A match to compete for advancement to the top

　Sec. 13 against JEF United Ichihara away. This is a series of three matches within a week since last Saturday, and this match will be held on a weekday night game. It's a tough schedule, but from here until the final match, we will face direct confrontations with teams aiming for the top positions, and we cannot afford to lose a single match in this challenging situation.

　Ichihara is currently in 6th place with 17 points. They have not won since Sec. 7 of the 1st stage, and in this match, they will be missing key DF Milinovic due to suspension and DF Saito due to injury. However, their total goals so far are 22, making their attacking power a threat. Additionally, at home in Ichihara Rinkai Stadium, they boast an unbeaten record since Sec. 5 of last season's 1st stage.

　Tokyo has the same starting lineup as the previous match. Ichihara has Abe joining Chano and Yuki in a three-back formation in the defense line. Despite a break in the rainy season with clear skies, the temperature felt chilly at 17.3 degrees, and the match started with Tokyo's kickoff.

30 seconds in, Rikuro scores his first league goal and takes the lead!

　The match started with action right away. Konno boldly cut the feed from the right side by Ichihara. He immediately sprinted into the space behind the side and sent a cross directly in front of the goal. Suzuki, who ran in from the far side, connected with his right foot and scored!! He capitalized on the chance just 30 seconds into the match, securing a valuable opening goal!

　The early lead heightened expectations for today's game. However, after that, both teams maintained a high defensive line, and the match became evenly contested with tight marking from compact formations. In the 8th minute, Tokyo regained possession in their own half, connecting from Toda to Lucas to Baba, with Suzuki making a run into space on the right side for a right cross. Kanazawa advanced and took a shot from the left area, but it went wide to the right without any angle. In the 11th minute, Ichihara also attacked in front of Tokyo's goal, with midfielder Sakamoto taking a middle-range shot from a cleared ball by the defense. In the 15th minute, midfielder Nakajima, who had circled around from the left side, took a shot. In the 16th minute, Tokyo had a chance with Suzuki aiming directly at the goal from a free kick that was about 40 meters out.

　Although Ichihara gradually dominated ball possession, Tokyo quickly transitioned to their own ball after a tough check, launching a fast attack and creating a scoring opportunity. In the 21st minute, midfielder Lucas passed to Tokunaga on the right side and dashed towards the goal. He received a ground cross and shot, but it was not perfectly struck, missing the target. In the 24th minute, Tokunaga stole the ball in his own half and delivered an early cross to the front line after a dribble. The opposing DF could not handle it, and Todai, who was following up, seized the ball and charged forward. It was a decisive moment where he found himself one-on-one with the GK in front of the goal, but his shot was blocked.

Kiro's left foot explodes, taking a 2-point lead, but...

　If you miss a big chance, Ichihara will create shooting opportunities from their speed-based attacks. In the 25th minute, Marquinhos received a long ball in the right area and took a shot. In the 31st minute, there were consecutive free kicks in front of the goal. In the 33rd minute, Marquinhos again headed the ball from a corner kick. Tokyo also had a chance in the 34th minute when Lucas won a corner kick, and after connecting with Baba's kick to Toda and Konno, the header went over the goal.

　However, after this, the situation took a turn. In the 42nd minute, Ichihara's MF Sato received his second yellow card for unsporting behavior and was sent off. They had to fight with ten men. Immediately after, play resumed from a Tokyo goal kick, from Dohi to Tokunaga. Tokunaga sent a vertical pass, and Suzuki sprinted down the right side with the ball. He brought it into the area and struck it powerfully with his left foot. In the next moment, the ball violently shook the net and went in! With a spectacular shot that was too quick to catch, they scored an additional goal and ended the first half.

　A 2-point lead, and the opponent was down to 10 men as the second half began. However, it was Ichihara who took the offensive. They moved libero Abe up a line and set up for a counterattack, and less than 40 seconds into the half, they attacked from Tokyo's left side towards the goal. Jean managed to cut it out, but immediately after, Marquinhos invaded Tokyo's left side again. Shigeno was responding well, but in a moment of desperation, he took a cross-like shot that floated and hit the far post, going in. In a complete reversal from the first half, they conceded a goal early on, reducing the lead to just one point.

The intense match ended in a draw with neither side giving in.

　With this momentum, Ichihara launched a speedy attack through combinations that made their numerical disadvantage feel negligible, forcing Tokyo into defense. In the 51st minute, they couldn't stop FW Sandro's dribble during a quick counterattack, allowing a shot from directly in front of the goal. In the 57th minute, they were outrun by Marquinhos on the left side, who sent a sharp cross in front of the goal.

　Tokyo wants to break this situation, and "I wanted to hold the ball in the front line (Coach Hara)"; in the 65th minute, Kajiyama was brought in to replace the fatigued Baba. Ichihara also brought in FW Hayashi to replace MF Hanyu in the 68th minute, and in the 70th minute, MF Yamagishi was brought in to replace Sakamoto. They aimed to equalize with a formation close to a three-top of Marquinhos, Sandro, and Hayashi.

　Ichihara maintained their rhythm even after the substitution. Tokyo was slow to switch from offense to defense, and in the 71st minute, Ichihara's Abe, who was free in midfield, took a long-range shot. Then in the 72nd minute, Ichihara earned a free kick on the left side and quickly restarted the play into the space on the left front line. MF Murai, who caught up, sent a cross in front of the goal, which was met by Marquinhos for a goal. In that brief moment when Tokyo's movement stopped, they were quickly equalized.

　In the 76th minute, Abe was brought on to replace Suzuki. In the 85th minute, Ichihara's Nakajima received a second yellow card and was sent off. With Ichihara reduced to nine players, Tokyo launched a fierce attack. However, they ultimately failed to score, and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Ichihara also received multiple warnings and red cards, making it a painful draw for Tokyo, as they could not capitalize on Suzuki's two goals, feeling more like a loss.

【Player Comments】<Kanazawa> "It was the worst. At the start of the second half, we caused the most unacceptable situation. (With a 2-goal lead and the opponent down to 10 players) We became complacent somewhere and lost concentration. Even if we allowed the opponent to have the ball to some extent, we should have defended firmly and aimed for counterattacks, but from the middle of the first half, we lacked awareness in loose balls and one-on-one situations. If we aim to win the championship, we must be strict in these areas. We can't win like this." <Moniwa> "The worst outcome. In the second half, the space between the forward line and the defense stretched, and the opponent kept sending long balls, but we couldn't pick up the second balls. We got caught in Ichihara's 10-man style and rhythm. (We dropped back because) Ichihara has Abe's free kicks, so it was definitely scary to commit fouls near the goal. However, the second goal was from a free kick, but if someone had dealt with the ball that came out from there or with Murai, it could have been prevented. In attack, we knew Ichihara is a team that can run a lot, but even with a numerical advantage, we couldn't take the ball in good positions or circulate passes at a fast tempo. We needed to play more simply."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "In the beginning, Konno made a good breakaway and scored the opening goal, and Norio brought the ball in and scored the second goal. Ichihara kept pushing forward when we hesitated and pulled back out of fear, so we talked about applying pressure from the front, and we were able to do that until halftime. In the second half, even when the opponent was down to 10 players, I instructed the team to press without fear, but a cross-like shot scored, and from there we got too scared and pulled back too much. Still, if we had defended firmly and regained possession in good situations, there would have been chances since the opponent had fewer defenders left, but we were late in responding to set plays and conceded the second goal. It would have been better if we had been more patient during the time of the first goal, but that energized the opponent and, conversely, we became passive. Ichihara was down to 10 players, but we pushed Abe forward and took risks to attack. In that situation, letting Marquinhos, Sandro, and Lins face forward was dangerous. The players probably understood this mentally, but they couldn't press from the front, and their marking became loose and weak. However, the biggest issue was not scoring the third goal in this back-and-forth match. There were many chances to score near the end, but even though they were close, the shots didn't hit the target, or the plays ended without a shot, with passes given away. It was necessary to calmly break down from the sides and finish with shots."

[Summary of the press conference by Ichihara and Coach Ivica OSIM] "The first goal conceded was a matter of concentration. Such things have happened many times at JEF. The team was probably shocked by that first goal. The second goal was the same. In a similar way, someone was careless and we conceded. The problem at JEF is that some players are not able to sleep well at home. So instead, they end up sleeping on the field. The cost of that is high. However, in the second half, they played very bravely. They took risks. In the first half, they were brave but could not attack while taking risks. In the second half, they managed both. Certainly, when we were down to 10 men, we started to fight, move, and run. In my opinion, when we became 10 men and the score was 0-2, FC Tokyo probably felt they had already won the match. When they scored the next goal, they panicked, which led to this result. But to be honest, from the opponent’s attacks, it was a match where conceding 5 goals would not have been surprising. Even so, JEF did not defend but attacked. At times, they played well enough to possibly win. Courage brought luck. Although it ended like this, I think they did well. Now, we want to quickly break through the draws."