Overcome Unwinnable Battles

　As the 2nd stage also reaches 2/3, Sec. 10 will face Yokohama F.Marinos away. Tokyo, who hasn't been able to gain momentum in the league, can't seem to win. However, the 1st stage champion, Yokohama F.Marinos, is in the same situation. Currently in 5th place, they have struggled with injuries and have only won 1 out of their last 5 games. In order to stay in the top fight at the end of the stage, both teams will aim for 3 points today.

　In this match, GK Doi achieved a Japanese-Tai record of 145 consecutive appearances in the J1 League, tying with Shimizu S-Pulse's Masanori Sanada. Interestingly, this great record has been ongoing since the first match of the 2000 1st stage against Yokohama F. Marinos. Let's hope to decorate this record with a victory.

Conceded the first goal from a dominated and difficult situation

　The game that started with the kickoff of Yokohama F.Marinos was a focused start for both teams. In the midst of a back-and-forth battle for the ball, F.Marinos MF Oku took a middle shot in the 4th minute. In an attempt to break the tense situation, FW Sakata also aimed for a ground shot from a distance in the 14th minute. However, F.Marinos gradually picked up loose balls and dominated the game, launching aggressive attacks from the right side with MF Tanaka as the starting point. In the 19th minute, Tanaka picked up a clear ball from Tokyo DF and took a shot with speed, but Tsuchi was able to catch it firmly.

　Tokyo's Kelly heads a cross from Ishikawa in the 20th minute, but it goes over the goal. They finally show some attacking from the side, but they are often pushed back by the 3-5-2 formation of F.Marinos and cannot gain an advantage. In the 21st minute, F.Marinos' Tanaka breaks through but Baba escapes with a corner kick. Then in the 25th minute, F.Marinos' left MF Dudu picks up a clearance from Tokyo and exchanges passes with Oku. He then passes to MF Yanagi who is up front, and Oku shoots directly from behind. This goal puts them in the lead. They couldn't catch Oku and conceded a goal due to a marking error, and after that they continued to struggle with the positioning of Dudu, Oku, and Yanagi. They lost possession of the second ball and were unable to create any attacking opportunities.

　Finally, in the 36th minute, Kelly made a quick attack and Lucas from the front line dodged the DF and entered the shooting position, but was stopped by the opposing DF. Then Ishikawa passed two opposing DFs from the right side and passed to Lucas in the center. Miura got involved and the last pass was made by Kaji from the right cross, but it was also cleared by the DF. Just as the counterattack began to sprout, Suzuki was substituted for Baba in the 40th minute. On the other hand, in the 42nd minute, F. Marinos substituted MF Sato for the injured Dutra. In stoppage time of the first half, Jean attacked the goal from a free kick, but couldn't finish. Tokyo was behind by one goal and headed into the second half.

Suzuki and Ishikawa create a rhythm, Jean scores the equalizing goal!

　At halftime, coach Hara's instructions were "Don't lose in the 1v1 battles for the ball and the loose balls. Let's not be afraid and move forward when attacking." As instructed, Tokyo showed a completely different movement from the start of the second half. Right after the start, the combination play on the right side did not result in a pass to Ishikawa, but they regained possession of the ball and earned a free kick through persistence. Then, in the 46th minute, Jean, who had evaded the opponent's defender, perfectly headed in Ishikawa's lob kick for a goal! They caught up early in the second half and gave hope for the rest of the game.

　At 49 minutes, Lucas and Ishikawa teamed up to steal the ball, and Suzuki, who broke through the front line with Ishikawa's cross, was fouled and earned a FK just in front of the area. Suzuki took a powerful bullet liner as bait for Lucas, but the opponent GK made a nice save. Miura, who reacted to the loose ball, couldn't push it in with his head. Tokyo, centered around Imakano and Miura, continued to create chances by winning the midfield battle.

　In the 58th minute, Suzuki dribbled after connecting a clear ball from the DF. The cross was caught by the opposing GK. In the 59th minute, Suzuki's through pass to Lucas was offside. In the 61st minute, Imakawa, who had been fiercely trying to steal the ball from the opponent, was fouled and awarded a FK. Suzuki aimed directly from about 30m away, but the shot floated. In the 66th minute, Ishikawa's lob pass reached Kelly in front of the goal, but the trap was too big and no shot was taken. In the fast-paced game, F. Marinos also launched a counter attack, and in the 68th minute, Sato's right cross was headed by FW Sakata. However, it missed the top left corner of the goal.

Taken a PK in the final stage, it was already too late for a comeback...

　Tokyo made a substitution in the 70th minute, with Miyazawa replacing Miura. F. Marinos also brought in FW Shimizu for Yagi, dropping Oku to defensive midfielder and disrupting Tokyo's rhythm with the player change. In the 77th minute, a shot was taken from the area by Tanaka → Sakata combination play after a keep by FW Yasu, but it narrowly missed to the left of the goal. In the 78th minute, a shot from Yasu on the counter was caught by Tsuchi. In the 79th minute, Sakata picked up a loose ball from Tokyo's defense and took a middle shot. It went over the bar, and Tokyo escaped danger. In the 79th minute, they brought in Abe for Kanazawa, who was injured. They put Suzuki in as left SB and went for the win.

　As the intense offense and defense continued, in the 83rd minute, Miyazawa expanded to the right and attacked the goal with Ishikawa's cross. In the 84th minute, F. Marinos' quick restart, Tanaka's shot to the lower left of the goal was nicely saved by Doi. In the 87th minute, F. Marinos' DF Nakazawa attacked and Shimizu broke through with a through pass, but the shot went wide to the right. Tokyo tried to break through the DF line with a long feed from Shigeno, but Abe was judged offside.

　It was right after that. From an indirect free kick, Sakata passed to Yasu who entered the area. In an attempt to feint and avoid the DF, Jean committed a foul, resulting in a penalty kick for F.Marinos. This was scored by Oku, giving Tokyo a 2-1 lead in the 88th minute. There was not enough time to score another goal. In stoppage time, Suzuki made a bold move and took a shot from the left area, but the GK saved it. One more goal, one more step...but it was not enough, and the game ended in a disappointing loss. They were defeated 2-1 at the away Yokohama International Stadium.

　【Player Comments】《Doi》"Tokyo had to play the same style of soccer as F. Marinos in the first half. We were able to find our rhythm in the second half, but the result was disappointing due to the goal we conceded from a penalty kick. I am happy to have tied the record for consecutive appearances in the league, but I believe it is only possible with the support of my teammates and staff. Since I started playing in 2000, the team has changed from a defensive style to an attacking one, and younger players have been developing from the bottom, making us truly "one team". It is important for me to play my part, but first and foremost, I wanted to win. Today, I am disappointed, but I want to switch gears and aim for a winning streak from here on out."《Ishikawa》"I think F. Marinos had more chances, but we were able to withstand their attacks and connect to our own. We just need to finish our chances and score when we have the rhythm. Defensively, we focused on working with Kaji and organizing to prevent one-on-one situations. In attack, we tried to cross early since their defense was shallow, but we couldn't break through when they were deep. To do that, we need to win the ball in higher positions. My physical condition is good, so I want to get more involved in creating chances."

　【Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference】"In the first half, F. Marinos set the pace from the start. We were expecting to be bombarded, and we struggled to connect passes and our long balls were easily cleared, leading to loose balls being picked up by them. Even in the moments we conceded, they were able to pick up our clearances and score. In this situation, Baba's strengths were not able to shine. He was also tired and was beaten to the ball by Hayato Tanaka. He is a player who can usually hold onto the ball, but he was chasing after the ball to defend. So we brought in Suzuki, who has power and momentum, to try and break through from the left side and make an impact. We also had a long pass from Ishikawa to Norio, which helped us gain momentum. However, we were unable to fully attack and were left vulnerable, so we kept Norio on and brought in Abe to push forward and take risks. But we were given a penalty at that time, and although we tried to equalize, we ran out of time. (In the first half, we were unable to pick up loose balls) F. Marinos' defense, including Yanagi and Nasu, are the strongest in the J-League when it comes to heading. If we had been able to connect passes at a faster pace, we could have done better, but we were mostly beaten in the air by their long balls. Also, we were a bit afraid of F. Marinos' two strikers and Oku, so we were unable to push up. We made adjustments and were able to create opportunities from the sides with Ishikawa or Suzuki, but... Overall, our performance was not bad. We were able to create chances against a strong F. Marinos team, and we were not broken down and conceded. It's difficult to bounce back from a loss like this, but we need to stay positive and push even harder to earn points."

　[Summary of F. Marinos Okada's press conference] "The performance has not been bad lately, but we couldn't win the game. Today, we played great soccer in the first half. However, we only scored one goal and in the second half, we let in a goal due to a slight lapse in concentration. I thought we wouldn't be able to win again. However, the players never gave up and fought until the end, and we finally got the victory. Once again, I realized how difficult it is to get three points. The reason why we couldn't play the same soccer in the second half as we did in the first half was mainly because Dudu was not there. He is an irreplaceable player, and when he is absent, the balance is inevitably disrupted. In the next game, Dudu will be injured and Oku will be suspended, but we will all come together and do our best."