GAME RESULTGame Result

Sec. 14 May 20, 2000 (Sat)
Audience 7,277 people 
Weather: Rain, Low Temperature 19.3°C, Humidity 78% 
Referee: Yasuhiro MATSUZAKI Assistant Referees: Fusaya SUZUKI / Hiroshi TEZUKA Fourth Official: Eiji KAWAI

J1 1st Sec. 14

National

HOME

FC Tokyo

1-2

Match Finished

First Half0-1

Second Half1-1

AWAY

Vissel Kobe

FC Tokyo Vissel Kobe
89' TUTO
Scorer 18' Yoshimura Mitsusho
56' Wada Mitsutoshi
36' KENSAKE KAGAMI → Amaral
45' Toshiki KOIKE → Tetsuhiro KINA
68' Masamitsu KOBAYASHI → Mitsuhiro TODA
Player Substitution 84' Tsuchiya Seiho → Abe Yudai
89' Wada Mitsutoshi → Hisashi KUROSAKI
13 Shoot 12
8 CK 7
36 FK 24
44' Osamu UMEYAMA
Warning 57' Mitsutoshi WATADA
89' Takanori NUNOBE
Exit
FC Tokyo Starting Lineup
GK 20 Yoichi Doi
DF 12 Osamu UMEYAMA
DF 26 Takayuki KOMINE
DF 3 Sandro
DF 8 Ryuji Fujiyama
MF 7 Asari Satoru
MF 16 Toshiki KOIKE
MF 14 Yukihiko Sato
MF 24 Narimitsu Kobayashi
FW 9 TUTO
FW 10 Kagasumi Kensuke
FC TokyoSubstitute
GK 1 Hiromitsu HORIIKE
DF 4 Mitsunori YAMAO
MF 23 Tetsuhiro KINA
FW 29 Toda Mitsuharu
FW 11 Amaral
Vissel Kobe starting lineup
GK 16 Takeda Jiro
DF 5 Cui Chengyong
DF 4 Tatsuo Tsuchiya
DF 2 Keiji Kaimoto
DF 3 Megumu YOSHIDA
MF 15 Yoshimura Mitsusho
MF 23 Sugawara Satoshi
MF 10 Hasebe Makoto
MF 20 Yabuta Mitsunori
FW 11 Wataru Tada
FW 8 Takanori NUNOBE
Vissel Kobe substitute
GK 1 Kakegawa Makoto
MF 6 Yudai Abe
MF 7 Nagata Michiyasu
FW 9 Hisashi KUROSAKI
FW 13 Akihiro Nagashima

[Player/Coach Comments]

Will it be a crucial match to keep our hopes for the championship alive? Facing off against in-form Kobe.


Tokyo, currently in 3rd place, still has a chance at the championship. In this round, they will face Vissel Kobe at the rainy Japan National Stadium. Kobe, who defeated Shimizu in the previous round, is in good form. However, in order for Tokyo to remain a contender until the end, this is a crucial match that they must win.

The starting members are TUTO and Kagami for FW, just like the previous match. In place of Naito, who is suspended due to accumulated warnings, Umayama will make his first appearance of the season as the right side back. On the bench, Amaral, who has recovered from his injury after a month, will be included. Expectations are high for what kind of battle he will show in the last home game of the 1st stage.

In the rainy National Stadium, in front of the fast and tough Kobe defense...


However, the slippery field due to the continuous rain before the match, and above all, the strong DF of Kobe stands in the way, forcing Tokyo to struggle. The defensive midfielder Sugawara, who has a quick start but is pulled back, and the two center backs Tsuchiya and Umemoto, who boast height and strength, are all snuffing out the attacking opportunities.

TUTO, Kaga is held back and Tokyo cannot create a starting point. In the midfield, both teams are putting up tough checks, canceling out spaces and making it difficult for the ball to settle.

Kobe, who had been trying to break the situation by shooting two middle shots, passed to FW Fube who was waiting on the left side in the 18th minute. Fube passed by the marking Kominato and passed to the attacking side back Yoshida. Yoshida crossed the ball and MF Yabuta took a direct shot, and MF Yoshimura aimed for a middle shot from outside the penalty area. It was a goal that took advantage of the gap in the Tokyo DF's delayed check.

Tokyo's first shot of the day came from TUTO in the 25th minute with a middle shot. In the 31st minute, TUTO connected with Kaga and made a direct pass, and it seemed like Yukihiro had slipped behind the DF, but unfortunately it was offside. Tokyo, who wanted to change the flow of the game, substituted Amaral for Kaga in the 36th minute, but the two top players were often isolated and the attacks from the sides were effectively blocked by Kobe's DF. In the first half, both teams had three shots. However, Kobe took advantage of their chances and led 1-0 at halftime.

Kina's function, Amaral's TUTO makes a fierce comeback...


After the heavy rain in the second half, Tokyo brought in Amaral from the start. In the first minute, TUTO took a direct shot from a free kick, after Sandro had moved up to the front of the goal! Although it was unfortunately blocked by the keeper, Tokyo's rhythm was born. Kina functioned as a support role for the two top players and launched an aggressive attack. In the second minute, Amaral headed in from a corner kick. In the fourth minute, Amaral took a free shot again from Fujiyama's interception. In the ninth minute, Kobayashi dropped a pass from Kina with a heel in front of the goal, but Amaral was just offside. However, with a completely different flow from the first half, it seemed only a matter of time before a goal was scored.

However, it was Kobe who scored the next chance. In the 56th minute, Tokyo connected a clear ball and FW Wataru waited for the cross from Yoshimura in front of the goal on the right side. Taking advantage of a momentary lapse in concentration from the Tokyo defense, Wataru scored his fourth consecutive goal. Despite their continuous attacks, this one goal weighed heavily on Tokyo.

In the 68th minute, Tokyo substituted Toda for Kobayashi. In the 77th minute, Toda boldly aimed for a middle shot, but it was offside as it passed to a teammate in front of the goal. Immediately after, Yabuta from Kobe broke through the Tokyo defense and took a shot. It was dangerously saved by the post, but the battle between chances and dangers continued. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Tokyo launched a fierce attack by bringing on Fujiyama and Sandro. Each player, including Kina with a middle shot and TUTO with a shot, never gave up and aimed for victory. And in stoppage time, Sandro headed down a cross from Amaral and TUTO ran in to score with his left foot. They finally showed their determination, but it was too late. They could only score one goal and suffered their 6th loss of the season.

Use defeat as nourishment


In the end, there were 8 offside calls. Tokyo received 34 fouls, double that of Kobe. Tokyo was unable to score from 8 corner kicks. It was a defeat that made the difference in strength between Tokyo and Kobe, who thoroughly analyzed Tokyo's fighting style, felt even greater. Up until now, Tokyo has been able to fight well by eliminating the opponent's strengths, but today, it can be said that Kobe did the same or even better.

The hope for victory is now gone, but we will never give up the "fight". "Stir up the Tokyo whirlwind" - Let's go back to the beginning and use this defeat as a stepping stone for the final round and the 2nd stage.

[The Kobe match on this day was "TEDDY BEAR DAY". This event, which has been well received by many customers, was able to celebrate its third year this year. Unfortunately, the original teddy bear presentation ceremony to the hero could not be realized due to the loss in the game, but we believe that the customers who came to the venue were satisfied, such as winning cute teddy bear goods. We hope to hold it again next year, so please look forward to it.]