Midway through the 2nd stage

　Sec. 8 will be an away game against Nagoya. Nagoya is currently in 7th place with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses, and 10 points, with one game yet to be played due to the cancellation of the previous game against Oita. This is a crucial game for both teams as they cannot afford to lose in their pursuit of a higher ranking. They will also use this game to build momentum for the upcoming semifinal round of the Nabisco Cup next week. Therefore, both teams will be aiming for a victory today.

　Tokyo's Kaji is suspended due to accumulated warnings. In his place, Fujiyama, who started in the 2nd stage, will start on the right side. Also, Kelly will be replaced by Yusuke Kondo due to his poor condition, and Lucas will be positioned behind Kondo in the FW relationship to make up for the frustration of not scoring in the previous match.

　Nagoya, on the other hand, has a strong attacking line. In the previous match against C Osaka, they scored 5 goals, with a hat-trick from FW Marques and the addition of 18-year-old FW Jorginho, replacing the out-of-form FW Weslley. MF Nakamura, who is positioned in the second row, is also a player to watch out for. The weather was light rain, but today at Toyota Stadium, the retractable roof is in place so there is no need to worry about rain. However, the high humidity may be a factor as the match begins with Tokyo's kickoff.

Nagoya took the lead in the early stages, making for a difficult situation.

　Tokyo put pressure on the opponent aggressively from the kick-off and launched a fast attack after taking the ball. In the 3rd minute, Toda took the ball on the right side of their own field and ran up to the opponent's penalty area, crossing it to the center. Although it hit the opponent's DF, Lucas, who ran freely from the near side, missed the perfect chance to score with a shot that hit the crossbar. In the 5th minute, Yusuke Kondo picked up the opponent's DF's clearance and dribbled up the center, taking a shot. Although it was a close miss to the left of the goal, the team was able to create a good tempo in their attack and it seemed like they could score at any moment. However, it was Nagoya who scored the first goal.

　In the 8th minute, Nagoya earned a FK on the left side of the Tokyo field, and FW JORGINHO put in a perfect cross with his left foot towards the goal. GK Doi barely deflected the ball, but Nagoya DF Furukawa was able to push it in, conceding the first goal with the first FK and first shot.

　Tokyo conceded an unexpected goal at an unexpected time, but they switched their mindset and turned to attack. In the 12th minute, Miura dribbled up the center and Nakamura from the opposing team couldn't help but foul. From this free kick, they were able to escape once with a throw-in, but then Baba passed to Toda with a through ball. In the 19th minute, Toda ran up the right side and Lucas jumped into a low centering pass, but the opposing DF cleared it. Then, from that right throw-in, Lucas cut into the goal with his individual skill and took a shot. Although it was deflected by Nagoya GK Narazaki, they continued to aim for a goal with their attacking attitude. Furthermore, they created chances in the 27th and 29th minutes, but couldn't finish them off.

　Nagoya also has a strong defensive awareness, and their attack is centered around MF Clayton, spreading the ball and having 2 FWs run into the space behind Tokyo's DFs, launching counterattacks and pushing forward towards the goal. They faithfully execute this strategy, making it difficult for Tokyo to find their rhythm. However, in the 40th minute, Baba's free kick and a 41st minute offside call were close calls. Kondo's through pass to Toda, as well as Miura's two long-range shots, kept up the pressure until the end of the first half, but Nagoya maintained their lead.

A sudden push in the second half

　Substituting Yusuke KONDO for Lucas since the start of the second half, placing Lucas in his usual top position, with Baba behind him and Toda and Abe on both sides, changing the positions themselves. Tokyo continues to aggressively attack as they did in the first half. In the 49th minute, Baba connected a ball on the left side and sent a direct floating pass to the goal, but in the 50th minute, Baba's free kick did not result in a shot. Nagoya also occasionally attacks from counters, but they are unable to take a shot and the game remains in a stalemate until a decisive chance comes for Tokyo.

　64 minutes, Miura dribbles up the right side and passes to Abe in the center. One touch to reverse to the opposite side, and pass to Kanazawa who was overlapping. He passes it directly to Lucas in front of the goal, who shoots freely in the penalty area. Unfortunately, the ball misses to the left of the goal and they cannot score. In the 65th minute, Miura is replaced by Miyazawa, and in the 70th minute, Baba is replaced by Ishikawa, and they go all out to score one point, always keeping the attacking mindset for the team. And finally, the equalizing goal is born.

Lucas scores a tying header!

　In the 74th minute, Miyazawa kept the ball near the half line and made a timely through pass to Toda, who was running up the left side. Toda brought the ball to the goal line and made a centering pass, but the opponent DF escaped to a corner kick. Then, Miyazawa put a precise ball into the left corner kick, and Lucas, who cleverly avoided the opponent DF's mark, scored a perfect header shot, finally equalizing the score.

　After the tie, both teams became more aggressive and a frenzied attack and defense was seen in front of the goal. However, in the end, both DFs defended with their bodies and prevented the goal, resulting in a 1-1 tie at the end of the game. They were only able to earn 1 point.

【Player Comments】《Lucas》"I think it was a good game, but the result... Regarding my relationship with Kondo in the first half, we didn't have as many good combination plays as we thought, but I'm not worried about our attacking play (as much as others are). I was able to get into a good position in front of the opponent's defense for the goal. I was aiming for it since we had chances from set pieces in the first half. Miyazawa's ball was just really good."《Ishikawa》"The situation when I was subbed in was the same as last match. However, both the team and myself were not able to create chances. I do feel that my condition and the quality of my play are gradually improving... (During the match) when I was subbed in, the coach instructed me to be aggressive and go for the win, but it didn't go well. However, it's important to keep doing it."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "In the first half, we were better and had several chances. We were creating good opportunities from free kicks and in the flow of the game, but we made a mess after conceding a goal from a free kick. Grampus' JORGINHO was making runs into space and Marques was using that as a starting point to attack effectively. It was inevitable to concede a goal in the first half, so we tried to move the ball around more on the sides. Yusuke KONDO was not playing well in the first half. He wasn't really in the game today. His decision-making was slow both in defense and when receiving the ball, but things started to move a bit after moving Baba to the center. Grampus' central defense was strong, so in the second half we tried to attack wide by putting Abe on the left side. Toda was also working hard, but we need to improve our final crosses and passes. With Miyazawa coming on, we were able to play long balls to both sides and our attackers were able to make runs into the space behind. Nagoya also has fast players on the counter, so we had to be careful, but we wanted to score another goal. Unfortunately, we couldn't."

　[Nagoya NELSINHO coach press conference summary] "We were able to start the first half at a good pace and the team played with high motivation and good performance. We were also able to score from a free kick. However, after 30 minutes, we held onto the ball too much and made some passing mistakes, which allowed Tokyo to counterattack. That was the dissatisfaction in the first half. At halftime, I instructed the team to connect more passes, improve the accuracy of our passes, and strengthen our defense. We were able to do that in the second half, but unfortunately we conceded a goal from a corner kick. Today, the pitch conditions affected both teams. We were not able to play to our strengths, which is speed."