The 20th round of the 2016 Meiji Yasuda Life J3 League at Tochigi SC's home stadium, "Tochigi Green Stadium", where they are on a 10-game winning streak.

Tokyo has lost consecutive home games and wants to change the momentum in this match.
In the previous match, despite conceding the first goal, Muriqui's penalty kick equalized the score and resulted in a draw.
Tokyo's GK is surrounded. Yagi, who is making his first appearance since Sec. 16, is on the DF line.
In the center are the winning duo of the recent Club Youth Championship (U-18), Hasukawa and Okazaki. On the left is the fabric.
Ito and Suzuki at the bottom of the midfield, with Mizunuma, Barnes, and Hiraoka in the second row.
1 top has a 4-5-1 formation with Hayashi.
Tochigi is deploying a 4-4-2 formation, with top scorer Oishi, who has scored 7 goals so far, leading the front line. The bench also includes two foreign FW players, making the team's depth very strong.
The match, which kicked off at 5pm with some lingering heat, started with a Tochigi ball.

【First Half】
Both teams are actively attacking from the start.
Tokyo's Lin combines with a cross from the right side of the Grander, shaking the net but ruled as a foul for no goal.
On the other hand, at the 5-minute mark, a cross from the left side was met near the goal, hitting the right post.
He spreads his body to block this loose ball and jumps into the shooting lane, but it goes wide of the goal.
Barnes dribbles up the center from their own half and passes to Yanagi, who runs up the right side, in the 8th minute.
Yanagi tries to cross with his left foot from the cutback, but it is deflected.
Although both teams have reached the PA area, they are unable to create scoring opportunities. In the 29th minute, Ito receives the ball in the center of the midfield and takes a long shot, but it hits the post.
In addition, in the 36th minute, Hirayama created space on the left side and passed it to Mizunuma on the right side.
Mizunuma tries to score a goal with a no-spin mid-range shot from a dribble, but the GK punches it away.
As a result, Tochigi takes the lead in the game.
38 minutes, Rengawa receives a foul call inside the PA and gives up a PK. This allows the opponent to take the lead with a left-footed shot by Sumi.
In the final moments of the 45th minute, the ball was cleared from a set piece and picked up on the left side, resulting in a free shot that was saved by the keeper.
Tokyo ended the first half with 3 shots, while Tochigi had twice as many with 6 shots.

【Halftime】
Manager Nakamura's Comment
"Let's focus on our own play. Let's try to involve more players with each pass."
Let's continue to fight on the field.」

[Second Half]

Both teams will enter the second half without making any player substitutions.
As both teams try to gain the upper hand in the opening stages, a fierce battle is unfolding on the ball. Gradually, Tokyo is increasing their attacking pressure.
53 minutes, DF line's Okazaki runs deeply into the left side and sends a long pass into the open space.
When the fabric is set up one-on-one, Lin jumps into the near side after dodging the opponent for a moment and crosses with his left foot.
Mizunuma jumps in here, but just barely misses.
60 minutes, Uchida replaces Yanagi and enters as right SB, and in the 63rd minute, Uchida is fouled deeply on the right side and earns a free kick.
Although Mizunuma tried to match it with Hasagawa, who jumped into the far side, he couldn't make a good contact.
Both teams start to weaken their press in the midfield, leading to a fast-paced open game with frequent changes between offense and defense.
Tokyo holds the ball longer, but Tochigi responds with sharp counters.
In the 73rd minute, a change was made to the attack by switching from Hiraoka to Hanya.
Then in the 80th minute, Tokyo, who had been persistently attacking, earned a left corner kick and received a foul in the chaotic goalmouth, resulting in a penalty kick.
Hayashi passes it to the right Smith and it's a tie.
After the tie, the defense holds off the pressure from both sides and creates chances towards the end.
86 minutes, Ito steals the ball from the press back in the center of his own PA and connects it to Barnes, who then launches a counter attack with Hayashi and Hanya.
Lin, who received the ball in the center of the opponent's field, passes a through pass to Burns, but his breakthrough is blocked by the DF.
Barnes creates another scoring opportunity in additional time.
90+2 minutes, Halfya cuts diagonally from the right side and passes the last pass to Barnes who jumped out at the right time.
Barnes faces the GK who has come out and has a one-on-one, but the shot hits the GK and misses the chance.
The match continued with persistent attacks until the end, but it ended like this, stopping Tochigi's winning streak and earning 1 point.

Thank you very much for your passionate support for FC Tokyo U-23 today.
Thank you for your continued warm support.

[Summary and Comments from Manager Nakamura]
"First of all, despite the hot summer weather, many fans and supporters came to the game and we were unable to win at home last time."
We truly appreciate our fans and supporters, and we are grateful for your presence. We wanted to show you the players in action and put on a good game for you to enjoy. That's why we entered the match.
I wanted to win as before and let the players win.
The match was very difficult and tight as the top-ranked Tochigi faced their opponent with a 10-game winning streak. However, following their comeback victory against J1 Iwata in the previous match, I believe they showed their determination to fight until the end. I also want to thank the fans and supporters for believing in the players and cheering them on.
It was also satisfying in that sense.
However, what I told the players is that it is a fact that we allowed them to create scoring opportunities and there was a possibility of conceding a second goal, so we need to improve our quality and strength.
(Did you feel like you held onto the ball for a long time?) I think everyone had the awareness to receive the ball, not just at their feet, but also behind the opponent and on both sides, and to create passing lanes and move the ball effectively.
(I think the defense was very persistent against Tochigi's attack?) The opponent is a very serious and diligent team that eagerly competes for long balls and picks up loose balls, and we told our players that we need to surpass that. I think the players were able to maintain a very good level of concentration without losing focus.
(What is your enthusiasm for the next game?) I really want to win 3 points this time and celebrate together with everyone's support.

【Player Comments】
《Itoh》
"(What are your thoughts on the game?) Personally, I was fired up to make my first start in J3 and I entered the game with the intention of actively contributing to scoring."
Although we were unable to score in the end, I think it was good that we were able to maintain a high level of awareness for shooting and show a never-give-up attitude as a team until the end.
(Did you feel like you had a chance when you were involved?) When I had the ball, I didn't feel much pressure. Instead of just passing it back easily, I tried to face forward as much as possible and create opportunities by passing it forward, so I always kept my focus on moving forward.
To be successful, we need to play aggressively both on offense and defense. We also need to contribute to scoring in order to move up, and we must also make defensive contributions.
There are still many things that need to be done, so I will continue to face various things and improve myself.
(Please share your enthusiasm for the next game) Next, when I participate, I have a strong desire to contribute to the team, so I want to be able to make many plays that will lead the team to victory.
 

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