Final round of the league, victory in Tokyo soccer!

　As the league reaches its final match, the 2nd stage Sec. 15 will face Kashiwa Reysol away. Although the possibility of winning the championship disappeared with a disappointing draw against Verdy in the previous match, we cannot afford to lose in order to improve our position and prepare for the upcoming Emperor's Cup.

　However, Amaral, who was suffering from an ankle injury, started on the bench. Yusuke Kondo, who had been struggling with a back injury, returned and made his first start since the 11th round against Shimizu. In addition, Tokyo will be without Suzuki due to the World Youth (U-20 Japan national team), but Kashiwa is also missing four players. Kashiwa also has players suspended or injured, and apart from MF Myojin and FW Tamada, they have played in less than half of the league matches so far.

　Tokyo aims to win with their own football by using their strength of being able to fight with their best members. In the midst of the cold rain, the heated battle began with Kashiwa's kickoff.

Unable to keep up with Kashiwa's tough marking, they conceded the first goal.

　At the start, Kashiwa FW Tamada enters the penalty area, but Shigeta steals the ball by leaning his body. Then, Doi jumps out for a through pass to the front line, but the defense calmly cuts it off as the ball spills in front of the goal. In the 3rd minute, Tokyo's Miyazawa takes a shot after picking up the clear from Kaji's cross. They win a corner kick. In the 7th minute, Kondo Yusuke receives a pass on the right side of the area and dribbles around to the center, taking a bold shot. In the 9th minute, Ishikawa cuts inside and takes a shot. However, Tokyo struggles against Kashiwa's fast pressing, not allowing them to create any decisive chances. They also struggle with passes being cut off in the midfield and in front of Kashiwa's goal, unable to find a rhythm. Mistakes were also noticeable on the wet pitch.

　17 minutes, Shigetani, who was moving up to clear the ball of Kashiwa DF, picks it up on the front line, but is cut off and allows a quick attack to Kashiwa. And when Tamada advances, Kagawa fouls him and gives a FK. In the 18th minute, MF Kato sends a sharp FK from the left area to the front of the goal, and MF Hagiwara dives in with a diving header to score. They were given one chance and conceded the first goal.

　At 25 minutes, Kelly entered the left side and passed a sharp pass to Ishikawa on the right side, who was free, but the shot was decisive and went wide to the left. At 30 minutes, Miura was fouled in front of the goal and earned a free kick, and Miyazawa made a surprising short pass to Kanazawa, who then made a through pass in front of the goal. Kondo Yusuke received the ball and fought in the area to take a shot, but it was saved by the GK and went out for a corner kick. At 36 minutes, from a free kick for Kashiwa, DF Watanabe Takeshi picked up the clearance from FW Suganuma's cross in the left area and was left free to take a shot. This chance was cleared by Kanazawa, and at 37 minutes, Toda competed with Kaji's lob in front of the goal and Miyazawa took a middle shot. It was their favorite attacking pattern, but it went slightly wide to the right. At 38 minutes, Miyazawa aimed for a free kick in front of the goal, but it went to the left of the goal. It was unfortunate that they missed these opportunities during the time when they gradually gained rhythm from picking up second balls in the midfield and attacking from the sides.

Despite being two points behind, the signal for a counterattack against 10-man Kashiwa has been raised!

　Kashiwa had a corner kick in the 40th minute when Tokyo's defense cut off Akira's cross. It was their third corner kick of the day, but Kato's right corner kick was redirected by Suganuma to the back, and Tsuyoshi Watanabe scored with a header from the far side. Tokyo's marking was off, allowing a free shot and resulting in a 2-0 deficit from set pieces in the first half.

　In the first half, Tokyo struggled as their midfielders, Hagiwara and Myojin, were constantly losing the ball when transitioning from defense to offense. In the second half, Amaral was substituted in for Yusuke Kondo in an attempt to turn the tide. As planned, Kelly entered the penalty area and took a shot in the 52nd minute. In the 53rd minute, Amaral received a pass outside the area and shook off a defender to take a shot, both shots going straight to the goalkeeper. In the 54th minute, Amaral received a pass from Ishikawa on the left and passed it to Toda in front of the goal. Toda then passed it directly to Amaral who had made a run into the area. However, his final pass from the sideline was intercepted by a Kashiwa defender.

　Kashiwa threatened Tokyo's goal with quick attacks and set pieces, but in the 62nd minute, Hagimura, who had already received a warning earlier today, was sent off for fouling Toda in Kashiwa's half. The intense fighting spirit backfired and they were forced to play with 10 men. In the 63rd minute, Tokyo substituted Abe for Miura, going all out for the remaining 30 minutes. This led to a more dynamic attack, and in the 64th minute, Ishikawa passed to Kelly, who then passed to Toda who took a shot in front of goal. Unfortunately, it went straight to the goalkeeper. And then, just after that, Kanazawa's cross was received by Toda at the post, and Ishikawa received the return pass and took a shot from outside the box. The ball hit a DF and changed direction, going into the goal! A bold goal from Ishikawa's wave-like attack gave Tokyo the signal to start their comeback.

Amaral, with 2 goals from King, achieved a dramatic come-from-behind victory!

　At 66 minutes, Abe, who had taken the opponent's ball on the left side, rushed to the goal and shot, but the GK caught it. Tokyo tried to score an equalizer from crosses on both sides, but the Kashiwa DF showed their height in front of the goal, making it difficult to finish. However, Kashiwa gradually began to slow down and commit more fouls. In the 79th minute, Miyazawa's FK was cleared and a throw-in from the right side. Ishikawa received Kaji's throw and crossed it into the box, where Abe fell and shot the loose ball into the goal!! It was an equalizer with a goal that seemed to reflect the feelings of all the players!

　Tokyo, who had gained momentum, but here the dramatic drama began. 4 minutes after the tie, Abe broke through the left side, passed the DF and crossed from the end line. Shigetane, who had attacked from the pass cut, headed the ball. Although it was initially blocked by the DF, the clear ball fell in front of Amaral! Amaral kicked it into the goal, scoring the third goal!! It was a "delicious" goal that seemed like a gift from God, but with the hot attack that was fueled by Amaral and everyone's feelings, they successfully took the lead.

　Kashiwa was on the defensive in this intense mood. In the 85th minute, Abe received a right cross and fought for a corner kick in front of the goal. On Miyazawa's left corner kick, Abe connected on the far side and the ball went back to Amaral. Amaral calmly kicked it in and scored! With Amaral's two passionate goals, Tokyo turned the game around and held off Kashiwa with a 4-2 victory. They achieved their goal of attacking football, scoring the most goals in the league in the 2nd stage and finishing in 5th place overall.

　However, the season is not over yet. From December 14th, we will be participating in the Emperor's Cup, the last title of this season. Let's continue to fight until New Year's Day and give Tokyo your passionate support once again!

【Player Comments】《Amaral》"I am very happy to have contributed to the team's victory with my goal in front of many fans. As we approach the final match of the league, I had mixed feelings today. The team didn't start off well, but we gained momentum once I joined. Looking back, I wish we could have done better. When I first came to Japan, the professional league had not yet started and the team was still amateur. From there, we became professional and climbed up to J2 and J1 each year. I am happy to be able to compete in the top league and have so many fans supporting us. Today marks the end of the league, but instead of feeling sad, I am satisfied to have been able to play together with this team until now. There are still things we haven't accomplished and things the team lacks, and that is a title. I believe that each year we have grown and the level of players has also risen, and we are now at a point where we can win titles. The reason we couldn't reach the top stage was because we were missing something small. Unfortunately, it is not something that can be easily won in 1-2 years, but winning a title will lead to further improvement of the team. I believe that we will be able to win it soon, as we have been working hard until now. We want to aim for it in the Emperor's Cup."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We predicted that Kashiwa would come at us with intense pressure in the final round. The key point today was Amaral. In the previous round, he had injured his ankle and had internal bleeding, so his condition was difficult, but we wanted to use him in the crucial moments. The first half went as expected, but we conceded two goals from set pieces after losing the ball. It was a bad feeling, but at halftime, I told the team, 'If we score one goal, we will definitely have a chance to win.' In the second half, there were frustrating moments, but Ishikawa and Abe scored, and ultimately, Amaral's energy led us to victory. It was a play that was filled with everyone's wish for Amaral to score, and he did it with his whole body. In the previous round, we drew in the last game that we were winning, and this week, we were on edge, but Amaral helped us connect. I'm glad we won with his strength. This season, our defense improved in the 1st stage, and our scoring improved in the 2nd stage. There are still things missing, such as accuracy and decisiveness in crosses and shots, but we never had a game where our spirits were low throughout the entire year. I think that's where the team has grown."

[Kashiwa Aurelio Press Conference Summary] "It felt like we played two games in 90 minutes. We were dominant and scored two goals until Hagimura was sent off. After that, the game completely changed against Tokyo, who used a lot of high balls. The substitution of Tamada due to knee pain also had an impact. At the beginning of the season, we were not a good team and struggled, but gradually we came together as a team. In the 2nd stage, we showed good football from the start and were involved in the fight for the top. However, various problems, especially injuries, occurred in the midfield, and we were unable to form a team satisfactorily. On the other hand, we used young players and proved that they can play as full-fledged players. I am satisfied with this point and believe that they will be the driving force for us to aim for even higher results in the near future."