The last league match before the break, facing off against the top team Shimizu!

　League Sec. 12 will be a home match against Shimizu S-Pulse. This league match not only marks the one-third point of the season but is also the last game before the World Cup break. Following the consecutive wins from the previous match, and above all, aiming to secure a victory at Ajinomoto to even out the record and carry momentum into the Nabisco Cup, this is an important game. This time, to counter Shimizu's height and speed, the defensive line will be the same as the last match, with Nagatomo at right back and Kim Young-gun on the left. Kajiyama returns to the starting lineup to partner Tokunaga in defensive midfield, while Hanyu will cover the left side.Shimizu currently leads the league with 7 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss. In the last match against Niigata, defenders Ota and Bosnar and midfielder Ono were suspended, resulting in a 0-2 defeat, their first loss of the season. Coach Hasegawa is in his sixth season, and Coach Shirofuku commented frankly, "On top of their matured style of play, the addition of the very experienced MF Ono and DF Bosnar means the team might be at its peak." This season, they have adopted a 4-3-3 formation, scoring the highest total goals in the league so far (21, tied with Kawasaki). Their total goals conceded is also low at 10, showing high quality in both offense and defense, maintaining a well-balanced performance at the top.Particularly, we want to be cautious and focused in defending against FW Jönsson as a target and the movements aiming behind by FW Okazaki. At the same time, Shimizu scores through side attacks and restarts. With their diverse attacking patterns, the key will be how persistently and patiently we can hold out. We want to apply intense pressing to regain possession, not lose in quick transitions, and switch to attack. To prevent Shimizu from gaining momentum, we must be careful in how we start the match, connect good defense to situationally appropriate good attacks, and aim for goals and victory.Under the refreshing clear skies at Ajinomoto, with the temperature gradually rising to 19 degrees, the match kicked off at 14:04 with Shimizu's kickoff.

Aggressively stealing the ball and transitioning to attack, we grasped the rhythm, but...

　At the start, Shimizu launched a vigorous attack, but Tokyo calmly defended and counterattacked. In the 3rd minute, Kajiyama took the opponent's clearance and sent it to the left front line, where Shigematsu boldly broke into the area from the side. He feinted past the opposing defender once but was stopped on the second attempt. Although no clear chance was created, Kajiyama continued to be the focal point, with Hanyu and Ishikawa actively involved, pressing close to the Shimizu goal. In the 13th minute, Hanyu passed to Hirayama, who received the ball just outside the left area, turned toward the goal, and unleashed a powerful shot. In the 14th minute, Ishikawa’s right cross was collected by Hanyu just outside the area, who skillfully connected the play, and Kajiyama followed up with a shot. However, both attempts went off target. Shimizu also launched counters, and the exciting back-and-forth continued, but Tokyo aggressively pressed to regain the ball and gained rhythm with dynamic play. In the 24th minute, Kajiyama and Ishikawa fiercely pressed on the right front line in the opponent’s half, stole the ball, and Ishikawa immediately transitioned to attack, sending a final pass from the right area to the center, but was blocked by the Shimizu goalkeeper. Then, in the 25th minute, Tokyo fouled Shimizu FW Okazaki on the left side in their own half, conceding a free kick. In the 26th minute, Shimizu MF Ono delivered a sharp ball in front of the goal. DF Hiraoka was left unmarked and powerfully headed the ball in, allowing Shimizu to take the lead. In the 32nd minute, Shimizu FW Fujimoto advanced to the left front line and crossed. FW Jonsen in the center of the area took a shot, but Konno blocked it. The rebound fell again to FW Jonsen, who attempted a lob shot, but it went wide, avoiding danger. Nevertheless, Tokyo did not lose heart and launched large plays behind the Shimizu defense and coordinated attacks with short passes. In the 36th minute, from Shigematsu’s right cross, Hirayama’s shot from the left area was saved by the goalkeeper. In stoppage time of the first half, chances created by Ishikawa and Nagatomo from the sides could not be converted. Tokyo went into the second half trailing by one goal.

Nagatomo and Matsushita score their first goals! Two late goals turn the game around.

　In the second half, at the 52nd minute, Ricardinho was brought on to replace Shigematsu. At the 55th minute, Tokunaga advanced forward and sent a vertical pass to Hirayama inside the left area. Hirayama skillfully held the ball and delivered a final pass to the center, but it was intercepted by Shimizu's DF. At the 58th minute, Nagatomo overlapped and received a pass from Ricardinho at the right corner of the area, cut back two opposing defenders, and took a shot, but it went off target. At the 59th minute, Akamine was brought on for Hanyu. Akamine positioned himself at the front line, Tokunaga and Hirayama took the attacking midfield positions, and Kajiyama played as the lone defensive midfielder in a 4-1-4-1 formation aiming for an equalizer. At the 66th minute, Ricardinho dodged the marking of the opposing DF on the left side and sent a cross backward. Akamine met it in the center with a header but missed the target. Immediately after missing this great chance to equalize, at the 67th minute, Shimizu FW Okazaki charged into Tokyo’s territory. Kajiyama stopped him with a foul, conceding a free kick. Although the distance to the goal was about 26-27 meters, Shimizu MF Fujimoto took a direct shot with his left foot, and the sharp shot went into the top right corner... They conceded the second goal from a restart they had been wary of. At the 72nd minute, Matsushita was brought in as left side back, Kim Young-gun moved to center, and Tokunaga shifted to right side back. Konno and Nagatomo pushed forward, changing the formation again to launch a counterattack. At the 82nd minute, from a chance created by Ricardinho, Hirayama took a decisive shot inside the area but was stopped by the GK’s save... However, even with little time left, they did not give up. At the 83rd minute, Kim Young-gun’s powerful long-range shot earned a corner kick. The left corner kick taken by Matsushita was punched away by Shimizu’s GK, but Nagatomo ran in and volleyed with his right foot from outside the area, sending the ball straight into the top right corner of the goal!! Nagatomo’s first goal of the season narrowed the gap to one point. At the 87th minute, Nagatomo pressed in midfield, stole the ball, and launched a counterattack. Akamine’s cross was cleared by the DF, but side back Matsushita ran up to the front of the goal, followed up on the rebound, and scored a precise shot to equalize! Matsushita also marked his first goal. After that, including 4 minutes of stoppage time, both sides fought intensely aiming for the winning goal. In the final moments, from Matsushita’s right corner kick, Akamine headed the ball but it just went slightly left before time was up. Although they couldn’t secure the victory, they came back from a two-goal deficit to earn a draw. 【Player Comments】 《Nagatomo》"I was able to play aggressively from the first half. Even after conceding goals to Shimizu, we had the spirit not to give up, and everyone’s determination led to the equalizer. It’s frustrating to have conceded two goals, and we need to reflect a lot, but coming back from two goals down should lead to the next step. Before going to the Japan national team, I wanted to score in the blue and red uniform, and I wanted to win at Ajinomoto with everyone on this team. (About the Japan national team) I carry the feelings of players who were not selected and want to challenge greedily to meet the expectations of the fans. I don’t want to play passively. I want to be said to be dynamic and fighting. I want to use today’s goal as a springboard and ride the wave at the national team as well." 《Matsushita》"We have to reflect on conceding goals, but I stood on the pitch determined to get all three points. (Playing as left side back and involved in the goal) I felt I hadn’t been able to produce results in Tokyo for a long time, so today I was determined to ‘do it.’ I think we were in a state where if we had scored one shot in the first half... But since we fell behind, when I came on, I tried to change the flow with bold play. Being able to catch up to a draw from there was the minimum result I’m happy with. For the goal, I made sure to meet the ball firmly, careful not to lift it, and tried to smash it to the ground. Although it didn’t lead to three points today, I want to keep challenging and trying to produce results going forward." 【Coach Jofuku’s Press Conference Summary】 "We haven’t won at Ajinomoto for a long time, and considering our autumn goals, we didn’t want to fall further behind top-ranked Shimizu. I don’t think it’s necessary to think about rankings at this time, but considering the current points, we really wanted three points today. As a result, coming back from 0-2 to draw might be seen by outsiders as a good point, but I feel very disappointed. Shimizu is a team near their peak, but in the last 20 minutes, we made them stop and attacked overwhelmingly. That was thanks to us circulating the ball from the first half. We aimed for that, patiently controlled the ball from the first half, and wanted to decide the game. We conceded goals from free kicks in both halves, which was a bad cycle where we attacked but conceded. Still, being able to equalize showed confidence in our soccer. But I’m full of regret for not getting three points. (What was the intention behind bringing Matsushita on for Ishikawa?) We wanted to push Nagatomo up and make the sides more attacking. The substitution was to get the ball back even a few seconds earlier. In terms of speed, Nagatomo and Ishikawa might be in the same category, but we chose this substitution to start our attack by winning the ball. (Impression after 12 rounds?) We have confidence but also clear issues. How we break through those and whether this team can breakthrough. During the break, we want to approach everything possible and continue up to the attacking third, then work on clearing the next steps. The Nabisco Cup might be one opportunity for such trials, including player positioning." 【Shimizu Coach Hasegawa’s Press Conference Summary】 "We truly appreciate the support from many fans. Ideally, we wanted to gift three points, but it ended in one point, which is disappointing. FC Tokyo controlled the pace from the first half, so it was hard to keep a good tempo. It would have been good if we could have efficiently scored from set plays and held on. We conceded goals in a scramble at the end, so it was a scenario where we were relieved not to lose. But FC Tokyo is a team aiming for the championship. Considering we couldn’t win either home or away last season, sharing points today and taking one point home is not a bad result if we think calmly. After the restart, we want to fight to get three points properly again."