Challenge Iwata, who aims for a come-from-behind victory in the final match of the 1st stage!

　The final match of the 1st stage. The closing match will be against Júbilo Iwata on their home ground. Tokyo, currently in 4th place. If they win today, they still have a chance to finish in the top 3. Their only goal is victory. Furthermore, there are high expectations for how they will face and defeat the strong team of Iwata, making it the culmination of the first half of the season.

　On the other hand, the battle for the top spot in the stage has also intensified this round, with an important game for 2nd place Iwata to potentially turn the tables and win the stage. They will surely come with all their might to take 3 points. It will be a crucial match for both teams, with Tokyo missing Kelly and Iwata missing MF Nishi and Hattori due to suspension. The final 90 minutes of this stage will be played in the scorching heat of the day after the rainy season has ended, starting with Tokyo's kickoff.

Despite being pushed in, the goal is defended to the death!

　The game saw Iwata creating chances from the beginning. MF Fujita, who stole the loose ball inside the Tokyo team, passed it to the space on the right side. FW Grau caught up and dodged the Tokyo DF, entering the penalty area and taking a shot. Doi escaped with a CK, but from this CK, MF Fukunishi took a high-heading shot. In the 4th minute, Abe, who received the ball from a left throw-in, brought it into the center and took a shot from outside the area, but the opponent GK caught it. Immediately after, Iwata's Grau aimed for a direct goal with a powerful FK. In the 6th minute, Fujita broke through in front of the goal in response to Fukunishi's through pass, but Doi caught it with an excellent timing jump. In the 7th minute, MF Nami passed to Grau on the right side. He took a shot from the center right, but it was saved by Doi and escaped with a CK. In the 18th minute, Jean jumped with a header to Miyazawa's long FK, but couldn't hit the target.

　Iwata expands widely from skillful passing, with GROT often becoming the starting point in the front, and Fujita, Nami, and Fukunishi following up from behind, launching a thick attack. In the 21st minute, Fukunishi passed to the left from GROT's attack. When he entered the penalty area, he swung to the left and GROT received the cross again. Fujita, who ran in from behind, headed the ball with perfect timing. It narrowly missed to the right, and the decisive pinch was avoided. In the 22nd minute, Nami on the right side made a skillful keep and turned around to send a floating pass to the front of the goal. Fujita jumped in with excellent combination and dropped the ball with a heel in front of the goal, but Jean cleared it.

　Tokyo was pushed by Iwata's fast-moving play and couldn't connect the ball in front of Iwata's press even if they took it at a low position. In the 26th minute, Jean headed in a free kick that was earned when Abe was fouled in the enemy's territory. In the 29th minute, Miyazawa picked up the clearance from Ishikawa's shot after Tokunaga and Ishikawa connected on the right side and took a middle shot, but both missed the goal. In the 33rd minute, Doi and the defender collided in front of the goal against Iwata's accurate free kick. The ball bounced and it was a close call for an own goal, but Tokunaga entered to cover and cleared the ball with a sliding tackle. The ball hit the bar, but the goal was barely avoided. They didn't allow any goals with their defensive efforts even though they were being pushed back.

As time goes by with both teams unable to score due to intense defense.

　Tokyo struggled to assemble after being robbed, but it was not without chances. In the 38th minute, Ishikawa received a throw-in from the right side and raced with speed. He charged into the area and took a shot. In the 41st minute, Miyazawa connected with a corner kick and crossed from the left side. After picking up the opponent GK's clearance in the right area, Shigeki Mori pushed past the defenders with a sharp turn and passed to Ishikawa with perfect timing. Ishikawa received the pass and took a powerful shot from the near side of the goal, but it was blocked by Iwata GK Van Zwam's great save. During this time, Jean was injured in a battle in front of the goal. While receiving treatment, Amaral dropped back to cover the final line and Tokyo defended their goal. In the end, the first half ended 0-0, giving hope for the second half and causing frustration for Iwata.

　In the second half, Fujiyama replaced Jean, who injured his right knee. In the 46th minute, Abe received a pass from Kanazawa on the left and broke through the Iwata DF with one touch. He shot while competing with the DF, but it narrowly missed to the right of the goal. In the 3rd minute, the DF cleared the left cross. Miura picked up this ball and took a direct shot. In an attempt to turn the tide, Baba was substituted for Abe in the 8th minute.

　However, although they created chances at first, they were pushed back again by a composed Iwata. In the 56th minute, they gave a free kick to Iwata after fouling MF Jivkovic in front of the goal. Fujita took a direct shot, but Doi made a save and cleared the ball, although it was a dangerous situation. In the 62nd minute, Baba received a pass from behind and kept it well, then passed it through to Toda on the right with a different angle in front of the goal. Toda ran in from the left, but couldn't finish due to the opponent's fast approach. In the 65th minute, Iwata had another free kick in front of the goal. Nami's shot aimed for the top left corner, but Doi made a super fine save. The ball flew perfectly towards the goal, causing Nami to hold his head in frustration, but Doi barely touched it and it grazed the post, resulting in a corner kick.

　Iwata substituted Kawaguchi for Jivkovic as left MF with speed in the 67th minute. However, both teams were exhausted from the intense battle and were unable to create any decisive chances as time passed.

Despite succumbing to the strength of the previous year's champion, we achieved our best record in the 1st stage.

　At the 75th minute, just before trying to substitute Asari for Miyazawa, Iwata started a quick restart from a free kick in front of the goal. Fujita stuck to the right side and then went back. MF Kawamura → Namba connected and Namba passed directly to the space on the right side. Kawamura caught up with this and crossed from the end line. Fujita jumped in from the right to the center at the perfect timing and headed the ball. The Tokyo DF had been defending well until this point, but they couldn't catch Fujita's run and finally conceded a goal.

　Substituting Asari while carrying behind, Amaral from the right side in the 77th minute to Ishikawa in the area. Ishikawa made a good decision and sent a through pass to the front of the goal, but Baba, who received the ball with his back to the goal, turned around and took a shot, which was caught by the GK. In the 83rd minute, Miura attacked and was fouled in front of the goal, earning a free kick. Baba aimed directly for the goal from outside the penalty arc, but the ball narrowly missed the top left corner and did not equalize. Iwata did not allow any additional points with everyone's tough defense, but in stoppage time, Amaral's header from Kanazawa's cross could not find the goal. Unfortunately, they lost 0-1.

　However, they finished 4th with 7 wins, 4 draws, and 4 losses in the 1st stage, with the league's lowest 11 goals conceded. They achieved their best result ever, surpassing last year's 5th place finish. While the challenge of "scoring" remains, they showed resilience and never collapsed in any situation. The team is gradually but surely growing. They want to continue this momentum and aim for their long-awaited "first title" in the upcoming 2nd stage and Nabisco Cup without any rest.

【Player Comments】《Miura》"Iwata definitely wanted all 3 points. We wanted to hold them off with 0 goals and counterattack. We were able to play that way this season and it was going according to plan until the end... Iwata's key players are Fujita and Namba. It was tough, but we had to shut them down."《Kanazawa》"We were prepared to be passed around, but in the end we were exhausted. Iwata's passes were on target and their strength was definitely felt, but Tokyo's team strength is gradually increasing. Our strong defense is the result of working hard and quickly getting back. From now on, we want to aim higher step by step by having a more targeted approach in our attacking participation."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Iwata had a chance to win the championship, but we also had a chance to finish third, so we wanted to win. We lost by a large margin in last year's match and we knew it would be a tough game today without Kelly. We wanted to defend well and score on the counter. If we had scored on Abe's shot in the second half, the result might have been different. We were aware of the speed of their passing and quick restarts on free kicks, but in the end, we were caught off guard and conceded. However, I think our defense is doing well. We are not sitting back too much, and I believe our fourth place finish is a result of the team's gradual improvement. Going forward, we need to focus on scoring and creating opportunities. We have many challenges, but we will keep trying."

[Iwata・Yanagishita's Press Conference Summary] "In the first half, we were able to play in a very good way, with Jubilo-like plays. However, not taking shots when we had the chance was a problem. We wanted to score in the first half. In the second half, there were times when we were tired and stretched out. I think it was good that we were able to win by taking chances and working hard on defense, including the final line."