In the final match of the 1st stage, who will prevail in the fierce competition for the top spots?

　The final match of the 1st stage. Tokyo will face Urawa Reds away at Saitama Stadium 2002. So far, Tokyo has 6 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses, placing them 4th with 23 points. In contrast, Urawa Reds are in 5th place with 22 points. In this tightly contested upper league battle, a win would elevate Tokyo to 3rd place, while a loss could drop them to 7th. However, Tokyo achieved a dramatic victory in the previous match. On the other hand, Urawa suffered a comeback loss to Gamba Osaka, so the momentum should be on Tokyo's side. Additionally, since Sec. 8, they have gone unbeaten with 4 wins and 3 draws, making this final match a crucial opportunity to conclude this stage with a victory.

　Kanazawa and Asari are injured, and the defensive key player Jean is suspended due to accumulated warnings. The defense is missing several players, but Fujiyama, playing his 100th J1 League match, steps in as left-back, and Mashima makes his first league start as center-back. Additionally, Kaji returns as right-back for the first time since Sec. 9. On the other hand, Urawa's ace Emerson is suspended, and midfielder Suzuki is out due to injury. Tokyo is missing their defensive key player, while Urawa is missing their attacking key player, but the match started at almost full capacity at Saitama Stadium 2002, with the pre-match temperature exceeding 30 degrees in the humid heat, kicked off by Urawa.

Endured a tough situation and created chances from set plays, but...

　The first shot was taken by Urawa. In the 1st minute, midfielder Mitsunari aimed for the goal from mid-range. In the 3rd minute, Tokyo's Masushima had a header from a right free kick. In the 4th minute, Suzuki received a long feed from Masushima and created a corner kick. In the 8th minute, after Suzuki won a corner kick, Konno jumped in with his head. In the 13th minute, Toda received a pass from Baba in the center and, while falling, connected to the left side, where Baba headed a cross from the advancing Konno, but it was saved by the opposing goalkeeper, resulting in a corner kick. In the 20th minute, Suzuki held the ball on the left side, and Kaji overlapped outside, but unfortunately was caught offside.

　However, Urawa FW Tanaka and Nagai's bold incursions into the area, along with Mito's attacks breaking forward, gradually pushed them back. In the 15th minute, Nagai's early cross was chest-controlled by Mito in the area, leading to a shot from FW Tanaka. In the 25th minute, Tanaka moved from the right side to the center and sent a final pass to the left side, where Mito took a shot. Doi managed to punch it away. Despite this, Tokyo created chances from set pieces. In the 22nd minute, Suzuki aimed directly at a free kick from the right side of the goal, 27-28m out. In the 24th minute, there were two consecutive corner kicks. Konno headed the ball from the front, but it went over the bar.

　In the 30th minute, midfielder Hasebe received a pass from Urawa defender Yamada, turned to face forward, and took a free shot from near the penalty arc. In the 33rd minute, consecutive right crosses were delivered, but Mashima, Kaji, and Fujiyama cleared the ball in the center. In the 34th minute, Shigeno escaped a dribble breakthrough by Tanaka into the area by conceding a corner kick. Although they were pressed for a long time, in the 40th minute, Lucas was fouled on the right side, and from the resulting free kick, Suzuki took a powerful shot that skidded along the ground. Immediately after, there were two corner kicks. In the 43rd minute, Baba sent the ball into the goal area from a right free kick, but none were able to find the back of the net.

Allowed an opening goal from an own goal, disrupting the momentum for a counterattack

　Tokyo endured well against Urawa's attacks, and their defense shone. However, in the 44th minute, Urawa's Tanaka exchanged passes with Santos and took a decisive shot from inside the area. Doih was able to save it, but Urawa continued to press. After the 45th minute, DF Toriou headed a corner kick from the right. This was blocked by Miura in the lower left corner of the goal, and it seemed they had escaped the danger. However, after losing the ball consecutively, MF Yamase crossed from a right throw-in. Shigenobu tried to head the sharp ball away but failed to clear it, resulting in an own goal. They allowed Urawa to take the lead just before the end of the first half.

　In the second half, Tokyo boldly advanced towards the goal to launch a counterattack. They created another opportunity from a set piece. In the 46th minute, Baba and Lucas combined to win a corner kick. In the 47th minute, Baba took a free kick. In the 48th minute, Suzuki evaded the opposing defender, cut into the center, and took a powerful shot. However, it was saved by the goalkeeper. Nevertheless, it was Urawa that created the first decisive scene in the second half. In the 53rd minute, midfielder Yamase dribbled into the right area, splitting between Shigeno and Kaji, and his shot from a free position hit the post. Tanaka followed up with a shot, but it went over the bar.

　Nevertheless, Tokyo persistently tried to regain possession and launch a counterattack, but in the 60th minute, a pass from Miura to Konno was intercepted by Urawa's Hasebe. Hasebe charged forward with a dribble towards the goal, drawing in the Tokyo defense, and passed to Santos who advanced on the left side of the area. Santos delivered a low cross in front of the goal. Although Mashima cleared the ball by blocking its path, the loose ball came back to Santos. He skillfully finished it, resulting in a goal. This setback left Tokyo trailing by two goals, disrupting their momentum for a counterattack.

Konno strikes back, but finishes the current stage in 6th place.

　In the 54th minute, Tokyo substituted Abe for Baba, saying, "I want to create chances by making runs into space." In the 63rd minute, they brought on Kajiyama for Toda, and in the 66th minute, they substituted Miyazawa for Miura. They played their last card, aiming for victory with all their strength. Then, in the 70th minute, Urawa's Tanaka received his second warning of the day and was sent off. With one player advantage, Tokyo pushed forward with Lucas and Abe in the front line, Suzuki on the left side, and Kaji moved up to the right midfield, closing in on the Urawa goal.

　In the 75th minute, Urawa DF Tsuboi cleared a sharp side-change pass from Miyazawa. Suzuki picked up the loose ball and sent in a cross, but it went out of play. In the 79th minute, Miyazawa collected a clearance from Abe's cross and shot from just outside the right area, but it missed the target. Creating a chance from a wide play, in the 80th minute, Suzuki received a side-change pass from Miyazawa from right to left and was fouled in the left area, earning a free kick. Then, Konno calmly kicked in Miyazawa's kick from directly in front of the goal, scoring a goal! They closed the gap to one point!

　However, it was just after the goal. Immediately, Shigenobu and a player from Urawa collided while trying to retrieve the ball for a restart. Shigenobu, who was deemed to have committed a rough act, was sent off with a red card. This incident thwarted their own attempt to counterattack once again. A total of 10 yellow cards were issued between both teams, and with 2 players sent off, the match turned into a rough battle of 10 against 10. As the ball moved back and forth in front of both goals, Urawa's fast attacks were cut off mainly by Doi and Fujiyama, shifting to their own offense. However, during stoppage time, they repeatedly approached the Urawa goal from a right throw-in, but ultimately failed to score, ending the match at 1 to 2. This defeat caused them to drop in the rankings, finishing this stage in 6th place.

【Player Comments】《Miura》"We allowed the first goal and were outplayed by Urawa. The second goal came from an interception of my pass. The way we conceded the goals was poor. It was important to regain control and score, but it becomes difficult when we are constantly on the back foot. However, it's crucial to switch gears here and move forward positively for the next match." 《Masushima》"I am just really frustrated about losing. We couldn't control the team well. There were chances to make feeds, but if we could have timed them better. I had some anticipation for the opponent's dribbling, so I wasn't anxious, but I might have been too lenient when they cut inside. Not everything went wrong, so I want to use what we couldn't do today for the next match."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "In the heat, the goal conceded just before the end of the first half weighed heavily on us. In the second half, we tried to counterattack by having Abe run into space, but unfortunately, we conceded a second goal in an unlucky manner. In a decisive moment, Mashima was blocking the path, but the ball spilled in front of Mito. We managed to score one goal, and the players showed an attacking attitude, but it became difficult after Moniwa's red card. Jean showed potential despite the instability in the back line without Kanazawa, and both Kaji and Fujiyama played well, I believe. However, we simply lacked strength until the end. We want to aim for a shape where we can score more goals. If we had won today, we would have been in third place, but it was a narrow margin even in defeat, not just a consolation. Even if we finish third, unfortunately, there is a gap with the first and second places. We need to change that. However, in the first stage, with Kelly and Ishikawa absent, Baba, Kajiyama, and Suzuki have started to show promise. With many injuries, the experience gained by the young players has been an asset. Moniwa, including today's red card, has strengths and weaknesses, but we can appreciate that he has supported the team without injuries up to this point. Konno is also familiar, and the competition will begin from now on. We want to make the team stronger so that we can compete for titles in the Nabisco Cup and the second stage."

[Summary of Urawa Coach BUCHWALD's Press Conference] "We were able to enter the game in a good shape, but FC Tokyo came at us very aggressively and I think they had the first chances. As the match progressed, we gradually gained control and ultimately finished the first half at 1-0. The goal may have seemed lucky, but we had several chances before that, so I think it was a fair result. In the second half, we were able to continue attacking in a very good manner. We scored the second goal in a good way as well. Normally, we had chances, so we should have scored a third and fourth goal. In that situation, Tanaka received his second yellow card, but even after going down to ten men, we concentrated hard and instead of just defending, we continued to attack, which was wonderful. Winning the final match in this way allowed us to conclude the stage nicely."