A crucial match that will test their true worth

　As we enter the 1/3 mark of the 2nd stage, we will face off against JEF United Ichihara Chiba this round. Under the guidance of manager Ivica OSIM, who took over this season, Ichihara has been playing an aggressive, wave-like attacking style of soccer and was in the title race until the very end of the 1st stage. They are currently in 2nd place in the 2nd stage and today's match will be a direct showdown between 2nd and 3rd place. While Tokyo had a big win against Yokohama F. Marinos in the 3rd round, they were only able to draw 0-0 against Oita in the previous round and cannot be said to be on a roll. Ichihara also suffered a loss against Kashima in the previous round and will surely want to avoid a losing streak. This will be Tokyo's first match against a top team and will be a true test of their abilities.

　In the previous stage, the match ended in a draw without Kelly, but today, Ichihara's ace, Choi Ryong-soo, is suspended. Tokyo's injured player, Amaral, returned to the substitute members. For both teams, this important match started with a hot summer-like night game, with Tokyo's kickoff.

In a close game, Miyazawa's left foot explodes! It creates the opening goal.

　The match progressed with both sides creating chances from the beginning. In the 5th minute, Kanazawa made an overlap and received a pass from Miyazawa, taking the first shot of the day. In the 7th minute, Ichihara MF Abe advanced from the defensive midfield position to the penalty area and received a pass from FW Sandro, taking a shot. In the 10th minute, Tokyo picked up the clearance from Ishikawa's free kick and Kanazawa aimed for the goal, while in the 11th minute, Ichihara DF Nakanishi crossed from the right side and won a corner kick. In the 14th minute, Ishikawa headed a beautiful cross from the left side to the far post, but unfortunately it overlapped with Abe and the ball went over the bar.

　After 15 minutes, it is Ichihara who dominates the ball and passes it around. However, Tokyo wins the battle on the sides and launches effective attacks, threatening Ichihara's goal. In the 17th minute, Toda received a cross from Kaji and headed it to Kelly in the center. Kelly passed it through and Miyazawa ran in from behind for a shot. It was a perfect timing, but the right-footed shot just missed to the right.

　However, it was just one minute later. After cutting off the opponent's ball on the right side, Ishikawa passed to Miura who was attacking in the center. Although he was surrounded by the opponent's DF, Miyazawa ran in again and this time struck with his left foot. The mid-range shot, which had gained speed, grazed the opponent's DF and was sucked into the bottom right corner of the goal, scoring! He created the opportunity from the side and scored the opening goal in a good position.

Create chances from fast attacks, and Toda scores an additional point!!

　Tokyo took the lead, but the game became hectic after 20 minutes. In the 20th minute, Chiba MF Abe took a shot from the front of the goal with a free kick. It was blocked, but then MF Hayashi took a middle shot. In the 22nd minute, Toda connected with a header from Abe in front of the goal, but Kelly's shot went wide to the right. In the 23rd minute, Chiba's left MF Murai took a ground shot. The game was back and forth with both teams taking and losing possession. In the 31st minute, Ishikawa used Kelly, who had moved up from the right side, and Kelly crossed. Abe tried to score in front of the goal, but was blocked by the DF.

　Despite this, Tokyo continued to create chances with their fast counterattacks. In the 39th minute, Toda flew out from the left side to meet Miyazawa's lofted through pass, and competed with the opposing GK on the end line to win a corner kick. Ishikawa then connected with Kelly on the short corner, who crossed it to the center. Abe aimed a precise header towards the goal, which hit an opposing defender and fell to Toda's feet near the left post. Toda then confidently struck the ball into the back of the net, scoring their second goal!

　With this, Tokyo gained momentum and attacked for the remaining time of the first half. In the 44th minute, Kelly showed persistence on the right side and won a free kick, which Miyazawa aimed directly for the goal. Unfortunately, the ball grazed the bar and there was no additional point, but they went into the second half with a 2-point lead.

Trailing by 2 points...

　In the second half, it was Ichihara who made the move. Left MF Murai and top attacking midfielder Hanyu were replaced by MF Yamagishi and FW Maki. FW Sandro, Oshiba, and Maki took a counterattack stance by moving freely in the front line. However, in the 53rd minute, Tokyo attacked. Miura ran up the right side and sent a cross, but Abe picked up the ball that the opponent DF had dropped behind and took a shot. However, the ball from an angle was saved by the opponent GK near the goal. Ichihara continued to aggressively attack the Tokyo goal, but they were unable to break through the strong final line of Tokyo. In the 55th minute, Abe's FK from the front of the goal was also blocked by the Tokyo DF. In the 59th minute, Sandro took a shot from a pass in front of the goal, but it was saved by Doi. In the 61st minute, they won a corner kick, but they were hit by Tokyo's counterattack and Kelly took a shot.

　At 64 minutes, Tokyo substituted Asari for Miura, and at 67 minutes, Ichihara substituted Lins for DF Chano. Sandro, Maki, and Lin were placed in the front line, with Ohshiba and Yamagishi on the sides, and DF had two players, Milinovic and Nakanishi. They took a gamble to counterattack. Then at 71 minutes, Maki headed a cross from Ohshiba on the right side. It was a decisive moment, but Tsuchi saved it with his left hand. Immediately after that, Tokyo substituted Fujiyama for Ishikawa, and Jean and Motoba joined the final line. However, with Lin's substitution, Ichihara's front line was activated, and at 76 minutes, they created a chance from a series of free kicks in front of the goal. Tokyo, who survived this pinch, launched a counterattack at 78 minutes, and Toda broke free in front of the goal. However, the opponent's GK saved it, and they couldn't score an additional point.

　In the 82nd minute, Fujiyama cut off the opponent's ball near the end line, but the clearance was poor and the opponent regained possession and connected. This allowed Sato, the defensive midfielder, to advance. Miyazawa, who went to block the entry into this penalty area, was fouled and a penalty was awarded. Sandro converted the PK, bringing the score to within one point.

　In the 84th minute, Toda broke through the goal from a pass from Doi and crossed to the left side, creating a decisive opportunity for Abe to jump in from the far side. However, the shot was not well placed. The intense back and forth continued, but in the 88th minute, Ichihara's midfielder Sakamoto received a cross from the right side and persevered, cutting past Kaji and passing it to the ground in front of the goal. This allowed Hayashi to score, tying the game with less than 3 minutes remaining.

　In stoppage time, Kanazawa had a shot and Toda jumped in on Miyazawa's cross, but they couldn't score. In the end, they showed weakness in both attack and defense, and couldn't hold onto their 2-goal lead, resulting in a disappointing draw. The shocking way they were caught up is a big blow, but there are still 10 matches left. They must use this game as a learning experience and move forward towards the next one.

【Player Comments】《Abe》"If I had scored the third goal, we could have won the game. However, even during the draw against Nagoya, I reflected on whether I should have kept the ball more on the side...but today, I couldn't do that and ended up retreating. It's a shame because our rhythm wasn't bad."《Mori》"The reason we were caught up was not because of a change in the defensive line system. We need the mental strength to support each other and endure during difficult times. It's a bad image to be defeated in that way at the end, but I want to approach the next game with a strong mindset."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "After the game, I talked to Coach Ivica OSIM about how in soccer, you never know what will happen. Of course, we wanted to win 2-0, but we were able to attack against Ichihara and have a good fight, and the performance was good. In the second half, Ichihara took risks and increased the number of players in the front line, so it was inevitable that we would have to defend. We tried to balance things out by bringing in Asari and then Fujiyama. However, Kelly was able to keep the ball for the most part, so we wanted to create a play where Abe and Toda would run off of him. Unfortunately, we were given a penalty kick from a mistake and even though we were leading by one point, we couldn't hold on and ended up with a tie. What's more frustrating than that is not being able to score a third goal. There were three decisive moments in the first half, but if we had scored then, I think we could have won. The problem was that when Asari and Fujiyama came in, everyone's mindset became "defend." At that point, I thought if we could counterattack and take advantage of the opponent's weak defense, we could win. Amaral was an option to bring in, but in a situation where we were being pushed back, he would likely work hard to defend. So we left Toda and Abe in the front line. It's disappointing and frustrating, but not losing is a sign of growth. There are 10 rounds left, and there is no difference in strength between each team. Sendai will also come at us with all their might in the next round. But we need to switch our mindset and make sure we win."

[Summary of Ichihara Osim's press conference] "It's difficult to express in words, but in football, it's about whether or not you can fulfill your role. It's a question of whether it's Jeff or FC Tokyo. In that sense, Jeff has come back to life from a dead state. It's not something that happens in a normal life, but it does in football. In a losing situation, there was nothing to lose. So we attacked with five players. However, even though we got results, we shouldn't play like this. It's regrettable that we've been in a losing situation for a long time."