Home Final Match, Aiming for 3 Points

　Only 2 matches left in the 2nd stage. In the 14th match, we will face Ichihara. Looking back, Tokyo has not won since the 6th match against Urawa. The match against Ichihara has also been a draw game since last season. In the 1st stage, we let go of a victory in a match where we were leading by 2 points, so this is a must-win match to secure 3 points. Also, in the final match of this season at home, we definitely want to end with a victory as a response to the support of many of you.

　However, while Jean returns, Taira will be absent due to injury this round. Kelly, whose condition is not quite up to par, also failed to make the lineup. Ishikawa and Miura were on the bench. Ichihara, currently in 4th place, had a big win of 5-1 against Kobe in the previous round. While they have momentum, they are also struggling with injuries to key players. The average age of today's starting lineup is 24.45 years old for Ichihara, compared to Tokyo's 24.82 years old. Both teams will face each other with fresh lineups. The match started at Ajinomoto Stadium, with perfect weather, and Ichihara's kickoff.

Conceding goals in succession from mistakes, it's a difficult situation.

　Tokyo, who wanted to rebuild their defense after conceding 4 goals in the previous match against Niigata, were dealt a blow just 2 minutes into the game. Toda, who was trying to connect a clearance from the DF line, had the ball stolen from him in his own half and Chiba MF Murai sent a left cross. Chiba FW Maki picked up the loose ball from Fujiyama's clearance, controlled it with one touch, and kicked it into the goal, resulting in an early goal. And just 4 minutes later, Maki broke through in front of the goal, receiving a long pass from DF Milinovic who had pushed up to the halfway line. He cut past Kaji on the left side of the area and scored a clean shot. Chiba scored 2 goals with Maki's 2 shots. Tokyo couldn't find their rhythm at the start and were pushed back by Chiba's determination, leading to mistakes and a big deficit from consecutive goals.

　In front of the tough press of Ichihara, the movement was delayed and the counterattack finally came after 10 minutes. Kanazawa overlapped and Toda headed to take the CK. In the 12th minute, Kaji attacked to the end line and got a right CK. Suzuki connected the loose ball from the CK he kicked himself and took another CK. Finally, they regained their composure and created a chance. After that, both teams continued to press each other and the game went back and forth, but in the 23rd minute, from a pass in the Ichihara area, Baba broke through to the space on the left. Lucas, who was waiting in front of the goal, was brought down by this ball and got a PK. Lucas himself took it and scored it perfectly, equalizing the score by one point.

　Tokyo, who regained confidence, uses the pitch widely from Baba and Kajiyama's quick ball handling to grasp the rhythm. In the 29th minute, Baba received a loose ball from Kaji's right cross and turned around to shoot, resulting in a corner kick. In the 31st and 32nd minutes, there were also chances from corner kicks. In the 35th minute, Baba headed Kaji's early cross, but the shot lacked power. In the 36th minute, Toda dropped Baba's right cross, but Lucas couldn't control it. Despite dominating and attacking, they couldn't show their fear in the final play. On the contrary, towards the end, there were scenes where players from Ichihara struggled with their long distance runs. In stoppage time, Maki competed for an early cross from the left and FW Kaneda's shot went in, but it was disallowed due to Maki's foul. The first half ended with a score of 1-2.

Despite taking control and repeatedly launching wave attacks...

　Tokyo showed an aggressive movement from the beginning of the second half. They often took back the ball from Ichihara and went on the attack. In the 47th minute, Suzuki received a side change from Baba and took a corner kick from a dribble shot. In the 51st minute, Kanazawa attacked from the middle after Lucas kept the ball. However, in the immediate 52nd minute, a long ball was thrown into the goal by Ichihara and connected in front of the goal. From the right area, Murai's cross was intended to be connected by MF Abe in the center, but the loose ball was initially taken by Kaji in the area. However, the pass intended to be connected was passed to the free Ichihara MF Sato in front of the goal and kicked in directly. Iwakawa was substituted for Toda and tried to counterattack, but once again conceded a goal from a mistake, exposing their defensive weakness. It became a difficult situation.

　But in the 53rd minute, as planned, Ishikawa came in. Then, with Ishikawa's breakthrough, there were many scenes of getting FK, and the mood in the stadium also increased. In the 56th minute, from the FK obtained by Kajiyama being knocked down in front of the goal, Suzuki aims for the goal with a powerful shot, but the GK catches it. In the 57th minute, Kaji goes up to the end line and Lucas responds to a fast cross, but is blocked by the GK's fine play. In the 58th minute, Kajiyama dribbles up the left side after passing through Kanazawa, and then connects directly with Bamba and Imakawa in the area. Imakawa's daring shot hits Lucas' foot in the center of the front line, but Suzuki cleverly follows up and kicks it in with his left foot, scoring a goal. With quick passing in the area, they outplayed the Ichihara DF and narrowed the gap to one point again!

　Tokyo, gaining momentum, substitutes Abe for Suzuki in the 63rd minute. Gradually, they take control of the game against Ichihara, whose physicality is starting to decline. Ichihara's combination plays are broken up and they struggle to create decisive opportunities, despite dominating possession. In the 73rd minute, they are almost caught out by a lack of concentration in defense. In the 77th minute, Miura is brought on for Baba as Tokyo goes all out in attack, pushing Kajiyama up the field.

Unable to catch up with Ichihara DF, one step short

　This formation fits. And each player's persistent and aggressive attitude towards scoring resulted in an equalizer. In the 81st minute, Kaji ran up the right side and passed it back to Ishikawa. Ishikawa cut inside while competing with the DF and sent a sharp ground cross from outside the right area, aiming between the GK and DF. The opponent's GK Kushino deflected it, and the ball fell in front of DF Kajiyama. Although he initially missed with his right foot, he quickly shot with his left foot. The ball pierced the net, equalizing the score.

　In the 82nd minute, Ichihara DF Yuuki received his second warning of the day and was sent off. With 10 men, Ichihara was on the defensive and faced fierce attacks, with a comeback seeming imminent. However, in the 87th minute, Abe stole a left corner kick after a breakthrough, but was unable to finish. In the 88th minute, Miura's shot from a loose ball from a cross was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 89th minute, Kaji's cross just missed Abe in the center. In stoppage time, Abe → Kajiyama connected with a one-touch pass, but Kajiyama's through pass to Miura, who had jumped out in front of the goal, was just too long. They were unable to score the winning goal. Despite constantly being behind, they fought back tenaciously and managed to equalize with three goals, but fell just short. The early goal against them weighed heavily, and the match ended in a 3-3 draw.

　【Player Comments】《Suzuki》"I was just lucky to score because I happened to be there. But more than that, I wanted to win. I don't think my movements were good enough. If I had pressed a little more, I think I could have created more chances. To become a regular, I need to make small adjustments and contribute more to the team with my strengths. I want to make plays that lead to victory."《Kajiyama》"It was painful to concede a goal from our own mistakes at the beginning. Today, I thought about playing with balance near Baba, but it was difficult to keep up with Ichihara's player's runs. It became easier when I started defending with Konno gradually. (On the goal scene) I felt the opponent's presence and missed the ball at first. But it bounced in front of me, so I just tried to hit it with my left foot into the goal. I really wanted to win, but I wish we could have played our game from the beginning."

　【Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference】"Ichihara is a team with momentum, as they scored 5 goals and won in the previous match. Today is also the final home game, so we talked about starting strong...but we conceded 2 goals from mistakes and were in chaos. Around the middle of the first half, we were finally able to use Kajiyama and Baba, who were our targets for today, and create opportunities by using the sides. Ichihara presses man-to-man, especially their fullbacks and stoppers are fast. In the 1st stage, Tokyo actually pressed and scored early. That was probably the image Ichihara had, so they pressed even faster than expected. We should have kicked into the space in front, but we were afraid and dropped back or made sideways passes, which made us lose our rhythm. So at halftime, we talked about not being afraid and putting the ball in front to Lucas, Baba, and others, and picking it up from there. Or if the opponent starts to pull back, we should connect in between. However, we conceded the 3rd goal from a ball that Akaji couldn't clear or pass, and it was tough. However, we were able to come back and score from there. Ishikawa has been thinking too much lately and his movements have been unsatisfactory, so I had expectations when I used him from the middle today. Since the ball was going to Kajiyama and Baba, I thought if Ishikawa could also move forward, we could definitely create chances. There were still mistakes, but I think he was able to play with the speed that is characteristic of Nao (Ishikawa). So I thought if I put Abe in, we could also attack from the left. Baba was also getting tired, so I put in Miura and moved Kajiyama forward to balance it out. We did well to come back, but to be honest, we wanted to score one more goal. We couldn't get results in the league, but many supporters came to our home game and we really wanted to win. Conceding a goal wakes us up in recent games. We want to be able to play like we did in the second half today from the beginning. Kajiyama and Baba have what it takes to succeed in the J-League, so we want to use them well and watch their condition as we head into the next match against G Osaka and the Emperor's Cup with all our might."

　【Summary of Ichihara Osim's Press Conference】"Today's game was a game that symbolizes Ichihara's season. We are running well and scoring goals, but we lack the ability to continue playing the same way and maintain our lead. Even if we have the ability, we lack the experience. In that sense, it can also be said to be the quality of the team. If we can stay in third place, it will be good for the young players in the future, but the way we have been playing so far is like pouring a liter of milk and spilling it just before it's all gone. That's how we are losing. Experience is not something that can be gained quickly, it takes many years. In Ichihara, there are many players who have been fighting for survival or mid-table positions for a long time, and that habit remains. It is really difficult for them to switch to having ambitions and wanting to go higher. If we can't change that, we can't reach the top. FC Tokyo won the Nabisco Cup and may have let their guard down a bit, but I think they are a good team with a future. In the previous matches, Tokyo was closer to winning, but today Ichihara was closer. Both teams know each other well, so it becomes a close match. Today, both teams attacked and it was a good game. Unfortunately, Ichihara was far from their best lineup. The regular forwards have been missing for half of the season, and today the stoppers, Hayashi, Hayashi, and Yamagishi, were also injured. They are all very important players for Ichihara, but on the other hand, players who have not had many chances to play have been able to play, so there were both unlucky and lucky aspects. However, we don't know how far these players can go in the future. We will consider these things and think about the future."