A match that tests true value

　The 2nd stage has reached one-third, and this match will be against JEF United Ichihara. Ichihara, under the guidance of coach Ivica OSIM who took charge this season, plays an aggressive wave attack style of football and was in the title race until the end of the 1st stage. Currently, they are in 2nd place in the 2nd stage, and today marks a direct confrontation between 2nd and 3rd place. Although Tokyo achieved a great victory against Yokohama F.Marinos in Sec. 3, they drew 0-0 against Oita in the previous match, so it cannot be said that they are on a roll. Ichihara also lost to Kashima in the last match and will definitely want to avoid consecutive losses. For Tokyo, this is their first match against a top team, and it will be a test of their true worth.

　In the previous stage match, it ended in a draw without Kelly, but today, Ichihara's ace Choi Ryong-su is suspended. Tokyo's injured Amaral has returned to the substitute bench. This important match for both teams started with a night game on a hot day reminiscent of midsummer, kicked off by Tokyo.

In a close match, Miyazawa's left foot explodes! Producing the opening goal

　Both teams created chances from the early stages of the match, progressing with a tight development. In the 5th minute, Kanazawa initiated an overlap, receiving a pass from Miyazawa and taking the first shot of the day. In the 7th minute, Ichihara's midfielder Abe advanced from the holding position to the penalty area, received a pass from forward Sandro, and took a shot. In the 10th minute, Tokyo picked up a clearance from Ishikawa's free kick, and Kanazawa aimed for the goal. In the 11th minute, Ichihara's defender Nakanishi sent a cross from the right side, winning a corner kick. In the 14th minute, Ishikawa headed a beautiful cross that stretched to the far side of Kanazawa's left side, but unfortunately collided with Abe, sending the ball over the bar.

　After 15 minutes, Ichihara is controlling the ball and passing it around. However, Tokyo wins the battle on the side and launches an effective attack towards the Ichihara goal. In the 17th minute, Kaji's early cross is received by Toda at the far post, who heads it down to Kelly in the center. As Kelly lets it pass, Miyazawa, who is running in from behind, takes a shot. It was perfectly timed, but the right-footed shot just missed to the right.

　However, it was one minute later. After cutting the opponent's ball on the right side, Ishikawa passed to Miura, who advanced centrally. Surrounded by the opponent's DF, Miyazawa ran in again to where the ball had spilled, and this time he struck with his left foot. The powerful middle shot from about 25 meters, while grazing the opponent's DF, was sucked into the bottom right of the goal, scoring! They created a starting point from the side and took the lead with a good play.

Creating chances from a fast attack, Toda scores an additional goal!!

　Tokyo took the lead, but the match became hectic after the 20-minute mark. In the 20th minute, a free kick was awarded in front of the goal, and Ichihara's MF Abe took a shot. It was blocked, but then MF Hanyu took a mid-range shot. In the 22nd minute, in front of the goal, Abe connected with Toda's header, and Kelly took a shot that went wide to the right. In the 23rd minute, Ichihara's left MF Murai took a ground shot. The game saw possessions being won and lost. In the 31st minute, Ishikawa used Kelly, who had moved up from the right side, and Kelly delivered a cross. Abe challenged in front of the goal but was blocked by the defender.

　Still, Tokyo continues to create chances with fast attacks from counterattacks. In the 39th minute, Miyazawa's floating through ball found Toda breaking from the left side, who competed with the opposing goalkeeper near the end line to win a corner kick. Ishikawa connected the short corner to Kelly, who crossed it into the center. Abe aimed a precise header towards the goal, which hit the opposing defender, and the loose ball fell to Toda, who was positioned on the left side of the goal. Toda then firmly struck the ball into the net, securing the second goal!

　With this momentum, Tokyo pressed forward for the remaining time in the first half. In the 44th minute, Kelly fought on the right side to win a free kick, and Miyazawa aimed directly for the goal. The ball narrowly grazed the crossbar, and although they did not score an additional point, they went into halftime with a two-goal lead.

Caught up from a 2-point deficit...

　In the second half, it was Ichihara who made the move. Left MF Murai and top midfielder Hanyu were replaced by MF Yamagishi and FW Maki. FW Sandro, Oshima, and Maki moved freely in the front line to set up a counterattack. However, in the 53rd minute, Tokyo launched an attack. Miura surged up the right side and sent in a cross, which was deflected by the opposing DF. Abe picked up the ball and took a shot, but the ball from a tight angle was saved by the opposing GK at the near post. Ichihara continued to aggressively attack the Tokyo goal, but they could not break through Tokyo's solid back line. In the 55th minute, Abe's free kick from straight on was blocked by Tokyo's DF. In the 59th minute, after passing around in front of the goal, Sandro took a shot, but it went straight to Doi. In the 61st minute, they won a corner kick, but were hit by a Tokyo counterattack, and Kelly took a shot.

　In the 64th minute, Tokyo substituted Asari for Miura, and Ichihara brought in FW Lins for DF Chano in the 67th minute. With Sandro, Maki, and Lins up front, and Ooshiba and Yamagishi on the sides, they placed five attacking players in the front line, while the defense consisted of Milinovic and Nakani. They took a gamble to launch a counterattack. Then, in the 71st minute, Maki headed a shot from Ooshiba's early cross from the right side. It was a decisive moment, but Doi saved it with one hand. Immediately after that, Tokyo substituted Fujiyama for Ishikawa, who joined Jean and Shigeno in the back line. However, with Lins' introduction, Ichihara's front line became more active, creating chances from consecutive free kicks in front of the goal in the 76th minute. Tokyo managed to survive this crisis and launched a counterattack in the 78th minute, with Toda breaking free in front of the goal. However, he was met with a save from the opposing GK, and they could not secure an additional goal.

　In the 82nd minute, Fujiyama cut the opponent's ball near the end line, but the clearance was weak. After being dispossessed again, they allowed Sato, the defensive midfielder, to advance. Miyazawa, who went to block the intrusion into the penalty area, fell, resulting in a foul call. Sandro converted the penalty kick, narrowing the gap to one goal.

　In the 84th minute, Todai broke free in front of the goal with a pass from Doi, flowed to the left side and crossed. Abe jumped in free from the far side and created a decisive opportunity, but the shot was not perfectly struck. The intense back-and-forth continued without a moment's respite, but in the 88th minute, Ichihara received a cross from the right side, and MF Sakamoto persisted, cut back past Kaji, and delivered a ground pass in front of the goal. Hayashi scored from this, and with less than 3 minutes remaining, they were equalized.

　In stoppage time, Kanazawa's shot and a cross from Miyazawa saw Toda dive in, but there was no goal. Ultimately, both in offense and defense, we revealed a lack of sharpness and couldn't maintain a two-goal lead, resulting in a frustrating draw. The shocking way we were caught up to has left a significant impact, but there are still 10 sections remaining. We must use matches like this as nourishment and move forward to the next one.

【Player Comments】《Abe》"If I had scored the third goal, it would have been a match we could have won. However, I reflected on the draw against Nagoya, thinking, 'Maybe we should have held the ball more on the sides...' but I couldn't do that today and ended up retreating. It's disappointing because the rhythm wasn't bad." 《Moniwa》"The fact that we were caught up to is not due to a change in the defensive line system. We need the mental strength to support each other during tough times. In the end, we conceded in that way, leaving only a bad impression, but I want to switch my mindset and focus on the next match."

[Summary of Head Coach Hara's Press Conference] "After the match, I talked with Head Coach Ivica OSIM about how 'you never know what will happen in football.' Of course, we wanted to win 2-0, but we kept attacking against Ichihara and had a good battle; the content was good. In the second half, Ichihara took risks by increasing the number of players up front, so it was inevitable that we were pushed back and had to defend. We brought in Asari and then Fujiyama to try to restore balance. However, Kelly was able to keep possession most of the time, so we wanted to use him as a starting point for Abe and Toda to run forward. Unfortunately, we conceded a penalty from a mistake, and although we were leading by one goal, we couldn't hold on and were equalized, which is regrettable. What’s more frustrating is that we couldn’t score the third goal. There were three decisive chances from the end of the first half, and if we had scored then, I think we could have won. The problem might be that once Asari and Fujiyama came on, everyone’s mindset shifted to 'defend.' At that point, I thought if we launched a counterattack and exploited their weak defense, we could have secured the win. Bringing in Amaral was an option, but since we were under pressure, Amaral would have diligently fallen back to defend. So, we left Toda and Abe up front. This result is disappointing and frustrating, but not losing is progress. There are 10 rounds left, and all teams are evenly matched. Sendai in the next round will come at us desperately. But we will switch our mindset and definitely win."

[Summary of Coach Ivica OSIM's Press Conference] "It's difficult to express in words, but the question is whether soccer as a sport can fulfill its role properly. It's a matter of whether JEF will do it or FC Tokyo will do it. In that sense, JEF has risen again from a place where it once died. It's something that wouldn't happen in ordinary life, but it does in soccer. When you're in a losing situation, there's nothing to lose. That's why we attacked with five players. However, even though we got results, we shouldn't have played such a match. It's truly regrettable that the losing situation continued for such a long time."