Entering the "biggest climax of the season"!

With only 6 games left in the J2 league, the competition for promotion to J1 and the championship title is heating up. At one point, it seemed like Kawasaki Frontale and FC Tokyo had secured their promotion to J1, but the top two teams have recently been struggling. On the other hand, 3rd place Oita and 4th place Niigata have been consistently earning points, making the J2 league a tight race once again. Tokyo, who have been struggling with two unexpected losses due to "fatigue from the Nabisco Cup, injuries to star player Amaral, and pressure for promotion," are currently in 2nd place with 58 points (as of the end of the 30th round). In order to win the championship, they cannot let the gap between them and 1st place Kawasaki Frontale (60 points) widen any further. In order to secure promotion (i.e. finish in the top 2), they cannot let 3rd place Oita (52 points) catch up to them. In this situation, their opponent for the day is the strong team Sapporo. Although they have been stuck in the middle of the standings since the beginning of the season and have already lost their goal of "promotion to J1 and winning the J2 championship," they have many talented players such as ace striker Yoshihara, who has been performing well in the Olympic qualifiers and even played in the South American Championship as a full national team member, and former Japan national team defender Natsuka. Their team strength is still top class in J2. Their head-to-head record so far is 2 wins and 1 loss, but they suffered a big 1-4 defeat in their direct match in August, so it was expected that they would have a tough time again this day. In the next round, they will face Kawasaki Frontale in a crucial match, making it the biggest challenge of the season for Tokyo - the "Sapporo and Kawasaki Frontale back-to-back matches."

Unable to score a point...

In the game the day before, 3rd place Oita secured a V-goal victory (52 points → 54), leaving Tokyo with no choice but to go for the win. They approached the game with an ultra-attacking formation, changing from a one-top to a two-top to increase their attacking options, and dropping the energetic Almir to the defensive midfield to strengthen their attacking power while maintaining their defensive coverage. As expected, the game was a fierce battle from the start, worthy of a showdown. Sapporo was the first to make a move. They aggressively pressed from the front to steal the ball, and then used the two-top of ace Yoshihara, who had just returned to the team from the Olympic squad, and powerful striker Fukagawa to create a base in the front, where attacking midfielders and fullbacks joined in to launch speedy attacks. In the 3rd minute, they forced a pass error from the Tokyo defense with their intense press, and a decisive shot was taken from the right side, but it hit the post and was not a goal. Immediately after, Sapporo's defensive midfielder Bijou's sharp start was intercepted in the midfield, and the ball was brought all the way to the goal, but Almir worked hard to defend and win it back. After this, the fierce "Brazilian foreign player showdown" between Almir and Bijou continued to spark throughout the 90 minutes.

Tokyo, who managed to overcome a dangerous situation, began to function with an ultra-attacking formation around 10 minutes after. Tokyo, who consciously repeated big side changes with boldness in the midfield, made a perfect cross to Kobayashi, who was running deeply on the left side, from the right side in the 12th minute. Kobayashi dropped the ball with his chest and took a powerful left-footed shot, but unfortunately it was blocked by the goalkeeper. However, after that, Tokyo created chances by shaking the Sapporo DF with several wonderful finishes from side changes. In the 27th minute, Asari took a volley shot from the center after another side attack, and Enomoto broke through the defense and faced the goalkeeper one-on-one. However, Enomoto did not take the shot and passed it back to the center, which was caught by the goalkeeper. In the following 33rd minute, Asari made a big side change from the left to the right, and Enomoto ran into the center with a direct pass. Yukihiro took a shot from the rebounded ball, but it didn't go in. In the 37th minute, Kagami made another big expansion from the right to the left, and Enomoto made a floating pass to Kobayashi, who made a perfect trap and ran into the center, but the Sapporo DF desperately cleared it. In the 40th minute, Yukihiro, who broke through with a perfect one-two with Almir in a narrow space on the right side, brought the ball to the goal line and crossed it. Almir took a shot and it seemed like a goal, but it was miraculously cleared by the Sapporo DF. Tokyo, who focused on attacking from the side with Almir at the center, created many scoring opportunities, but couldn't break through and ended the first half with a 0-0 tie.

Conceded a goal from the same time and formation as the previous match, once again losing by one point...

In the first half, Sapporo, who had been playing defensively with a thorough away game strategy, came out attacking in the second half. The transition between offense and defense became much faster. In the first half, defensive midfielder Lins, who had been participating in attacks half-heartedly, was focused on defense, and instead, the participation of the fullbacks in attacks was freed up. Tokyo, who had been easily broken down by the excellent defensive abilities of Lins, now started to invite danger with careless dribbles and passing mistakes leading to counter attacks. In the 66th minute, with an unpleasant mood starting to set in, left fullback Fujiyama joined the attack and sent a cross, but the pass was misplaced and went to the opposite side. Sapporo's left fullback Murata dribbled up and exchanged passes with Lins in the center, sending a big cross to the front of Tokyo's goal. As the ball floated in the air after a clash between Komine and Yoshihara, Sapporo's midfielder Muranushi headed it, but the ball hit the bar and bounced back, only to be kicked in by Yoshihara. Just like in the previous match (in the 70th minute against Tosu, they conceded from a counter attack on the left side), they conceded in a similar time and manner. With this, Sapporo gained momentum and, with the support of over 500 fans who had come from Sapporo, became even more aggressive. In the 69th minute, they were almost scored on from a counter attack after Fujiyama's pass was intercepted, but goalkeeper Suzuki made a fantastic save. In the following corner kick, they allowed a powerful header from Natsumi. In the midfield, Tokyo's midfielder Tanada was overwhelmed by Sapporo's individual skills, and Yoshihara was lively in his goal attempts. Perhaps due to being suddenly dropped from the Olympic qualifiers, Yoshihara, who had been shut down by Komine in the first half, seemed to have woken up with that one goal. Time passed cruelly, and around the 80th minute, Tokyo pushed up even defender Sandro for an all-out attack, but in their haste to score, they only sent in simple crosses that were easily blocked by Sapporo's defense line with Lins at the forefront. In the end, Sapporo, who did not lose focus until the end, held on to their one goal lead, and Tokyo suffered their first three consecutive losses of the season... They wanted to get through this match against Sapporo and the next one against Kawasaki F in one go and ride the upward current, but their plan was doomed from the start... However, the real battle is yet to come. On this day, Kawasaki F won, so the gap with the top team widened, but they are still in second place. They confirmed that they can create chances and play in such a way even without Amaral, and their defense is not bad either. If they can score just one goal in any way, it will surely be the start of their comeback. If they can win the direct confrontation against Kawasaki F next, they will definitely be able to ride the upward current. Tokyo's goal remains unchanged! They will definitely make it happen!

Coach's Comment

Okada Consadole Manager

In the second half, I instructed the defensive midfielder not to go up and instructed the fullbacks to actively go forward. As it was an away game, we started defensively, but the players understood well and moved accordingly. Initially, we practiced for this week without Yoshihara, so I was hesitant to use him. However, considering his quick mindset and tactical understanding, I decided to use him and I am really happy that he made the decisive play. I want to thank all the players who fought until the end without losing focus today.

<Coach Okuma>

FW did a decent job. The number of chances and the shape of the attack were good, but the lack of decisiveness, such as looking for a pass instead of taking a shot, was due to lack of experience. Also, it was disappointing that we couldn't break through the defense until the end, both individually and as a team. The way the ball was taken away in that position was bad, and we couldn't create space, so even the participation of the full-backs in the attack was limited. It's frustrating to lose, but we're still in second place and I think this is where it really counts. We want to switch our mindset and move forward.