The final match of the league, striving for victory as the culmination of this season.

　As the season's final match, the 34th round, approaches quickly, we will face Vegalta Sendai at home. Although last round ended in a draw, we took the lead and scored 2 goals with coordinated soccer. It cannot be denied that we finally reached the end of the season... but we can say that we fully demonstrated Tokyo's style in both offense and defense. As a result, our position in the league has been confirmed to be 9th or lower, but the players are determined to "show everything we have built up this season as our culmination in the final round."

　Manager Ranko POPOVIC also showed enthusiasm, saying, "In front of many fans and supporters, everyone will give their all and fight until the end. I hope today's match will be a good message for next season." In order to end the season on a good note and carry it over to the next season, we will focus on winning along with our performance and approach this match as one team.

　Tokyo, on the other hand, secured second place this season despite losing to Niigata in the previous match and missing out on the championship. While there is nothing to lose for either team, "Sendai will surely come back with the frustration of missing out on the championship (Ishikawa)." Additionally, Sendai has not suffered consecutive losses this season, and their ability to switch focus to the upcoming match has been a key factor in their success. As you may know, Sendai's top scorers are the forward duo of Akamine and Wilson. Tokyo will need to prevent them from easily receiving the ball and aim to connect good defense with good offense.

　In the away game of the first half of the league, Tokyo suffered a big defeat of 0-4. This match is also one where they want to achieve revenge. It will be a fierce game where both teams collide with the determination of "not being able to lose", but above all, it is a home game. They aim for victory with the support of the stands as an additional strength. Tokyo will face the match with the same lineup as the previous match, with Watanabe at the top and Hasegawa and Lucas on the sides. The cold wind of December blows, but the rain that temporarily fell has stopped and the sun shines in Ajinomoto. The match started at 3:34 pm with Tokyo's kickoff.

Overflowing with dynamism, leading with 2 goals from Lucas!

　Sendai tried to control the flow by passing from the DF line at the start. In response, Tokyo tried to quickly switch to a counterattack by stealing the ball from a compact formation. In the 6th minute, Kajiyama on the left side passed to Hasegawa who made a run towards the front line and then passed to the space in the center. Yonemoto and Takahashi made runs. Although they couldn't take a shot in overlapping form, they persistently expanded to the right side. This time, Tokunaga and Lucas tried to break through with a combination, but it was cut off by the opposing DF. However, Watanabe pressed the opposing DF and Takahashi, who followed up on the loose ball, took a shot from the middle.

　In the 7th minute, after a few minutes, Hasegawa in the midfield → Takahashi on the left sideline aimed for the back of the opponent's DF and passed a floating ball. Lucas followed this and jumped out, competing with the opponent's DF and dropping it with a header, moving forward and shooting from the left area! He successfully scored the first goal in the early stages by sliding the ball into the net on the opposite side with his left foot.

　With this opportunity, we will strengthen our attack. In the 17th minute, Tokunaga's right throw-in in the opponent's territory was dropped by Watanabe in a high position on the right front line, and passed to Kajiyama in front of the area. Lucas, who received the return, then passed to Hasegawa in the right area and circled to the left. From this one-two with Hasegawa, the final goal was scored with a direct play from the center of the area, shooting with the right foot to the opposite side! We got our second goal with a flowing direct play!

　Sendai had not been creating any real chances, but in the 29th minute, Sendai's left MF Liang took a shot from the left area after a combination with FW Akamine. In the 35th minute, Sendai simply connected vertically after winning the ball in their own half, with right MF Ota crossing to FW Wilson on the goal line. Akamine jumped in near perfectly and scored a powerful header...bringing the score to 1-1. In the 41st minute, Sendai pressed Tokyo's high DF line and Wilson took a dribble shot, but Gonda made the save. Tokyo had a quick start and transition, not allowing Sendai to find a rhythm for a counterattack, and the first half ended.

Team J1 League's highest 6 goals! Finishing the 2012 season with a goal rush.

　In the second half, it was Sendai who created the chance. In the 47th minute, FW Akamine broke through after receiving a long pass from DF Kamata on the front line. He controlled the ball at his feet and took a shot, but it narrowly missed to the right. Then in the 49th minute, FW Hyun Soo JANG scored a header from a left corner kick taken by Hasegawa! Just after a close call, Sendai took advantage of a set piece opportunity to pull ahead.

　In the 56th minute, Hasegawa from the left area near the corner received a through pass from Kajiyama on the left side. Watanabe followed and dribbled past the opposing GK who had come out, advancing to the left. From an impossible angle, he beautifully pierced the net! Immediately after, Ishikawa replaced Watanabe, and in the 69th minute, Vucicevic replaced Lucas. Although Sendai had some possession, they maintained their quick start and concentration, leading to a speedy attack. In the 81st minute, Hirayama replaced Yonemoto. It was a thrilling goal rush that was pushed by the heated stands.

　82 minutes, Hirayama dribbles and launches a counter, to Ishikawa on the right. Kajiyama makes a through pass to the center for Ishikawa, who advances into the area. Vucicevic, who came up from the opposite side, makes a skillful control and passes to the left area. With a one-touch play, Vucicevic easily beats the opponent's DF and runs in to score a GOAL!!

　In stoppage time, Ishikawa rushed into the center of the area from Vucicevic's pass. He was surrounded by DFs and couldn't take a shot, but Vucicevic persevered and reacted to the loose ball, dribbling past the opposing DF with a roulette and scoring the 6th goal. Just before the final whistle, Tokyo gave Sendai a free kick inside their own territory, and from the quick restart, FW Muto was left unmarked and they conceded a goal... Although they couldn't close out the game, they showed great energy and started off with Lucas' goal, scoring a team-high 6 goals in J1 and winning! As a result, they returned to a 5-5-5 record, but their ranking remained unchanged and they finished the season in 10th place.

　[Player Comment] <Lucas> "I've always wanted to score in double digits... and I'm glad I was able to achieve that. Especially the second goal, which the coach has been asking for, we were able to break down the opponent with a direct play and score from there. Next season, I want to aim for the title and do my best!"

　"Nemanja VUCICEVIC" "Sendai was a team that was competing for the championship until last week. It was great to win 6-2 against them. What I wanted to show in today's game is that if we continue to believe in ourselves positively, we can win against strong opponents with Tokyo's football. (About my two goals) It's really a happy thing, but it's a victory that we all won as a team."

　I feel blessed to have joined Tokyo and have great teammates. At first, I couldn't show my full potential, but I was supported by my teammates, club staff, and supporters. The fans and supporters gave me more than I could give on the pitch. I want to score goals again next year and share the joy together."

　[Summary of Coach Popovich's Press Conference] "Before the game, I promised to show a game that would make everyone's hearts and bodies warm so that they wouldn't freeze. Did we manage to warm you up? In the last game of the season, we were able to show what we have been doing all year as motivation and we were able to give it our all. In that sense, I am satisfied. Everyone shone so brightly that I can't even name someone special... We were able to show our team's strength by giving it our all. This season, we had a difficult time with injuries and there were times when we played better than our opponents but didn't get the results we wanted."

　When everyone is together, the team's strength inevitably changes. And the importance of taking the lead. There have been tough games where we couldn't score even with decisive chances, but if we can score in the right moments like today, it becomes a game like this. And even if the results don't come, I think we were able to show the importance of believing in ourselves and persevering without changing what we do in today's game. If we had changed what we should do during the season, today's game would not have happened. I feel like we were able to fully showcase Tokyo's style, and prove that Tokyo's style is a soccer that utilizes the characteristics of Japanese people. I think we were able to show how we will fight in the next season, but we want to continue to improve the quality even more.

　Filled with gratitude to all the fans and supporters. You have always supported us and truly been our strength. Today, many Sendai supporters also came and both sets of supporters created a wonderful atmosphere. We would like to express our gratitude to the fans and supporters who continued to support us even in difficult times and supported us.

　[Sendai Teguramori's press conference summary] "Ideally, we would have won the previous match and today's match would have been a big one for those who came to the stadium today. We came to show the results of this season's battles, but Tokyo had the same idea. In other words, it was going to be a fierce match, so we tried to show our strategy. However, we were caught off guard with two early goals. It was good that we were able to score one goal in the first half, but after FW Akamine's decisive chance in the early second half, we conceded a third goal. It wasn't that our concentration broke, but rather that Tokyo's momentum increased and we ended up playing that kind of game. This season, our players have fought tenaciously and played close matches even when we lost, but in the end, we showed our weakness in losing."

　I feel like we ended up as runners-up after playing this kind of game. I told the players that we don't want to lose like this again and that we should not be complacent even if we become runners-up. We also talked about feeling regret for ending the season with two consecutive losses and tightening our ranks to welcome the next season. After the game, when I told coach Ranko POPOVIC, "Tokyo was amazing," he replied, "We lost 0-4 at Yurtec Stadium." I feel like we have repaid that debt, but in life, there are good times and bad times. It was a good season for us, but we want to be careful and strive for improvement."