Win the final match of the season!

　Currently in 4th place in the 2nd stage, Tokyo will face 3rd place Kashima Antlers in Sec. 15. The final match will be held at the away Kashima Soccer Stadium, marking the first encounter since the opening match of the 1st stage. This is an important match that will test the growth of both teams over the past year. As a culmination of this season, we want to secure victory with our attacking football and conclude the league matches on a high note.

　Tokyo's Jean and Kaji are suspended due to accumulated warnings. Additionally, Amaral will miss the match due to injury, resulting in a challenging lineup. However, 17-year-old Wu, who will be making his appearance since the Sec. 6 match against Gamba, is utilized as a right back. The lone striker will be Fukuda, who scored a V-goal in the previous match, and Miura also made his return to the bench after about nine months, raising new expectations.

　Kashima, facing off, has deployed almost their best lineup. The battle for the third place in the stage 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.

Although they grasped the rhythm, they allowed the opening goal from a set piece.

　In the first minute, Kuo, making his first start in the league, receives a pass in the opponent's half and boldly takes a mid-range shot, showing his determination for today's match. In the third minute, Miyazawa's long pass reaches Ishikawa, who advances into the right penalty area and delivers a low cross, where Fukuda dives in, demonstrating a good attacking shape.

　In the 6th minute, Kashima's DF Fabiano attempted a header shot from a left corner kick, but was blocked by a teammate just before the goal, allowing Tokyo to escape the danger. From the start, Tokyo aggressively stole the ball, connected one-touch passes to find their rhythm, and continued to threaten Kashima's goal. However, Kashima responded with intense pressing and gradually took control of the ball. In the 12th minute, FW Yanagisawa delivered a perfectly timed through pass to the front of the goal from midfield. FW Eurel broke free behind the DF and faced GK Doi one-on-one, but his shot was brilliantly saved by Doi! A follow-up shot from the cleared ball was also blocked by Doi, and this time Eurel rushed in on the loose ball but was denied a goal. Tokyo somehow withstood Kashima's wave of attacks.

　But it was right after that. Tokyo DF cleared a cross from Kashima, and with this play, Kashima earned a right corner kick. From here, a ball kicked by Ogasawara was met with a free header by DF Akita in front of the goal. This went in, and Tokyo quickly lost a 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 important 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 decisive counterattack, and Ishikawa scores with determination!!

　However, Tokyo did not get discouraged and immediately countered. In the 16th minute, after an excellent hold-up play by Kelly, Ishikawa received a pass and cut into the right penalty area, delivering a low cross. However, it just missed Fukuda at the far side and was called offside. In the 17th minute, Fukuda headed a clearance from Kuo's cross that floated high. In the 23rd minute, Baba aimed for a long-range shot. However, after that, they struggled with many desperate passes against Kashima's tight marking and solid defense with no gaps.

　However, it was in the 28th minute. Connecting a clearance from the defense, Baba received the ball and launched a quick counterattack. Seeing that there was no pressure from deep in his own half, Baba dribbled forward. Drawing the defense in the center of the Kashima area, he sent a pass to the right side, using Fukuda, who ran left across in front of him, as a decoy. Ishikawa, who received the ball freely, entered the penalty area with speed and took a shot! The ball pierced the top left of the net! With Baba's excellent judgment in the attack and pass, and Ishikawa's passionate beautiful goal, Tokyo equalized.

　Tokyo fell behind early in the first half and struggled against Kashima's intense pressing, but they managed to equalize by taking advantage of a single chance. In stoppage time, Motoyama made a diving header at the perfect moment from Yanagisawa's cross from the left side, but Doih was able to make a fine save. The match was tied 1-1 as they headed into the second half.

Sharp Counter

TOKYO bounced back quickly with Fukuda given offside a minute later in a marginal decision after some great work by Kelly to shield the ball. Fukuda looped a header over the bar from Oh's cross in the 23rd minute as some tight marking began to restrict chances for TOKYO.
Then, in the 28th minute, a lightning fast counter attack tied the score.
Baba latched onto a clearance, raced the length of the field, then drew the defence to him before slipping the ball to Ishikawa who fired first time from just inside the area. The Kashima keeper stood no chance and TOKYO were back on level terms despite being under severe pressure for most of the game.
Both sides maintained a high level of concentration for the remainder of the half with chances at a premium; the Antlers nearly snatched the lead in the dying seconds of injury time but a superb reflex save by Doi from Motoyama's diving header preserved the 1-1 score line.

Against 10 players from Kashima, without a decisive factor

　In the second half, both teams continued to burn with the desire to win, leading to intense battles. In the 48th minute, Wu broke into the space on the right side and received a pass, charging toward the center. Kelly received the ball on the left side and took a shot from just outside the penalty area, but it lacked power and was caught by the opposing goalkeeper. In the 49th minute, Kashima's DF Narahashi overlapped on the right side, and Eurell headed a shot from the cross, but it went straight to Doih's position. In the 50th and 53rd minutes, this time Augusto, the left-side DF, advanced and crossed, and in the 55th minute, Narahashi again launched wide attacks from the sides repeatedly. In the 57th minute, Eurell, who stole the ball on the left side, tried to break through to just before the goal area, but Doih bravely rushed out to avert the danger. In the 59th minute, Motoyama flowed to the right side and sent a one-touch pass into the right penalty area, where Yanagisawa received it free and took a shot, but it went wide, missing a big chance.

　On the other hand, in Tokyo, in the 61st minute, Kelly showed persistence on the right side, trying to get past the DF. Immediately after that, Fukuda fiercely closed in on a loose ball from Kashima's DF line, reclaiming possession with a spirited play. In the 68th minute, Kelly in the center passed to Ishikawa on the right side, who caught up and took a shot from inside the penalty area in a similar fashion to the scoring scene in the first half, but unfortunately, it was thwarted by a fine play from the GK.

　The match was turning into a back-and-forth counterattack due to the quick switches in offense and defense, but in the 70th minute, Fabiano fouled Baba to stop his dribbling breakthrough. Fabiano received his second yellow card for this play and was sent off. Kashima was left to fight with 10 men.

　However, the exchange of fouls instead gave Kashima a chance for a set piece, and Tokyo couldn't find their rhythm. In the 73rd minute, Ishikawa was fouled just outside the penalty area, and Miyazawa aimed directly for the goal from the free kick, but was blocked by the opposing defense's wall. In the 79th minute, Suzuki was brought on for Baba, and in the 85th minute, Sato was brought on for Fukuda. The formation was adjusted with Ishikawa and Suzuki pushed forward, but without a decisive play, it seemed they would head into extra time.

　However, in the 88th minute, Nakagawa picked up a loose ball on the right side of the Tokyo defense, entering the right penalty area. With a low cross, Eurel, who was waiting free in front of the goal, delivered a powerful shot. This resulted in a goal, conceding an additional point at a difficult time.

　Tokyo showed a determination to move forward without ever giving up, even as they entered stoppage time, but ultimately they couldn't create any chances and the time was up. It was a frustrating defeat as they couldn't take advantage of their numerical superiority.

　However, the final ranking was the highest ever at 5th place in the stage. Although the overall annual ranking ended at 9th, it can be said that one of the significant gains was that young players, starting with Kure, Baba, and Suzuki, gained experience in actual matches. With renewed determination, we will face the last tournament of this season, the Emperor's Cup.

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "Even without the three regular players Amaral, Jean, and Kaji, I don't think we performed poorly at all. Fukuda, Kure, and Komine did very well. However, I thought it would be tough for us in set pieces since we didn't have any tall players. We were caught off guard there, but I think we did well to recover from that. We were able to create a good rhythm for ourselves."

　Looking back on this season, I can say that we tended to panic too much when the opponent had one less player. Our energy levels dropped, and in the end, we were caught off guard. That is a challenge we must overcome. We need to become a team like today's Kashima, capable of winning even when down a player, a team with resilience.

　It is clear when comparing the opening match to today that there have been few players who have participated throughout the year. We have been fostering competition between young players and veterans. Among them, the young players are gaining strength, and we want to prepare well for the Emperor's Cup with our best lineup.

【Summary of Coach Cerezo's Press Conference】 "At the start, due to nerves, there were many passing mistakes, and we lost our rhythm. If we had connected better there, I think we could have played at a much better pace for Kashima. The sides were the starting point, but we often had our passes cut in the center, leading to situations where we were caught out. Also, in the first half, both of our holding midfielders pushed forward, allowing Kelly to receive the ball behind us with his individual skills. Tokyo was missing Jean and Amaral, which gave Kashima an advantage in terms of height. We tried to exploit that, but we couldn't deliver effective balls from the outside to the center. If we had targeted the opponent's weak points better, I think we could have won more smoothly. Additionally, Tokyo left three players up front, so if we had been able to exploit space effectively, we could have definitely scored with our height."

　The two players positioned as wingers in Tokyo have incredibly high accuracy, which led to the conceding of a goal. However, in the second half, their positioning improved, and they were able to create chances up front, which helped the team gain momentum. I believe the feeling that we absolutely had to win became evident during the game.

　Tokyo's number 9 player was also very active and aggressive, but it was fortunate that the seasoned Amaral was not present. Tokyo has many young players and is a team that will grow in the future. They will become a formidable presence.

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 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 ".