Will it be the first three consecutive wins of the season?

　The opponent for Sec. 3 of the 2nd Stage is Hiroshima. In the first stage, where they faced off in the opening match of the World Cup restart, Tokyo won decisively with a stunning four goals, including a hat-trick from Toda. However, under the leadership of Coach Kimura, who took over at the end of the first stage, the team has gradually transformed with the active promotion of young players, and they have been steadily improving, as evidenced by their recent away victory against Yokohama FM. Additionally, the recent addition of new foreign player Elcheg, a former Croatian national team forward, who just joined the team this week and is already on the bench, has strengthened their squad. Hiroshima is currently standing at 14th place in the annual ranking, right on the brink of relegation to J2, so their motivation for this home game, which also serves as revenge for the first stage, is expected to be extremely high.

　On the other hand, Tokyo is riding high with two consecutive wins to open the 2nd stage, including a shutout victory, and their motivation is high as they aim for their first three consecutive wins of the season, which they have yet to achieve. The defense, which left a fragile impression at the end of the 1st stage, is showing resilience and stability, led by goalkeeper Dohi, who has kept a clean sheet in both matches of the 2nd stage. In terms of offense, Ishikawa, Amaral, and Kelly are maintaining good form. Breaking free from being stuck at

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 signalled 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.

A great game with intense attacks

　The match started with both teams showing an aggressive attitude right from the beginning. In the 1st minute, Toda received a through pass from Kelly on the left side and rushed towards the goal unmarked, but instead of shooting, he passed it back to Amaral, who couldn't connect, and Ishikawa, who ran in from the opposite side, took a shot but it hit the defender. In the 5th minute, Kaji's cross from the right side crossed in front of the goal, and in the 6th minute, Amaral received a sharp pass from behind unmarked in front of the goal and attempted a shot while turning, but he mis-hit it and it went just slightly to the left.

　As Tokyo continued to miss big chances, the young Hiroshima team gradually began to shine. In the 8th minute, FW Mogi broke free from a scramble in front of the goal, but Tokyo's defender caught up just before the shot and barely cleared it. Immediately after that, Hiroshima FW Nakayama caught up to Jean's half-hearted back pass and took a shot, but it was not well struck, and GK Doi stopped it with his foot, averting danger.

　On this day, Hiroshima's starting lineup had an average age in their 20s, and particularly the two forwards, Mogi and Nakayama, were extremely young at 18 and 20 years old, respectively. However, their performance caused more trouble for Tokyo than expected. Hiroshima's attack began by taking the ball from Tokyo and first passing it to Nakayama at the top. The ball was then sharply followed up by Mogi, Fujimoto, and Takahashi, who quickly circulated the pass directly. The participation of speedy full-backs like Komano and Hattori added depth to the attack. Tokyo was under pressure from counterattacks, and with the speed of Mogi and the sharp forward runs from Fujimoto and Takahashi from the second line, they struggled to mark tightly and were pushed back.

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 free kick from the left to the far side, where Amaral made a powerful header from a distance, but it hit the crossbar. Conversely, in the 22nd minute, Hiroshima made a through pass behind Tokyo's shallow defensive line from the right side, and Fujimoto reacted sharply to break free, but the goalkeeper Dohi cleared it just a moment too quickly. However, immediately after, in the 23rd minute, Mogi received the ball freely on the left side, dribbled in, and easily allowed a goal.

　Tokyo conceded its first goal of the 2nd stage to Hiroshima's rookie Mogi, who scored his first goal in J-League, but continued to play their own style of football without panicking. They created chances one after another by utilizing Ishikawa's speed on the flanks, Miyazawa's long passes, and Amaral's headers, overwhelming Hiroshima. In the 35th minute, Ishikawa and in the 44th minute, Miyazawa each took powerful long-range shots, and in stoppage time, Jean aimed for the goal with a header from a corner kick, but all were thwarted by Hiroshima's goalkeeper. In the end, the first half ended with a score of 0-1 against them.

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 defense. 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.

Ishikawa equalized with a goal, but they couldn't score again, leading to extra time.

　"The defense must once again firmly mark Mogi, Fujimoto, and Takahashi. And in attack, we need to exploit the space left after the opponent's full-backs push forward. We have more chances, and if we press just a little more after our shots, we can score. Just as we have been scored on until now, today we will come from behind in the second half and win. We can definitely do it!" Coach Hara instructed the players and fired them up during halftime. As the second half began, the match unfolded just as he had described.

　Tokyo's defense line stabilized as Hiroshima's attacking players' stamina decreased, and following Coach Hara's instructions, they exploited the gaps that opened up on Hiroshima's sides to create chances. At the 5th minute, Kelly, Amaral, and Ishikawa combined with short passes to break through and create a scoring opportunity, but it was unfortunately ruled offside. Then at the 7th minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Kaji advancing on the right side, switched to his left foot, and took a shot, but the ball reached Amaral, who was free in front of the goal. Amaral faced a one-on-one with the goalkeeper but hit the keeper again, missing the chance. Despite creating good opportunities, Tokyo struggled to score until the 22nd minute of the second half, when Miyazawa sent a floating pass from the center into the space on the right side. Ishikawa perfectly trapped the ball and charged forward with high-speed dribbling before shooting. Calmly placing the ball after seeing the goalkeeper's position, he firmly shook Hiroshima's goal net, finally equalizing the score.

　Tokyo, following the strategy of coach Hara, equalized and quickly gained momentum. In the 28th minute, Ishikawa broke through on the right side and delivered a ground pass in front of the goal, but Amaral just missed it by a step. In the 35th minute, Amaral dropped a pass with his heel on the left side, and Miyazawa, running in from behind, attempted a looping shot, but it went well over the bar. In the 41st minute, substitute forward Fukuda broke free with a direct pass from Amaral and took a shot from the right side, but the ball went far off target.

　On the other hand, although Hiroshima was on the defensive, the defense line centered around the large center-back Bilong was solid, and everyone repelled Tokyo's attacks with high concentration. Substitutes, new foreign player FW Elchegg and fellow substitute FW Kubo, launched powerful attacks. In the 44th minute, just before the end of the second half, a pass from the left side was let through by a central player, and then MF Hiroshi Morisaki, who ran in from behind, received the ball free and took a powerful shot from a dribble, but it narrowly missed to the right of the goal.

　Tokyo, having survived a critical pinch just before the end of the match, saw Ishikawa receive a pass from the left side in stoppage time. He unleashed a powerful shot from a dribble, but unfortunately, it went just wide to the left as time expired. The outcome was carried over into extra time.

Ishikawa Ties It!

At half time TOKYO manager Hara urged his defence 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 defence 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 equaliser.
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 defence, ably marshalled by giant centre 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.

Despite overwhelming attacks... crying over a single shot

　So far this season, Tokyo had not won in extra time, but for a team currently on a two-game winning streak, the awareness of that jinx was minimal, and the players overwhelmed Hiroshima with high concentration and excellent offensive power.

　In the early stages of the first half of extra time, Hiroshima pressed forward, but Tokyo's back line showed no signs of fatigue and repelled attacks with high concentration, creating several decisive chances. In the 8th minute, substitute DF Fujiyama played a vertical pass, and Fukuda broke through from the left to the front of the goal, shooting with his left foot, but the shot hit the opponent's defender's leg and was caught by the GK. In the following 9th minute, Miyazawa took a powerful direct long-range shot from the center off a clearance by the opposing defender, but it was blocked right in front of the GK. In the 11th minute, Ishikawa's shot from the right side was also caught by the GK. At the 13th minute, Fukuda aimed a diving header from a right corner kick near the near post, but it was stopped by a great save from the GK. In the 14th minute, Fukuda received a long pass from a defender and laid it off in front of the goal, where Amaral ran in and appeared to be fouled by a player coming from behind inside the penalty area, but the referee ruled it "no foul." The stadium was electrified by the breathless, intense match, and the excitement reached its peak.

　In the end, the match remained undecided at the end of the first half of extra time, and it finally headed into the final chapter. Tokyo, with a pressing momentum, seemed to respond to the fiercely passionate support of the supporters who rushed from Hiroshima, as Ishikawa showcased his momentum with a surprising long-range shot right after the start of the second half of extra time.

　"Just one more step. Just one more push to win." Just as everyone involved in Tokyo thought so, the smiling goddess suddenly turned toward Hiroshima. At 2 minutes into the second half of extra time, Fujiyama hesitated on the left side, losing the ball, leading to a counterattack. A pass was made to Hiroshima FW Kubo on the right side, who broke through sharply, shaking off Moniwa and delivering a final pass to the center. Elcheg ran in and easily scored the goal, sealing the fate. Shots were 22 to 13. Since entering extra time, it was 9 to 1, overwhelmingly in their favor, making this defeat all the more regrettable. The cause of this loss should not be blamed on the last mistake but rather on the failure to convert so many chances. This also postponed their first 3-game winning streak of the season. The next match is a home game in 4 days. Since the content is not something to be pessimistic about, they must quickly switch their mindset and steadily accumulate victories one by one again.

[FC Tokyo Coach Hara Press Conference Summary] "Today, without a doubt, the reason for the loss was not being able to convert our chances. We missed 2 or 3 big opportunities at the start, which allowed the opponent's young players to gain confidence. We have won two in a row in the second half, but we have only scored one goal in each. We definitely need to score one more goal; otherwise, it will be tough. The team's situation is not bad, so we need to improve our finishing. We have a match on Wednesday, so we want to switch gears quickly and prepare for it."

[Hiroshima - Manager Kimura Press Conference Summary] "This season, we had not won in extra time, so today's victory is a great confidence boost for the players. In terms of content, FC Tokyo has high attacking power, with players who have speed, height, and strength. In the first half, we managed to contain them well, but in the second half, we were pushed back. However, I believe everyone stayed focused in front of the goal and defended well until the end. And above all, it was good that the players who needed to score did so and we won."

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 defence held their concentration and performed very well.
The most satisfying thing was that the players who should decide the game did just that".