Facing Strong Shimizu

　Sec. 3 will face the in-form Shimizu S-Pulse at home. They suffered a complete defeat in the Niigata match, exposing many issues, but the season has just begun. We hope to see growth from now on. However, we want to avoid consecutive losses. This match will focus on how well they can address the issues and score goals through passing football, with the support of the home crowd.

　Shimizu, on the other hand, has achieved two consecutive victories with the only clean sheet in the league. With a 4-4-2 formation, the side midfielders spread wide and provide solid support to the front line. They create chances by sending long passes to FW Cho Jejeong and Marcinhos, who act as the starting point. They aim for a strong counterattack from a solid defense and hope to achieve three consecutive victories at the start of the season.

　Gallo, the coach, said that they are "taking measures" against Shimizu's side attacks. The plan is to pass the ball in the open midfield and aim for opportunities. In this week's training, they have been working hard with various patterns, such as using Kajiyama as an attacking midfielder in a 4-4-2 formation and utilizing Miyazawa. Gallo said, "We have been trying out different combinations, considering the future as well," showing that they are not only focused on immediate results but also on long-term growth.

　This time, Jean fully recovered from his injury. As a result, Rychely was excluded from the lineup, but Takumi ABE started as a forward. Sasa and ABE are at the forefront, with Lucas slightly withdrawn, playing in a 4-3-3 formation. The match started at 14:04 with a kickoff in Tokyo at the cloudy Ajinomoto Stadium.

The ball does not settle in the front line, lacking attacking options

　1 minute into the game, Sasa heads a cross from Tokunaga. It flew straight into the opponent's goalkeeper, but showed an aggressive attack from the start. In the 6th minute, Inoha sends a long pass from his own half to the front line. Abe runs into it, but the opponent's defender clears it. In the 12th minute, Kajiyama picks up the loose ball from Shimizu MF Ito's shot and launches a quick counterattack with Lucas. However, they are surrounded by the opponents and lose the ball. As Shimizu's intense press continues, they gradually lose the ball more often, and Shimizu starts to find their rhythm.

　At 20 minutes, Shizuoka launches a quick attack after Shimizu picks up the ball cleared by Shigeno inside the Tokyo defense. Marcinhos, the forward who circled from the left to the center, takes a shot but it is caught by Doi. Despite Shimizu repeatedly launching attacks from the sides, Shigeno and Jean calmly defend against crosses and do not allow any clear chances. At 24 minutes, Sasa strikes a header from Kajiyama's right corner kick, but once again it is caught by the opposing goalkeeper.

　In the 26th minute, Suzuki competed with Shimizu MF Edamura to prevent him from crossing and Edamura was injured and had to leave the field. Shimizu substituted MF Sugiyama and was forced to make an early substitution. However, Tokyo lacked attacking options against Shimizu's consistent press, and had only a few chances. In the 36th minute, Lucas connected from an indirect free kick in the opponent's half, and the pass from Imakano on the right reached Sasa in front of the goal, but he was unable to finish due to being surrounded by defenders. Lucas in the left area then picked up the loose ball and sent a high pass to the right. Abe ran in and prepared to shoot, but was blocked by the sliding Shimizu defender. The number of shots in the first half was equal at 4-4, but it ended 0-0. The scoreless draw continued into the second half.

Defeated by the momentum of Shimizu...

　In the second half, the movement started from the beginning and it became a quick exchange of attacks. In the 46th minute, Abe dropped a right cross and Sasa sent it to Lucas who ran into the goal area, but he was surrounded by defenders and couldn't take a shot. In the 47th minute, Shimizu countered. FW Marcinhos ran deep into the right side and crossed, but Jahn cut it off. In the 48th minute, Shimizu's right cross was cleared by Shigeno. Shimizu MF Hyodo picked up the loose ball on the right side of the area and took a shot, but it went over the bar. In the 49th minute, Abe dropped a ball from the back with his chest and Sasa aimed for a shot in the middle.

　50 minutes, Shizuoka picked up Tokyo's clearance and connected it to the front of the goal, where FW Wanchope kept it. From there, MF Sugiyama, who advanced the attack, was able to take a clean shot. This was saved nicely by goalkeeper Doi and resulted in a corner kick. However, from the left corner kick taken by Shizuoka's MF Fujimoto, FW Wanchope scored a high-heading goal. They conceded a goal from a set piece opportunity and missed their chance.

　In the 56th minute, Inoha was replaced by Miyazawa and Sasa was replaced by Kawaguchi. The aim was to clearly score a goal and push the entire team forward, collecting long balls for Kawaguchi to break through the front line. In the 72nd minute, Akamine was replaced by Akamine. As the fast-paced game continued, in the 77th minute, there was a chance for a free kick on the left side of the opponent's field. From Miyazawa's accurate kick, Tokunaga in the far area headed the ball down, initially blocked by the opponent's defender, but Kajiyama picked up the loose ball outside the right area and took a left-footed shot. However, it was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 81st minute, Miyazawa passed to Suzuki on the left side. Suzuki boldly challenged and crossed the ball, but it went over the line.

　However, Shimizu had the momentum. In the 85th minute, Shimizu had a right CK. FW Cho Je-jin headed a high-precision kick from MF Hyodo, hitting Imakano and resulting in another right CK. MF Hyodo connected with this and took a shot, but it was saved by Doi. While Tokyo aimed for a goal, Shimizu's "solid defense and fast attack" strategy was thoroughly implemented, and they were able to launch a series of shots from counters. In the 88th and 89th minutes, Kawaguchi tried to retaliate by rushing to the front line and receiving a fast pass, but the opposing DF quickly closed in and he couldn't finish the shot. Apart from allowing one chance, they defended well, but they were overpowered by Shimizu's momentum and suffered a regrettable defeat. It was a disappointing result.

　[Player Comments]《Jean》"I did my best as usual, but the opponent was better. It was my first match in a while, and I gave it my all, but there were certainly aspects that were different from practice. The goals conceded were due to being outmaneuvered by the opponent I was marking. I cannot escape responsibility for the defense in the area. Above all, I couldn't play the football I wanted at all. The passing was also better from the opponent. However, it's important to switch gears for the next match."《Kawaguchi》"Coming on as a substitute, I knew I had to catch up, so what I needed to do was clear. However, Shimizu was thorough in their aim of countering from a concentrated defense. We were just throwing the ball into the middle, which might have made it easier for the opponent. It would have been better if we could have exploited the sides a bit more... When the team's rhythm is good, anyone can play well. More than that, during bad flows, there is a need for the awareness of 'I have to do it myself.' However, we have good players, and if we gain this kind of experience, it will be good. Within that, we need to have the awareness that we are going to win ourselves, not leaving it to others, and each person needs to have the motivation to speak up and do it themselves."

　[Summary of Manager Garo's Press Conference] "Unfortunately, the opponents were superior in both physicality and technique today. These things happen in matches. We gave our all, but Shimizu particularly outperformed us in winning second balls. Shimizu presses high up the pitch, so we planned to bypass their press and move forward using Kajiyama or Imano. However, there were many instances of misplaced passes, which resulted in our frontline being pushed back. Shimizu was superior in all aspects of the game today. (Regarding Kawaguchi's substitution) We were trailing 0-1, so I instructed Abe and Kawaguchi to utilize their speed and exploit the space behind the opponents' high offside line."

　[Shimizu Coach Hasegawa's Press Conference] "It was a tough game, but I'm glad we were able to secure three points. We have won the last two matches, but we didn't play to our full potential and couldn't have an intense game. Today, we aimed for revenge against FC Tokyo, whom we lost to twice last season, and the players showed great spirit and fought well. In set plays, FC Tokyo left three players up front, while we took the opposite approach of having everyone fall back, but we wanted to score somehow in that situation. I want to praise the players for winning 1-0 by taking advantage of our one chance. From here, we want to build momentum and approach the next match. I believe our consecutive clean sheets are due to our organized defense from the front line. Not only in organization but also in winning battles for the ball, we are able to fight with good balance as a whole. (In place of the injured MF Edamura) MF Sugiyama was very good. I was worried about his condition due to the sudden change, but in the second half, he got used to the rhythm and feel, and showcased his natural abilities. He maintained good balance. MF Ito was also a perfect leader in defense. It would have been impossible to keep a clean sheet without him. MF Fujimoto was also good. In his matchup with Tokunaga, he showed the desire to not lose and fought well. Although he didn't score, he assisted on a corner kick and has become a significant asset for the team. In the first half today, DF Ichikawa's passing accuracy was too poor. I think there were issues with his foot condition, but in the second half, he showed some good advances. We need to eliminate simple mistakes. It may have also been due to the change in balance with Sugiyama coming in, but there were times at the end of the first half when we lost the ability to draw the ball from the holding midfielder when we were pushing forward. If we can clear those issues, the game will become a bit easier. I didn't think FC Tokyo would be an easy opponent, so I'm happy we were able to win against such a team."