The true value of team strength is put to the test

　Kelly, Tetsuya ITO, Miura, Kagami... and injuries continue to pile up. In this match against the Nabisco Cup champions Yokohama F.Marinos, Tokyo will be missing Amaral due to accumulated warnings, leading to a difficult lineup. Moreover, in the remaining five matches, they will face teams fighting for relegation in J2, as well as Kashima, who are competing for the top spot, which will bring a different level of pressure against opponents whose motivations will change. Indeed, this is a critical moment that tests the strength of the team.

　Among them, today's starting members are: Fukuda as the top forward, on the right Sato, in the center Toru Kaburagi, on the left Masamitsu Kobayashi, with Shitohira and Asari as the defensive midfielders, and the defense line from the right consists of Komine, Yamao, Sandro, and Fujiyama. The substitutes include GK Ozawa, FW Toda, along with fresh members making their first appearance in this season's league matches: DF Minoru Kobayashi, MF Miyazawa, and FW Enomoto.

Attacking F. Marinos, struggling Tokyo

　The match progressed at the pace of F. Marinos. Tokyo, in the 7th minute, saw Kaburaki cut off a back pass from F. Marinos, and he advanced towards the goal after passing to Sato, who was free in the space on the left side. However, his long dribble went out of play, and after that, they struggled to create chances. F. Marinos had a free kick and a corner in the 5th minute, and in the 12th minute, midfielder Nakamura took a shot from a long-range free kick. In the 17th minute, Nakamura aimed for the goal again from another free kick, followed by two consecutive corners. In the 20th minute, they had another corner, creating opportunities from set pieces and taking five shots, while Tokyo faced a disadvantage, with Asari's long-range shot in the 28th minute being their first attempt.

　F. Marinos controlled the ball with Nakamura moving in all directions, supported by the solid defense of the double pivot formed by Endo and Kaneko. Center-back Matsuda frequently advanced into the attack. The aggressive play of left midfielder Dutra pushed back Tokyo's right side, making it difficult for them to counterattack from a defensive position.

　In the 30th minute, F. Marinos' Matsuda made a run forward to receive a pass from Jo and attempted a shot. However, just after that, in the 31st minute, Tokyo's Fukuda broke through behind the defense to take a powerful shot from a long ground pass from Komine on the right. Unfortunately, it hit the side netting, but in the 33rd minute, he connected with a header from Sato's cross, giving a glimpse of hope for a goal. In the 36th minute, the ball was passed from Dutra on the left side of F. Marinos to Nakamura in the center, who exchanged a series of short return passes with Jo, finishing with a soft shot from Nakamura. In the 37th minute, after another exchange of passes between Nakamura and Jo, this time Jo took a shot. This play resulted in a corner kick, and Komura attempted a header, but none of the attempts found the goal. In stoppage time, Tokyo finally transitioned quickly from defense to attack, and Sato delivered a cross that just missed Fukuda. The first half was dominated by the defense of Yamao and Komine, but they did not allow any goals, ending the half at 0-0.

Although they fell behind to a goal from Shunsuke Nakamura, they quickly responded with a fine goal from Toru KABURAGI.

　In the second half, F. Marinos substituted FW Ananaga for the injured FW Britt. The game turned into a series of interceptions. Although the ball moved back and forth in midfield, neither team could create any real chances, and in the 53rd minute, F. Marinos MF Hirama took a dribbling shot from a distance, marking the first shot for both teams combined.

　Tokyo was the first to move to break the deadlock. In the 54th minute, rookie Miyazawa, who was making his league debut, came on for Shimohira, and in the 58th minute, forward Toda came on for Seigo Kobayashi. The formation was set with Kaburaki at the top, Fukuda on the left in midfield, Toda in the center, and Miyazawa as a defensive midfielder. From here, both sides finally began to create a rhythm in their attacking and defensive plays.

　However, contrary to Tokyo's intention to launch an attack, in the 67th minute, F. Marinos' Matsuda dribbled up and passed to Dutra on the left, and Nakamura headed the cross sent to the center. In the 69th minute, once again, a foul was given for a free kick right in front of the goal due to Nakamura's dribbling breakthrough. When Nakamura and midfielder Endo have the ball, there is a sense of danger, and they try to develop an attack in conjunction with the movements of forwards Anno and Jo. Finally, in the 73rd minute, Jo flicked the goal kick ball forward with a back header, and Anno, who received it in the center, laid it off with his heel to the left. There, Nakamura, who had sprinted in with speed, took a shot from around the left corner of the penalty area, and it went into the goal. In a disadvantageous situation, they allowed a first goal that seemed to weigh heavily on them.

　However, Tokyo attempted to attack from the left with the combination of Fukuda and Fujiyama, as the right side was more restrained than usual. In the 75th minute, just after F. Marinos substituted Ueno for Kaneko, Fukuda received a ball from Fujiyama and returned it. Fujiyama then dribbled inward and passed to Miyazawa in the center, who sent a perfectly timed ball behind the opposing defenders with a direct pass. Sato, competing with a defender on the right side of the goal, managed to stretch out his foot and send a floating pass to the center, using Toda as a decoy as Kaburaki jumped in at the drop point for a direct shot! The equalizer struck, dampening the momentum of F. Marinos!!

　This invigorates Tokyo, and in the 78th minute, Miyazawa made a through pass to Toda, who utilized his speed to break behind the defender! However, the opposing GK Enomoto was slightly quicker to close in and caught the ball. Again, in the 80th minute, seeing no options to pass, Miyazawa immediately aimed for a mid-range shot. This was saved as it went straight to the GK, but the bold attempt to shoot and the attitude of trying to break through with passes reflected a fresh challenge typical of Tokyo. In the 86th minute, Enomoto, making his first appearance as a top player, was brought in to replace Fukuda. They sought to find a breakthrough to the goal with proactive substitutions, but neither team could find the finishing touch, and the match remained undecided at 90 minutes. It went into extra time.

Although it ended in a draw, there is hope for the fresh players

　Tokyo saw Enomoto move into the left midfield, with the holding midfielder Miyazawa also shifting from the center to the left to provide support, while Yamao advanced from the center to the right side to launch an attack. In the 94th minute of the first half of extra time, Sato's sharp cross was cleared by the defender in the center, and the loose ball was picked up by Toda, who managed to take a shot. The ball went wide of the goal, but it showcased Tokyo's characteristic attacking style. F. Marinos regained possession at the defensive line, with Matsuda pushing forward towards the goal. In the 96th minute, they launched a quick counterattack, and in the end, Doih's clearance landed right in front of the advancing Matsuda... A decisive close-range shot was taken, but it hit the side netting, allowing Tokyo to escape danger. F. Marinos brought in the speedy forward Kijima in the 101st minute, but as the second half of extra time progressed, fatigue began to show across the entire team, while Tokyo consistently picked up loose balls to maintain possession. However, the next pass was anticipated and intercepted. In the 108th minute, a free kick was awarded in the central area of Tokyo's half, and Nakamura's free kick was met with a header from Jo, but Doih caught it securely. In the 112th minute, Kobayashi Minoru, making his debut, came on to replace the injured Asari, but ultimately neither side yielded, and the final whistle was blown.

　Coach Okuma stated after the match about the active use of players, "There were many times when we were at a significant disadvantage, but I wanted to show the mindset of transitioning from defense to attack, rather than just 'defending and somehow getting one goal.' Everyone's abilities remain unchanged, so I trusted them and gave them opportunities, and I believe that both I and the players who participated had the desire to 'go for the win.' In the second half, that aspect was evident, and the team functioned better than in the first half." Indeed, it was a match that ended in a draw and left some issues, but what was gained for 'Tomorrow's Tokyo' may have been greater than the one point earned today. It became a game that shone with potential.

[LAZARONI's Comment] "FC Tokyo has developed a clear tactic of retreating to their own half and launching counterattacks from the start. However, we were unable to create much space, yet I believe we were able to make chances even within the limited space. After Britt got injured, we approached the second half with Anno and Jo as a two-top, but similar to the first half, we continued to send diagonal passes forward, with the forwards acting as a post and coordinating with the players making runs. The opening goal came from Nakamura's wonderful run, but immediately after, we became complacent and relaxed, leading to a careless mistake that resulted in a goal against us. The reason for our defeat was that we failed to capitalize on the time we dominated and convert it into goals. The exhaustion of our stamina was also a significant blow."

[Coach Okuma's Comment] "With so many injuries and members who have not experienced such intense matches in J1, I anticipated that this kind of match development would occur. While I am not satisfied with the content, it is a positive outcome that I was able to confirm that new talents are gradually growing. However, I also keenly felt that we lack the strength to secure victories in such matches. As a team and as individuals, we must step up more rigorously and aim higher to turn these kinds of matches into wins."