Get 3 points and move up in the rankings!

　In the previous section, Tokyo drew with Urawa and finished 10th in the 8th section. Despite dominating against strong teams such as Yokohama FM and Kashima, their proud attacking soccer has been inconsistent, with draws against lower-ranked teams and failing to secure wins by a narrow margin, preventing them from breaking out of the middle ranks. Out of 10 games, 5 have ended in draws, and despite playing good soccer, they have been unable to secure wins.

　However, fortunately, this year's 2nd stage is still a close battle. Tokyo is in 8th place, but the difference with the top is "5". With 5 games remaining, it can be said that they are still in a position to aim for the title. In order to keep up with the top teams, the match against Shimizu on this day became an extremely important game that cannot be lost.

　On the other hand, the opponent Shimizu has been struggling in their matches. They have dropped in form with 1 win, 1 draw, and 3 losses in the last 5 matches, finishing 11th in the 10th round. They suffered a big 1-6 defeat against Urawa in the 2nd leg of the Nabisco Cup quarterfinals on the 8th of this month, and also lost 2-0 in the previous round against Kashima, unable to demonstrate their true strength. However, in home games, they have remained undefeated with 2 wins and 3 draws since the start of the 2nd stage. They have been showing their strength at home, and looking at past match records, they have 2 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses in the league, so they cannot be underestimated.

　Tokyo's starting members will face the match with a replacement for Akaji, who is suspended due to accumulated warnings, with Fujiyama at right back. In addition, 18-year-old Yusuke Kondo, who will make his first start in place of Amaral, who was unable to train properly this week due to a cold, will join the rest of the unchanged team.

　On the other hand, Shizuoka also missed their ace MF Mitsushu due to accumulated warnings, and the "Japan national team showdown" with Kaji did not materialize, but there are still plenty of highlights such as the U-22 national team showdown between Japan national team DF Shigeta and South Korea national team FW Yasu, and MF Ishikawa vs DF Ikeda. In the cloudy sky that seems to start raining at any moment, the heated battle began at 3:34 pm.

First goal with a stunning shot by Ishikawa!

　The match became a fierce battle with a rapid exchange of attacks and defenses from the beginning. In the 2nd minute, Jean made a mistake on the left side and let the ball bounce behind him, allowing Shizuoka FW Kitajima to break through and face GK Doi in a 1-on-1 situation. Although this early chance caused a dangerous situation, Doi was able to catch the first shot of the game firmly. On the other hand, in the 4th minute, Kondo Yusuke headed in a cross from Fujiyama on the right side. In the following 5 minutes, Toda and Kelly connected in the center and passed the ball to Kondo Yusuke on the left, who made a sharp turn to get past the opposing DF and took a powerful shot with his right foot. Unfortunately, it hit the Shizuoka DF, but it was a bold play towards the goal.

　At the 8th minute, Ishikawa, who had been showing sharp movements since before the game, changed positions from the right side to the left side. A lofted pass from Miyazawa found its way to the space behind the left side. Receiving the ball at top speed, Ishikawa used the bounce of the ball to evade the U-22 representative Ikeda who came to mark him, and quickly cut inside before unleashing a right-footed shot that pierced the top left corner of the Shimizu goal, giving his team the lead with a world-class super shot.

Kelly's goal puts Shimizu in the lead

　Tokyo, who took the lead with a goal that broke Shizuoka Eleven's nose, did not let up on their attack. In the 13th minute, Toda carefully dropped a cross from the right side and Miyazawa ran in with a powerful shot. In the following 15 minutes, Miyazawa broke through the left side and crossed, but it was cleared by the opponent's DF. However, Ishikawa ran in from outside the penalty area and took a strong shot, but it missed the goal.

　On the other hand, Shimizu's MF Tsurumi distributed the ball from behind to the front line, while MF Ito moved widely in the attacking midfield position and got involved with the ball, spreading it to the sides. From there, FW Yasu and Kitajima aimed for the goal by jumping in to receive crosses. Occasionally, they tried to open up Tokyo's defense line from the center by connecting Yasu and Kitajima to the post with precise direct passes, but they were unable to create any decisive opportunities due to poor accuracy in the final pass. Shimizu's chance came in the 17th minute, when a throw-in from the left side was headed back into the goal area, but Tsuchi punched it away. In the 18th and 19th minutes, MF Suzuki caused chaos in Tokyo's defense line with a curved ball from a right corner kick, but the goal was too far away.

　Tokyo's fierce attack continues. In the 20th minute, Yusuke KONDO, who received a pass on the left side of the goal, aggressively dribbled towards the center and took a powerful shot with his right foot. In the 21st minute, he aimed for the goal again with a header from a cross from the right by Fujiyama. The 18-year-old young lion showed no signs of pressure from his important role and eagerly aimed for the goal. In the 24th minute, Toda stole the ball from the left side after KONDO's charge and rushed towards the goal. Although he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper, his shot with his left foot from top speed missed the goal.

　Tokyo scored the long-awaited second goal in the 25th minute. Fujiyama sent a throw-in from the right to the front line, where Toda passed it to the right side of the penalty area. The Shizuoka defender was drawn in and the ball rolled in front of the goal, where Kelly ran in and took a shot just before the Shizuoka goalkeeper, scoring into the empty net. Tokyo, who scored two goals in the early stages of the first half, gained momentum.

Deciding the game with a stunning goal to close out "Ishikawa Day!?"

　Tokyo, with Kelly's additional point, extended their lead to 2-0 and continued to play "attacking football". In the 27th minute, Toda received a pass from Ishikawa on the right side, and in the 35th minute, Kondo dropped a pass from Ishikawa who had broken through on the right side, but Kelly's shot did not find the goal. In the 38th minute, Kanazawa crossed from a throw-in on the left side, and Toda was left free in the center of the goal, but his header went over the goal. Even when defending, Tokyo bounced back Shimizu's monotonous long balls to the front line with Jean and Mochida, and Fuyama, who made his first start in a while, also contributed with his persistent defense, saying before the game, "I have a different style from Kaji, but I want to show my strengths and contribute."

　At halftime, Manager Hara said, "2-0 is a dangerous score. Instead of defending, let's play the same soccer as the first half. The game starts here."

　As instructed by coach Hara, Tokyo's "attacking soccer" did not change even after the second half began. In the 48th minute, Ishikawa received a pass near the center circle and dodged a charging player with excellent agility, then rushed to the left side. He quickly crossed the ball and found Kelly, who had made a run from the far side, but Kelly's shot missed above the goal.

　If you miss a decisive chance, Shizuoka will create a decisive situation in reverse. In the 51st minute, Yasu allowed a shot from the front of the goal, and in the following 53rd minute, it was developed to the left from a clear miss, and finally TUTO, who entered in the second half, took a powerful shot from a close distance, but Tsuchi deflected it and it bounced off the bar, and Kanazawa cleared it just in time. It was a dangerous situation, but they did not allow a goal with high concentration. In the 65th minute, TUTO took a decisive shot from the front of the goal, but Tsuchi made a super save and did not allow a goal.

　Tokyo also took the ball from Miyazawa's charge in the 56th minute, and Ishikawa's exquisite cross from the counter crossed in front of the Shizuoka goal, but narrowly missed by Toda who jumped in. In the 61st minute, a well-timed pass from Fujiyama to Kelly resulted in a free shot from inside the penalty area, but it went straight to the goalkeeper.

　In the midst of a back-and-forth battle, in the 74th minute, Kanazawa made a big side change from the deep left side to the open space on the right, as Shimizu pushed forward to score. Ishikawa, who received the pass, made a sharp feint to the center and swung his left foot, sending the ball into the left side of the goal for a goal! Ishikawa's first ever impressive performance of scoring 2 goals in a single league match secured the victory.

　In the 75th minute, they conceded a goal to Yasu, but Shimizu's counterattack was not enough. After that, it became a fierce battle, but Tokyo was able to control the game without losing focus until the end. Manager Hara's tactics were also attacking until the end, substituting FW Amaral for Yusuke Kondo in the 60th minute and FW Abe for Kelly in the 85th minute, sending a message to the players to "attack" throughout the game. The match ended with Tokyo defeating Shimizu 3-1, moving up from 8th to 5th place. As mentioned at the beginning, this victory allowed them to firmly stay in the top ranks. It was a very significant and valuable win.

【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"I hit the first goal with an image, but I wasn't sure if it went in or not until I saw the reaction of those around me. The second goal was just like in practice. I haven't been able to score for a while, so I really wanted a goal. I'm happy to have scored a goal that led to a victory."《Kelly》"It's difficult to win against a strong team like Shimizu away, so I'm happy we were able to win today. The weather was neither hot nor cold, and the condition of the turf was good, which led to a good performance. I'm glad I was able to score in a good way."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Kaji was unable to play due to suspension, so we used Fujiyama instead. Also, we started with Yusuke KONDO instead of Amaral, but I thought that would be a key point. Amaral had a cold this week and couldn't practice properly, so I was planning to put him in at a crucial moment. Yusuke played with determination and Fujiyama showed his strengths. Fujiyama's defensive abilities stand out and he can play anywhere, whether it's center back or side back, which allows Mochida, Jean, and Kanazawa to play with more confidence. Their improvement is thanks to Fujiyama. Also, the key to today's victory was Ishikawa's breakthrough on the side. Shimizu was thrown off by the early goal. I think the goal was the result of our daily training and our attitude of going for goal ourselves, not just creating chances. As a team, this win is important for us to keep up with the top teams. We haven't been able to win consistently, so this victory will lead us to the next one. We want to prepare well for the next match."

[Summary of Shimizu Ogi Coach's Press Conference] "The reason for the loss was that we couldn't control the opponent's speed. In all the scenes where they scored, we were marking them but couldn't keep up with their speed. On the attacking side, we were pulled back by Ishikawa and Toda, and our defense line lacked depth. We were able to get close to the goal, but we couldn't make the final adjustments and our accuracy was poor, so we couldn't score."