the players of their confidence? Even though they were not being completely broken down, was there a sense of dissatisfaction with conceding a silly goal...? Amidst this, the players fighting on the pitch were the midfielders Konno and Asari. Konno used his trademark cheetah-like intense chasing to win the ball back. Or perhaps it was Asari who stopped the opponent's disrupted pass due to Konno's pressing by putting his body on the line. Because these two midfielders were effective, it seemed that the opponent avoided battles in the midfield and relied on long balls. However, even when they managed to win the ball and connect, there were many passive plays in the front line, leading to the ball being cut off before reaching the goal, resulting in noticeable counterattacks against them.

　The first real chance came in the 27th minute. Ishikawa held the ball in the center and persisted, passing to Kajiyama, who sent Lucas into the space on the right side. Lucas delivered a low cross just inside the goal line between the opposing GK and DF, but Toda dove in with his head and couldn't push it in, the ball just barely going outside the goal. This was the first decisive moment of the day after breaking down the side. Conversely, in the 35th minute, a counterattack was initiated from a kick error by Fujiyama, with Shigeno breaking through Leandro on the left side, leading to a one-on-one with Doih. As he entered the penalty area, he took a powerful low shot with his right foot, but Doih made a super play, stopping it with just his right leg. In the 37th minute, Tokyo broke through the right side from a counterattack this time. From Kajiyama to Ishikawa to Kaji, Lucas shot from the center after the cross. In the 40th minute, a corner kick from the right led to a scramble in front of the goal, and Konno, who was following up on the loose ball, took a powerful shot, but it hit the opposing DF and resulted in another corner kick. The corner taken by Ishikawa from the left found Konno free at the far side, who trapped it and unleashed a powerful shot from close range, but once again it was blocked by the opposing DF and did not result in a goal. In stoppage time, Ishikawa aimed directly at a free kick earned about 30m slightly left of the center of the goal, but it was saved by the opposing GK, leading to the end of the first half with a score of 0-1, carrying the contest into the second half.

Makoto's one-man show! Amazing 2 goals lead to a great comeback victory!!

　During halftime, Coach Hara said, "Instead of focusing on the plays, have a stronger fighting spirit. Ishikawa, play more aggressively. If we continue to attack from the outside in the second half, we will definitely score. Just like when Konno took a shot, we can create chances from set plays as well. The game starts from here," he shouted.

　30 seconds into the second half, a pass from Lucas to the right to Ishikawa, who crosses the ball. The ball drifts to the far side after a contest in the center, and Kajiyama runs in to take a volley shot from a difficult angle. The ball goes over the crossbar, but Ishikawa, who didn't have many opportunities in the first half, immediately showed his strengths.

　Tokyo, which became aggressive like a different team in the first half, started to steal the ball in a high position in the front line and created chances. In the 50th minute, Imano, who received a pass on the right side, quickly passed a through ball into the vertical space, and Ishikawa caught up with it and earned a corner kick while being surrounded by two opposing defenders. Ishikawa took the corner kick, and Imano dived for a header while competing with the opposing defender in the center of the goal. The ball drew a powerful trajectory and pierced the goal net. Imano's joyful first J1 goal became a priceless goal for the team in the best time zone.

　Tokyo, who gained courage from Konno's goal, became even more aggressive. In the 53rd minute, Abe was substituted for Lucas, who was not in good condition. They went for the win. On the other hand, Kobe, who was caught up to the tie, became more aggressive in order to score additional points, and the game became more intense. In the 56th minute, Kobe's Kojima, who stole the ball on the left side, sent a long pass to Harato in the shallow space behind Tokyo's defense line. Harato broke free from Doi and faced him one-on-one. Doi jumped out fiercely and managed to escape with a punch, but it was a decisive moment. Furthermore, in the 59th minute, Leandro carried Jean on his back in front of Tokyo's goal and skillfully used the sole of his foot to shoot with his left foot. The ball narrowly missed the left side of the goal, but it was a dangerous scene.

　Tokyo is not backing down either. In the 60th minute, a pass goes behind the shallow line of the Kobe DF, and Toda breaks free for a one-on-one with the GK. As Toda enters the right side of the penalty area, the opposing GK comes out, but instead of shooting, Toda chooses to send a last pass to Abe, who is running into the center. Abe slides in but the opposing DF clears it just a moment earlier. It was a decisive moment that should have resulted in a shot. In the following 63rd minute, Kaji breaks through after a perfect one-two with Ishikawa on the right side and delivers the best cross of the day, but Kajiyama, who ran in at the far side, heads it just over the bar. In the 64th minute, Kajiyama cuts the ball in a midfield tussle. At this moment, Konno charges fiercely into the open space on the left side, and after drawing the opposing DF sufficiently, Kajiyama passes to Konno at the perfect timing. As Konno enters the penalty area, he calmly strikes with his left foot, and the powerful ground shot grazes the opposing GK's hand and goes into the right side of the goal. Surprised himself, he scored his first two goals as a professional, adding another point.

　After that, Jang Hyun Soo created many chances with effective plays that exploited the space on the left side of Konno. Despite facing a desperate counterattack from Kobe towards the end, they managed to repel it with high concentration and physical play until the final whistle. They stopped their losing streak in the league at 2 and obtained a valuable 3 points, which was their first win in about a month.

【Player Comments】《Player Imano》"(The first goal) was lucky that I was able to score because I happened to be free. The second goal was also easy to score because Yohei KAJIYAMA attracted the opponent. Today, it felt like the ball was coming to me, and I think I was lucky."《Player Asari》"We had a discussion with everyone because we lost in the previous game in a similar way... but we conceded a similar goal again and struggled in the first half. I think we were able to recover based on the instructions from the coach at halftime. In terms of defense, we just need to aim for the loose ball after Imano's shot, and we are improving, but we still haven't been able to move the ball well in the attack, so that's the challenge."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "In the last three matches against Jubilo, Antlers, and Marinos, we conceded goals within five minutes, so we were supposed to focus on not conceding early today. However, we conceded in the 11th minute. The first goal was a ball that the goalkeeper could have caught. We weren't broken down, but that goal made the entire team nervous. Even Moniwa seemed to lose confidence after being beaten by Leandro just once. At halftime, I told them, 'It's not about playing well, but about fighting more.' I also told Ishikawa to challenge more vertically, and he improved in the second half. In the first half, only Konno and Asari were fighting. In the second half, the whole team started to press aggressively from the front, which is our style of football. We found a good rhythm, and Konno scored two goals. Today, I paired Konno with Asari, and with Asari behind him, Konno could confidently move forward. His natural aggressiveness came out, and he led the team. It's true that we are struggling without Kelly and (Kanazawa) Jyo, but everyone is doing well. Today was a match that could have led to a downward spiral if we lost here. I want to carry the momentum from today into the next match against Reysol."

[Kobe HASEK's press conference summary] "Our players did well. Leo played wonderfully and I want to see him play in every match. However, it's disappointing that we couldn't score another goal in the first half. In the second half, Hato had a decisive chance to face the goalkeeper one-on-one, but it was stopped by the goalkeeper's hand. That was a 100% red card play. We have now lost two consecutive matches, so we want to switch our mindset and focus on the next match against Hiroshima. It was also painful that Tsuchiya received his third yellow card."