We cannot lose! A match against the strong Yokohama F.Marinos

　In Sec. 3, we will face Yokohama F.Marinos at home. Both teams are currently maintaining good form with 2 wins each. A tough match was expected, but it's a home game. We want to overpower F.Marinos with attacking football.

　Sato returns to the right side half. In addition, Fujiyama, who has recovered from injury, will take the position of left side back in place of the suspended Shimohira, while Asari will take the position of Miura, who is injured, making his first start of the season. The substitutes include fresh members: rookie MF Maeda (18 years old), MF Hoshi, and FW Riki MATSUDA (both 21 years old). On the other hand, F. Marinos has returned to their best lineup with the return of key players DF Riki MATSUDA and MF Oku, who were previously suspended, as well as the return of Dutra, who was injured.

Against In-Form F Marinos

The visitors for the third game of the season were the Yokohama F Marinos who, like F.C.TOKYO, had won both games so far. A tough match was expected, but Tokyo were able to welcome back Sato on the right wing. In place of the suspended Shimotaira, Fujiyama filled the left side back position, Asari took the place of the injured Miura, and three new faces appeared on the bench: 18 year-old midfielder Maeda, midfielder Hoshi and forward Matsuda, both 21. The visitors fielded a full strength team, with Matsuda and Oku returning from suspension, and Dutra from injury.

Neither side gives in, and a tight game unfolds

　Right after the start, the coordination on the left side was off, and the ball often went out of bounds. However, in the 2nd minute, a perfect cross came from the right side through the combination of Kelly and Sato. Although Amaral and Kobayashi collided in front of the goal and couldn't take a shot, in the 8th minute, Sato cut in from the right side to take a shot. With sharp side attacks starting from Sato, they approached the F. Marinos goal, but both teams quickly regained possession with fast checks and connected direct passes to advance, leading to an intense match progressing at a high pace.

　In the 9th minute, F. Marinos' MF Nakamura aimed directly for the goal from a free kick about 30 meters away. In the 15th minute, Nakamura again took a shot from a free kick approximately 20 meters out, but this was nicely saved by GK Doi. During the free kick situation, in addition to Nakamura, MF Oka and FW Will joined as kickers, which was indeed a threat. However, in the 26th minute, Nakamura's powerful free kick from the right of the goal was also saved by Doi, escaping the danger.

　After that, both sides maintained a tough defense, making it difficult to approach the goal in their own territory. Around the 30-minute mark, as the pace of the match slowed down a bit, F. Marinos began to take the initiative. Will received a return pass from forward Shimizu and boldly aimed for the goal from outside the penalty area, but the ball was caught by Doi. On the other hand, in the 32nd minute, Sato from Tokyo delivered several sharp crosses today, but the opposing defense cleared them.

　Both teams played a tight game, utilizing their strengths while effectively containing the opponent's strategies, and before we knew it, the first 45 minutes were over.

Fast and Furious

The game began at a frantic pace with both sides playing one-touch football, but neither was able to impose itself on the wild midfield melee. For F.C. TOKYO, fleet-footed winger Sato looked the most likely creator; he curled in a fine cross in the 2nd minute and burst through the middle but shot wide six minutes later.
The F Marinos threat was restricted to free kicks and corners, but in Nakamura, Will, and Oku they have three of the best dead ball specialists in the country, and goalkeeper Doi had to be extra vigilant as Tokyo gave away a series of free kicks within striking range. In the 26th minute he dived full length to fingertip a Nakamura corkscrew around the post.
The pace began to slacken a little after the half-hour mark and Will came into the game more for F Marinos. Neither side troubled the scorers but both played to their strengths and an entertaining first half ended 0-0.

Struggled against F. Marinos' tough defense, allowing Will to score the opening goal

　F. Marinos has a high awareness of defense from the midfield to the final line, and both wing-backs, Hato and Dutra, do not push too hard in attack, forming a solid defensive line. Tokyo struggles to break through that. Conversely, F. Marinos uses Oku and Nakamura as the base for both offense and defense, launching attacks from the center. Tokyo ends up stopping them with fouls, giving the impression that the game is interrupted. In the first half, the number of fouls from both sides was certainly not small, but the fast restarts made it feel like it was not the case...

　In the 52nd minute and again in the 57th minute, direct shots on goal were taken from free kicks, and in the 60th minute, there were three consecutive corner kicks from F. Marinos. This crisis was avoided with concentrated defense, but in the 63rd minute, a counterattack from Tokyo failed to connect between Seigo KOBAYASHI and Sato, resulting in the ball going out of play. In the 71st minute, following another corner kick from F. Marinos, in the 72nd minute, Nakamura entered the penalty area and was allowed a shot. This shot, which was not perfectly struck, was caught by Doi, but Tokyo found themselves at a disadvantage.

　Then, in the 75th minute, Seigo KOBAYASHI was surrounded in midfield and lost the ball, allowing F. Marinos to connect from Shimizu to Nakamura. Nakamura lifted a ball to the goal area, saying, "This is the only chance," and Will, who had just crossed the offside line, made a header shot. This resulted in the first goal being conceded.

Where there's a Will

F Marinos racked up the pressure on F.C. TOKYO as the second half got under way, defending from the front with wing backs Hato and Dutra lending weight to the attack as Nakamura and Oku orchestrated things in midfield. A sustained period of pressure ensued as Tokyo conceded several free kicks within striking distance and, in the 60th minute, a string of corners. The defense held its shape and concentration, however, and Tokyo nearly took the lead on a fast counter attack three minutes later, but the ball ran out of play. The home side were on the back foot but seemed to have weathered the storm when Masamitsu Kobayashi dithered on the ball and was robbed by Shimizu. He fed Nakamura whose lofted through ball found Will just onside and the Brazilian striker headed firmly past Doi for the opening goal.

Never give up until the end! Kelly scores a dramatic equalizer!!

　Tokyo, wanting to counterattack, brought in forward Matsuda, who made his season debut, in place of Sato in the 80th minute. However, they struggled against the tough checks of F. Marinos' back line—Matsuda, Nakazawa, and Naza—who kept pushing forward, making it difficult to create effective attacking plays. In the second half, they did not take a single shot, and amidst the repeated cycle of attacking and losing the ball, the end of the match felt imminent.

　However, the drama unfolds during the 4 minutes of stoppage time. Miyazawa perseveres and earns the first corner kick of the day. Just after substituting Hoshi for the injured Seigo KOBAYASHI, Miyazawa takes a quick right corner kick, and Kelly perfectly heads it in at the near side! The ball is sucked into the left corner of the goal!! With Kelly's priceless header at the last moment, they equalized!

　As the match went into extra time, Tokyo set up a formation with Amaral and Matsuda as the two strikers, but the initiative belonged to F. Marinos. Nevertheless, Tokyo pushed up their defensive line, consistently playing offside to prevent any clear chances. Then, in the 110th minute, from a free kick near the right corner of the penalty area, Nakamura sent a sharp ball into the goal area, and Naza headed it! It was a shot from very close range, but Doi made a super save!! The follow-up shot by defender Matsuda also missed the target. After escaping this major crisis thanks to Doi's repeated fine plays, the battle that lasted 120 minutes ended without a resolution. Ultimately, it ended in a draw, but they showcased a dramatic equalizer at the very end of the 90 minutes, securing a valuable point. This can be considered a valuable draw that demonstrated Tokyo's characteristic tenacity of 'never giving up until the end.'

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "It was a tough match. However, considering that Fumitake MIURA was injured in last week's match and Shimohira was suspended, I think Asari and Fujiyama, who made their first starts of the season, did well. This season, we have been practicing a lot with the aim of breaking out from the defensive midfield position like Miura. Asari is a different type, so I was hoping he could effectively utilize Miyazawa with a focus on defense. Regarding the goals conceded, in the situation where Masamitsu KOBAYASHI lost the ball, I always demand that he goes for the shot, but today he seemed a bit fatigued condition-wise, which led to a delayed decision and resulted in a goal from Shunsuke Nakamura to Will. However, we really managed to catch up well at the very last chance. We earned one point, and despite the injuries and suspensions of key players, I think those who played did well. Moving forward, I want us to aim for a style of football where the ball moves directly like in the first half, and players continuously get involved in the play."

F.C.TOKYO Fight to the Finish!

Desperate for an equaliser, Tokyo replaced Sato with Matsuda for his first appearance of the season, but the solid F Marinos back line held firm and restricted the home side to only one shot on target in the second half. F.C. TOKYO seemed to be heading for their first home defeat of the year as the clock ran down. Deep in the four minutes of time added on, Miyazawa won Tokyo their first corner of the game and took it himself, curling the ball in for Kelly to power a fine header down and into the corner. Kelly disappeared under a mound of teammates and the fans celebrated a priceless goal as Tokyo had once again snatched a last gasp equaliser.
Buoyed by the goal, Tokyo regrouped for extra time and, with Amaral and Matsuda as twin strikers, took the game to the visitors. The defence pushed up, using the offside trap to deny the visitors a chance. In the 110th.
minute, F Marinos won a free kick just outside the corner of the penalty area. Nakamura thundered the ball goalward and Naza rose to bullet a header from point blank range for what seemed to be the winning goal, but Doi, with almost superhuman reflexes, flung himself to his left for a breathtaking save. Matsuda put the rebound wide and Tokyo had survived again. The match wound down from that point and finished all square. The "Never say die" spirit of the team had earned a valuable point.

Manager Hara: "That was a hard game. With Miura out and Shimotaira suspended their replacements played very well. One of our ideas for the season is to get the defensive halves forward and we've been working on it in training. Asari is a different type of player to Miura but we were looking for him to combine with Miyazawa in midfield. As for the goal we conceded, Kobayashi is always looking to take the ball on and shoot but I think a little tiredness crept in. But I have to hand it to the players for the way they fought to the end and tied the game with our last chance. The way we played in the first half, the one-touch passing and the way we moved the ball around, is the kind of football we are hoping to produce."