Rematch

The J2 League, which continues to be tumultuous, has completed one-third of the total schedule (36 games) at the end of the previous round, with FC Tokyo in 4th place with 20 points. 1st place Niigata, 2nd place Oita with 23 points, and 3rd place Kawasaki F with 21 points. 5th place Yamagata has the same 20 points as 4th place Tokyo, and 6th place Sapporo has 17 points, with 6 teams tightly competing within a 6-point difference. With only 2 more games left, the teams will enter a one-month interval, so each team wants to win and maintain their position in the top. In such a situation, Tokyo's opponent for this game is Montedio Yamagata, who is currently tied in points. In the 1st round, despite pushing the game forward, they missed a penalty kick and couldn't convert their chances, gradually losing their rhythm and conceding a goal in extra time, suffering a humiliating V-goal defeat at home. This game, which is a revenge match away, is a great opportunity to repay the debt.

Reliable Ace Amaral!

The game started moving early on. At the beginning, Yamagata deployed a fluid attack with a two-top of FW and midfielders Hirama and Takahashi freely changing positions. Tokyo, confused by this, couldn't mark properly and Yamagata smoothly passed the ball around. In the first minute, Yamagata's DF Iwamoto, who joined the attack, took a powerful shot from the right side of the penalty area, taking advantage of Tokyo's weak press. The ball was sucked into the left corner of the goal, despite Horii's desperate save. After that, Yamagata continued to run behind Tokyo's unstable DF line and created decisive chances through sharp counterattacks, but GK Horii made fine saves and didn't allow any additional goals. The defense, led by Sandro, gradually regained their usual composure as time passed, and the intense press from midfielders Asari and Shinjo also started to function. On the other hand, in the attack, they tried to gather the ball to Amaral, who started for the first time in a while, and build rhythm from there. Amaral was marked tightly, but the attacking participation of fullbacks Fujiyama and Umeyama, as well as Almir's stable play as a central breakthrough, created chances. The back-and-forth battle continued, but in the 39th minute, Tokyo equalized with a header from Amaral, who received a cross from Fujiyama on the left side and passed it back to Yukihiro, who scored with a right-footed volley. With this, Yukihiro repaid his debt from the first round (missed PK) and Amaral made a strong impression by doing decisive work.

Waiting for this man's comeback!

Tokyo, who was able to end the first half in a good shape, launches a fierce attack in the second half. However, in the 46th minute of the second half, just as they were about to start their attack, Tokyo was awarded a penalty kick for pulling Yamagata FW Mutail, who was keeping the ball in the penalty area. The fans and staff of Tokyo were shocked by this development, which was like a nightmare from the previous match against Niigata, but Tokyo's "guardian deity" GK Horiike made a fantastic save on the ball kicked by Yamagata's kicker, preventing them from scoring an additional point. With this, Tokyo gained momentum while Yamagata lost their shine. Tokyo created several close chances in quick succession, with a 11th minute volley shot by Okamoto, a powerful middle shot by Asari in the 12th minute, and a super long shot by Yukihiko in the 14th minute. In the 67th minute, Tokyo makes a move. Despite being tied, Tokyo wanted an additional point and brought in Kaga, a more attacking player, in place of the defensive Shinjo. This proved to be a good decision. Kaga showed an impressive performance last year in the JFL, being selected for the Best Eleven, but this season he has not been performing well and has mostly been on the bench. He also tended to be passive in his play, but on this day, Kaga was different. He had good control of the ball and his movements were sharp, showing off his brilliant passing skills with Almir in the midfield. Then, in the 80th minute, Amalao drops a cross from the right by Yukihiko with his chest, and Kaga takes a powerful middle shot from the center with his right foot. The Yamagata GK couldn't move an inch, and it was a clean shot that turned the game around. In the end, Tokyo continued to attack and managed to hold on, repaying their debt from the first round away game. Now in 3rd place, Tokyo will face the top-ranked Oita at Nishigaoka in the next match on 5/29. It's a shame that Almir won't be able to play due to accumulated warnings, but there are many bright prospects for the decisive battle, such as Amalao's recovery and Kaga's comeback.