Can they achieve their first 3 consecutive wins of the season?

　The opponent for the 3rd match of the 2nd stage is Hiroshima. In the 1st stage, which was the first game after the World Cup break, Tokyo won by a landslide with 4 goals, including Toda's hat-trick. However, under the guidance of coach Kimura, who took over at the end of the 1st stage, the team has gradually transformed with the active use of young players. In the previous match, they defeated Yokohama FM away, showing that the team is steadily improving. In addition, the team has been strengthened by the addition of new foreign player, former Croatian national team forward Elchege, who just joined the team this week and is already on the bench. Hiroshima is currently in 14th place in the annual ranking, dangerously close to the relegation line of J2. Therefore, their motivation for this home game is expected to be extremely high, including the desire for revenge from the 1st stage.

　On the other hand, Tokyo is also riding on a wave of momentum with 2 consecutive wins and a shutout victory at the start of the 2nd stage, and their motivation is high as they aim for their first 3-game winning streak of the season. The defense, which left a fragile impression towards the end of the 1st stage, has also shown resilience and stability with goalkeeper Tsuchi as the key player, keeping 2 clean sheets in the first 2 games of the 2nd stage. In terms of attack, Ishikawa, Amaral, Kelly, and others have maintained good form. Breaking away from the "2-game winning streak" is a necessary task for establishing themselves in the top ranks, and if they can overcome this, the "Hara attacking soccer" will gain even more confidence and show a higher level of performance. Tokyo is aiming for their first 3-game winning streak of the season and will face the same starting lineup as the previous match in a fierce battle.

Three Out Of Three?

F.C.TOKYO made the long trip to Hiroshima for the third game of the second stage. Sanfrecce, after a disappointing first stage campaign ( which included a 4-0 drubbing at Tokyo Stadium in the first game after the World Cup, highlighted by Toda's hat trick ) had replaced their manager during the break; an excellent away win over F Marinos in the previous game plus the signing of former Croatian international striker Erceg signaled a positive start under new manager Kimura. However, in 14th. place in the overall standings Sanfrecce were peering into the abyss of relegation; with a vital three points at stake and revenge on their minds the players' motivation would be undoubted.
F.C.TOKYO had made an excellent start to the second stage, winning both games without conceding a goal and allaying the fears raised by some defensive frailty in the first stage. Yoichi Doi, the TOKYO No. 1, had been in superb form while Ishikawa, Kelly and the ageless Amaral were back to their best at the other end. Aiming for a third consecutive win TOKYO were unchanged from the previous game.

Intense game with fierce attacks

　The match started with both teams showing an attacking stance. In the first minute, Toda received a through pass from Kelly on the left side and made a run towards the goal, but instead of shooting, he passed it back to the middle where Amaral missed the ball. Ishikawa then took a shot from the opposite side, but it hit a defender. In the following 5 minutes, Kaji's cross from the right side went across the goal, and in the 6th minute, Amaral received a sharp pass from behind in front of the goal and took a shot, but narrowly missed to the left.

　As Tokyo continues to miss big chances, young Hiroshima gradually begins to shine. In the 8th minute, FW Mogi broke free from the chaos in front of the goal, but the Tokyo DF barely managed to clear it. Immediately after, Hiroshima FW Nakayama caught up to Jean's half-hearted back pass and took a shot, but it was not well-timed and GK Doi stopped it with his foot, avoiding any danger.

　On this day, Hiroshima's starting lineup had an average age of 22 years old, with the two top players, Mogi and Nakayama, being particularly young at 18 and 20 years old respectively. However, these two players' performances were beyond expectations and gave Tokyo a hard time. Hiroshima's attack would first target Nakayama after stealing the ball from Tokyo, and then quickly pass it to Mogi, Fujimoto, and Takahashi who would provide support and pass it directly and quickly, adding depth with the participation of speedy fullbacks like Komano and Hattori. Tokyo struggled to keep up with the counterattacks, as Mogi's speed and Fujimoto and Takahashi's sharp movements from the second row caused them to be pushed back without being able to mark them properly.

End To End

TOKYO pressured Sanfrecce straight from the kick off as Kelly's through ball set Toda free down the left. He elected to pass instead of shoot: the ball evaded Amaral and Ishikawa, following up, struck his shot against a defender. Kaji overlapped and centered in the 5th. minute and a minute later Amaral fired fractionally wide from a good position.
Fortunate not to be behind the young Sanfrecce team fought back and only a desperate block prevented Mogi from opening the scoring following a goal mouth melee. Soon after, an under hit back pass from Jean played in Nakayama but he scuffed his shot and Doi saved with his legs.
With an average age of only 22 and a strike force of 18 year-old Mogi and 20 year-old Nakayama, Sanfrecce unexpectedly began to cause problems for the TOKYO defense with their simple, direct football. Long balls played to Nakayama were knocked down or laid off to Mogi, Fujimoto or Takahashi while side backs Komano and Hattori lent their weight to the attack. Fast passing movements and darting runs from the speedy Mogi proved difficult to contain and the visitors found themselves on the back foot.

First goal conceded in the 2nd stage

　Chances came alternately. In the 18th minute, Tokyo's Miyazawa sent a sharp FK from the left to the far side, but Amaral's powerful header hit the bar from a distance. In the 22nd minute, Hiroshima responded with a through pass from the right side to the shallow DF line of Tokyo, and Fujimoto quickly reacted and broke through, but GK Doi cleared it just a moment faster. However, in the next 23rd minute, Mogi received the ball freely on the left side, dribbled into the middle, and easily allowed a goal.

　Tokyo conceded their first goal of the 2nd stage to Hiroshima's rookie, Shigeki Mogi's first J-League goal, but they continued to play their own style without panicking. They overwhelmed Hiroshima with speedy runs from Ishikawa on the wings, long passes from Miyazawa, and headers from Amaral, creating chance after chance. In the 35th minute, Ishikawa and in the 44th minute, Miyazawa both took powerful shots from outside the box, and in stoppage time, Jean attempted a header from a corner kick, but were denied by the Hiroshima goalkeeper. As a result, they ended the first half trailing 0-1.

TOKYO Concede First Goal of Second Stage

Both teams were creating and spurning chances. Amaral headed a vicious Miyazawa free kick against the bar at the far post in the 18th. minute and shortly after Doi hared out of his goal to clear off Fujimoto's toes as a fine through ball had split the TOKYO defence. Doi was unable to prevent Sanfrecce taking the lead in the 23rd. minute as Mogi finished cleanly after being left unmarked.
His first J.League goal was the first conceded by F.C.TOKYO in the second stage. TOKYO responded by not panicking and maintaining their pressure on the Sanfrecce goal. Ishikawa and Miyazawa both had long range efforts well saved by the Sanfrecce keeper who also produced a fine stop to deny Jean's header from a corner in injury time. The first half ended 0-1.

Unable to score an additional point despite catching up with Ishikawa's equalizing goal, heading into extra time.

　"The defense needs to catch Mogi, Fujimoto, and Takahashi firmly. And in the attack, we need to exploit the space left by the opponent's full-backs. We have more chances and if we take one more step after shooting, we can score. Just like we have been done to us, today we will turn the tables and win in the second half. We can definitely do it!" Coach Hara gave instructions and rallied the players at halftime. As the second half began, the game unfolded just as he had predicted.

　When the movement of the Hiroshima attack decreased and the defense line stabilized, as instructed by Manager Hara, they created chances by attacking the open sides of Hiroshima. In the 5th minute, Kelly, Amaral, and Ishikawa broke through with short passes to create a scoring opportunity, but unfortunately it was offside. In the following 7 minutes, Ishikawa received a pass from Kaji on the right side and attempted a shot with his left foot, but the ball ended up at the feet of Amaral, who was free in front of the goal. Amaral had a one-on-one opportunity with the GK, but once again hit the GK and missed the chance. Despite creating scoring opportunities, Tokyo was struggling to score. However, in the 22nd minute of the second half, Miyazawa passed to the open space on the right side from the center, and Ishikawa made a perfect trap and a high-speed dribble to shoot. The ball, calmly kicked after observing the GK's position, firmly shook the Hiroshima goal net, finally equalizing the score.

　Tokyo, who caught up with the tie as planned by coach Hara, quickly followed up with momentum. In the 28th minute, Ishikawa dribbled through the right side and passed a ground pass in front of the goal, but Amaral couldn't reach it. In the 35th minute, Miyazawa ran in from behind to receive a pass from Amaral with a heel and aimed for a loop shot from the left side, but it went well over the bar. In the 41st minute, substitute FW Fukuda broke through with a direct pass from Amaral and took a shot from the right side, but the ball missed the goal by a large margin.

　On the other hand, Hiroshima, who had turned to defense, had a solid defense line centered around the large center back Belong, and everyone repelled Tokyo's attacks with high concentration. Substitute foreign player FW Elchech and substitute FW Kubo also launched powerful attacks. In the 44th minute just before the end of the second half, when a pass from the left side was passed through to the center player, MF Morisaki Hiroshi, who had run in from behind, received the ball freely and was hit by a powerful shot from a dribble, but it narrowly missed the right goal.

　Tokyo, who survived a decisive pinch at the end of the game, received a pass from the left side in the midfield immediately after and Ishikawa took a powerful shot from the dribble, but it narrowly missed to the left and the time was up. The decision was carried over to extra time.

Ishikawa Ties It!

At half time TOKYO manager Hara urged his defense to "Get hold of Mogi, Fujimoto and Takahashi" and his attack to "Use the space created when their side backs push forward". He added "We're creating chances and have a great chance to turn the game around". Which is exactly what happened.
The TOKYO defense got to grips with the Sanfrecce forwards as the second half unfolded and the attack suddenly found acres of space down the flanks.
A very close offside decision denied TOKYO in the 50th minute and soon after Amaral seemed certain to score as Ishikawa's shot landed at his feet with only the keeper in front of him. Somehow the keeper beat his shot away but the visitors were not to be denied. In the 67th minute Miyazawa floated a pass into space on the right for Ishikawa to control the ball cleanly and fire coolly past the keeper for the equalizer.
TOKYO scented blood and continued to press forward. Amaral was inches away from Ishikawa's low cross in the 73rd minute and a neat heel pass from the same player teed up Miyazawa soon after but his lob sailed over the bar.
Fukuda, on in place of Toda, blazed wide in the 86th minute.
The Sanfrecce defense, ably marshalled by giant center back Bilong held firm and the home side nearly snatched the winner as extra time beckoned. An infield pass from the right was allowed to run by a Sanfrecce player and midfielder Morisaki lashed a thunderous drive fractionally wide of a post.
The final chance of the 90 minutes fell to Ishikawa who rasped a shot wide of the post from outside the box. The game moved into extra time.

Unsuccessful attack...crying over one shot despite overwhelming pressure

　This season, Tokyo has not had any wins in overtime, but for the team that is currently on a 2-game winning streak, the awareness of that jinx is thin, and the players overwhelmed Hiroshima with high concentration and excellent attacking power.

　In the early stages of the first half of extra time, there were moments when Hiroshima was pushed back, but Tokyo's final line showed no signs of fatigue and bounced back with high concentration, creating numerous decisive opportunities. In the 8th minute, Fukuda broke through from the left after receiving a vertical pass from substitute DF Fujiyama, and shot with his left foot, but it hit the foot of the opposing DF and was caught by the GK. In the following 9th minute, Miyazawa took a powerful direct shot from the center after the opposing DF cleared the ball, but it was blocked by the GK. In the 11th minute, Ishikawa's shot from the right side was also caught by the GK. In the 13th minute, Fukuda aimed for a diving header from the right corner kick, but it was blocked by the GK's excellent defense. In the 14th minute, Fukuda ran onto a long pass from the DF and kept the ball in the penalty area, but it appeared that he was brought down from behind by an opposing player. However, the decision was "no foul". The stadium was filled with an intense and exciting match, reaching its climax.

　In the end, the game went into extra time without a decision, and now it's finally the final chapter. Tokyo, who was pushing hard, responded to the intense and passionate support of the supporters who rushed to Hiroshima, and in the second half of extra time, Ishikawa showed his momentum with a surprising middle shot right after the start.

　"One step away. One more push and we can win." Just as everyone involved in Tokyo thought so, the smiling goddess suddenly turned towards Hiroshima. In the 2nd minute of extra time, Fujiyama hesitated in his decision on the left side and lost the ball, which turned into a counterattack. The ball was passed to Hiroshima's forward Kubo on the right side, who easily passed through the sharp defense of Shigeta and made a last pass to the center. Elchege, who ran in for the ball, easily scored the goal, sealing the deal. Shots taken: 22 to 13. In extra time, it was 9 to 1, overwhelmingly in favor of Tokyo, making the loss even more regrettable. The reason for this defeat should not be blamed on the last mistake, but rather on the fact that we couldn't score despite having so many chances. This also means that our first three consecutive wins of the season will have to wait. The next game is a home game in four days. The performance was not something to be pessimistic about, so we must quickly switch our mindset and continue to accumulate victories one by one.

[FC Tokyo Manager Press Conference Summary] "Today, the main reason for our loss was not being able to convert our chances into goals. We missed big chances in the beginning and allowed the young players on the other team to gain momentum. We have won two consecutive games in the 2nd round, but we have only scored one goal in each game. We need to score another goal to make it easier. Our team situation is not bad, but we need to improve our finishing. We have a game on Wednesday, so we need to quickly switch our focus and prepare for it."

[Hiroshima・Kimura Coach Press Conference Summary] "This season, we have never won in extra time, so today's victory will give the players great confidence. As for the content, FC Tokyo has a strong attacking power, with players who are fast, tall, and powerful, and in the first half we were able to hold them back well, but in the second half we were pushed back. However, in front of the goal, everyone stayed focused until the end and defended well. And most importantly, the players who needed to score were able to score and win."

TOKYO Press But...

TOKYO had failed to win any of their games which required extra time this season but set about breaking that jinx in aggressive fashion as the "V Goal" first period kicked off. Chance followed chance but the Sanfrecce keeper held everything TOKYO could throw at him: a powerful shot from Fukuda that deflected off a defender, a blast from Miyazawa, a fine effort from Ishikawa and a near post diving header from Fukuda. In the final minute of the first period of extra time Fukuda picked out Amaral with a sumptuous long ball; the "King of Tokyo" held the ball up inside the area before being barged over by a charging defender. " No foul" was the referee's decision; the home crowd made barely a sound.
The second period began with Ishikawa again going close with a well struck drive but, as TOKYO strove for the goal that seemed so near, the fates suddenly turned against them. Fujiyama lost possession in the middle of the park and the ball reached Kubo on the right. He outpaced Moniwa and rolled the ball inside for the fast breaking Erceg to smash it past Doi for the winning goal. Unbelievably TOKYO had lost a game in which they outshot the opposition 22-13, and 9-1 in extra time.
Three consecutive wins for the first time this year was beyond TOKYO's reach. The cause of the defeat was not the mistake which led to conceding the "V Goal" but the profligacy at the other end. The team has four days to regroup before the next match.

F.C.TOKYO manager Hara:
"Well, we just didn't take our chances today, simple as that. We had two or three great opportunities, and all credit to
Sanfrecce's young players, but we need to score more than one goal per game.
The team condition isn't bad at all but we have to rediscover the knack of converting the chances we create. There are four days until the next game and we hope to bounce back quickly".

Sanfrecce manager Kimura:
"This is our first "V Goal" victory of the season and a great boost to the players' confidence. TOKYO are a very strong team but we coped well with their power in the first half. The second was more difficult but the defense held their concentration and performed very well.
The most satisfying thing was that the players who should decide the game did just that".