The most important match after the break

　The 2nd Stage Sec. 12, which resumed after two weeks for the Nabisco Cup Final, will see Tokyo face Nagoya away at Mizuho. Tokyo, who had surged into the championship race with an impressive four consecutive wins leading up to the last match, finds themselves in contrast to Nagoya, who fell to 10th place after a loss to Kyoto in the previous match. Whether this break will be a blessing or a curse for both teams remains to be seen. For Tokyo, currently in 5th place, this match is the most important of the remaining four games, and a loss here would significantly set them back in the championship race. Coach Hara emphasized the importance of this match to the team before the game, stating, "Today's match is the most important of the remaining four. We must absolutely win."

　On this day, Nagoya was in a difficult situation with their key FW Weslley suspended and FW Vastić injured. The absence of Nagoya's two star players undeniably weakened their strength, but they entrusted the attack to the young two-top of 21-year-old FW Hara and 19-year-old FW Katagiri. In the first stage, they were defeated by Weslley and Vastić, so the absence of these two was an unexpected opportunity. However, an emergency situation arose as DF Kaji, who holds the key to both offense and defense on the right side, got injured in a practice match three days prior. Therefore, the defense line for this day was structured with Fujiyama converted to the right, Shitohira on the left, and Jean and Shigeno in the center in a new formation.

　Four matches remaining. After this match against Nagoya, Tokyo will face teams like Urawa and Kashima that are still in the championship race. However, the most important thing is to confirm that they have maintained their good form from the previous matches and to secure a solid result in this match against Nagoya. Tokyo has only won once in the last five encounters with Nagoya, and although they are currently weakened, they are not to be underestimated. There can be no mistakes. With the season's lowest temperature of 11.3°C, Tokyo took to the pitch at Mizuho, fighting to stay in the championship race and aiming for their second five-match winning streak in club history.

Crunch Game 

After a two weeks break to accommodate the Nabisco Cup Final the 12th round of the J.League second stage saw F.C.TOKYO take on Grampus Eight at Mizuho Athletic Stadium in Nagoya. TOKYO, riding a four game winning streak, entered the match in fifth place; Grampus, following an extra-time loss to Kyoto in their previous outing had slumped to tenth in the table. How both teams would respond after the enforced lay off was in doubt; in no doubt, though, was TOKYO manager Hara when he commented, "This is the most important of the remaining games. We have to win." 
The omens certainly seemed to favour TOKYO: the Grampus ace strikers Ueslei and Vastic were unavailable due to injury and suspension and their roles were filled by the 21 year-old Hara and 19 year-old Katagiri. Ueslei and Vastic had combined to scuttle TOKYO in the reverse fixture earlier in the season and their absence was a bonus; however, TOKYO were without the rapidly developing Kaji, injured in training three days previously. The TOKYO defence thus had an unfamiliar look: Fujiyama on the right, Jean and Moniwa in the centre and Shimotaira on the left. 
Collecting all three points was vital for the team to retain any possibility of a first title; with only one win against Grampus in five previous league meetings the extent of the challenge was evident. Aiming to win five consecutive games for the second time in club history the players took to the field on a chilly late autumn afternoon.

It was the start we aimed for, but...

　"Today, Weslley and Vastić are absent, and two young players are stepping in. From the start, we need to apply pressure from the front, and if we get a good start, it will set our rhythm. If we let the young players play freely, they will gain momentum, so we need to go from the kickoff. It's important not to adapt to the opponent but to play our own football. If we score first, we will definitely win," said Coach Hara to the players before the match.

　The match started with a kickoff in Tokyo, but first, a big kick was sent forward, and Ishikawa on the right charged forward at full speed. As planned by Coach Hara, they showed a strong attacking stance from the front. Furthermore, Toda on the left made a speedy move to exploit the space behind the opponent's DF, while Amaral applied pressure with intense chasing on the opponent's ball. In the 3rd minute, Miyazawa took a free kick from the right side, and a sharply curved cross threatened the Nagoya goal. In the 5th minute, Fujiyama, who had moved to right back, broke free with a one-two with Asari and delivered a cross in front of the goal, but no one was there to finish it. Then, in the 7th minute, Toda received a feed from Shimohira, controlled it with his chest in the center, and Kelly, who supported, sent a direct ball over the opponent's DF. Toda, having shaken off his marker, found himself one-on-one with the GK. However, just as he was about to start dribbling, the GK lunged in and stole the ball.

　If they had scored in this decisive chance, it would have been exactly the development that Coach Hara aimed for, but no one could have predicted that no bigger chances would come after this.

Solid Start

" Instead of Ueslei and Vastic a couple of youngsters are starting today. If we can pressure them from the kick off and find our rhythm then we should be able to impose ourselves on the game. If we achieve that and score first we'll win " commented Hiromi Hara shortly before the game began. 
TOKYO began the game at their usual high tempo with Ishikawa hurtling down the right wing, Amaral chasing every ball and Toda making his customary darting runs behind the back line. The pressure immediately created chances: Miyazawa curled a free kick into the box after 3 minutes, Fujiyama and Asari played a neat one-two soon after but the latter's cross came to nothing and then, in the 7th.minute, a golden opportunity fell to Toda as Kelly's delicate lob played him clean through with only the keeper to beat. The Grampus goalie raced off his line to clear the ball off Toda's toes. As the match was proceeding exactly as TOKYO manager Hara had envisaged nobody could have foreseen that was the best chance his team would fashion.

Unable to create scoring opportunities while maintaining an advantage in the match

　Tokyo missed a decisive chance, but in the 10th minute, Kelly received a through pass from Fujiyama in good shape inside the penalty area, but was cut off while trying to evade the opposing defender.

　Nagoya's defense, consisting of a three-back formation, had Panadich at 188cm left unmarked, while the 185cm hard marker Koga closely marked Amaral, and the 181cm physically gifted Umimoto primarily watched over Toda. These three players posed a troublesome presence for Tokyo due to their height, strength, and solid ball handling. In particular, Koga's marking of Amaral and the intense marking of Kelly by holding midfielder Motohiro Yamaguchi were fierce, preventing Tokyo from establishing a solid base in the front line. On the other hand, the attack was supposed to revolve around the powerful two-top of Weslley and Vastić, with the technically skilled MF Nakamura linking up to create various plays. However, on this day, when the two young substitutes were given the ball, they often lost possession, leading to a lack of rhythm. Nevertheless, the attacking contributions from right-side MF Omori and left-side MF Keisuke Yamaguchi through dribbling were speedy, creating several chances by breaking through.

　Neither team was able to create decisive chances, but in the early stages, Tokyo was advancing the match with Kelly's work rate and Miyazawa's large distribution. However, in terms of attacking patterns, the right side without Kaji lacked impact, with Fujiyama occasionally dribbling forward, and there were no sharp attacks seen from combinations with Ishikawa. Nagoya often found space on the sides, and if they had run into the space from behind like Kaji, they might have been able to capitalize on long passes from Miyazawa.

　At the 31st minute, Ishikawa, who was struggling to create chances on the right side, received the ball freely in the center, dribbled forward, and sent a good pass to Amaral on the left side. Amaral carried the ball in from the left of the penalty area and took a shot with his left foot, but the ball crossed in front of the goal. Conversely, at the 35th minute, Nagoya's Yamaguchi Kei broke through the center with a dribble and entered the penalty area, but Tokyo's defender closed in and prevented him from shooting. Then at the 39th minute, Fujiyama intercepted the ball with his sharp dash, his specialty, and immediately played a vertical through pass on the counterattack. Amaral received the ball on the right side inside the penalty area, dribbled, and cut back to the center, but it was caught by Nagoya's goalkeeper. After that, Asari skillfully received the ball freely in midfield several times, creating some chances, but although a simple pass to the front would have sufficed, he forced a through pass and made a passing error, so despite creating opportunities, they could not produce a decisive chance.

Few Chances

After the initial charge had failed to produce a goal the TOKYO attack was increasingly stifled by the man marking tactics of the Grampus defence.
Amaral, subject to the attention of the sturdy Koga and Kelly, shadowed by defensive midfielder Yamaguchi were unable to weave their customary magic and while plenty of space was available along the flanks the absence of Kaji and his ability to make runs from deep positions down the right reduced the attacking options. Grampus, too, were struggling to find their rhythm as the inexperienced strike force failed to make the most of some hard work by Omori on the left and attacking midfielder Yamaguchi. Ishikawa burst down the wing and found Amaral in the 31st minute but his shot was blocked; in the 39th minute Amaral again wriggled free of a defender but the keeper held his blast. TOKYO were enjoying plenty of possession but the final ball was too often lacking and neither side was able to break the deadlock as the first half drew to a close.

Yukihiko and Baba create opportunities with their efforts

　At halftime, the players received instructions from Coach Hara: "Make sure to run Todah to exploit the space. Instead of only thinking about connecting passes beautifully, we need to simply and quickly cross from the sides. Even if it doesn't go in on the first try, if we pick up the loose balls and cross between the goalkeeper and defenders from the sides, we will definitely score. Let's keep repeating this." Starting from the beginning of the second half, the players began to create good opportunities. In the first minute, Miyazawa took a long-range shot, and just two minutes later, Kelly took a powerful shot after receiving a ball dropped by Todah, but it went wide to the left of the goal.

　On the other hand, Nagoya increased their activity in the second half, particularly with Keisuke Yamaguchi creating chances through his speed and technique in dribbling from the second line. Notably, he began to create opportunities by connecting with the three left-footed players, Takizawa, Nakamura, and Katagiri, who came on from the left side in the second half. In the 9th minute, Yamaguchi charged down the left side from a dribble. He sent a superb looping pass into the penalty area, creating a decisive moment, but Shigenobu cleared it just a moment too soon. Furthermore, in the 13th minute, they connected the ball with quick passing again from the left side, and Nakamura took a powerful shot, but the Tokyo defense managed to clear it just in time. Unlike the first half, both teams began to show more movement.

　At the 15th minute of the second half, Yukihiko came onto the pitch replacing Ishikawa, who was not in good form. As Nagoya's left side increasingly launched attacks, expectations grew for Yukihiko to simply break through Tokyo's right side and deliver crosses. Immediately after, at the 15th minute, Kelly passed to Yukihiko on the right, who delivered an accurate low cross from a deep position near the goal line. Toda met it with a diving header but narrowly missed to the right of the goal. Gaining momentum, Tokyo at the 24th minute saw Kelly send a perfect through pass to the front. Toda reacted, shaking off defenders and charging forward. Although the opposing goalkeeper cleared it just a moment too early, it was a close chance. Conversely, at the 25th minute, after the right side was broken through and a grounded cross was delivered in front of the goal, an opposing player was waiting free at the far side, but Miyazawa returned just in time to clear. It was a decisive moment.

　In the 27th minute, Tokyo, wanting to change the flow of the game, substituted Baba for Toda. Baba, who had experienced disappointment in the Asian Youth Championship, showed aggressive movement as if to vent his frustrations, and Tokyo began to create good opportunities. In the 30th minute, Yukihiko made a speedy dribble breakthrough on the right side and delivered an exquisite cross, but unfortunately, it was cleared by the opposing defender. Immediately after that, Baba skillfully dribbled past his marker in the center and took a mid-range shot with his left foot. In the following 35th minute, Baba delivered a killer pass to Amaral in the center of the goal. Although Amaral couldn't control the ball properly and didn't get a shot off, it was an amazing pass. Furthermore, shortly after that, Baba created another chance with a direct pass exchange with Miyazawa, clearly increasing Tokyo's opportunities with his addition.

Yukihiko, Baba Liven Things Up

At half time TOKYO manager Hara urged his players to use the wings more and aim crosses into the space between the defence and goalkeeper. TOKYO began the second half in lively fashion with Miyazawa trying his luck from distance and shortly after a neat knock down by Toda teed up Kelly whose well-struck effort sailed fractionally wide. 
Grampus, buoyed by the introduction of Takizawa on the left, began to raise their game as Yamaguchi became increasingly influential in midfield. In the 54th.minute his delicate chip into the area had the TOKYO defence scrambling to clear and in the 58th.minute a sharp infield ball found Nakamura whose fizzing drive was charged down. 
In the 60th.minute Yukihiko Sato replaced Ishikawa on the right and announced his arrival by taking Kelly's pass to the byline and lashing in a low cross that Toda met with a diving header that whistled past the post.
The move revitalised TOKYO and a sublime through ball from Kelly split the Grampus defence only for the keeper to whip the ball off Toda's boot again. 
Grampus countered immediately and only a last ditch clearance by Miyazawa prevented them from taking the lead. Baba replaced Toda in the 72nd.minute and added an extra dimension to the TOKYO attack. Yukihiko again raced to the byline only to see his centre cleared, Baba powered in a shot from outside the area and then sliced open the Grampus defence with a beautifully weighted through ball that Amaral somehow got stuck under his feet. 

Once again, we are crying over a late goal conceded.

　Yukihiko's movement to exploit the space behind the opposing defender and Baba's bold dribbling energized Tokyo's attack, but Nagoya also developed a robust attack from the left side. In the 39th minute, Nakamura cut in from the left side and delivered a sharp cross aimed at a shot into the center, but this was cleared by Shimohira with a diving header. It was a dangerous moment.

　As the back-and-forth battle continued, nearing the end of the second half at the 43rd minute with signs of extra time looming, Nagoya was awarded a corner kick. A sharply low ball from the left entered in front of the goal, and Nagoya forward Hara headed it past goalkeeper Doi, conceding a goal unexpectedly. Amid the unusually excited stadium, the Nagoya eleven formed a circle of celebration, while the Tokyo eleven stood stunned in contrast. For those associated with Tokyo, everyone was left speechless in a situation that made them want to ask "why." Only a little time remained. After that, despite their efforts to counterattack, time ran out. In the 1st stage match against Nagoya, they also conceded a goal in stoppage time and lost narrowly. Losing again in a similar scenario is frustrating, but more than that, it is simply disappointing that they could not win this crucial match at the end of the stage. Of the remaining three matches, two are at home. They must switch their mindset as soon as possible and show their true spirit from here on out.

[Coach Hara - Press Conference Summary] "I wanted to get off to a good start in the match right after the restart. However, today's match did not go well. The opponent was missing Weslley and Vastić, and had many young players, so I wanted to score early to establish our rhythm, but we didn't start well. At halftime, I told the players to 'keep it simple,' and while we improved a bit in the second half... It's disappointing that we couldn't score and play our style of football, even if conceding a goal was unavoidable. I want to do my best to win in the remaining three matches."

[VERDENIK Coach - Press Conference Summary] "I am satisfied that we were able to win despite struggling in today's match. In the first half, Tokyo's pressing was strong, and we couldn't play well, but in the second half, we showed a good performance. There was a bit of luck, but I believe that the successful substitutions contributed to our victory."

The Crying Game

The game ebbed and flowed, with Shimotaira making a fine diving clearance to deny Nakamura in the 84th minute, and seemed destined for extra time.
However, Grampus won a corner with only two minutes of regulation time remaining; Hara beat Doi to the ball and headed home. The TOKYO eleven stood in stunned silence as the Grampus players and crowd celebrated. The few minutes left were effectively wasted by the home side and the game was up; as in the first stage TOKYO had been undone by a last gasp winner. "Disappointing" barely does justice to the result. There is nothing left but to regroup and give it everything in the final three games.


Manager Hara:
" Well, with Grampus fielding several young players we felt if we could take an early lead we should be able to impose ourselves on the game. We didn't get the early goal or play particularly well, either. The second half was an improvement but we didn't score and that's the biggest disappointment. We'll do our best in the remaining games ".

Grampus manager Verdenic:
" We struggled today but won so I'm happy with that. TOKYO pressed well and stopped us from playing in the first half but we bounced back in the second and performed well. You could say we were lucky to win but the substitutions were successful and contributed to our victory ".