A crucial match for both teams to advance to the top

　Sec. 13, facing off against JEF United Ichihara Chiba away. This round will be held on a weekday night game, as part of a series of three games in one week since last Saturday. It's a tough schedule, but from here on until the final round, we will continue to face tough situations where we cannot afford to lose a single game against teams aiming for the top spot.

　Ichihara is currently in 6th place with 17 points. In the 1st stage, they have not won any matches since the 7th round, and in this round, they will be without DF Milinovic, who is suspended, and DF Saito, who is injured. However, their total score so far is 22, and their attacking power is a threat. In addition, at their home stadium, Ichihara Seaside Stadium, they also boast an undefeated record since the 5th round of the 1st stage last season.

　Tokyo has the same starting lineup as the previous match. Ichihara has a 3-back formation with Abe, Chano, and Yuki in the defensive line. Despite the break in the rainy season and clear skies, the temperature of 17.3 degrees still feels chilly as the match kicks off for Tokyo.

30 seconds into the game, Kiro scores his first goal of the league, giving us an early lead!

　The match started off quickly. Konno, who boldly stepped forward from the right side of Ichihara, cut off the feed. Immediately, he ran up to the space behind the side and sent a direct cross to the front of the goal. Suzuki, who ran in from the far side, scored with his right foot!! He made the most of the chance in just 30 seconds and took a valuable lead!

　The early lead raised expectations for today's game. However, both teams maintained a high defensive line and engaged in an equal battle with tight marking from compact formations. In the 8th minute, Tokyo took the ball in their own half and connected through Toda, Lucas, and Baba, with Suzuki making a right cross from the space on the right side. Kanazawa pushed forward and took a shot from the left area, but it went wide to the right. In the 11th minute, Ichihara also attacked Tokyo's goal, with MF Sakamoto taking a shot from a cleared ball by the DF. In the 15th minute, MF Nakajima took a shot from the left side. In the 16th minute, Tokyo had a chance with a free kick from about 40 meters, with Suzuki aiming directly for the goal.

　Ball possession gradually shifted in favor of Ichihara, but Tokyo launched quick attacks and created scoring opportunities. In the 21st minute, midfielder Lucas passed to right side player Tokunaga and made a dash towards the goal. He received a ground cross, but his shot missed the target. In the 24th minute, Tokunaga stole the ball in their own half and made an early cross to the front line. The opposing DF failed to clear it, and Toda, who was chasing after it, made a run towards the goal. He had a clear chance to score as he faced the GK one-on-one, but his shot was blocked.

Kiro's left foot explodes, leading by 2 points...

　If they miss a big chance, Ichihara will start creating shooting opportunities from their speedy attacks. In the 25th minute, Marquinhos received a long ball on the right side and took a shot. In the 31st minute, they had consecutive free kicks in front of the goal. In the 33rd minute, Marquinhos had another header shot from a corner kick. In the 34th minute, Tokyo's Lucas took a corner kick and Toda and Konno connected with a header shot that went over the goal.

　However, the situation quickly changed. In the 42nd minute, Ichihara MF Sato received his second warning of the day for unsportsmanlike behavior and was sent off. This left the team with only 10 players. Shortly after, play resumed with a goal kick from Tokyo, and the ball was passed from Tsuchi to Tokunaga. Tokunaga then sent a vertical pass to Suzuki, who dribbled down the right side. He then entered the penalty area and took a powerful left-footed shot. The ball flew into the net in the blink of an eye, scoring a spectacular goal! With this impressive strike, they added another point and ended the first half.

　Leading by two points, the opponent entered the second half with 10 players. However, it was Ichihara who went on the attack. They pushed their libero, Abe, up one line and set up a counterattack. In less than 40 seconds, they attacked the goal from the left side of Tokyo. Jean cut it off, but immediately after, Marquinhos invaded the left side of Tokyo again. Shigetaka was dealing with it perfectly, but in desperation, he took a cross-like shot that floated and hit the far post, scoring a goal. In a completely opposite turn of events from the first half, they were scored on early in the game and the lead was reduced to one point.

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

　With this, Ichihara gained momentum and launched a speedy attack from a combination that did not make them feel disadvantaged. Tokyo was forced to defend. In the 51st minute, they couldn't stop FW Sandro's dribble from a quick attack and allowed a shot from the front of the goal. In the 57th minute, Marquinhos ran down the left side and sent a sharp cross into the goal area.

　Tokyo, who wants to break this situation, "I wanted to keep the ball in the front line (Manager Hara)" and in the 65th minute, Kajiyama was substituted for Baba, who showed signs of fatigue. In the 68th minute, Ichihara also substituted FW Hayashi for MF Hayashi, and in the 70th minute, MF Yamagishi was substituted for Sakamoto. Marquinhos, Sandro, and Hayashi were brought in as a three-top formation to score an equalizer.

　After the substitution, Ichihara maintained their rhythm. Tokyo also struggled to switch from attack to defense, and in the 71st minute, Ichihara's Abe, who was free in the midfield, took a middle shot. Then, in the 72nd minute, Ichihara won a free kick on the left side and quickly restarted to the space on the left front line. MF Murai caught up with this and sent a cross to the front, which was met by Marquinhos for a goal. In that moment when Tokyo's movement stopped, they were quickly equalized.

　Substitute Abe for Suzuki in the 76th minute. In the 85th minute, Ichihara's Nakajima received a second warning and was sent off. With only 9 players left, Tokyo launched a fierce attack against Ichihara. However, they were unable to score and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Ichihara also received multiple warnings and had players sent off, resulting in a painful draw for Tokyo as they were unable to capitalize on Suzuki's two goals.

【Player Comments】《Kanazawa》"It was the worst. In the beginning of the second half, we made the worst possible situation. (With a 2-point lead and the opponent down to 10 players) We were too relaxed and lacked concentration. Even if we let the opponent have the ball to some extent, we should have defended properly and aimed for a counterattack. However, there were also moments where we lacked awareness, such as loose balls and 1-on-1 situations, from the middle of the first half. If we want to win the championship, we have to be tough in these situations. We can't win like this."《Moino》"The worst possible situation. In the second half, the front line and the defensive line were stretched out, and the opponent kept sending long balls, but we couldn't pick up the second ball. We fell into the rhythm of Ichihara's 10-man game. (We were pulled back because) Ichihara has Abe's free kicks, so we were afraid of fouls in front of the goal. However, the second goal came from a free kick, but if someone had dealt with the ball or Murai, we could have prevented it. In attack, we knew that Ichihara was a team that could run, but even if we won the ball in a good position (with one extra player), we couldn't pass at a fast pace. We needed to keep it simple."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the beginning, Konno made a good run and scored the first goal, and Kiro scored the second goal after bringing the ball in. Ichihara was a team that would come forward if we were afraid and pulled back, so we talked about pressing from the front. We were able to do that in the first half. In the second half, even though the opponent was down to 10 players, I instructed the team to continue pressing without fear. However, they scored a cross-like shot and we became too afraid and pulled back. Even so, if we had defended well and taken the ball, we could have created chances because the opponent had fewer defenders. However, we were slow to respond to set pieces and conceded the second goal. If we had been a little more patient during the first goal, it would have been better, but that goal gave the opponent energy and we became passive. Ichihara was down to 10 players, but we took a risk by bringing in Abe and attacking. In that situation, Marquinhos, Sandro, and Lins were dangerous when they faced forward. The players probably understood that, but they couldn't go forward and their marking became loose and sloppy. However, the biggest issue was not being able to score a third goal in the back and forth game. We had many chances to score towards the end, but they were either close but not on target, or we passed instead of taking a shot. We needed to stay calm and break through from the sides or take shots to finish the game."

[Summary of Ichihara Osim's press conference] "The first goal was a problem of concentration. Such things have happened many times in JEF. The team must have been shocked by that first goal. And the second goal was the same. Someone was not paying attention and we conceded a goal. One of JEF's problems is that there are players who cannot sleep well at home. So, they sleep on the ground instead. The cost is high. But in the second half, we played very bravely. We took risks. In the first half, we couldn't attack bravely and take risks. In the second half, we were able to do both. Certainly, when we became 10 players and were down 0-2, FC Tokyo must have felt like they had won the game. When we conceded a goal, we panicked and that's why we ended up with this result. But to be honest, from the opponent's perspective, it could have been a game where they scored 5 goals. But JEF did not defend, they attacked. Depending on the timing, they could have won. Courage brought luck. It was a game like this, but I think we did well. We just need to break the tie quickly."