Win the final match of the season!

　Tokyo, currently in 4th place in the 2nd stage, will face 3rd place Kashima Antlers in the 15th round. The final round will be held at Kashima Soccer Stadium, and it will be the first match between the two teams since the opening match of the 1st stage. This will be an important match to test the growth of both teams over the past year. As the culmination of this season, we want to end the league with a victory by playing our attacking football.

　Tokyo will face Jean, with Kaji suspended due to accumulated warnings. In addition, Amaral will be absent for the first time in the league due to injury, making for a difficult lineup. However, 17-year-old Wu, who will make his first appearance since the 6th round against Gamba, will be used as a right-back. Fukuda, who scored the winning goal in the previous round, will lead the attack, and Miura will make his first return in about 9 months and will be on the bench, raising new expectations.

　Kashima, on the other hand, lined up almost their best players. The battle for the third place spot began with Kashima's kickoff.

Last Game

The final League game of the 2002 season saw F.C.TOKYO take on Kashima Antlers at Kashima Stadium in a match-up of the third and fourth placed teams. An interesting fixture since the two sides hadn't met since the opening match of the season; the progress made over the course of the year should have been visible.
TOKYO were without Jean and Kaji through suspension and Amaral was injured; 17 year-old Oh made his first appearance since April in an unfamiliar line-up that was boosted by the welcome return of Fumitake Miura after 9 months out injured. Fukuda, scorer of the dramatic winner in the previous game, kept his place as lone striker.
Antlers fielded their strongest starting eleven and kicked off on a clear but cold afternoon on the Pacific Coast.

Allowing the first goal from a set play despite grasping the rhythm

　In the first minute of the match, KIN-DA- (KINDA) makes his first start in the league and receives a pass in the opponent's territory, boldly taking a middle shot to show his determination for today's game. In the third minute, ISHIKAWA catches up to MIYAZAWA's long pass and attacks into the right penalty area, crossing it on the ground, where FUKUDA jumps in, showing a good attacking form.

　Kashima had a chance in the 6th minute when DF Fabiano headed a corner kick from the left, but his teammate blocked it just before the goal, allowing Tokyo to escape the danger. Tokyo aggressively took control of the ball from the start, connecting with one-touch passes to find their rhythm. They continued to pressure Kashima's goal, but Kashima fought back with a tough press and gradually gained control of the ball. In the 12th minute, FW Yanagisawa made a perfectly timed through pass from midfield. FW Eurel broke through the defense and faced GK Doi in a one-on-one situation, but Doi made a nice save! Doi also stopped the rebound shot and Eurel's follow-up attempt, preventing Kashima from scoring. Tokyo managed to withstand Kashima's continuous attacks.

　But it was right after that. Kashima's cross was cleared by Tokyo DF, and with this play Kashima won a right corner kick. From here, Ogasawara kicked the ball and DF Akita was free to head it in front of the goal. This was scored, and Tokyo had already lost one point.

TOKYO Shine But....

In the first minute of his first full game Oh picked up the ball, pushed forward and shot from outside the area. If he was nervous he certainly didn't show it and TOKYO opened brightly, pressurizing the home side across the field. Veteran Akita made an importance clearance to prevent Ishikawa reaching a low cross from Miyazawa in the third minute. At the other end a Fabiano header from a corner was blocked on the line prompting a wild goalmouth melee; somehow the ball stayed out of the net but, perceptibly, the balance of the game was tilting toward the home side.
In the 12th.minute a superbly timed ball from Yanagisawa split the TOKYO defence and put Euller clean through with only goalkeeper Doi to beat. He shot and the TOKYO No.1 pulled off a great save; the ball rebounded to an Antlers player, but again Doi was equal to the task. He pushed Euller's second attempt around the post for a corner and TOKYO breathed a sigh of relief. However, when the corner came in Akita evaded the defence to head the Antlers into the lead.

A great goal from Ishikawa from a well-timed counter attack!!

　However, Tokyo quickly counterattacked without feeling down. In the 16th minute, from Kelly's excellent keep, Ishikawa received a pass and cut into the right penalty area, crossing it on the ground. However, it narrowly missed Fukuda on the far side and was called offside. In the 17th minute, Fukuda headed a high clearance ball from Wu's cross. In the 23rd minute, Baba aimed for a middle shot. However, after that, there were many desperate passes against Kashima's tight marking and solid defense with no gaps in the final line.

　However, it was the 28th minute. DF's clear ball was connected, and Baba launched a quick counter attack. Baba dribbled from a deep position in his own half without pressure, and when he drew the DF in the center of the Kashima field, he passed to the right side to use Fukuda, who ran to the left after crossing in front of Baba. Iwakawa, who received this free pass, entered the penalty area with speed and shot! The ball pierced the top left of the net! With Baba's good attacking judgment and pass, and Iwakawa's passionate and beautiful goal, Tokyo caught up with the equalizer.

　Tokyo, who was scored first in the early part of the first half and struggled against Kashima's tough press, managed to turn the tables well by taking advantage of one chance. In the stoppage time, Hongo made a diving header from Yanagisawa's cross, but Tsuchi prevented it with a fine save. The first half ended in a 1-1 tie.

Sharp Counter

TOKYO quickly recovered with Fukuda being called offside a minute later in a close decision after some excellent work by Kelly to protect the ball. Fukuda sent a header over the bar from Oh's cross in the 23rd minute as tight marking began to limit chances for TOKYO.
Then, in the 28th minute, a lightning fast counter attack tied the score.
Baba received a clearance, sprinted the length of the field, then drew the defense towards him before passing the ball to Ishikawa who took a first-time shot from just inside the area. The Kashima keeper had no chance and TOKYO were back on even terms despite being under intense pressure for most of the game.
Both teams maintained a high level of focus for the rest of the half with few opportunities; the Antlers almost took the lead in the final seconds of injury time but a fantastic reflex save by Doi from Motoyama's diving header kept the score at 1-1.

Against 10 Kashima players, without a decisive factor

　In the second half, both teams burned with determination to win and engaged in a fierce battle. In the 48th minute, Tokyo's Wu received a pass in the right side space and charged towards the center, but Kelly received a pass on the left side and took a shot from just outside the penalty area without much momentum, which was caught by the opposing goalkeeper. In the 49th minute, Kashima's DF Narahashi overlapped on the right side and Eurel took a header shot, but it was right in front of Tsuchi. In the 50th and 53rd minutes, DF Augusto attacked from the left side and in the 55th minute, Narahashi again, Kashima repeatedly launched wide attacks from the side. In the 57th minute, Eurel, who had stolen the ball on the left side, attempted to break through to the goal area, but Tsuchi's brave dive saved the situation. In the 59th minute, Motomura, who had drifted to the right side, sent the ball to the right penalty area with one touch, and Yanagisawa received it freely and took a shot, but it missed the goal, missing a big chance.

　On the other hand, in the 61st minute, Kelly showed persistence on the right side and took on the DF. Immediately after, Fukuda aggressively closed in on the loose ball in Kashima's DF line and regained possession, showing a passionate play. In the 68th minute, Ishikawa caught up to Kelly's pass in the center and took a shot from inside the penalty area, similar to the scoring scene in the first half, but unfortunately it was blocked by the GK's fine play.

　The game was a back-and-forth battle with quick transitions, but in the 70th minute, Fabiano fouled against Baba's dribble and received his second yellow card, resulting in his ejection. Kashima now had to play with 10 men.

　However, in the exchange of fouls, it was Tokyo who gave Kashima a chance for a set piece, and they were unable to find their rhythm. In the 73rd minute, Ishikawa was fouled just outside the penalty area, and Miyazawa attempted a direct shot from the resulting free kick, but it was blocked by the opposing defense. In the 79th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Baba, and in the 85th minute, Sato was substituted for Fukuda. Tokyo changed their formation by moving Ishikawa and Suzuki up front, but they were unable to find a breakthrough, and it seemed like the game would go into extra time.

　However, in the 88th minute, Kashima picked up a loose ball on the right side of the Tokyo defense, entered the right penalty area. Eurel, who was waiting freely in front of the goal, took a powerful shot from a ground cross. This was scored, and they were unfortunately scored an additional point at a bad time.

　Despite entering stoppage time, Tokyo showed a determined attitude to keep moving forward, but in the end, they were unable to create any chances and the game ended. It was a frustrating defeat as they were unable to take advantage of their numerical superiority.

　However, the final ranking was the highest ever at 5th place. Although the overall ranking for the year ended at 9th place, it can be said that the young players, including Kure, Baba, and Suzuki, gained valuable experience in actual matches. With renewed determination, they will now face the last tournament of the season, the Emperor's Cup.

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Amaral, Jean, and Kaji, who are usually regular players, were missing, but I don't think we played poorly. Fukuda, Wu, and Komine did well. However, since we didn't have any tall players, I thought set pieces would be tough. We were scored on because of that, but I think we did well to come back from there. We were able to create a good rhythm for ourselves."

　Looking back on this season, one thing I can say is that when the opponent was down to one player, we tended to panic too much. Our physicality dropped and in the end, we were defeated. That is a challenge we must overcome. We need to become a team like Kashima today, a team that can still win even when down a player, a team with perseverance.

　It can be seen by comparing the opening and today that there are few players who have played throughout the year. We have been competing between young players and veteran players. Among them, young players have also gained strength, and we want to prepare well for the Emperor's Cup by assembling the best team.

[Kashima Serezo Manager's Press Conference Summary] "In the beginning, there were a lot of missed passes due to tension, and we were unable to establish a rhythm. If we had connected well there, I think we could have played at Kashima's pace. The sides were the starting point, but we were cut off by misplaced passes in the center, and there were many instances where we were caught off guard. Also, in the first half, both of our defensive midfielders went up, and Kelly was able to receive the ball behind us with her individual skills. Tokyo was missing Jean and Amaral, and Kashima had the advantage in terms of height. We tried to exploit that, but we were unable to effectively send balls from the outside to the center. If we had targeted their weak points, I think we could have won with a better flow. Also, Tokyo left three players up front, so if we had been able to effectively exploit the space from restarts, we could have scored with our height advantage."

　The two players who are positioned on the wing in Tokyo have extremely high accuracy, which led to conceding a goal. However, in the second half, their positioning improved and they were able to create chances up front, which helped the team. I think the determination to win definitely showed during the game.

　Tokyo, although the number 9 player was very active and daring, it was fortunate that the experienced Amaral was not there. Tokyo has many young players and will become a scary team in the future.

10 Man Antlers Battle Back

The second half mirrored the first; Oh burst down the right and picked out Kelly on the left. Unfortunately his shot lacked power and the keeper easily held it. Following this foray forward TOKYO were forced onto the back foot as first Narahashi, then Augusto, overlapped and sent telling crosses into the danger area. Yanagisawa should have put his side ahead in the 59th.minute as a neat touch from Motoyama set him free inside the area but he shot wide with only Doi to beat.
TOKYO were looking to hit Kashima on the break and fashioned an identical counter attack to the one that brought the goal in the 68th.minute. This time, however, the Antlers keeper was smartly off his line to deny Ishikawa with a fine save.
Tokyo were given a boost in the 70th.minute as Fabiano collected a second yellow card for bringing down Baba in full flight and received his marching orders from the referee. However, as often happens in such situations, the man advantage failed to work for TOKYO, and apart from winning a couple of free kicks were unable to make much impression on the massed ranks of the home defence. Manager Hara reshuffled the team as extra time loomed, replacing Baba with Suzuki and Fukuda with Sato, pushing Ishikawa forward into a striker's role. The game seemed destined for extra time until Narahashi seized on a loose ball down the right in the 88th.minute, sped into the area and a powered in a low cross that Euller lashed into the net from close range.
The few minutes remaining failed to produce an equaliser and the game finished 1-2. The result, combined with results elsewhere, meant a 5th.place finish in the Second Stage (the best since promotion to the top level) and an overall ranking of 9th. TOKYO hope to make the most of the promise shown by youngsters Baba, Oh and Suzuki in the final tournament of the year, the Emperor's Cup.


Manager Hara:
"Even though we were missing three regulars in Amaral, Kaji and Jean, I thought we played well today. I was very pleased with Fukuda, Oh and Komine. With such important players out, I felt we might be in trouble from set pieces and, unfortunately, I was right. Still, the team did very well to fight back and equalise against the run of play. For some reason, we have struggled against teams reduced to 10 men this year; our effort drops and at the last, we concede a late goal. We have to maintain our work-rate and concentration in such situations.
I feel that, over the course of the year, the young players have improved by leaps and bounds and now there is a healthy competition between them and the senior players for first team places. We hope to field our best team and make a good run in the Emperor's Cup".

Antlers Manager Cerezo:
"We started poorly today, gave the ball away far too much and failed to find our rhythm. If we could have imposed ourselves from the start I think it would have been a very different game. TOKYO got behind our defence far too often today and Kelly caused us many problems with his great skill, particularly after the sending off. With Amaral and Jean out we definitely had the advantage in the air but as TOKYO used three strikers in the second half it was very difficult for us. The TOKYO No. 9 (Fukuda) was dynamic and seriously troubled our defence all afternoon.
F.C.TOKYO have many very good young players and can only improve as a team-it's a frightening prospect for the other sides in the league".