The crucial match of the first half of the 2nd stage, facing the top-ranked Urawa Reds!

　In Sec. 6 of the 2nd Stage, we will face the Urawa Reds, who are currently at the top of the standings, at home. Urawa has achieved five consecutive wins in this stage. They are the only team among the 16 that has not lost, making them the most formidable team right now. Their scoring ability is impressive, having scored 21 goals in five matches. Notably, forward Emerson, who is at the top of the scoring rankings, has scored in five consecutive matches, making his attacking power a significant threat. However, we cannot easily give up on victory. This match is crucial for our rise in the rankings and for winning a title; we absolutely cannot afford to lose. It can be said that this is a major match in the first half of the 2nd Stage, especially to stop Urawa's runaway lead.

　Toda, who returned from injury and scored after coming on as a substitute in the last match, starts as right MF. Lucas, who missed three matches due to injury, is on the bench. On the other hand, Urawa is missing key players DF Tsuboi and MF Yamase due to injuries. DF Arpai is suspended due to accumulated warnings. Additionally, Coach BUCHWALD is absent due to family reasons, starting with some concerns. Emerson, FW Nagai, and MF Mitsutaka form a nearly three-top setup in a 3-4-3 formation.

A planned development, returning to the second half scoreless

　Right after the start, it was Tokyo that boldly attacked. A through pass from Kelly reached Toda, who broke into the space behind the right side DF. Following that, Kaji advanced and won a corner kick, and in the 1st minute, Jean made a header from the right corner kick. In the 6th minute, Toda sprinted down the right side, and Baba headed the cross back from the far side, but the opposing DF blocked it. However, they effectively exploited the space on Urawa's side and attacked with an advantage.

　However, in the 8th minute, Emerson received a long ball, evaded Jean with a one-touch move, and faced forward, breaking through to the front line. Thanks to Kaji's quick return, the situation was resolved, but the danger of a "one-shot" was demonstrated. In the 13th minute, he sprinted down the left side of Tokyo, and Shigeno managed to escape to a corner kick. In the 14th minute, from the right corner kick, DF Nene executed a header. The high shot narrowly veered to the left.

　Both teams set up a compact formation and pressed each other in midfield, leading to a fast-paced match. In the 18th and 19th minutes, Kaji received a pass from Kelly and made a cross. In the 20th minute, Tokyo attacked from the right side with a sequence of passes from Kelly to Kaji to Toda, resulting in another cross. However, just when they seemed to be on the offensive, in the 22nd minute, they were attacked in front of the goal from a pass play using a wedge by Urawa. Kanazawa connected with a floated ball sent forward by Baba and took a direct shot from inside the area. Unfortunately, he couldn't hit the target, but they also showed good attacking shape from the left side.

　In the 36th minute, Urawa created a decisive scene. Mito attacked from within Tokyo's territory and made a cross-field pass to the right side. MF Yamada cut back on Moniwa in the right area, moved inside, and took a left-footed shot. The ball hit the post, and although it did not result in a goal, it was a tense moment. On the other hand, in the 42nd minute, Kaji's cross was met by Toda, who jumped in from the center and headed the ball, but it went to the left of the goal. In the 44th minute, Kelly, Baba, Yusuke KONDO, Kanazawa, and Miura connected in quick succession, advancing towards Urawa's goal with fast passing, but ultimately fell into an offside position. However, they managed to bring the game to the development they aimed for, and went into halftime at 0-0.

Lucas returns from injury with a valuable opening goal!

　The number of shots in the first half was four for both teams. The back-and-forth action was intense, but the match remained evenly matched, leading to a continuation of the battle into the second half. Coach Hara's instructions during halftime were, "Even when attacking, do not forget to prepare for defense. Do not drop the defensive line too low. Let's exploit the space behind the opponent's defenders." Continuing from the first half, Tokyo displayed spirited play, and shortly after the start of the second half, Yusuke KONDO made a driving run with the ball, earning a free kick in front of the goal. In the 48th minute, there was also an attack following a steal by Miura, resulting in a free kick slightly to the left of the goal. However, both KONDO and Jean aimed directly for the goal, but missed the target each time.

　Tokyo displayed tight play and did not allow Urawa to create decisive chances, but conversely, they struggled to create significant scenes themselves. In the 51st minute, Lucas, who had not played since the match against Tokyo V on August 29, was brought on to replace Yusuke KONDO. Then, just one minute later, the long-awaited goal was scored.

　In the 52nd minute, Konno advanced on the right side and won a corner kick. Baba delivered a line drive ball from this right corner kick, and Lucas headed it in at the perfect timing from the center! The ball shook the net and went into the goal! Lucas scored a valuable opening goal with his first touch.

A tense battle ends with a hard-fought victory for Urawa! A valuable win achieved.

　Carrying a deficit, Urawa also began to take the initiative. In the 58th minute, FW Tatsuya TANAKA was brought on to replace DF Uchida. With Nagai on the right MF, Santos on the left, Yamada on the right MF, and Hirakawa dropping back to the left MF, they challenged with a 4-4-2 formation for a counterattack. However, today's Tokyo moved well without losing focus, and their coordinated plays functioned effectively. They continued to apply pressure on Urawa's passers and receivers, stealing the ball and transitioning to attack. However, Urawa also launched a quick attack in the 69th minute, with MF Suzuki seeing an open space and taking a long-range shot from midfield. The tension continued with a development where any momentary lapse would be immediately exploited.

　Tokyo faced a critical crisis in the 75th minute. Urawa's Nagai attempted to break through the center from the right side and took a shot. This deflected off Tokyo's defense and spilled in front of Emerson, who immediately rushed towards the ball, but Doih was a step quicker, throwing his body out and clearing it with a slide! The cleared ball was picked up and approached the goal, but they managed to defend this crisis with calm play.

　In the 71st minute, Miura was replaced by Miyazawa, and in the 77th minute, Baba was replaced by Abe, but the intense back-and-forth continued. Both teams displayed their fighting spirit, aiming for victory. In the 78th minute, Nagai from Urawa broke through on Tokyo's left side and delivered a low cross. Although Tokyo's defense barely cleared it, they remained pinned in front of the Tokyo goal, launching wave after wave of attacks. In the final stages, they were on the defensive, but as a united team, they held firm with a committed defense, preventing any goals. With their spirited play, they secured a clean sheet and achieved a hard-fought victory. Due to the goal difference, they ranked 6th, but narrowed the point gap to the top position to 5, achieving a valuable win.

[Player Comments] 《Lucas》 "It was frustrating to watch the matches from the sidelines due to injury. I'm happy to have won today with my own goal. Before the match, we all talked about how losing here would end our chances for the title. No match is easy, but beating the top team boosts our confidence. We still have a chance to win the championship, so we want to focus and fight hard in every game. I'm no longer worried about my injury, and my match fitness is gradually returning. I believe I will get even better as I play more matches." 《Moba》 "We talked about defending as an organization to avoid giving up one-on-one situations as much as possible. Learning from the previous match, we made sure to keep our eyes on the ball until it went out or the whistle blew. I stayed closer to Jean than usual, and we made sure to cover each other. Everyone stayed focused and responded well to the calls, so I think we managed a clean sheet. The team's atmosphere is good. Anyway, we want to win against Kashima next, and then keep winning one by one."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "Urawa had been on a 9-game winning streak in official matches, but the first of those wins was against Tokyo in the final match of the 1st stage. Since we had unintentionally given them the momentum for that streak, I told the players that this time we would end it with our own strength. Urawa definitely has explosive power. Looking at the last few matches, once they score first, they quickly add 2 or 3 more goals. However, on the other hand, they rarely experience close matches, and there were almost no scoreless first halves, so I wanted to bring the game into a close contest. Also, today I thought the key would be the speed of switching play. Urawa tries to utilize Emerson's speed, quickly transitioning to attack after regaining possession. They defend well from the front and immediately pass to the forwards after winning the ball. If we lost the speed in switching when the ball was taken, and allowed Emerson to be used, no matter how many defenders were in place, there was a possibility he could break through and take a shot. So, we tried to slow down the vertical speed at all costs. I think Miura, Konno, Toda, and Baba in midfield chased well. Baba and Yusuke KONDO, who have been holding firm recently, showed some signs of fatigue, so I planned to bring in Lucas, Abe, and Miyazawa at the crucial moment. I considered putting Lucas in from the start of the second half, but at halftime we confirmed our strategy and decided to hold on a bit longer before bringing him in. Lucas has excellent ball control and can hold the ball when receiving it up front. That was the role I asked of him. However, since Nene and Tulio also have strong ball control, I told him to run into space as much as possible while holding the ball up front and to make use of players like Kelly. The substitutes also did well in this tough match. I thought it would be bad if Urawa ran away with the game alone, so I was glad we were able to stop them. Since we have a match soon, we want to switch our mindset and focus on the next game against Kashima. (In response to the question whether the actual switching was slow) Both sides probably wanted to connect the attack a bit more, but the fear of being caught off guard and conceding a quick goal might have taken precedence. When one side was stuck, we wanted to switch to the other side, but fear prevented us from doing side changes. We want to improve the quality of play in that area."

　[Summary of Coach ENGELS' Press Conference at Urawa] "I think both teams played a good match. It was fast and intense. For about the first 20 minutes, we couldn't handle the opponent's pressure and couldn't develop good plays. However, after that, we gradually found our rhythm. If Yamada's shot had scored at that time, the game might have unfolded differently. The second half started similarly, and I wondered when the pace would drop, but both teams maintained a fast tempo and fought until the end. The key moment was conceding a goal from a corner kick right after Lucas came on as a substitute. From there, we launched our attack. We replaced a defender with a forward, expanded the play from the outside, and wanted to make use of Nagai and Mito. We also faced Tokyo's counterattacks but mostly controlled the pace, especially creating good plays from the right side, which led to some good scenes. However, Tokyo also fought hard, sliding and defending their goal until the end. We need to calmly analyze the cause of the defeat, but the next match is on the 26th. Mentally, we want to switch quickly and start from zero toward the next game."