Can they make it to the promotion?

In this round (Sec. 34), the top-ranked Kawasaki F. has already secured promotion in the match held on Friday (11/5), leaving only one remaining (J1) spot. Currently, the intense dead heat for this spot is between the 2nd place Tokyo and the 3rd place Oita. While Niigata and Sapporo still have a slight chance, it is safe to say that it has come down to these two teams. In such a situation, Tokyo has been presented with an unexpected opportunity for promotion. Due to Oita's loss in the match held on Saturday (11/6), Tokyo, with 61 points, will open up a 5-point lead over Oita (59 points) if they win the match against Omiya on this day, bringing their points to 64. With only 2 matches remaining, if Tokyo wins the next round (Sec. 35) at home in "Komazawa" against Sendai (＋3→67), even if Oita wins (＋3→62), the point difference will remain at "5" with only 1 match left, securing Tokyo's promotion. In order to secure promotion at home no matter what, it was necessary for Tokyo to secure 3 points in this match against Omiya and put themselves in a strong position for promotion.

Omiya struggling with compact soccer

The results of this season's matches against Omiya are 3 wins and 0 goals conceded, but Omiya, who have been improving in recent matches, showed their momentum in this match as well. At the beginning, Tokyo actively attacked from the right side with Yuki and from the left side with Okuhara, both utilizing their strengths, and dominated the ball in Omiya's half, but it was short-lived. Omiya quickly adapted to the speed and kept their defensive line shallow, putting intense pressure forward. Tokyo also tried to break through by passing the ball at a fast tempo, but the rain that had been falling until just before the match affected the ground, causing the passes to be less accurate and only 3 passes were successful. So, this time, they tried to send Okuhara and Kaburagi running behind the defense with long balls, but Omiya's defensive line was strong in the air and all the simple balls were easily cleared. The only real chance was when Yuki, Almir, and Yuki beautifully passed the ball on the right side in the 33rd minute, and Yuki took a forceful shot from a difficult angle. Other than that, Omiya's "strengths" were the only thing that stood out. First of all, when defending, Omiya did not push too far forward from their forwards and concentrated their players around the center circle, putting strong pressure on the ball and the players when it came (from Tokyo). In order to increase the pressure in this area, the defensive line was also kept shallow, maintaining a distance of about 20-30 meters between the forwards and the final defensive line. Under this intense pressure in a small area, Tokyo, who were stressed, could not establish Kaga and Kaburagi as the base in the front line, and Almir and Yuki could not make effective passes to break through and create attacking opportunities. DF Fujiyama, who was feeling the stress, tried to make a move with his favorite dribble, but even if he got past two players, he was stopped by the third. On the other hand, when Omiya won the ball, the central midfielders Ukai and Iwase became the starting point of the attack, quickly feeding the ball to the front line. On the front line, MF Harasaki kept the ball on the left side, and at the right timing, the speedy and aggressive left back Okamoto overlapped and sent accurate crosses, or MF Mark, who moved around freely in the midfield, created attacks with few touches. When Omiya transitioned from defense to attack, their "concentration" was quick, and they played a fast-paced game with few touches overall, overwhelming Tokyo.

Tokyo fights back with the introduction of KING･Amaral!

Tokyo, who struggled with counterattacks after losing the ball, gradually started to fight back in the second half. With superior stamina, Tokyo launched a fierce attack from the start of the second half. Although Omiya's left back Okamoto caused some trouble with his attacking runs, Kominato and Sandro were able to repel them with their high concentration. On the other hand, Okamoto started to exploit the space left behind by his own runs, with Yukihiro and Umayama making runs into those spaces and creating chances. This is where Tokyo starts to move. "KING OF TOKYO" Amaral is brought on. Since injuring his left ankle in the October 6th Nabisco Cup match against Kashima, the ace has returned to the pitch after about a month and immediately started to shine, despite the concerns of those around him. Although the injury has not fully healed and he has only played in two intra-squad matches, his presence and precise technique were still "out of this world". With Tokyo struggling to create a base in the front line, Amaral's ball retention allowed for more freedom in their attacks and frequent attacking runs from the fullbacks. Also, with Omiya's Yan marking Amaral, his movement to the sides created space in the center, making crosses into this space more effective. In the 27th minute, Yukihiro -> Amaral, 30th minute, Yukihiro -> Umayama, 35th minute, Almir -> Yukihiro, and 37th minute, Almir -> Amaral, chances came one after another. The hot line between Yukihiro and Umayama, who were able to break through the right side multiple times, was a threat to the opponents, and in the 43rd minute, Umayama delivered a perfect cross, which Amaral jumped and headed with a powerful header, but unfortunately it hit the crossbar. In stoppage time, Shinjo received a direct pass from Yukihiro and passed it to Amaral in the center. Amaral took a first touch and shot sharply, but it was caught by the goalkeeper. The remaining 25 minutes of the second half, with Amaral on the pitch, was completely dominated by Tokyo, and they showed potential for a goal, but in the end, it remained 0-0 and went into extra time.

Nightmare moment...

As the game went into extra time, the situation changed once again. After coming on in the middle of the second half and playing at full intensity for about 30 minutes, Amaral's movement suddenly dropped and Tokyo lost their momentum. On the other hand, Omiya regained their momentum and with midfielder Mark leading the attack, they spread the ball to both sides and continuously sent crosses in from the wings. Tokyo's defense dropped back as a whole and struggled to deal with Omiya's consecutive corner kicks. In the first minute of extra time, midfielder Osaka sharply crossed the ball from the left side, which deflected off a Tokyo defender and landed right in front of an unmarked Iwase who ran in and powerfully headed it into the goal. With this, the intense battle of 106 minutes that put Omiya in a strong position for promotion to J1 ended in a disappointing manner. The next direct showdown against Oita on September 25th will be crucial.

After four consecutive losses, Tokyo finally stopped their losing streak in the previous match against Kofu. However, they missed a chance to make a big step towards promotion once again. Is the road to J1 really that long and difficult? This is a new and tough journey that cannot be described simply as "pressure". But if they cannot overcome this difficult situation, they are not true professionals! Let's put all our efforts into the remaining two matches, without wasting the confidence and experience gained from winning the Nabisco Cup this season. We just need to win the remaining two matches! First, let's defeat Sendai at Komazawa on November 14th!