Aiming for victory after 5 matches

　Since winning against Yokohama FM on August 30, Tokyo has been distant from victory with 3 draws and 1 loss in the last 4 matches. Although they are in 9th place at the end of Sec. 7, the teams at the top are also struggling, and the point difference with the leaders Nagoya is only 4. In an unprecedented fierce competition, Tokyo is still in a position to aim for the top.

　On the other hand, Kyoto, the opponent for this match, is struggling in 15th place, which is in the relegation zone. However, they recently drew against the league leaders, Kashima, with a first goal from the newly joined Reji, indicating an upward trend in their performance. Given Kyoto's difficult past experience of being relegated to J2, it is expected that they will come at this match with all their might, backed by the passionate support of their home fans.

　Although their goals are different, both teams desperately want the points. Tokyo, aiming to secure 3 points with a victory after 5 matches, has decided to start Asari in the midfield for the first time since Sec. 13, replacing Miura. Ishikawa, who was injured and had to leave the match against Jubilo Iwata four days prior, showed up in good spirits for this crucial match. The temperature was 24°C, typical for this time of year, but under the strong sunlight reminiscent of midsummer, the kickoff whistle blew at 2:02 PM.

A difficult situation where the second ball is picked up

　The match started slowly as both teams were cautious of each other's moves. While Kyoto kept their midfield compact and focused on shutting down Kelly, Tokyo created a situation where Miyazawa delivered a long pass behind the opponent's defense for Toda to run onto, but the predictable rhythm made it easy for Kyoto's defense to handle. Ideally, they wanted to have the second line support the ball dropped by Amaral after competing for a long ball, but Amaral often dropped back to midfield to focus on hold-up play, making it difficult to establish a focal point in the front line. In the 8th minute, after a steal by Shigeno, Amaral and Kelly connected four quick direct passes to break through the center, but Amaral's final pass did not reach Kelly, preventing a shot. In the 11th minute, Miyazawa charged into the open space in midfield and took a shot from distance, marking the first shot of the day.

　Meanwhile, Kyoto's FW Kurobe, one of the two top forwards, acted as the target man up front, frequently receiving long balls from both fullbacks. In response, Tokyo's Moiniwa and Jean marked tightly and cleared the balls, but the second balls that dropped after their clearances were picked up again by Kyoto's midfield. Defensive midfielder Ishimaru spread the ball to the sides, with MF Nakahara and DF Kakuda attacking boldly from the right, and MF Matsui or DF Suzuki pushing forward from the left to deliver crossing balls. At the 9th minute, from a counterattack, left fullback Suzuki advanced and crossed, and Kurobe headed the ball back in front of the goal at the far side, but Tokyo's DF cleared it just a moment earlier. At the 19th minute, DF Kakuda, who joined the attack, sent a low cross with little shooting threat from the right side into the box, where Reji jumped in, but the ball was parried by Doi. Then, a Kyoto player who followed up took a shot, but Tokyo's DF blocked it with their bodies and forced a corner kick. The newly joined FW Reji did not seem to fit the team very well yet, but he created an unpleasant presence with his 183cm tall frame through post play and sharp runs into the goal area.

　Tokyo also had its chances. In the 17th minute, Toda received the ball on the left side and quickly passed it to Kelly up front. Toda then received the ball again and made a central breakthrough to Amaral, who was free on the left side. Amaral entered the penalty area and delivered a low cross in front of the goal, but it just missed the diving player. In the 37th minute, Kanazawa broke free from a combination with Ishikawa on the left side and made a perfect pass to Ishikawa, who was running into the middle. Ishikawa unleashed a powerful mid-range shot with his right foot from just outside the penalty area, hitting the target, but the Kyoto goalkeeper barely managed to punch it away, preventing a goal.

　Tokyo missed a decisive chance, allowing Kyoto to counterattack. In the 39th minute, they broke through the left side and Kurobe jumped in for a cross, but Jean cleared it with a header. In the 43rd minute, MF Bijyu broke through to the goal front from a momentary gap, but Doi made a good judgment and bravely saved. In the following 44th minute, Reji headed a cross from the right side at the far post, but the shot went over the bar as Kaji was competing and could not direct it down. In the end, the first half finished 0-0. The match would be decided in the second half.

Allowed the opening goal from a penalty kick

　During halftime, Coach Hara instructed, "Moniwa and Jean are competing well, but they are struggling to pick up the second balls. Overall, we need to tighten up and make this ball ours. Instead of just kicking long balls forward, we should create a base on the sides with Kaji and Kanazawa, and then have Toda and Ishikawa move forward. Amaral is dropping too deep. I want him to compete more up front." In the first half, Tokyo was limited to just two shots due to the wind direction, but they will launch a counterattack at the start of the second half.

　At 49 minutes, Tokyo was once again broken through on the left side by Kyoto, allowing a header shot by Reji at the far side from a cross, but immediately after, at 50 minutes, they had a great chance. From a counterattack, Ishikawa received a dropped ball from Toda up front and charged forward, then passed with perfect timing to Amaral running free up the left side. Amaral took a shot with his left foot just before the tackle from the Kyoto defender near the penalty area, but missed the target and lost the chance. At 56 minutes, Kelly took a powerful long shot from a throw-in on the left side, but it went over the bar. At 58 minutes, Ishikawa sent a floating pass from the right to Toda in the center, who headed a final pass to Amaral running into the penalty area, but it was slightly off. The highlight came at 62 minutes when Ishikawa, receiving a throw-in from the right side, shot with his left foot while turning as the ball was still bouncing. The ball flew about 35 meters with a powerful and beautiful trajectory toward the Kyoto goal but hit the bar and no goal was scored.

　Tokyo was able to pick up second balls as confirmed at halftime, and they started to create chances from the sides, gaining rhythm. However, in the 63rd minute, Kaji, who was marking Reji as he attempted to turn and break through while keeping the ball in Tokyo's penalty area, brought him down, resulting in a penalty kick. In the 65th minute, Kurobe converted this, allowing the first goal against them.

Jean matched Miyazawa's pinpoint free kick to equalize, but...

　The ecstatic Kyoto Eleven and supporters. In a situation where they want to accumulate even one point, it's impossible not to be excited by such a development. However, that excitement will soon settle down.

　Three minutes after conceding a goal, in the 68th minute, Tokyo earned a free kick about 40 meters from the goal. Miyazawa sent a pinpoint pass that curved sharply with his magical left foot, and Jean, who ran in, changed the course with a header, scoring to the left of the goal! The stadium fell silent in an instant at the equalizer. This was exactly the same play as the one Yusuke KONDO scored in the match against Sendai two rounds ago, once again proving the high precision of Miyazawa's kicks.

　Tokyo, desperate for three points, increased their momentum towards the Kyoto goal. In the 70th minute, after a corner kick on the right side, Miyazawa delivered a cross, and once again Jean headed the ball, but it unfortunately went over the bar. Conversely, in the 72nd minute, Matsui from Kyoto took advantage of a momentary lapse and fired a powerful shot from the central mid-range, but it was brilliantly saved by the guardian, Doi. Just after that, in the 73rd minute, Jean kicked a long ball forward, and Toda broke free, attempting an overhead shot while competing with the defender, but it hit the opponent and resulted in a corner kick.

　Tokyo, desperate to secure all three points, made a substitution in the 74th minute, replacing the fatigued Amaral with fresh Abe. Then, in the 83rd minute, Yusuke KONDO came on for Ishikawa, showing a relentless attitude to chase a goal until the very end. In contrast, Kyoto took a completely opposite approach. Wanting to secure at least one point, Kyoto made a change in the 76th minute by taking off Reji and bringing in DF Hayashi. They increased their defenders by one and switched to a 5-4-1 formation with Kurobe as the lone forward. Furthermore, in the 87th minute, Matsui was replaced by DF Yu NAKAMURA to strengthen their defense. Tokyo continued attacking without giving up until the end, and in stoppage time, Toda volleyed a floating pass from behind by Kelly, but unfortunately, it went just over the bar. Ultimately, the match ended 1-1. Although victory was once again postponed, coming from behind away and securing a draw to earn a point is a result that can lead to the next step. They are determined to claim all three points in the next home match against Kashima.

【Player Comments】《Miyazawa》"Kyoto played compactly in a 4-4-2 formation, not giving us any space, and we couldn't connect passes as we were surrounded by Kelly and Amaral. The goal was similar to the one in the Sendai match, and that gives us confidence, but we need to score from the flow of the game. We need to become a strong team that can win even in tough away matches." 《Jean》"The ball from Miya was just like in practice, and at that moment, I was able to evade the opponent well and score. We were one goal down, so I’m happy to have equalized with my goal. Of course, it’s not the best result, but considering we lost in the previous match, I think it was good to come back and draw in a tough away situation. Next is at home, and I want to win somehow. Kashima is strong, but I want to defend well and hope for the forwards to step up."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Kyoto is in a tough situation in the annual standings, and we knew they would come at us desperately, so I expected a tough battle. After watching the previous Kashima Antlers match, I knew they would keep the midfield compact, so I was thinking about which side would gain the advantage in ball recovery. However, in the first half, Kyoto recovered the ball more often and broke down our sides. We corrected that at halftime, so we were able to regain possession in the second half, but the midfield remained very compact, and two players always pressed Kelly, so he couldn't hold or create space, making it difficult to move the ball forward. Not only for us, but looking at other teams in recent matches, there have been many draws, and it really feels difficult to secure 3 points. It was good that we responded quickly after conceding today, but ideally, we wanted to equalize, turn the game around, and win. I expected Kyoto to push more, but I didn't think they would defend so deeply in the final stages. Next is a home game, so we will prepare thoroughly over the week and aim to win the Antlers match."

[Kyoto Purple SANGA - Coach Pim's Press Conference Summary] "We knew that Tokyo would kick long balls and come to win the second balls, but I think our DF did well against that. We won the second balls, and especially on the left side, Suzuki and Matsui broke through well. Tokyo's DF is strong in one-on-one situations and well-organized, so it was difficult to score, but overall I was satisfied with the first half. In the second half, I knew that fatigue would create space between Tokyo's DF and FW, but Reji did well at the right moment. After taking a 1-0 lead, we had to control the game, but it was unfortunate that we conceded a goal so easily. However, that FK was a ball of wonderful quality. It was the same in the Sendai match. Reji had to be substituted due to injury, and we couldn't mount a strong attack up front, but I believe we had a chance to win if we could control the game for 10 minutes while leading 1-0."