Average of 0.69 points per game

Average of 0.69 points per game... This is the average number of goals conceded per game for FC Tokyo this season (at the end of the 16th round). This is, of course, the best number in J2, far ahead of Oita and Niigata's average of 1.00 goals conceded per game. Even in the last few games, they have achieved three consecutive clean sheet victories since the Oita game on May 29 (14th round), leaving a strong impression as "Solid Tokyo". In the previous round (6/27), they were in a tough situation with "right side craftsman" Umayama and in the last round (7/4), they were without "guardian" Horiike due to injury, but Komiya, who returned from injury, and Suzuki, who covered for Horiike, have been able to cover for them without any problems. The defense of Tokyo, which is solidly reinforced by Sandro in the center and the experienced Furukawa, has not lost its stability. On the other hand, the opponent on this day, Omiya, is an attacking team that boasts the third highest scoring power in the league. They have a "twin tower" of Ishiyama, who shines in post-play, and Okayama, who is strong in aerial battles, as their forwards, and the midfield is organized by former Reds player Iwase and new foreign player Mark, with involvement from Ujiie, who also participated in the previous World Youth. Their attacks have destructive power. In the 1st round, Tokyo withstood Omiya's fierce attacks in the first half, and then scored two consecutive goals in the second half to secure victory, but this time, will they be able to efficiently control the game? The strength of "Solid Tokyo" will be tested in the expected game development.

Kagami scores the opening goal!

The game, which had turned around in the 1st round, saw Tokyo take an aggressive attack from the start. On this day, Yukihiko, who played as a right attacking midfielder, dazzled the opponent with his high individual skills, sometimes breaking through with dribbles, and sometimes breaking down the right side with wall passes with his teammates, creating numerous goal chances. From the left, Fujiyama, the side back, showed sharp dribbles cutting into the center from the side, creating chances with wall passes with Amaral and Kagami. On this day, the two players seemed to be inspired by the presence of national team coach Troussier, and their passionate play proved that they were players of a level above J2. On the other hand, Omiya started their attacks from the midfield with Iwase and Mark as the starting points, building up with simple passing and targeting the feet of FW Isayama, who moved widely from side to side, and the head of Okayama. In particular, Mark's passing was accurate and occasionally created a good rhythm, but on this day, the two defensive midfielders, Shinjo and Koike, who returned after a 6-game absence due to accumulated warnings, responded with persistent defense. Also, Furukata marked Isayama tightly, and Sandro marked Okayama tightly, not allowing them to create scoring opportunities. Tokyo continued to steal the ball with aggressive defense from the front, and built up the game around Yukihiko, creating chances from the attacking participation of both side backs. In the 22nd minute, Shinjo, who joined the attack, saw Omiya's shallow defensive line and passed a lob pass behind it, and Kagami did not miss the momentary gap created by the Omiya defenders' mistake, calmly smashing it into the goal.

Amaral seals the deal with a final goal!

In the second half, Omiya's energy, which was not seen in the first half, increased and they started attacking from the sides with fast passing centered around Mark. Against Omiya's cross attacks from the sides, Tokyo's goalkeeper Suzuki, along with Sandro, Furukawa, and Komine, managed to deflect the ball, but there were dangerous moments where the ball was picked up and a shot was taken while they were in a scramble. Fortunately, most of those shots missed the goal and even in decisive moments, Suzuki made good decisions to prevent them. In the 61st minute, Suzuki made a fantastic save from a direct free kick outside the penalty area, saving the team from a pinch with a confident play. On the other hand, when Tokyo was on the attack, they would gather the ball to Yukihiko and then spread it out to the sides. In the 62nd minute, Yukihiko passed the ball to the right to Komine, who then returned it to Yukihiro, who dribbled past the defenders and crossed it, but Amaral's shot went just wide. In the 65th minute, the ball was passed to Yukihiro again, who had moved to the right side, and he made a direct pass to Amaral in front. Amaral managed to break through the Omiya defenders and scored the second goal to seal the deal. After that, the game continued with back and forth attacks, and Tokyo's defense supported Suzuki with sliding tackles and other efforts. In the 70th minute, midfielder Almir, who had been out for 5 games due to injury, made a comeback and showed energetic play, giving hope for the future. In the end, Tokyo managed to hold on and marked their first 5-game winning streak of the season.

<Coach Okuma's Comment>

The persistent defense was good, but the organization after taking the ball was sloppy and unfortunately we couldn't create many scoring chances. It is important to reduce mistakes and carefully build up the play. GK Suzuki made his first start in a while, and following the previous match against Sapporo, he did well and stayed calm.