A Highly Anticipated Match Against the Thriving Ichihara

　Sec. 10 marks two-thirds of the 1st stage. After this match, there will be a 6-week break, but before the break, we will face JEF United Ichihara away.

　Ichihara, under the new manager Ivica OSIM who took office this season, has made great strides with a "running football" style and is currently in 2nd place. They have scored 23 goals in 9 matches, matching the league leaders, Jubilo Iwata, for the top scoring record. In particular, forward Choi Ryong-su, who is leading the top scorer rankings, is in great form. An away match is expected to be tough, but they cannot afford to win easily. We hope for a good game that will lead into the remaining 5 rounds. Additionally, to enter the break in good shape, we want to face Ichihara, who is said to be the strongest right now, without hesitation.

　Tokyo, missing Kelly due to accumulated warnings, kicked off with a formation featuring a two-top of Amaral and Abe, with Ishikawa on the right, Toda on the left, and Miyazawa and Miura forming a double pivot in midfield.

Defend well against Ichihara's attacks and create chances from counterattacks

　Right after the start, Tokyo showed an aggressive attitude by pressing from the front, but they were quickly drawn into JEF's fast pace and lost control of the game. Taking advantage of this gap, in the 6th minute, they connected a clearance ball from Moniwa near the end line and swiftly transitioned to the right side. Miyazawa ran in on the cleared ball from Ishikawa's cross and took a mid-range shot. In the 11th minute, Jean made a long pass to the front line. In response to the clearance, Toda took a shot from outside the area, but it went over the goal.

　Although Ichihara dominated, they could not create any decisive chances until the 14th minute when MF Abe took the first shot of the day from midfield. In the 16th minute, they attacked the goal from a throw-in, taking two consecutive shots. They picked up a cleared ball from Tokyo's DF and launched a wave attack. In the 18th minute, DF Milinovic took a shot from a short corner. It hit the DF, and as MF Sandro tried to take a shot at the loose ball, Doih jumped in. The ball rolled in front of the goal, but Jean cleared it just in front of the goal. With a wonderful covering play, Tokyo escaped a critical pinch.

　In the 20th minute, Ishikawa made a deep run down the right side and delivered a cross, but Toda's header was caught by the goalkeeper. In the 21st minute, Miyazawa aimed directly for the goal from a free kick of over 40 meters, but hit the crossbar. Tokyo created some good chances, but in the flow of play, every second ball was picked up by Ichihara, leading to a tough situation. Sato and Abe, the two defensive midfielders, showed sharp attacking runs, and were pressed by right midfielder Sakamoto, who delivered crosses from wide positions. In the 31st minute, Choi connected with a header from Sakamoto's cross. In the 35th minute, Sandro passed to Sakamoto, who had entered the penalty area, but the cross was cut off and resulted in a corner kick. In the 37th minute, from a quick counterattack involving a switch of play, a free shot from Choi just outside the area was allowed, but it went wide of the target. In the 42nd minute, Abe connected with Sato in front of the goal, and Sandro sent a header back, but the ball was caught by Doi.

Toda's shot was unfortunately offside

　The cross was thoroughly cleared by Jean, and with concentrated defense, they held on. In the 43rd minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Kaji on the right side of the area and delivered a direct cross. Toda, who ran in free from the center, headed the ball. It was perfectly timed, but the ball went just slightly to the right. In stoppage time, Kanazawa, who advanced up the left side, connected with Toda, and Abe, who received the cross in front of the goal, contested for it. Kanazawa ran in again for a shot, but it veered left, and they went into halftime still at 0-0.

　Tokyo, having withstood Ichihara's fierce attacks well, found chances on the counter and bet on the match in the remaining 45 minutes. However, it was Ichihara who first got a big chance in the second half. In the 47th minute, after a fierce challenge in midfield, Sato stole the ball and charged forward with a dribble, sending a pass to the left side, where MF Murai delivered a one-touch through pass in front of the goal. Choi, who ran in free, took a shot, but it went wide to the right, escaping danger. However, Tokyo gradually started to pick up second balls and create chances. In the 56th minute, Miura sent a fast long pass behind the defensive line, and Abe received it while shaking off his marker, but could not take a shot. In the 58th minute, Kanazawa jumped in to clear Kaji's early cross, leading to a scramble in front of the goal. Once again, Kanazawa picked up a loose ball in the penalty area and took a shot. The shot from close range was saved by the opposing goalkeeper Kushino, but Toda picked up the rebound, and the shot rattled the goal net. However, it was unfortunately ruled offside, resulting in no goal.

Secured a valuable point

　In the 70th minute, Ichihara and Milinovic advanced and faked a middle shot, passing to Choi inside the penalty area. Choi got into shooting position, but Jean cut it off. Jean stood in front of Choi every time today. After that play, Tokyo launched a quick counterattack, and Abe dove in with a header from Ishikawa's cross, but the ball went just to the right. Both sides had chances, and the back-and-forth battle continued.

　In the 72nd minute, Baba was brought in to replace Amaral, who was not quite in form. In the 74th minute, Ichihara replaced Sandro with the speedy forward Hayashi. Immediately after, Ichihara delivered a cross from the left that was headed down by midfielder Hanyu, and Choi shot from the right side of the area but missed to the right of the goal. In the 75th minute, Tokyo picked up a loose ball in midfield, and with quick passes from Baba to Miyazawa just before the area, they executed a superb through ball behind the defense. Toda made a run into the goal area, getting into a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but was thwarted at the last moment by the sharp advance of goalkeeper Kushino.

　In the 81st minute, Tokyo substituted Suzuki for Toda, and Ichihara also brought in MF Yamagishi for Murai in the 82nd minute. Both teams used their substitution cards to look for opportunities, but neither could find the decisive touch, resulting in a time-up. The fierce battle ended in a scoreless draw. However, they withstood Ichihara's fierce attacks and fought valiantly without giving up until the end. They earned a valuable point.

[Player Comments]

"Toda" "In the first half, we were pushed back by the opponent's pace, but in the second half, we were able to attack from both sides. That aspect is a positive point for today's game. However, I couldn't score because of my own mistake. I'm sorry." "Moniwa" "I didn't intend to defend by falling back, but we were pushed back due to their running. However, during the match, we tried to strengthen the center, including the defensive midfielders, and aimed to push the opponent out wide to compete. In that sense, we were able to defend according to our plan."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "Ichihara is a team with high scoring ability, good at making long runs and quick attacks. Therefore, I thought that if we could force them into a slow attack instead of a fast break, our counterattacks would be effective. In the first half, without Kelly, the opponent's midfielders lined up horizontally, which allowed them to pick up second balls. We also kicked the ball too much, but we made adjustments towards the end of the first half, aiming to tire them out even if they had possession to fight in the second half. I believe we created chances from counterattacks and from the sides in the second half. Ichihara was indeed strong and had momentum. I think we fought well even without Kelly. While we want to play attacking football and press from the front, I believe it is also necessary to be patient away this season. We haven't changed our style of play. We are increasing our decisive chances, and I don't think we are going in the wrong direction."

[Summary of Coach Osim's Press Conference] "It didn't go well until the end. We played well, but it's disappointing that we couldn't score. The results reflect the reality. I don't think anyone expected us to earn this many points in these 10 matches. However, against a team that defends completely, we still lack something. Today we played solidly and took risks to attack. The opponent always defended with six players, and fighting back on the counter is always easier than constantly attacking. Always attacking is exhausting. So I think the opponent was able to play easily today. However, FC Tokyo has been a really good team from what I've seen so far. If it were the JEF of the past, we would have lost 0-1 today. In that sense, I believe we are growing."