Win the last home game before the league suspension!

　This match, held at the Japan National Stadium, will be against JEF United Chiba, currently in 10th place. Tokyo, sitting in 5th place, has a significant gap in ranking, but the point difference is only 1. Both teams have not won in their last 2 matches and are looking to seize the opportunity to rise with a victory.

　Moreover, time flies, and today marks the last home game in the league, which has a break for the World Cup, among the 7 matches before the interruption. Of course, to remain in the championship race and to prepare for the upcoming away matches, we want to celebrate a victory at our home National stadium.

Last Home Game Before World Cup

The opponents for the fifth game of the season, a home game at the National Stadium, were JEF United Ichihara. JEF, lying 10th in the table five places below F.C. TOKYO, but separated by only one point, had failed to win in their previous two games, like their hosts; both teams were keen to return to winning ways.
F.C. TOKYO were equally anxious to post a good result in the final home match before the World Cup break.

Creating chances but unable to score, and conceding a goal just before the end of the first half

　From the start of the first half, Tokyo seized the ball in high positions and transitioned to attack. In the 2nd minute, a pass from Hoshi to Amaral was offside. In the 6th minute, Seigo KOBAYASHI stole the ball from the opponent's backline and faced the goalkeeper one-on-one. Unfortunately, he was closed down by the DF and couldn't take a shot, but he did not miss the opponent DF's unstable start and showed a "forward" attitude.

　In the 8th minute, Ichihara's MF Masuda took a powerful long-range shot, but Dohi managed to punch it away for a corner kick. From that corner kick, FW Choi's header went to the right of the goal. However, during this play, the key defender Jean was injured and had to be substituted for Komine in the 13th minute. Nevertheless, Tokyo, who picked up the second ball well and played in the opponent's half, saw Miyazawa in midfield send a strong, fast, and unexpected through pass in the 18th minute. Hoshi, who received it, was caught offside, but they also showed variations in their central attacks.

　Tokyo fought bravely, but as a result, they often stopped the opponent's play with fouls, conceding free kicks. Using this set piece, Ichihara also went on the attack. In the 27th minute, Choi took a header shot from a free kick. Then in the 28th minute, Choi took another shot on a counterattack, but both were saved by Doi. In the 35th minute, Tokyo had a free kick from the right side of the penalty area, which Miyazawa wisely passed to Kelly, who was free in the center, but the shot went just wide to the right. It was a decisive chance, but they missed it. Conversely, in the 38th minute, Ichihara MF Abe’s free kick from straight in front of the goal was saved with one hand by Doi. Doi also repelled a powerful mid-range shot from MF Sakamoto in the 43rd minute, making a series of fine saves. However, just before halftime in the 44th minute, from a free kick on the left rear side for Ichihara, Abe delivered a perfect ball between the DF line and the goalkeeper. DF Chano broke through Tokyo’s defense and headed the ball to score the opening goal. Tokyo went into the break trailing at an unpleasant time.

F.C. TOKYO Create But JEF Finish

F.C.TOKYO took the game to JEF straight from the kick off, pushing up the field and harrying a rather shaky looking defence into some mistakes.
Masamitsu Kobayashi had the best early chance as he was clean through with only the keeper to beat, but a last ditch block prevented a certain goal. At the other end keeper Doi punched away a well struck effort from Masuda in the 8th minute with Che Yon Su heading the resulting corner narrowly wide.
F.C.TOKYO suffered a blow in the 13th minute when defensive lynch-pin Jean was forced to leave the field with a strained groin. JEF slowly worked their way back into the match, winning a series of free kicks and threatening on the break. Kelly nearly put F.C.TOKYO ahead from a well-worked free kick in the 35th minute but his shot crept inches wide of the post. Doi kept TOKYO in the game with another stunning one handed save from Abe's well struck free kick in the 38th minute and followed it up with an amazing double save from Sakamoto five minutes later. Despite Doi's heroics JEF finally breached the last line in the 44th minute. Abe swung in a powerful, curling free kick and Chano appeared between Doi and the last defender to head JEF in front on the stroke of half time.

Miyazawa's first J1 goal filled with guts has equalized!!

　It was Ichihara who launched an offensive at the start of the second half. A long ball was directed to Choi, initiating a fast attack that utilized FW Hanyu's breakthrough. In the 48th minute, Hanyu broke through behind the defensive line, but Dohi was a step quicker to come out and make the save. Choi's looping shot from the loose ball also went over the goal, escaping without incident.

　Tokyo quickly transitioned to attack from a set play by Ichihara, launching counterattacks in the 51st and 53rd minutes. Hoshi frequently delivered crosses from the right side, with Kelly and Amaral closing in on the Ichihara goal, but the opposing DF was quick to close them down, preventing any shots. However, in the 60th minute, Amaral played a pivotal role in winning a corner kick in the center. Miyazawa's right corner was cleared by the opposing DF and spilled outside the right side of the penalty area. Miyazawa ran in and took a shot from a tight angle! The ball struck the net with tremendous force, leveling the score!!

　Miyazawa's first J1 goal was a powerful equalizer for Tokyo, who, riding the momentum, continued to attack. In the 64th minute, Amaral connected with a cross from the right with his head, and although the opposing goalkeeper initially caught it, Kelly was quick to pounce on the rebound and pushed it into the goal. However, this was unfortunately ruled offside and counted as no goal. Conversely, in the 72nd minute, a free kick given just outside the penalty area was taken directly by Ichihara's midfielder Muichin, hitting the crossbar and causing a scare. Nevertheless, Tokyo, undeterred, continued to press forward with Miyazawa and Hoshi actively aiming for the goal. In the 76th minute, Seigo KOBAYASHI was substituted for forward Matsuda as they sought an additional goal. However, after 90 minutes, the score remained 1-1, leading to a third consecutive extra time.

Battling Miyazawa Ties It!

JEF began the second period as they finished the first, knocking long balls towards Che Yon Su and Hanyu; the latter got behind the TOKYO defence in the 48th minute and Doi had to be off his line very sharply to save and then watch as Che lobbed the rebound fractionally over the bar. Hoshi made some headway for F.C.TOKYO down the right, firing in a couple of crosses but the JEF defence contained Amaral and Kelly. In the 60th minute a typical burst through the middle by Amaral earned F.C.TOKYO a corner on the right; Miyazawa curled the ball in, only for a defender to head the ball straight back to him just outside the area. Instead of crossing, as the JEF defence expected, Miyazawa lashed the ball hard and low to the near post and it beat the keeper's late dive for a stunning equaliser.
Miyazawa's first goal in the J-League revitalised F.C.TOKYO and Amaral nearly put them ahead three minutes later but saw his powerful header athletically stopped by the JEF keeper. Kelly seemed certain to net the rebound but was given offside. F.C.TOKYO attacked positively but JEF proved a threat on the break—Muichin rattled the bar with a drive in the 72nd minute. Young forward Matsuda replaced Masamitsu Kobayashi in the 76th minute. Despite their best efforts neither side conjured a winner and for the third consecutive game F.C.TOKYO were playing extra time.

Although we ended in a draw without scoring additional points, there were still gains.

　As the match went into extra time, Tokyo replaced Hoshi with rookie Omata, who was making his J1 debut, on the left side. However, Ichihara also brought in speedy forward Hayashi in place of Hanyu. Hayashi broke through Tokyo's left side, resulting in consecutive corner kicks. But Omata was not to be outdone. He challenged the opposing defenders without hesitation and created good opportunities from the left side. However, in the 96th minute, Kelly was injured during a fierce contest, forcing Tokyo to use their fourth substitution card. Once again, they brought in midfielder Maeda, who was making his first appearance in the J1 League. Maeda, who entered as a right side midfielder, cut off the opponent's ball after a fierce challenge in the 98th minute and then delivered a cross to Amaral, playing confidently even in the harsh situation of competing for a goal alongside Omata.

　Shortly after the start of the second half of extra time, Kobayashi picked up a loose ball in front of the goal and took a powerful mid-range shot. However, the opposing goalkeeper Kushino made a fine play to deflect it for a corner kick. After that, there was a frantic exchange of chances and threats, with both teams unable to capitalize on their opportunities. Then, in the 118th minute, Ichihara's Choi broke forward, evaded Komine, and took a decisive shot, but it was blocked by the post, leading to the end of the match. The intense 120 minutes ended in a draw, with both teams giving their all.

　Although it is just one point, we showed the ability to recover even when we fell behind, and there were also gains in that rookies like Omata and Maeda were able to compete on equal terms under tough conditions. However, whether this point will become a '1' that leads to future success depends on the battles to come. The team is in a difficult situation with many injuries, but we must unite and fight towards victory.

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "There was an accident involving Jean, and the team was momentarily unsettled, but I think Komine filled that gap well. At the start, we applied the lessons learned from the Shimizu S-Pulse match, maintained good balance in midfield, and were able to circulate the ball effectively. However, our finishing was weak, and I wish we had scored a goal by around the 30th minute of the first half... On the contrary, we conceded a goal just before halftime, but at halftime I said, 'It's not over yet, let's go again.' After scoring one goal back in the second half, there was a period where we controlled the rhythm, so I wanted to score another goal then... Of course, we wanted to take all 3 points, but there were several dangerous moments and times when the post saved us, so I think the players did their best until the end. With injuries and both Jean and Kelly out, the substitute players like Maeda and Omatani held firm. Including Miyazawa, I think this '1 point' was earned through the efforts of the young players. For the next match against Gamba, Kelly will be suspended, but we want to further develop these young members and field energetic players."

All Square

Extra time saw rookie Omata replace Hoshi as halfback; the speedy forward Hayashi replaced Hanyu for JEF and immediately set about his young opponent, winning a corner kick. Omata gave a good account of himself though, as did young midfielder Maeda who made his first appearance after Kelly was stretchered off following a goal mouth melee in the 96th minute. In the second half of extra time Shimotaira thundered in a 30 yard rocket producing a flying save from the JEF keeper—the resulting corner came to naught. Both sides produced some heart stopping chances but neither were able to finish them off: Che Yon Su surely must have thought he had won the game in the 118th minute as he turned Komine inside out, then beat Doi only to see his shot strike the foot of the post and trickle away.
The final whistle blew soon after and F.C.TOKYO had a solitary point to show for their efforts. Despite falling behind at a crucial time and losing key players to injury, F.C.TOKYO fought hard for two hours and the young players performed creditably in difficult circumstances. The team is struggling with injuries at the moment—the healthy players will have to step up and show their fighting spirit in the remaining games.

Manager Hara :
Losing Jean early on was a blow but Komine did a very good job for us. I felt the midfield was well balanced and we played the ball around nicely in the first half but couldn't make the breakthrough we needed; we were lax at the free kick but I told the players at half time that the game wasn't over yet by any means. We found our rhythm and equalised - maybe we could have gone on to win the game. There were many close calls and the woodwork saved us but the players fought very well. The young players came on and did well: in effect they earned the point for us today. Kelly is suspended for the Gamba match so they will have another chance to develop their abilities next week.