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- Niigata director Irie (photo taken in September 2025)
On the 20th, Albirex Niigata, who is in the bottom place, lost 0-1 to Yokohama FC, who is in 19th place, in the previous round, where they competed for their stay away. He was hit by a painful blow to forward Adaiuton, who came on as a substitute, and lost four consecutive games and won 11 matches. With eight games remaining, they are eight points behind the remaining area, and their goal difference is 13 points behind Yokohama F. Marinos, who is in 17th place. Looking at past examples, it must be said that the reversal of the situation has become more severe.
Like Niigata, Shonan, whose main players were left in the middle of the season, has not won 14 games (4 draws, 10 losses), and has recently not won 14 games (4 draws, 10 losses), and has been abandoned by more wins than Niigata, falling to 19th place with 6 wins in 30 games, but this season, Niigata is in the lowest position with four wins in the league. There is no case where a team with four wins after spending 30 games remained in J1.
Coach Irie Toru, who has had 1 draw, 9 losses and no wins in 10 matches since taking office, said, “Of course I knew it was an important game.” Starting this season, the number of registered players in one game has increased from 18 to 20, making it even more important to replace managers, but after Irie became the head coach, the substitute player's goals have only been scored by midfielder Okumura Jin in the match against Kawasaki F (June 25th), who was releasing an additional time of 0-3 second half.
Yokohama FC was also replaced by manager in the middle of the season, but after becoming manager Miura Fumitake, he has been improving with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses. The substitute player scored four of the total of six goals, and this was his second final goal in the final, including Adaiuton, who played against Niigata on the day. He hopes to remain with the goal of a helper who joined the team mid-season.
Niigata's forward Buda, who also joined the team midway through this season, missed a chance to score, and the game was bright and dark in this match on Ura Tennoyama. However, the team's tradition is to run and fight through until the very end without giving up. It seems like he's been behind in substitutions up until this point, but to get three points, it seems that not only will he need a willingness to plan carefully before the game, but he will also need to have a detailed plan.[Ishikawa Hidekazu](Nickan Sports.com/Soccer Column “Analytical Cooking”)
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- After losing to Yokohama FC, players from Niigata (second from left) including Horime (J League provided by Getty = Kyodo) greet the supporters with a stern expression
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