Survival game to advance to the final tournament

　The 6th round of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league (= final round) will be an away game against Vegalta Sendai. In the "Group B" that FC Tokyo belongs to, Yokohama FM (= 10 points) who was in first place at the end of the previous round has already secured a spot in the qualifying league, and there was still a possibility for FC Tokyo (= 8 points, 2nd place) and Sendai (= 7 points, 3rd place) to advance to the final tournament. At this point, Tokyo, who is one point ahead, will secure a spot in the final tournament even with a draw, but Sendai has no chance of advancing to the final tournament unless they win, and it is expected that they will come out with fierce determination, especially since it is a home game.

　Tokyo's starting lineup sees special designated player Tokunaga starting for the third consecutive game at right back, with Fujiyama replacing Shigeta, who is suspended due to accumulated warnings, at center back. Ashizawa replaces Miura, who is suffering from left Achilles tendon pain, at defensive midfielder. Amaral returns to the starting lineup after two games as the forward. On the other hand, Sendai is missing key midfielder Iwamoto due to injury, as well as center back Komura and Fabiano, who are both suspended due to accumulated warnings, making for a far from ideal starting lineup.

　The "winning team advances to the final round tournament" survival game kicked off at 7pm at Sendai Stadium, which was dyed yellow by approximately 14,000 Sendai supporters, despite being held on a weekday.

Allowing the first goal in 5 games due to a momentary lapse

　Shortly after the start, it was Tokyo who first grasped the attacking rhythm. MF Ishikawa from the right, DF Tokunaga, MF Miyazawa from the left, and DF Kanazawa actively ran into the side spaces and supplied accurate crosses. In the 3rd minute, MF Kelly took a shot from the center after receiving a ball from the right side, but it was blocked by Sendai DF. Then in the 10th minute, Kelly received a ground pass from Ishikawa on the right side and passed it through to FW Abe who ran behind him. Abe took a shot while completely free, but unfortunately it missed to the right of the goal.

　On the other hand, Sendai's FW Yamashita, Sato, and MF Zai Zen formed a triangle with abundant movement, freely changing positions in the front line and frequently sending in early crosses from both sides. However, high balls were headed away by DF Jean, and through passes and central breakthroughs were all cleared by DF Fujiyama's sharp reading and covering, preventing any decisive opportunities. In the 9th minute, Sendai's Fukunaga took a precise shot from inside the penalty area after being brought in from the left, but GK Doi made a super save and prevented a goal.

　Tokyo continued to threaten the Sendai goal, with Amaral heading the ball from a right corner kick in the 19th minute, but it went wide left. In the following 21st minute, Kelly kept the ball in the center and made a perfect through pass to Abe in the penalty area, who easily scored but was unfortunately ruled offside. In the 24th minute, Jean aimed for a diving header from a left corner kick, and in the 28th minute, Abe and Kelly both forcefully broke through the penalty area and took shots, but were stopped by the Sendai defenders. In the 29th minute, Kelly dropped a sharp cross from Tokunaga with his heel in front of the goal, but it was unfortunately cleared.

　Despite Tokyo's dominance in front of goal, the midfield battle was dominated by Sendai's intense pressing, causing them to struggle. In the 32nd minute, Sendai's MF Ishii kept the ball on the left and passed it through to Sato on the front line. The Tokyo DF was caught off guard and Sato easily scored, with the ball passing through Doi's legs and into the goal. Up until that point, Tokyo had not been able to break through the final line despite controlling the midfield, but they were caught off guard and conceded a painful first goal, ending their clean sheet streak that had lasted since the 10th round match against Ichihara on May 24th (Sat).

Ishikawa's individual skill roared! Equalized with a super shot

　Tokyo, who had been repeatedly attacking from the outside and creating chances in front of goal despite conceding the first goal, continued to calmly build their game around Kelly. In the 43rd minute of the first half, a sharp cross from the right by Tokunaga was headed by Amaral, but narrowly missed the goal to the right. In the following minute, Kelly received a pass from Abe with his back to the goal and unleashed an artistic looping shot, but it was saved by the Sendai goalkeeper and did not result in a goal.

　At halftime, coach Hara instructed the players, "We are losing in the battle for the ball in the midfield. Let's be more aggressive." In the second half, the players put this into practice. In the 48th minute, a cross from the left side was headed towards the goal, causing a moment of panic, but after that, Tokyo completely controlled the pace of the game. In the 52nd minute, Amaral broke through the right side and had a big chance to face the Sendai GK one-on-one, but since the Nabisco Cup qualifying league Sec. 3 match against Sendai (HOME) on 4/9 (Wed), he seemed to have forgotten how to score and instead of shooting, he tried to dodge the GK and was blocked. The loose ball rolled in front of Abe, who aimed and shot with an inside kick, but it was saved by the Sendai GK. In addition, in the 54th minute, there was a quick passing exchange between Ishikawa, Abe, and Amaral near the left corner of the penalty area, and Amaral took a clean shot, but it was blocked by the bar and could not shake the net. Amaral looked up to the sky in disbelief, but it was a scene that made one wonder if he was truly being abandoned by the goal.

　Tokyo continued their fierce attack. In the 55th minute, Ishikawa cut inside from the right side and took a left-footed shot, but it hit Sendai DF and went straight to the GK. In the 58th minute, Sendai DF tried to clear a loose ball near the penalty area, but Amaral blocked it and the ball bounced off his foot and flew towards the goal with the momentum of a shot. However, it was deflected by Sendai GK and did not go in. In the 59th minute, Amaral received the ball in the midfield and immediately sent a through pass to Kelly, who had made a run towards the front. Kelly then took a powerful right-footed shot, but it narrowly missed the left side of the goal.

　61 minutes, Tokyo moves here. Instead of Abe, who is not in good shape, MF Baba is thrown in. As soon as Baba enters the pitch, he adds an accent to the attack with his unique ball touch. In the 63rd minute, Amaral headed a sharp cross from Ishikawa, but it was deflected by the Sendai GK. In the following 64th minute, Amaral received a pass from Kanazawa and quickly shot with his right foot from the left corner of the penalty area. The ball flew to the far side and the GK gave up, but this time it hit the right post and bounced back, once again not becoming a goal. In the 68th minute, Baba received the ball in front of the goal and easily dribbled past three players with his light steps, then passed to Amaral in the penalty area. However, the Sendai defenders quickly closed in and prevented him from taking a shot, ruining a decisive chance.

　Despite overwhelming attacks and the opponent GK's god-like fine play and bad luck, the situation where they couldn't break through the goal no matter what made them worry, but in the 71st minute, just as they were thinking "Will it end with no points?", Ishikawa received a pass on the right side, faked a vertical pass and charged towards the center. In an instant, he left two Sendai DF players behind and sharply flashed his left foot. The powerful shot carried his soul and pierced through the goal net! Goal! With Ishikawa's super play, they finally succeeded in breaking through the Sendai goal that was inhabited by a god.

Amaral's valuable 99-day comeback goal that led to first place!

　After being caught up in a tie, Sendai, who had no time left, launched a counterattack by continuously sending attacking players in the 73rd and 74th minutes. In the 77th minute, Sendai's Sato, who had just barely crossed the offside line on the left side, took a shot with his left foot after a speedy charge, but it went across the goal. On the contrary, in the 78th minute, Baba made a perfect through pass from the center to Ishikawa on the front line, and Ishikawa took a shot from a dribble, but it was blocked. In the following 81st minute, Tokyo passed the ball around in front of the goal, and finally a decisive pass was made to Nemoto, who had entered the left side of the penalty area, but Fujiyama threw himself with his whole body and prevented it with a soulful tackle. Despite their long absence, the play of players like Fujiyama and Asari on this day was a passionate one that made you feel the "soul" of veteran players who have been with Tokyo for a long time. They are excellent role models for young players and a great asset for the team.

　And, another person who cannot be forgotten, "Tokyo's soul" did a big job at the very end. In the 86th minute, Ishikawa, who received the ball on the right side, challenged U-22 Japan national team's left side player, Nemoto, head on and broke through with a forceful vertical rush. From the goal line, he sent a minus pass to the front of the goal, and Amaral ran in and pushed the ball into the net! It has been 99 days since his last goal in the 3rd round of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league against Sendai (HOME) on 4/9 (Wed), and it has become a very valuable goal not only for himself but also for the team. With this winning goal, they surpassed Yokohama FM (=same points, but with a better goal difference) and secured first place in Group 1.

　Amaral also missed several chances on this day, and is still far from his true image, but this one point could be a turning point and lead to a successful story in the future. It is a valuable point (=victory) for both the player and the team, and will be carried over to the remaining 3 league matches!

【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"In the first half, I couldn't really get the ball and even though there were chances, we couldn't score and the flow was bad. But in the second half, I was able to contribute to the comeback victory by scoring, so personally I think I was able to grow a little more."《Amaral》"It was good. I think the supporters were waiting for my goal, so I think they were happy. It was a tough game, but it's great that we can go to the final round with this."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "I knew it would be tough today from before the game. Sendai had a big loss to Ichihara in the league, so I thought they would come to this home game with high motivation, knowing that a win would take them to the final round. As expected, in the first half, Sendai was superior in all aspects such as ball possession, but at halftime we were able to make adjustments and in the second half we were able to dominate the game with the same mindset as Sendai. In the past few games, we haven't conceded any goals in the first half, so I felt that the team has grown by being able to maintain our mindset and balance in the second half and turn the game around to earn 3 points. We want to continue this momentum into the next game against Shimizu. Also, while Ishikawa's goal was fantastic, I was also happy that Amaral, who I honestly thought wouldn't make it, scored the winning goal. It's unfortunate that he won't be able to play in the next game against Shimizu, but we want to prepare well and face the game."

[Sendai/Shimizu Coach Press Conference Summary] "The first half was good. We were chasing the ball very well from the front players and were able to play the game at our own pace. However, in the second half, we were tied and had to win, so we took an attacking formation, but we ended up conceding a goal by being caught in the open space."