Home Final Match, Receive Support and Escape from the Quagmire!

The 14th round of the 2nd stage, the last home game of this season's J1 League. Tokyo, who has not won since July 22nd, must not lose here no matter what in order to repay the strong support they have received over the past year. On the other hand, today's opponent is JEF United Ichihara, who can secure their J1 survival with a win. They are coming off a victory against Avispa Fukuoka in the previous round and are in high spirits. However, regardless of the opponent's situation, aim for victory with your own style of soccer!

Unmoving Game

Naito, who has recovered from his injury after three games, returns to the starting lineup. As in the previous game, Asano is also expected to start, and there are high hopes for an exciting football match.

However, the first shot was taken by Ichihara, who set up an attacking 3-4-3 formation. In the first minute, MF Muto and Sakai passed to FW Benson, who ran in for a shot. They showed a rhythm in their attack. Tokyo's FK by TUTO in the 9th minute went over the goal. In the 16th minute, Masuda broke free from the DF line aimed at by Asari, but couldn't take a shot. They created opportunities, but couldn't reach a decisive chance.

Ichihara, who is pushing the game forward, had a chance in the 39th minute when MF Nakanishi dribbled from the backline. Benson ran in for the last pass and took a shot in front of the goal. However, it was saved by GK Doi, narrowly avoiding a dangerous situation.

Tokyo struggled as the ball couldn't settle in front of the thick midfield of Ichihara, and the side's MFs Sakai and Nakanishi covered all the way to the backline, sometimes being held back by the 5-back DFs. Without coordinated plays or a fast overall push, the impression of slow soccer couldn't be erased, and both teams ended the first half with no goals.

No shot, no goal...

Tokyo, who wants to break the situation, substitutes Kina for Asano in the second half. "I want to pass the ball quickly to Kina and Naito and make them the starting point of the attack" (Manager Okuma). However, once again in the second half, FW Oshiba dribbles through Tokyo's right side. In the penalty area, Ogura sticks to Benson and connects with Sakai for a shot. Although they didn't let the goal happen, it was a close call.

Tokyo, who wants to create some attacking opportunities, tried to shoot again from a direct pass by TUTO and Masuda at 55 minutes, but couldn't get a shot off as the Ichihara defender closed in. At 57 minutes, Asari overlapped on the right side and crossed, but no one was able to connect in front of the goal. Just after that, Masuda managed to get past the defender and take a shot from outside the penalty area, but it narrowly missed the goal. Then at 60 minutes, from a loose ball off an Ichihara corner, TUTO, Fujiyama, and Amaral launched a counterattack, but they couldn't quite get the speed they needed and couldn't get a shot off. On the contrary, at 63 minutes, Ichihara forward Ogura's shot hit the crossbar. Just as Tokyo's rhythm was starting to pick up, they were given a moment of panic.

Ichihara made a substitution, bringing in speedy forward Hayashi for Benson, and in the 76th minute, replacing Ogura with forward Baron. Tokyo also made a substitution, bringing in Kaginoki for the lackluster TUTO in the 63rd minute, and in the 84th minute, replacing Masuda with Yukihiko SATO. They tried to break the deadlock with player substitutions.

After that, it became a back-and-forth counterattack, but both teams' defenders put their bodies on the line and managed to defend until the end of the 90 minutes, resulting in a 0-0 draw. The number of shots up to this point was 14 for Ichihara and 4 for Tokyo.

Tokyo, which finally grasped the pace just before the end, entered the extension game with the help of Ichihara's carelessness.

Yukihiko's goal settled the 112-minute battle!!

As the game went into extra time, there was a fierce exchange of attacks and defenses. Both teams earned two corners each by the 95th minute, but neither were able to score. With both teams struggling to find a goal, the second half of extra time began. Tokyo pushed forward with Naito and Sandro in the front line, but were unable to create any effective chances. Neither team was able to calm down and control the pace, resulting in a frantic back-and-forth battle.

However, finally in the 112th minute, Amaral sent a ball into the space in front of the penalty area, and Naito ran in and made a powerful cross in front of the goal. The goalkeeper of Ichihara GK, who was competing with Kaburagi for this ball, couldn't catch it and Sato, who was following up, took a shot without hesitation!

Shaking the goal net, they settled the tough battle!! And this left foot goal not only decorated the final home game with a victory, but also put a period on the long losing streak with a valuable one point.

After the match, coach Okuma addressed the home supporters, saying, "Together, we have shared joy and sorrow as a team of J1 first-year students, and you have always given us courage. This does not mean that FC Tokyo's fight is over, so let's continue to fight together and aim for a team that can do so." He expressed his gratitude for the support over the past year and vowed to give his all in the remaining one match.

"Comment from VERDENIK Coach"

"Just like in life, there are very tough things in sports as well. Looking at the result of today's game, I think it's possible for a situation that is hard to endure to occur. That's why as athletes, living in this world, we have to maintain our mental strength and endure after a game like this, and move on to the next one. I think the players fought very well. They put into practice what they have been doing in practice, and I think the team is moving forward step by step."

Today, I think it was one of the best games we've played so far. However, even though we worked so hard, we were faced with a tough result of 0 points. You may question what we've been doing, but I want to move forward with confidence, knowing that we've made progress with what we've done so far. The last play (with the GK) was a foul, but if it wasn't a foul, the keeper would have had to catch it no matter what. That last effort, I think it applies to our attack as well. We need to improve the quality of our plays in order to score in the end, and we need to keep improving even more."

"Coach Ooguma's comment"

"It's difficult for Tokyo to control the flow of the game for 90 minutes in J1. We haven't been able to take advantage of our strengths and create our own rhythm in recent matches. There are still various issues, but I think today we did a good job of focusing on defense. I think Kamegi showed decent movement and effort, which I believe is a result of our training camp in Korea and other strengthening schedules. It's not an immediate effect, but when players like him come out and do their job like Kamegi did today, I can't help but feel that our overall team strength will also increase. I also want to continue to bring out more players like him and raise our overall strength a little more. In the final match, I want to play Tokyo's tenacious soccer until the end."