1st Stage Last Game

　At the end of the 14th round of the 1st stage, FC Tokyo had an even record of 7 wins and 7 losses. On this day, it was a crucial match for Tokyo, similar to the final day of a sumo tournament where a win would mean a "winning record" and a loss would mean a "losing record".

　The opponent for this big match is the strong team Shimizu S-Pulse, currently in second place and riding a wave of success. This season, S-Pulse has a 100% winning rate at home and is currently on a winning streak of 9 games. Although Júbilo Iwata has already secured the championship for the 1st stage, if they win this match and become 2nd place, they can earn a prize of 50 million yen. With such high motivation, the match is expected to be a tough one.

　Tokyo was able to take the lead in last season's 1st stage (8 wins, 7 losses), and they were determined to win this match in order to continue their lead (8 wins, 7 losses) this season. At the venue, Japan Plain, there were about 400 supporters, including 100 people who joined the bus tour from Tokyo, who were cheering on the players with passionate voices, surpassing the 15,000 Shimizu S-Pulse supporters. With such strong support away from home, they couldn't afford to lose. They wanted to win the last match of the 1st stage and continue on to the 2nd stage in a good position.

Tokyo's "Concentration" That Overwhelmed Shimizu S-Pulse

　As soon as the game started, Tokyo showed their "momentum". As coach Okuma said before the game, "Let's put our spirit into the last game of the 1st stage and fight until the end," everyone on Tokyo's team showed a fighting spirit, pushing their emotions to the forefront, towards one goal - victory. In the 5th minute, Amaral powerfully headed a right corner kick, and in the 7th minute, Amaral chested Sandro's lob pass, which was followed by Seigo Kobayashi's middle shot. Although it missed the goal, in the 8th minute, Amaral kept the ball on the front line and sent a perfect through pass to Kelly, who had perfectly timed his run. Kelly dribbled and took a decisive shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 10th minute, Yukihiro dribbled through the right side and sent an accurate cross to Amaral, who was waiting in the center. Amaral headed the ball perfectly, but once again, it was saved by the goalkeeper and could not find the back of the net.

　Tokyo's Amaral and Kelly provided a stable ball control at the front line, while Miura and Yukihiro created a rhythm in the attack. Miura calmly distributed the ball with his veteran-like decision making, sometimes using his skilled dribbling to move up the field and other times making bold runs to disrupt the opponent. Yukihiro also showed aggressive dribbling on the right side and provided numerous crosses. On the defensive end, Sandro marked the opponent's target man, Baron, thoroughly. Tokyo's side attacks, a characteristic of S-Pulse, were well handled by both fullbacks, Fujiyama and Komine, as well as the midfielders on both sides, Seigo Kobayashi and Yukihiro. This limited the number of crosses, but when they did come in, Sandro was there to clear them and Tetsuya Ito provided cover. With everyone's high concentration, S-Pulse dominated from the beginning.

Amaral's PK gives the lead! The first half ends with a 1-0 lead.

　At the 20-minute mark, with Tokyo in the lead, Miura stole the ball from the opponent's pass and made a sharp dribble towards the space on the left side, judging the numerical advantage. Amaral and Kelly timed their run to break through vertically, and the opponent's defense was drawn to it, leaving Yukihiro open on the right side. Miura quickly sent a perfect cross with his left foot, which Yukihiro controlled and charged towards the goal. The opponent's defense, who was late to mark Yukihiro, brought him down from behind, resulting in a penalty kick. Amaral calmly scored with his right foot, giving Tokyo the long-awaited lead.

　S-Pulse's representative duo of Morioka and Toda provided sharp and accurate balls from behind to the front line, with playmaker Sawato and technician Hiramatsu spreading it to the two top or sides to build up the attack. However, Tokyo constantly maintained a numerical advantage in every situation, with FW Amaral even dropping back to the defensive line to clear, leaving no scoring opportunities for S-Pulse. They went into halftime with a 1-0 lead, truly embodying the "all defense, all attack" mentality.

Missed multiple opportunities to score, and ended up being tied in the final minutes and going into overtime.

　In the second half, S-Pulse launched a counterattack against a visibly tired Tokyo, who had been giving their all since the first half. In the 2nd minute, Sawa, a master of free kicks, took a shot just outside the penalty area. It seemed like it was going to be a goal, but goalkeeper Doi managed to punch it away. In the following 3 minutes, a perfect cross from the right was sent in and Baron headed it, but Doi caught it again. After that, S-Pulse's Alex became a completely different player from the first half and actively created chances. However, Tokyo continued to defend well, with Doi leading the team and everyone putting in a strong effort to prevent S-Pulse from scoring.

　Meanwhile, Tokyo is not staying silent. In the 10th minute, the ball was passed to Miura who ran into the center after receiving a follow-up from left player Seigo Kobayashi on a counter attack. Kelly then received the ball and noticed the opposing goalkeeper was out of position, so he attempted a looping shot, but unfortunately it hit the crossbar. Tokyo spent a lot of time defending, but they remained focused and created chances through counter attacks led by Kelly and Amaral.

　In the 29th minute, Amaral, Fujiyama, and Kelly connected after Fujiyama's interception, and Kelly took a free shot, but it went just to the right. Then, in the 32nd minute, Kelly received a pass from Yukihiko on the right side, quickly bypassed two opposing defenders, and charged towards the goal. It was a decisive moment with only one opposing defender, but the communication with Amaral, who came to support, was poor, and they were unable to score once again.

　On the contrary, just after that, Alex received a pass inside the penalty area and easily scored a goal, equalizing the score. The Tokyo Eleven stood in shock as the stadium erupted in an unusual excitement. They had been able to withstand the pressure and maintain their focus until then, and with Tokyo having far more decisive chances, the shock was not small.

　With this, the pace is completely in favor of S-Pulse. In the remaining time of the second half, Tokyo continued to be pushed back, but with Doi at the center, they barely managed to prevent any additional points and the game went into extra time.

Tsuchihi's super save that brings back to life, and the dramatic Kelly's explosive V goal

　In the closing minutes of the second half, Tetsuya Ito, who had been bravely defending against multiple attacks, was substituted for Umayama due to a leg cramp. In extra time, Kina was brought in to replace Seigo Kobayashi. Tokyo withstood the late surge from S-Pulse's attack and the substitutions of Umayama and Kina helped Tokyo regain their rhythm. The match then became a heated back-and-forth battle.

　In the 3rd minute, Miura's powerful left-footed shot, in the 4th minute, Fujiyama's charge from a wall pass, in the 10th minute, Kelly's volley from close range, and in the 13th minute, another spectacular shot by Kelly, all grabbed chances in succession, but they were unable to score a V goal. On the contrary, in the 14th minute just before the end of the first half of extra time, Komine, who was tangled with the opponent FW in front of the goal, was given a penalty kick from a cross raised from the right, and they faced the worst situation at the last minute.

　The kicker is FK master Sawato. Of course, if he can score this, the game will end with S-Pulse's V goal. Behind Tsuchiho, who spreads his arms at the goal, a large number of Tokyo supporters were screaming, believing in Tsuchiho. In the next moment, the ball kicked by Sawato flew to the lower right corner of the goal with a low trajectory, and Tsuchiho also reacted sharply, kicking it out of the goal. Although they believed in Tsuchiho, the Tokyo goal behind was in chaos due to this unbelievable situation. The Tsuchiho call did not stop. Everyone involved with Tokyo was screaming. Immediately after, the whistle for the end of the first half of extra time sounded.

　And the climax came soon after. One minute into extra time, the ball was played from the center to the right, and Yukihiro crossed it to Kelly who headed it into the near post, narrowly missing the desperate attempt of the opposing goalkeeper and finding the back of the net. The stadium echoed with thunderous screams and cries, shaking with excitement. The Tokyo Eleven chased after Kelly with the biggest smiles on their faces. In the last game of the 1st stage, the victory achieved by playing the football they wanted as a team must have been a special moment for the players. They faced the strong team of Shimizu S-Pulse head on, and although it was a tough match, the victory with a great performance from everyone will surely lead to something more for both the players and the staff. With this historic win, Tokyo has once again finished the 1st stage with a lead, just like last year. This season, with Kelly joining the team just before the start, it was difficult to see the team's "form" and they went through a tough period, but finally towards the end of the 1st stage, their "form" started to take shape. It was a big achievement to finish the 1st stage in a good shape, and it has given them momentum for the start of the 2nd stage. On August 11th (Sat), in the opening match against Kashiwa, where the special event "Fireworks Samba Night" will also take place, Tokyo will restart their journey towards the championship!

[Manager Okuma's comments] The time when we conceded a goal was when I was considering whether to make a player substitution, taking into account Tetsuya Ito's condition. However, after that, the players who came on did a great job both in attack and defense. Overall in the 1st stage, our win-loss record is the same as last season, but I think the fact that we haven't had consecutive losses shows our growth. There are many areas where we are doing well, but we still need to improve in terms of individual roles and being able to make quick decisions. We will work on fixing this and enter the 2nd stage with determination.