Restart of the 1st stage in the battle for survival in the championship race

　The J1 League 1st Stage resumed yesterday. Sec. 11 match between Tokyo and Vegalta Sendai will be held on Sunday, one day later than other matches. Although it is the first match after the league's resumption, today is a crucial battle to survive in the championship race. We must secure 3 points at home and build momentum heading into the final stages of the 1st Stage.

　Tokyo set up a 4-5-1 formation with Amaral at the top, Abe on the left, and Kelly in the center. Kaji is suspended due to accumulated warnings, so Tokunaga, a specially designated player currently attending Waseda University, made his first start as the right side back. Currently in 12th place, Sendai has seen the return of GK Takakuwa, DF Komura, Morikawa, and MF Zaizen, who had been sidelined due to injuries after the break. On the other hand, they are missing key players MF Iwamoto, Silvinho, and FW Marcos, making it difficult to field their best lineup. However, great caution is needed against the counterattacks launched by FW Yamashita and Sato from their solid defense. The match began under cloudy skies with a high humidity of 75 percent, kicked off by Tokyo.

Miyazawa's brilliant free kick opens the scoring!

　Just one minute into the match, Tokunaga made a cross from the right. In the second minute, Ishikawa and Tokunaga combined to break down the right side, and in the fifth minute, Ishikawa made another cross. In the ninth minute, Miyazawa's free kick was headed down by Amaral, and Jaan shot the loose ball that hit the DF but went over the goal. In the eleventh minute, Tokunaga's persistent dribbling led to Kelly switching to the side, and Kelly connected with Ishikawa's cross, but Sendai's DF cut it off. On the other hand, Sendai tried to create chances from counterattacks, but their passes did not connect. While Tokyo took control, Miyazawa took a long-range shot in the sixteenth minute. In the twentieth minute, Kanazawa advanced up the left side, showing persistence, and earned a corner kick. In the twenty-first minute, Ishikawa received a ground free kick from the right side in the center and shot directly. Although blocked by the DF, they continued to create chances.

　Then, in the 24th minute, a Sendai defender committed a handball foul outside the penalty arc. Tokyo earned a free kick from about 25 meters, with Ishikawa and Miyazawa standing in front of the ball. Using Ishikawa as a decoy, Miyazawa aimed directly with his magical left foot, and the ball curved beautifully into the right side of the goal! Miyazawa scored the opening goal with an artistic free kick.

　Energized, Tokyo continued to dominate the game and create chances. In the 26th minute, Tokunaga's grounded cross was received by Amaral, who shifted left and passed to Miyazawa, who was advancing into the penalty area for a shot. It was a crucial moment with a clear chance, but the ball went over the goal. In the 28th minute, Abe made a challenge on the left side, and Ishikawa picked up the loose ball, dribbling past defenders on the left side and sending a strong grounded pass across the goal, but it narrowly missed reaching Amaral at the far side.

In the second half, dominated by Sendai but did not allow any goals

　In the 32nd minute, Sendai's midfielder Ishii takes a long-range shot, which is Sendai's first shot. In the 34th minute, midfielder Moriyasu intercepts a pass and advances to take a shot, but it is cut off by Shigeno. In the 36th minute, Tokyo connects a cross from Abe in the center, and Ishikawa crosses. Kanazawa shoots at the loose ball that was cut off by the defender. Goalkeeper Takakuwa deflects it, and Kelly rushes in. Unfortunately, he was offside, but they created a good shape from a wide attack. In the 42nd minute, after a dribble by Ishikawa, Abe receives a pass off the post, and Amaral, who ran in from behind, takes a shot. However, the ball goes wide. With Tokyo attacking and Sendai countering, in the 43rd minute, Sendai launches a quick attack, and Yamashita in the front line passes to the right side. Ishii's cross is met with a perfectly timed header from forward Sato, but it goes off target. Tokyo couldn't score an additional goal, but they went into halftime with a one-goal lead.

　However, in the second half, it was Sendai that created the first chance. In the 48th minute, from a left throw-in, DF Nemoto delivered a cross, and Yamashita made a return pass at the far side, leading to Ishii's volley shot inside the penalty area. The ball narrowly went to the left. However, this one play made Tokyo 'fearful and retreating,' according to Coach Hara. In the 50th minute, Nemoto surged into the penalty area on a counterattack and shot freely. In the 52nd minute, once again, Yamashita connected with Nemoto's cross directly in front of the goal for a shot. Both were saved by Doi, but Sendai, picking up loose balls in the midfield, created decisive moments from Nemoto's sharp movements and precise crosses.

　Tokyo is tenacious in defense, allowing no goals, but in attack, they fall behind, unable to connect passes and mount an offense. In the 67th minute, Amaral's header, following a cross from Kanazawa, became the first shot of the second half. However, in the 68th minute, Todai was brought in to replace Abe. Coach Hara's intention was to "utilize abundant stamina, make large movements, and run into space. To pick up loose balls and change the flow of the game." This strategy paid off, and they gradually began to regain their rhythm.

Toda's beautiful goal pulls away from Sendai!

　In the 71st minute, Kanazawa earned a corner kick from a breakthrough, and Jean headed the ball down, but it went to the left of the goal. In the 74th minute, Kelly persisted on the left side, and Miyazawa, who followed up, entered the penalty area. The cross was cut off by the defender, but Ishikawa, who pounced on the loose ball, took a powerful shot. It was decisive, but the ball was cleared by defender Fabiano with a header. They were thwarted by a magnificent fine play. In the following 75th minute, Toda received a pass from Kelly outside the left side of the area and took a shot. In the 76th minute, Toda dove for a diving header from Tokunaga's early cross. Although he couldn't hit the goal, he showed a brave attitude by not giving up and pushing for a finish.

　Sendai made a change at the 75th minute, substituting defensive midfielder Moriyasu for forward Nakahara, shifting to a three-forward formation to try and snatch "at least one goal." Tokyo also made a substitution at the 80th minute, replacing Amaral with Baba. Baba was instructed, "The ball isn't moving because you can't create space up front. Draw the ball out." At the 84th minute, Miyazawa was replaced by Asari, aiming for balance while going after "one more goal." And it happened immediately after. Asari, positioned slightly left in midfield, passed a side-change ball to Ishikawa. Ishikawa broke through on the right side and delivered a fast, low cross from near the goal line. Using Baba, who charged into the center of the goal as a decoy, Toda, who was free just behind, connected with a pinpoint volley shot! He hammered a stunning goal into the lower left corner!! That long-awaited additional goal put distance from Sendai and the match ended. Tokyo celebrated a victory in their first game since the league resumed and rose to 6th place. With only a one-point difference separating the teams up to 10th place in a tight race, they push forward aiming for consecutive wins in the remaining four matches!

【Player Comments】《Toda》"When I came on as a substitute, we were being pushed back, so I entered the game with the mindset to defend tightly from the front, and even if it ended 1-0, I was determined to win. I missed a diving header shot in front of the goal, but through that play, I was able to grasp the image of getting it on target. Ishikawa provided a great cross, and I think 80% of the goal belongs to him, but I’m glad I was able to score." 《Tokunaga》"I was nervous at first, but as I started to vocalize, I got used to it. By communicating with Ishikawa and creating space, I was able to push forward. I didn’t consider the pace and went all out from the beginning, so in the end, my legs cramped up, but the most important thing was that we won. I feel that from now on, it’s necessary to improve communication with those around me."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the Nabisco Cup match against Kashiwa, although the content was not bad, we couldn't score. However, since we didn't concede any goals, I thought we should continue playing this style of football. Sendai is a team that defends deep and launches sharp counterattacks. I told the players that if we open up wide on the sides and simply attack the flanks, we can score during the flow of the game, and if we can get the first goal from a set piece, we can gain momentum. Miyazawa's goal was exactly as planned, but I wanted to score one more before halftime... The beginning of the second half was also a tough period, but we didn't concede then, and the flow changed with Toda's introduction. His earnestness and attitude of 'for the team' showed. I'm glad he scored at the end. Regarding Tokunaga's deployment, both I and the players knew his ability. He played confidently and I think he became a major asset. Yesterday, I observed the Urawa vs Oita match, which changed dramatically with just one free kick. In the J.League, no team has a clear advantage. In this tight competition, it is important to keep winning one by one going forward."

【Summary of the press conference by Sendai and Shimizu coaches】 "The first half was a back-and-forth match. Although we conceded a goal from a free kick, I think we were able to reduce Tokyo's attacking momentum. In the second half, up until about the 20-minute mark, we created several chances, which was good. However, when we took risks to try to equalize, we were caught on the counter. It wasn't a bad development, but... We have many injured players, and the young members who came on as substitutes may not be functioning well yet."