A match that tests overall strength. Overcoming adversity with the performance of fresh players.

　In the previous match, we suffered our first loss in the league against Nagoya, and on top of that, Mobata and Fujiyama got injured. In addition to Kaji, who was injured in the Iwata match, three defenders are now out of action, creating an emergency situation. However, Mashima is starting as center back and Maeda as right fullback for the first time this season. Also, with the change in the backline and Miyazawa also feeling fatigued, Asari is being used as a defensive midfielder. Coach Hara said, "We need a player with experience and a strong voice in front of the backline when we need to pick up the pieces in the midfield. I hope they can hold their ground and provide a cushion in the midfield with a combination with Konno." He expects the fresh and energetic players to perform well. The team wants to overcome the final stretch of the three consecutive matches played in the past week together as one unit.

　Urawa, on the other hand, is currently in 17th place with 3 draws and 2 losses in the league. They have been unable to secure a win, but coach Hara said before the match, "We have individual strength. It will be a battle to prevent them from utilizing that strength as much as possible." DF Tatsuki Iwao is injured and DF Alpay is not playing, but they have adopted a 4-4-2 formation with MF Yamada in the defensive line to match Tokyo. The match started at 15:35 at the Ajinomoto Stadium under cloudy weather.

In At The Deep End

F.C.TOKYO found themselves in a state of defensive emergency following the loss to Grampus Eight as Moniwa and Fujiyama both picked up injuries during the match. Coupled with the injury Kaji sustained against Jubilo it meant that TOKYO would be forced to field an unfamiliar back line with Masushima at centre back and Maeda at right side back. Further up field Asari replaced the rested Miyazawa as defensive midfielder. TOKYO manager Hara commented, "We need an experienced player in front of the defence line to boss the midfield. I want him to do his best as a midfield cushion in tandem with Konno". Expectations ran high as TOKYO prepared for their third game in six days.
Urawa Reds lay 17th. in the league, winless in five games. "The Reds have great individual ability", commented Hiromi Hara, " We have to stop them from expressing that". Regular defenders Tulio and Alpay were absent and midfielder Yamada dropped back into defence as the Reds lined up in a 4-4-2 formation. The visitors kicked off on a hazy spring afternoon in West Tokyo.

In a tightly contested match, opportunities are created but...

　From the beginning, both teams launched fast attacks after solid defense, resulting in a tight match. It was difficult to create opportunities on the sides against Urawa's 4-4-2 formation, but in the 4th minute, Lucas cut inside from the left area and took a shot. In the 12th minute, Ishikawa sent a lofted pass to the front line from a set piece, and Imakano, who had slipped behind the opponent's defense, controlled the ball with his chest and took a shot. Although the ball hit the left post and was momentarily blocked by Urawa's defense, Ishikawa picked up the loose ball and took a shot, narrowly missing the goal, missing a golden opportunity.

　In the 24th minute, Lucas on the left passed to Toda in the middle, who then passed to Maeda on the right side. They combined to bring the ball into the box, but the Urawa defenders intercepted it. Amidst the back-and-forth interceptions, Toda had opportunities in the 38th and 43rd minutes to break through in front of the goal, but he couldn't finish due to offside and tight marking by the opposing defenders.

　The ball fell in front of Urawa FW Emerson, who had entered the area early in the game, but Muroshima calmly dealt with it. In the 18th minute, Emerson attempted to dribble into the area, but Jean stopped him with a foul just before the area and gave a free kick. However, the free kick was blocked by the Tokyo DF wall. In the 38th minute, Nagai attacked from a right throw-in and took a shot from the right corner of the area, but Doi made a solid catch. Muroshima, Asari, and Maeda, who made their first starts of the season, showed play that was no different from the team's previous performances in individual situations and combination plays. In the first half, both teams showed strong defense, competing evenly with intense pressure and filling the spaces. The score remained 0-0 as they entered the second half.

Tight Game Yields Chances But... 

The game began at a tense and frantic pace as both sides sought an early advantage. TOKYO struggled to make headway down the flanks in the face of the Reds four man backline and it took Lucas until the fourth minute to register the first shot. In the 12th minute, Ishikawa floated a pass over the Reds defense, Konno trapped the ball neatly on his chest and volleyed goalwards. The shot beat Tsuzuki in the Reds goal but came back off the post and struck a defender but somehow failed to cross the line. Following up, Ishikawa smashed the ball over the bar.
An excellent chance went begging.
A fine passing move broke down in the 24th minute and Toda was caught offside twice as TOKYO attempted to squeeze a chance from the miserly Reds defense.
At the other end, Masushima coolly coped with Emerson as the Reds dangerman latched onto a loose ball just outside the area. Jean fouled Emerson just outside the TOKYO penalty area in the 18th minute but the free kick hit the wall. In the 38th minute, Reds forward Nagai collected the ball from a throw in, cut inside the area on the right and shot but Doi held the strike cleanly. Masushima, Asari and Maeda were making their first starts of the season but all three were playing well and had integrated comfortably into the team. Defense dominated the first half and the teams left the field with the game finely balanced at 0-0.

守備の隙を突かれ2失点。浦和の今季リーグ初勝利を許す

　At halftime, Manager Hara instructed, "Let's create opportunities from the sides and launch attacks. Set plays are chances." In the second half, they tried to aim for a goal with renewed determination. Following those instructions, they earned a free kick from the left side of Urawa's territory at the start of the 0th minute. Ishikawa's kick was received by Lucas, who was in front of Muroshima in the far area. However, the shot was blocked by Urawa's defenders. In the 47th minute, Lucas evaded the opposing defender after an interception and took a sharp shot, but narrowly missed the goal.

　However, in the 48th minute, the Tokyo defense, which had been fighting well up to this point, was caught off guard for a moment. A pass was connected from the Urawa DF line, and FW Nagai sent a high vertical pass to the right side. MF Hasebe caught up with the ball that rolled to the end line and made a negative cross in front of the goal. FW Emerson came from the left and perfectly connected the ball to score a goal. The Tokyo DF stopped their feet when they saw the ball and lost their mark on Emerson, allowing the opening goal.

　FC Tokyo, which launched a counterattack, substituted Kajiyama for Asari in the 63rd minute and substituted Norio Suzuki for Ishikawa, who was unable to create a good starting point on the side in the 71st minute. In the 72nd minute, they obtained a free kick about 30 meters to the left of the goal, slightly in front, and immediately after the substitution, Norio Suzuki took a powerful kick, but it went over the goal. In the 73rd minute, Jean dropped Masushima's free kick, and Kurizawa shot the loose ball, but the defense cut it off again. However, to counter the counterattack, in the 74th minute, Urawa's left corner kick was headed by defender Horinochi, and they conceded the second goal.

　In the 77th minute, Kondo was replaced by Kondo Yu, and they switched to a two-top formation to go for a goal. However, in the 82nd minute, Masushima perfectly timed his header from Suzuki Nori's kick from the left corner kick that Kurizawa earned, but unfortunately it hit the goalkeeper's face. In the 89th minute, Kajiyama dribbled past the defenders in the center and took a shot. Maeda picked up the rebound and Kajiyama jumped into the air for a right cross, but the ball went over the goal. Then, Lucas took a shot at the Urawa goal where goalkeeper Tsuzuki had come out, but it was blocked by the Urawa defenders and did not go in. They played with great determination and launched a fierce attack, but it did not bear fruit. In the end, they lost due to the difference in finishing ability, with 17 shots in total in the first and second halves, compared to Urawa's 13 shots on goal. It was a disappointing result.

[Player Comments]《Asari》"(Regarding the coordination with Konno) It was good that Kon-chan thoroughly fulfilled his role of breaking up play in the front, but there were many scenes where the ball was played to Urawa's forwards, and I should have kept a closer distance with the players behind me. If I could have connected the ball that the defense stopped..." 《Maeda》"Once we concede a goal, everything we had organized defensively goes to zero. Even when tired, we needed to raise our concentration and communicate with each other. In attack, I tried to keep Nao-san in a high position as much as possible, but the passes after winning the ball were off. There were several moments to deliver crosses, but they were half-hearted." 《Matsushima》"I'm disappointed to lose. Emerson was fast, but we managed to keep a clean sheet in the first half and were careful in the second half. However, at the moment we conceded, our feet stopped. (In the shooting scene from the set piece at the end) I think I could have aimed for a better course. If we can't show our decisiveness in those situations..."

　【Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference】 "In the match against Nagoya, Moniwa and Fujiyama got injured, and with only two days in between, we brought in Mashima and Maeda. Since Miyazawa was fatigued and the members of the defensive line changed, I decided to use Asari, who has experience. I told the players that Urawa has individual strength, so we needed to prevent them from utilizing that strength. In the first half, when attacking from the center, we were inevitably losing the ball, so I instructed them to start from the sides. However, even though players like Toda created good opportunities, we couldn't score. The goal we conceded at the start of the second half was due to the players hesitating to see if they should step up the line. Allowing the first goal energized Urawa. At that point, I brought in Kajiyama to try to move the ball. Towards the end, his original strengths started to show, but I wanted to create more chances from Kajiyama's plays. We did have opportunities, but we conceded the second goal from a corner kick. From there, we had no choice but to take risks to score, so we brought in Noriyuki Suzuki and Yusuke Kondo. Within that, Mashima's header, Kajiyama's chance from Maeda's cross, and Lucas, among others, couldn't convert decisive moments, resulting in a final score of 0. Similar situations occurred in the Nagoya match, and that is our current challenge. I think we did well defensively, including Mashima. We can't let this continue. We must prepare well for the next match."

　【Urawa - BUCHWALD's press conference summary】 "Today was a very important match. In the two matches before Tokyo, we didn't lose, but we also didn't win. It was a difficult match where we had to perform well against Tokyo, who had a good start to the season. We approached the game with a 4-4-2 formation considering Tokyo's system. In the first half, we struggled once or twice, but after that, we functioned well not only in defense but also in attack, progressing well and finishing 0-0. In the second half, we were able to play our attacking football. At halftime, I instructed the team to maintain balance, not just to push forward. Another point was that while the pitch at Ajinomoto is in good condition, the ball tends to stop, so we talked about kicking vertical passes strongly. Within that, a wonderful combination between Nagai, Hasebe, and Emerson connected the ball, leading to Emerson's first goal of the season. After conceding, Tokyo applied a lot of pressure to counterattack. However, conversely, it created space for our counterattacks. I think our defense was able to play with good positioning even against Tokyo's fierce attacks. Of course, there were one or two dangerous moments, but that can't be helped. We were also able to create counterattack opportunities, and we could have scored more... Today we scored two goals and achieved our first league victory, so I am satisfied."

Reds Exploit Defensive Chinks 

At half time manager Hara urged his team to increase their efforts along the flanks and make full use of set plays. In the first minute of the second period TOKYO won a free kick which Ishikawa lofted into the box. Lucas headed the ball down into the path of Masushima but an alert defender whipped the ball off his boot and away. In the 47th minute Lucas harried a defender into losing the ball, raced to the edge of the area and shot fiercely but the wrong side of the post.
A moment's loss of concentration cost TOKYO dearly in the 48th minute. Reds striker Nagai lofted a ball over the TOKYO defence and midfielder Hasebe chased a seeming lost cause to the byline, then cut a low cross back into the penalty area for the onrushing Emerson to clip the ball neatly past Doi for the opening goal. The TOKYO defence went to sleep, watching the ball and failing to pick up Emerson's run.
Needing to fight back TOKYO replaced Asari with Kajiyama in the 63rd minute and the ineffective Ishikawa with Norio Suzuki in the 71st minute. Suzuki marked his introduction by hammering a trademark 30 yard free kick just over the bar. In the 73rd minute Jean headed a Masushima free kick down and Kurisawa fired in a snap shot that a Reds defender blocked in front of goal. Disaster struck in the 74th minute as Horinouchi outjumped the home defence and headed the Reds' second goal from a corner.
Yusuke Kondo replaced Toda in the 77th minute as TOKYO went in search of a vital goal. In the 82nd minute Masushima headed Suzuki's pinpoint cross straight at the Reds keeper. In the 89th minute Kajiyama won the ball in midfield and fired in a shot on the run. Tsuzuki blocked the ball away and Maeda picked up the rebound, crossing from the left. Kajiyama was unable to keep the ball down and his effort sailed over the bar. The home side battled on to the bitter end but failed to beat Tsuzuki and the final whistle blew on a 0-2 defeat. TOKYO had outshot the visitors 17-13 over the 90 minutes but the difference in quality of finishing cost them the game.


Players' comments
Asari:
"Konno played slightly in front of me with the role of breaking up the Reds midfield flow and he did very well. The Reds played a lot of balls into the strikers and if I could have played a little nearer to the back line to pick up the ball after they had stopped attacks it would have been better".

Maeda:
"We defended systematically but after we conceded a goal that counted for nothing. We were tired but kept our concentration and should have been more vocal on the pitch. We were aiming to win the ball and get it up to Ishikawa but the passing and crossing was poor today".

Masushima:
"It's very disappointing to lose. Emerson is very fast but we managed to deal with him in the first half. We froze for a split second and that allowed him to score. We had some chances from set plays towards the end of the game but need to improve our accuracy".


F.C. TOKYO manager Hara:
" Moniwa and Fujiyama were injured in the Nagoya game and Miyazawa was exhausted so we went with Masushima and Maeda and selected Asari for his experience. We couldn't keep the ball when we tried to go through the middle so I instructed the team to use the flanks. We created some good moves but couldn't get the ball in the net. For the first goal the players were waiting for each other to make a move and break the defensive line. The goal sparked the Reds into life. We sent on Kajiyama to move the ball around and had hoped for more chances as the game neared the end. It wasn't that we didn't have any chances but then the second goal made things very difficult. We had no choice but to attack and sent Suzuki and Kondo on. Masushima, Kajiyama and Lucas all had chances but didn't take them and we failed to score. The same thing happened in the Nagoya game and it's our biggest problem right now. The defence played well and kept their shape nicely. We'll prepare thoroughly for the next game".

Reds' manager Buchwald:
" Today's game was very important for us. We had drawn our last two games and knew we had to play a very solid match today as TOKYO had had a good start to the season. We went for a 4-4-2 system considering the way TOKYO play. There were a couple of dicey moments in the first half but we defended well, managed to attack and kept the score to 0-0 at half time. We were able to play our style of attacking football in the second half. I told the team to concentrate on keeping the balance and hit passes hard, as the pitch was in good condition but the ball tended to stick. Nagai, Hasebe and Emerson combined very well together and Emerson scored his first goal of the season. After the goal TOKYO pressed very hard but that actually helped us as it created space for us to counter attack into. Our defensive positioning was very good and that prevented them from scoring. Of course there were some difficult moments but that's only to be expected. I would have liked more goals but we scored twice and have our first win of the season so I'm satisfied".