Key Games to Compete for the Championship

　FC Tokyo's current ranking is 4th (at the end of the 6th round). For FC Tokyo, who has set the goal of "winning at least one title this season," the current situation in this 2nd stage is a great opportunity to achieve that goal. Before the match, news of Nagoya Grampus Eight's defeat in 3rd place had come in, and if they win this match against Reds, it will guarantee them a spot in the top 3, so it became a must-win game for Tokyo, who wants to stay in the title race.

　On the other hand, the Reds are currently in a slump, ranking 15th with three consecutive losses. However, in the previous match, they played a close game that went into extra time against the top-ranked Antlers, showing that the team is on an upward trend. This is a crucial match for them to stop their losing streak and also to get revenge against FC Tokyo for the 1st stage.

　The Tokyo Stadium, the venue, was filled with red on the away side goal end by the Reds supporters, and before kick-off, they engaged in a fierce cheering battle with the Tokyo supporters. The unusual and intense atmosphere was so hot that it evoked the image of a "home soccer field", and it was filled with an exciting scent, and it was expected that the game would be a heated and exciting game, just like the heat in the stands.

"Impressive" early game struggle with conceding the first goal

　The match was heated by the atmosphere of the stands and became as intense as expected. Shortly after the start, Miura was knocked down and there was a scuffle when a Reds player hit the ball. The game quickly became an explosive atmosphere. After that, a heated game was played with both teams showing their fighting spirit through tough plays.

　In the early stages, it was Reds who took the lead. Reds' top player Emerson used his astonishing speed up front to break through the Tokyo DF line, or drifted to the side to create space in the center, where TUTO and Nagai made chances with wall passes and dribbles. Last year, TUTO, who was also with Tokyo, was undoubtedly "fast", but Reds' secret weapon Emerson, acquired after releasing former ace Ono (Netherlands / Feyenoord), showed an intense and astonishing speed that made TUTO's speed pale in comparison. Tokyo, too wary of Emerson's speed, dropped their DF line and their MFs on both sides were pulled back, making it difficult for them to win the ball in a high position and resulting in prolonged pressure.

　In the 13th minute, Emerson broke through from a vertical pass and took a looping shot, but it went over the bar. In the following 15th minute, a vertical pass entered the space created by Emerson's movement to the side, and DF Yamada ran in to become completely free, but Tokyo's Fukuda returned to the goal just in time to clear it. In the dangerous situation that followed, in the 17th minute, Amaral cleared the ball from a left corner kick and Reds MF Suzuki scored a powerful middle shot from about 30m, and Tokyo finally conceded the first goal.

Yukihiko, Kelly's goal leads to a successful comeback...

　In this bad flow, Tokyo was able to avoid a major collapse. Tokyo's counterattack started immediately. After Reds' strong opening punch, Tokyo woke up and in the 21st minute, Amaral won the header in the midfield. The ball went through a scramble and ended up in front of Yukihiro in the center of the front line. Yukihiro didn't trap the bouncing ball and instead took a sharp shot with his right foot. The ball drew a beautiful arc and was sucked into the goal about 30 meters away, just like when Reds scored first. Tokyo quickly equalized with Yukihiro's powerful goal and returned the game to square one. In the following 24 minutes, Tokyo created another chance from DF Komine's interception. A perfect through pass from Yukihiro on the right found Amaral in the center, but it was cleared by Reds' DF just a moment too soon.

　Tokyo managed to catch up to a tie, but they were still struggling against the speedy attacks of the Reds and their overall defensive line was pushed back, waiting for a chance to counter. In the 29th minute, Amaral made a tough chase on the right side and stole the ball from TUTO, quickly passing it to Kelly who had come to support. Kelly accelerated with the ball and made a quick run towards the goal, drawing in the Reds' defense before passing to Fukuda who was left open on the left side. Fukuda took a shot with his signature cutback move, which was initially saved by the Reds' goalkeeper, but Kelly was there to follow up and score the go-ahead goal. Despite being pushed back, Tokyo efficiently took advantage of their counter attacks and pulled ahead of Urawa.

　On the other hand, the Reds were not silent. The Reds' Abe, who has a strong hold on the ball, was the starting point in the bottom of the midfield, and TUTO and Nagai were involved in the ball with abundant physical strength, and Emerson, who was in a one-top position, was aiming for the back with astonishing speed, so the Tokyo defense was never able to relax. In particular, it became difficult to stop Emerson's rush, and there were more scenes where FK was given near the penalty area. In the 40th minute, Abe took a precise left-footed shot to the lower left corner of the goal from the FK created by Emerson, but GK Doi made a super save! The pinch continued, and in the 43rd minute, TUTO broke through from the sharp wall pass of TUTO and Emerson, and took a curved shot with his right foot from the front of the goal, but the ball went just to the right of the goal post... In the end, as the pinch continued, just as I thought I could turn the first half with a one-point lead in the lost time, TUTO dribbled in front of the goal and passed to Emerson, who was momentarily free on the right side, and Emerson swung it powerfully with his right foot, and the shot was sucked into the lower left corner of the goal, mocking Doi's desperate save. In the end, the first half returned to square one in the last minute, and the game was carried over to the second half.

Amaral's valuable final round goal leads Reds to victory!

　Tokyo, who was caught up to the same score just before the end of the first half, corrected the fact that both sides' MFs had pulled back due to fear of Emerson TUTO's rush during halftime, and instructed them to support Kelly and Amaral at a higher position without fear, and approached the second half with an increased number of attacks compared to the first half.

　In the 4th minute of the second half, Reds were able to connect precisely in front of the goal, and a perfect shot was taken with a curve from Emerson, who opened up at the corner of the left side of the penalty area, but the ball hit the bar and did not go in... For a moment, I was worried, but after that, Tokyo regained their composure and started creating chances with effective movements from Miura on both offense and defense.

　The match showed a fierce back-and-forth battle, but neither side was able to make a decisive move as time passed. In the midst of this, it was Tokyo who made the first move. Already, there was a sense that Tokyo had the upper hand, but in the 13th minute of the second half, they substituted Kina for Asari. Then, 10 minutes later, they substituted Kagami, who has been in good form, for Fukuda. In particular, Kagami was able to keep the ball under control on the left side and immediately made a superb cross from the left side, showing promising movements as soon as he stepped onto the pitch.

　The climax was in the 27th minute of the second half. Fujiyama dribbled from the left side to the center and passed to Kaga who was waiting in front of the goal. Kaga then dribbled to the side and made a perfect through pass to Yukihiro who was aiming for the back of the opponent's defense. Yukihiro, who had just barely stepped out of the offside line, sharply reacted to the ball and passed it back to the center from the right goal line, avoiding the opponent's GK who had come out. Reds DF Ihara desperately cleared the ball, but it was a small clearance and Kelly, who was closing in, took a shot. The ball flew in front of Amaral in front of the goal and Amaral calmly volleyed it in. With the addition of Kina and Kaga, Tokyo changed their rhythm and once again Amaral scored a crucial goal, making it three consecutive goals and finally succeeding in taking the lead.

　The Reds, who seemed to be depressed by this decisive goal, continued to receive passionate support from their supporters until the end, and the players also showed fierce fighting spirit until the end. However, Tokyo also countered with a strong defense backed by their passionate supporters. In the 30th minute, TUTO forcefully broke through the left side and sent a fast ground cross, which was faintly touched by Doi and cleared by Kaga and Fujiyama just before the Reds player could shoot. Both teams continued to show intense attacks and defenses, but the game ended as it was. FC Tokyo won this important match that they had to win in order to stay in the championship race, and rose to third place alone. After a brief rest, the team will refresh and restart for the next match, which can be called a crucial battle, against Nagoya and then Jubilo.

[Manager Okuma's Comment] The motivation of Reds, who gained confidence in the previous match against Kashima, was high, and I thought that today's match would be a tough one, including the content. Soccer is not something that can be won by just 11 people, and the substitute players are the key. In that sense, I think we have been winning because our substitute players have been producing results recently. We want to continue playing with the mindset of fighting with all 29 players. After this, there will be a little break, so we will do our best to be in a good condition for the next match.