The most important game after the break

　The 2nd stage, Sec. 12, which resumed after a two-week break for the Nabisco Cup final, will see Nagoya face off against Tokyo at their enemy's territory, Mizuho. While Tokyo had a strong 4-game winning streak until the previous round, putting them in the race for the championship, Nagoya suffered a V-loss against Kyoto in the previous round and dropped to 10th place, showing a contrasting team state. 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 out of the remaining 4 matches, and a loss here would greatly set them back in the championship race. Coach Hara also gave a pep talk to the players before the match, saying "Today's match is the most important out of the remaining 4. We must win no matter what," reaffirming the importance of this match for the entire team.

　On this day, Nagoya was without their main pillar, FW Weslley, due to suspension, and also had to deal with the absence of FW Vastitch due to injury. It was a difficult lineup without the two star players, but they entrusted the young duo of 21-year-old FW Hara and 19-year-old FW Katagiri. In the 1st stage, they were defeated by Weslley and Vastitch, so the absence of these two players was an unexpected opportunity. However, just 3 days before the match, Tokyo faced an emergency situation as DF Kaji, who holds the key to attack and defense on the right side, was injured in a practice match. As a result, the defense line for this day was composed of a new lineup with Fujiyama converted to the right, Shimodaira on the left, and Jean and Shige in the center.

　Remaining 4 matches. Tokyo will directly face teams such as Urawa and Kashima in the championship race after this Nagoya match. However, the most important thing is to confirm that they are maintaining their good form from the previous match and to secure a definite result in this Nagoya match. Tokyo has only won once in the past 5 matches against Nagoya, and even though they are currently facing a decrease in strength, they are still a formidable opponent that cannot be underestimated. There is no room for mistakes. In the lowest temperature of the season at 11.3℃, Tokyo will stand on the pitch of Mizuho to stay in the championship race and to aim for their second consecutive 5 wins in the club's 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 a perfect start, but...

　"Today, Weslley and Vastic are absent and two young players are filling in for them. If we put pressure on from the beginning and get a good start, it will set the rhythm for us. We need to let the young players play freely and go for it from the kickoff. It's important to play our own football without adjusting to the opponent. If we score first, we can definitely win," said coach Hara to the players before the match.

　The match started with a kickoff in Tokyo, but first, Amaral kicked it out big to the front line, and Ishikawa on the right charged forward at top speed. As planned by coach Hara, they showed an aggressive attitude going forward from the front line. Furthermore, Toda on the left showed speedy movements to break through the opponent's DF, and Amaral also put pressure on the opponent's ball with intense chasing. In the 3rd minute, Miyazawa kicked a sharp, curved cross from a free kick on the right side, threatening the Nagoya goal. In the 5th minute, Fujiyama, who had moved to right back, made a one-two with Asari and sent a cross into the box, but no one was there to finish it. Then, in the 7th minute, Toda received a feed from Shimodaira in the center, chested it down, and Kelly, who had come to support, sent a floating ball behind the opponent's DF with a direct pass. Toda, who had broken free from his mark, faced the GK in a one-on-one situation. However, as soon as he tried to dribble, the GK jumped in and took the ball away.

　If we had scored this decisive chance, it would have been exactly as Coach Hara had planned, but no one could have predicted that there would be no more big chances 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.

Despite dominating the game, we were unable to create scoring opportunities.

　Tokyo missed a decisive chance, but in the 10th minute, Kelly received a through pass from Fujiyama in a good position inside the penalty area. However, he was cut off by the opposing defender when he tried to dribble past them.

　Nagoya's defense, with a 3-back formation, had the 188cm Panaditch taking up a surplus position, the 185cm hard marker Koga sticking closely to Amaral, and the 181cm Umamoto, with his outstanding physical abilities, mainly marking Toda. These three were a troublesome presence for Tokyo, with their height, strength, and solid ball handling skills. In particular, Koga's marking of Amaral and the tough marking of Kelly by defensive midfielder Yamaguchi were intense, making it difficult for Tokyo to establish a strong front line. On the other hand, the attack, which should have relied on the powerful duo of Weslley and Vastic, with technical midfielder Nakamura creating various opportunities from there, struggled as the young substitutes who came on in their place often lost possession. As a result, they were unable to find their rhythm. However, the attacking contributions from right-sided midfielder Omori and left-sided midfielder Kei Yamaguchi, with their speed and dribbling, created several chances.

　Both teams were unable to create decisive chances, but in the early stages, Tokyo had the upper hand thanks to Kelly's movement and Miyazawa's strong play. However, as an attacking pattern, the right side without Kaji lacked power, with Fujiyama occasionally dribbling up, and there were no sharp attacks from combinations with Ishikawa. Nagoya had a lot of space on the sides, and if they had run into the space from the back like Kaji and received long passes from Miyazawa, they may have been able to break through.

　31 minutes, Ishikawa, who couldn't create a chance on the right side, received the ball freely in the center and dribbled to send a good pass to Amaral on the left side. Amaral brought the ball in from the left side of the penalty area and shot with his left foot, but the ball crossed in front of the goal. On the other hand, in the 35th minute, Nagoya's Kei Yamaguchi dribbled through the center and entered the penalty area, but the Tokyo DF blocked his shot. In the following 39 minutes, Fujiyama intercepted the ball with his sharp dash and passed it vertically from the counter, and Amaral received the ball on the right side of the penalty area, dribbled and crossed it to the center, but it was caught by the Nagoya GK. After that, Asari received the ball well a few times in the midfield, but instead of easily passing it to the front line, he tried to make a through pass and ended up with a pass miss, and although they created opportunities, they couldn't produce any decisive chances.

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, was shadowed by defensive midfielder Yamaguchi and unable to weave their customary magic. 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 hard work

　At halftime, the players received instructions from coach Hara to "use Toda's speed to break through the space. Instead of just thinking about connecting passes beautifully, put crosses in from the side without taking too much time. Even if it doesn't go in on the first try, if you pick up the loose ball and put crosses in between the GK and DF from the side, you will definitely score. Let's keep repeating this." In the second half, they started to create good opportunities. In the first minute, Miyazawa took a shot from outside the box, and just two minutes later, Toda dropped the ball for Kelly to take a powerful shot, but it missed to the left of the goal.

　On the other hand, Nagoya increased their movement in the second half, and especially from the second row, Kei Yamaguchi created chances with his speed and technique. In particular, Yamaguchi became the focal point by linking up with the three left-footed players, Takizawa, Nakamura, and Katagiri, who came on in the second half. In the 9th minute, Yamaguchi charged down the left side after a dribble. In the end, his perfectly timed looping pass into the penalty area became a decisive moment, but Shigeyuki Shigeno cleared it just in time. Then, in the 13th minute, the ball was passed quickly from the left side, and Nakamura took a powerful shot, but the Tokyo defenders managed to clear it. The game had changed from the first half, and both teams were showing more movement.

　Yukihiko appeared on the pitch instead of Ishikawa, who was not in good shape in the 15th minute of the second half. As Nagoya's left side started to attack more, expectations were placed on Yukihiko, who could break through Tokyo's right side simply and cross. In the next 15 minutes, when a pass from Kelly went to Yukihiko on the right, Yukihiko made an accurate low cross from a deep position near the goal line, but Toda's diving header missed just to the right of the goal. With this, Tokyo gained momentum and in the 24th minute, Kelly made an exquisite through pass to the front line, which Toda reacted to and broke through the defense. In the end, the opponent's GK cleared it just a moment too early, but it was a close chance. On the other hand, in the 25th minute, when the right side was broken through and a ground cross was made in front of the goal, an opponent player was waiting freely on the far side, but Miyazawa quickly returned and cleared it. It was a decisive moment.

　27 minutes, Tokyo, who wants to change the flow, substitutes Toda for Baba. Baba, who had a bitter experience at the Asian Youth, shows an aggressive movement as if to vent his frustration, and Tokyo starts to create a good shape. In the 30th minute, Yukihiro on the right side made a speedy dribble breakthrough and put in an exquisite cross, but unfortunately it was cleared by the opponent's DF. Immediately after that, Baba skillfully dribbled past the marker in the center and took a middle shot with his left foot. In the following 35 minutes, Baba made a killer pass to Amaral in the center of the goal. In the end, Amaral couldn't control the ball properly and couldn't make a shot, but it was an amazing pass. Furthermore, immediately after that, he created a chance with a direct pass exchange with Miyazawa, and with Baba's addition, Tokyo's chances have definitely increased.

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 defense 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 defense 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 revitalized TOKYO and a sublime through ball from Kelly split the Grampus defense 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 center cleared, Baba powered in a shot from outside the area and then sliced open the Grampus defense with a beautifully weighted through ball that Amaral somehow got stuck under his feet.

Crying again at the last minute loss

　Yukihiko's movement to break through the opponent's DF, Baba's bold dribble activated Tokyo's attack, but Nagoya also deployed a thick attack based on the left side. In the 39th minute, Nakamura dug into the left side and put in a sharp cross towards the center, but Shimodaira cleared it with a diving header. It was a dangerous situation.

　As the back and forth battle continued, the 43rd minute of the second half approached and the possibility of entering extra time began to loom. Nagoya was given a corner kick and a sharp, low ball from the left entered the goal area. It was easily headed in by Nagoya FW Hara in front of GK Doi, and Tokyo was left stunned as they conceded a goal. As the stadium erupted in excitement, the Nagoya Eleven celebrated while the Tokyo Eleven stood in shock. Everyone was at a loss for words in this situation that made Tokyo supporters wonder "why". There was little time left. Tokyo's attempts at a comeback were in vain and the game ended. In the first stage, they had also lost in stoppage time against Nagoya. It was a bitter defeat, but more than that, it was a disappointment that they couldn't win in this crucial match of the stage. They have two home games left out of the remaining three. They must quickly switch their mindset and show their true determination from here on out.

[Former Coach Press Conference Summary] "We wanted to start off strong in the first game after the restart. However, today's game was not good. The opponent was missing Weslley and Vastitch, and had many young players, so we wanted to score early and get into our rhythm, but our start was not good. At halftime, I told the players to "keep it simple" and the second half was a little better... Even though we couldn't help conceding, it's disappointing that we couldn't play our own soccer and score. We want to do our best to win the remaining three games."

[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 press was strong and we couldn't play well, but in the second half, they showed a good performance. There was a bit of luck, but I think the successful player substitutions also 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 minute 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".