The big match of the first half of the 2nd stage, facing the top team Urawa Reds!

　In the 6th round of the 2nd stage, we will face the current top team, Urawa Reds, at home. Urawa has won 5 consecutive games in this stage. They are the only team among the 16 teams that has not lost, and they are currently the most powerful team. In particular, their scoring ability of 21 goals in 5 games is impressive. Among them, FW Emerson, who is at the top of the scoring rankings, has scored in 5 consecutive games, making his attacking power a major threat. However, we cannot give up on victory easily. This will be a crucial match that we cannot afford to lose in order to advance to the top and win the title. It can also be said that it is a big match in the first half of the 2nd stage to stop Urawa's dominance.

　Tokyo's Toda, who returned from injury and scored a goal in the previous match as a substitute, started as a right MF. Lucas, who missed three matches due to injury, was on the bench. On the other hand, Urawa's main players Tsuboi and Yamase were absent due to injury. Alpay, who received a warning, was suspended. In addition, coach Buchwald was absent due to personal reasons, causing some concerns at the start. Emerson, FW Nagai, and MF Mitsudomoe formed a 3-4-3 formation as the almost front three.

As planned, the first half ends scoreless.

　Immediately after the start, it was Tokyo who boldly attacked. Kelly passed to Toda who ran behind the right side DF. Then Kaji advanced and took a corner kick, and in the first minute, Jean scored a header from the right corner kick. In the 6th minute, Toda sprinted down the right side and crossed to Baba who headed it back, but the opposing DF blocked it. However, they effectively attacked the space on Urawa's side.

　But in the 8th minute, Emerson, who received a long ball, turned Jean with a one-touch and headed towards the front line. Although Urawa was able to avoid danger with quick return by Kaji, Emerson showed the fear of a "one-shot". In the 13th minute, he ran down the left side of Tokyo with a dribble, and Shigetaka escaped to a CK. In the 14th minute, DF Nene headed from the right CK. The high shot slightly curved to the left.

　Both teams set up compact formations and pressed each other in the midfield, and the game progressed quickly. In the 18th and 19th minutes, Kelly received a pass and crossed it to Kaji. In the 20th minute, Tokyo attacked from the right side, connecting passes between Kelly, Kaji, and Toda. However, just when it seemed like they were on the offensive, in the 22nd minute, Urawa used a wedge pass to attack the goal. Kanazawa took a direct shot from inside the box, but unfortunately couldn't find the target. They also showed a good attacking form from the left side.

　At 36 minutes, Urawa creates a decisive scene. Mitsutoshi attacks from inside the Tokyo team and passes to the right side. MF Yamada cuts back on Shigetaka in the right area and shoots with his left foot. The ball hits the post and does not go in, but it was a close call. On the other hand, at 42 minutes, Toda jumps in from the center to cross from Kaji, but the ball goes to the left of the goal. At 44 minutes, Kelly, Baba, Yusuke Kondo, Kanazawa, and Miura connect one after another and quickly approach the Urawa goal, but in the end, they were caught offside. However, Tokyo was able to bring about the desired development and ended the first half with a 0-0 tie.

Lucas, who returned from injury, scored a valuable opening goal!

　Both teams had 4 shots in the first half. Despite the fast-paced back and forth, the game remained evenly matched and the decision was carried over to the second half. At halftime, coach Hara's instructions were "Don't forget to prepare defensively even when attacking. Don't drop the defensive line too low. Let's attack the space behind the opponent's defense." Continuing their spirited play from the first half, Tokyo showed their fighting spirit as Yusuke KONDO made a dribble run and earned a free kick in front of the goal. In the 48th minute, a counterattack from Miura led to a free kick on the left side of the goal. However, Yusuke KONDO and Jean both aimed for the goal directly, but missed the target.

　Tokyo, who played a tight game and did not allow Urawa to create any decisive chances, was unable to create any decisive scenes themselves. In the 51st minute, Lucas, who had not played since the Tokyo V match on August 29th in the 3rd section, was substituted in for Yu Kondo. And just one minute later, the long-awaited goal was born.

　In the 52nd minute, Imakano, who had advanced on the right side, took a corner kick. Baba put a line drive ball into this right corner kick, and Lucas headed it perfectly in the center! The ball shook the net and went in for a valuable first goal with Lucas' first touch.

Urawa wins with perseverance in a breathless offense and defense! Achieving a valuable victory.

　Carrying the behind, Urawa also launched an attack. In the 58th minute, FW Tatsuya TANAKA was substituted for DF Uchidate. Nagai on the right MF, San Tomonori on the left, and Yamada on the right MF and Hirakawa on the left MF dropped back to a 4-4-2 formation to challenge the counterattack. However, Tokyo today moved well without losing concentration and their combination play was also effective. They continued to press against Urawa's passers and receivers, taking the ball and connecting to their own attack. However, in the 69th minute, Urawa also launched a quick attack and MF Suzuki saw an opening in the front and took a middle shot from the midfield. The tense development continued where they would be immediately attacked if they showed any gap for even a moment.

　Tokyo faced a decisive pinch in the 75th minute. Urawa's Nagai attempted to dribble through the center from the right side and took a shot himself. The ball hit a Tokyo defender and fell in front of Emerson, who was in the area. Emerson immediately went for the ball, but Doi threw his body forward a step ahead and cleared it with a sliding tackle! The cleared ball was also picked up and the goal was threatened, but they managed to defend this pinch with a calm play.

　In the 71st minute, Miyazawa was substituted for Miura, and in the 77th minute, Abe was substituted for Baba, but the intense battle continued. Both teams were determined to win with their fighting spirit. In the 78th minute, Nagai broke through Tokyo's left side and made a negative cross. Although the Tokyo defense barely cleared it, they were still under pressure as Urawa launched a wave attack. In the final minutes, they were on the defensive, but the team came together and defended with their bodies, not allowing any goals. With passionate play, they closed off key moments and secured a clean sheet victory. Although they are now in 6th place due to goal difference, they closed the gap to 5 points from the top and achieved a valuable win.

【Player Comments】《Lucas》"It was frustrating to watch the game from the sidelines due to injury. I'm happy that we were able to win with my goal today. Before the game, we talked about how if we lost here, our chances for the title would be gone. Every game is tough, but beating the top team gives us confidence. There's still a chance for us to win the championship, so we want to focus on each game and fight. I'm no longer worried about my injury and my game sense is starting to come back. I think we'll continue to improve as we play more games."《Moino》"We talked about organizing our defense to prevent one-on-one situations as much as possible. We learned from our mistakes in the previous game and made sure to stay focused until the ball went out or the whistle blew. We also tried to close the distance with Jean and cover for each other. Everyone was concentrated and responded well to our calls, which allowed us to keep a clean sheet. The team atmosphere is great. We just want to beat Kashima next and continue winning one game at a time."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Urawa had a 9-game winning streak in official matches, but the first of those was the final match of the 1st stage against Tokyo. We had told the players that if we were the ones who started the winning streak, then this time we would end it with our own strength. Urawa definitely has explosive power. Even in the past few games, they have been able to score 2 or 3 goals in quick succession after taking the lead. However, we wanted to bring the game to a close contest, as we had not experienced any close games and there were hardly any scoreless first halves. Also, we thought that today's game would be a battle of speed in switching. Urawa tries to use the speed of Emerson to quickly switch to attack after winning the ball. They have been playing good defense from the front and quickly passing the ball to the players up front. If we lose in the speed of switching after losing the ball, Emerson could be used and even if we have multiple defenders, we could still be beaten and have a shot taken against us. So, we tried to slow down the speed of their vertical play. I think Miura, Konno, Toda, and Baba did a good job of chasing. Baba and Kondo have been playing well lately and seemed a bit tired, so I was thinking of bringing in Lucas, Abe, and Miyazawa at a crucial moment. I thought about bringing in Lucas from the start of the second half, but I wanted to confirm our strategy at halftime and bring in Lucas a little later. Lucas has good footwork and can also keep the ball up front. I asked him to play that role. However, Nene and Taro players are also strong, so I wanted him to keep running in the space and use Kelly. I think the players who came on as substitutes did a good job in a tough game. I didn't want Urawa to run away with the lead, so it was good that we were able to stop them. We have another game coming up, so we want to switch our focus to the next match against Kashima. (When asked if the switch was actually slow) We both probably wanted to connect more when attacking, but we were probably more afraid of being caught off guard and conceding a goal. We wanted to switch to the other side when one side was blocked, but we were too afraid to make the switch. We want to improve the quality of our play in those situations."

　[Urawa Engels coach press conference summary] "I think we both played a good game. It was fast and intense. In the first 20 minutes, we couldn't handle the opponent's pressure and couldn't create good opportunities. But after that, we gradually found our rhythm. If Yamada's shot had gone in at that time, the game might have turned out differently. In the second half, I thought the pace would drop at some point, but both teams maintained a fast pace and fight until the end. The key moment was when Lucas came on as a substitute and we conceded from a corner kick. From there, we tried to turn the game around. We changed a defender to a forward and wanted to create opportunities from the outside, using Nagai and Mitsushu. We also had to deal with Tokyo's counterattacks, but we were able to control the pace and create good opportunities, especially from the right side. However, Tokyo also defended well, throwing their bodies in and making sliding tackles until the end. We need to calmly analyze the reasons for our loss, but our next game is on the 26th. We need to quickly switch our mentality and prepare for the next match from scratch."