Cong Phuong debuts Yokohama FC in the extra minute

* Score: Noriyoshi Sakai 45'+1 (Pen), 89', Kensuke Nagai 78' – Takumi Nakamura 27', Sho Ito 42'.

Cong Phuong replaced Tatsuya Hasegawa, and Yuto Shimizu replaced Koshiro Uda, both in the defensive midfield position in the 4-2-3-1 formation. In a 2-3 lead position, coach Shuhei Yomoda hoped that the Yokohama players could take advantage of the little time to equalize, but failed.

Yokohama started very well with a nice opener from right-back Takumi Nakamura's beautiful long-range shot from nearly 30 meters away. 27 minutes into the match, Kenjiro Ogawa held the ball on the left wing and sent a smart cross to Sho. Ito cushioned the ball close to the wall to double the gap.

However, Yokohama couldn't hold on to their first win of the season. In the 45th minute, goalkeeper Svend Brodersen fouled striker Noriyoshi Sakai from behind in an aerial dispute in the penalty area, causing Yokohama to incur a penalty. On the 11m mark, it was Sakai who beat Brodersen to shorten the score.

In the second half, the Yokohama goal was under great pressure from the home team. In the 78th minute, the striker came on to replace Kensuke Nagai to equalize for Grampus, before Noriyoshi Sakai sealed the victory 3-2 minutes 90.

This is the first match that Cong Phuong has appeared in Yokohama's squad since moving to this summer. Before that, he was not registered to play in seven of Yokohama's eight games. The only match he was on was when Yokohama FC lost to Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1-3 in the first leg of the 2023 J-League Cup on March 8. He played two 180-minute practice matches against a J-League 3 team and a university team.

Since the start of the 2023 J-League Cup, Yokohama has lost all three matches and is at the bottom of Group C, while Nagoya Grampus leads with nine points, followed by Sanfrecce Hiroshima - six points and Vissel Kobe - three points. In J-League 1 after six rounds, Yokohama lost four, drew two and are ranked 17th with two points, equal to the bottom team Kashiwa Reysol but scoring more goals (6 vs 3).