The 21st round of the 2016 Meiji Yasuda Life J3 League, which was held for the first time since the away match against Tochigi on August 7th.

The opponent for this round, Iwate Grulla Morioka, was the first team to achieve a home victory.
However, they have not lost in their last 6 league matches and have gained momentum by defeating J1 Vegalta Sendai in the Emperor's Cup.
Tokyo sets up a 4-4-2 formation.
GK is Wai. DF line has a young DF line of Yagi, Okazaki, and Ogawa, with Okanishi on the right, making his first appearance and first start in J3.
In the midfield, MIZUNUMA, NOZAWA, SUZUKI, and KOYAMA enter from the right, with Nathan BURNS and Hayashi lining up in the front line.
Morioka also played a 4-4-2 formation, just like in the previous match, and they are an aggressive team with a strong build-up from the GK and pressure from the front line.
The point difference between Tokyo and Morioka is 2, and depending on this result, the game that could change the ranking started with Tokyo's kickoff.

【First Half】
Morioka started the game with momentum.
Choose to take the lead by pressing from the front and playing aggressively, just as in the recent Emperor's Cup Sendai match victory.
Tokyo is struggling to find its rhythm and in the 11th minute, they are broken through on the right side with speed.
If you allow a cross near here, you will be taken down with a muddy dive and lose the first point.
After halftime, Manager Nakamura said, "Our gear has gone up since we conceded," and from here, Tokyo will start to play aggressively.
At 19 minutes, Hayashi steals the ball in the center of the opponent's field and creates a numerical advantage of 3 to 2 with Barnes and Suzuki.
Hayashi sends a last pass to Suzuki running on the left in front of the PA, but is blocked by the GK's good defense when facing one-on-one with the GK who jumped out.
Tokyo missed the chance, but Barnes and Hayashi started to become the starting point in the front line.
Barnes in particular makes a difference with his abundant physicality, dropping back to the midfield and getting involved in the front line.
In addition, with Hayashi leading the way, they did not give Morioka any freedom with their aggressive pressing from the front line.
As a result, the equalizing goal was taken by the two top players working together.
24 minutes, Barnes skillfully stripped the ball from the opponent and entrusted it to Barnes in front of his own PA, and ran up the center alone.
Pass to Hayashi running on the left side around the center of the opponent's field. Hayashi cuts inside with a dribble and shoots a mid-range shot, which hits the opponent's defender and is sucked into the goal.
At 27 minutes, Oyama's shot hit the post. In the following 29 minutes, Barnes switched from the right side and scored with his left foot in the center of the goal.
When Hayashi drops this, Mizunuma jumps in but does not meet it with his head.
Barnes also creates chances in the 35th and 36th minutes, but the equalizer is still far away.
The game gradually settled down and both teams were unable to score a winning goal, leading to a tie at the end of the first half.

【Halftime】
Manager Nakamura's Comment
"Let's aim for the sides while connecting the ball with everyone. It's important to pick up second balls. We must continue to pick them up in the second half."
Improve the final system. We will definitely win by having a consciousness of helping each other.

【Second Half】
Both teams made no player substitutions in the second half.
48 minutes, Lin is fouled on the right side of the opponent's central side line and earns a free kick. Mizunuma sends it to the far side and Lin is free to score, but misses the chance due to a bad shot.
The 52nd minute saw a chance created from a throw-in. After gaining a throw-in deep on the right side, Mizunuma, who had lost his marker in the penalty area, received the ball and crossed it to the near side.
Koyama couldn't score even though the opponent GK couldn't catch it.
Tokyo, who continue to attack from the right side, made a move in the 57th minute as Mizunuma, who had the ball on the right side, passed it to Barnes who had broken through the opponent's DF line.
Barnes dribbles vertically and crosses the ball low, but it doesn't connect with Hayashi.
61 minutes, Yanagi intercepts in front of his own PA and runs up nearly 50m, passing to Hayashi who came in from the left.
Hayashi takes a shot from the dribble, but it doesn't go in. Tokyo, unable to score a go-ahead goal, loses momentum to Morioka.
Morioka, who started to hold the ball, has more time in the Tokyo field, and Tokyo responds with a counterattack.
Tokyo's defense continues to respond without losing focus.
Among them, the one who particularly stood out was Wai. He truly stood in front of the Tokyo goal as a guardian deity.
63 minutes, when Morioka allowed a breakthrough from the left side and a decisive shot, Koi protected the body and made a save.
The defense throws their bodies to block the shot even when it is taken from a loose ball.
In the 67th minute, a powerful shot from the left side was punched away by the goalkeeper.
When this ball is picked up again on the right side of the PA, Nozawa jumps into the block with all his might and blocks the shooting course, causing it to miss near the top.
In the 71st minute, LORI and Ogawa blocked the ball as it was cut into the goal area near the left side.
74 minutes, when connected from the front of the goal to the right, a powerful shot is aimed at the right goal, but the keeper makes another big save.
The right CK given here is cleared by the DF near the right CK again. Against Morioka, who took a tactic to create a dense formation around the GK, Iwai saves Tokyo's pinch with a punching response.
Tokyo also tries to change the flow by putting in Kobayashi and Hiraoka.
82 minutes, Hirayama picks up a loose ball in the midfield and launches a counterattack. He dribbles up nearly 40m and takes a left-footed shot, but the GK catches it.
Immediately after, the opposing FW who ran behind the Tokyo defense receives a counterattack and ends up in a one-on-one situation, but a brave save prevents a dangerous situation.
In addition, in the 86th minute, a chance was created in the center of the goal, but the defender blocked the one-on-one situation in the PA area after being caught off guard by the open space on the left side.
Tokyo, whose activity has decreased and has been unable to pick up second balls, continued to withstand the fierce attack of Morioka and accumulated one point.

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

【Summary of Manager Nakamura's Press Conference】
「First of all, when I came here, there were fans and supporters who came to support us from Tokyo. We talked about winning and taking 3 points back home.」
I wanted to show the supporters where we will first fight.
At the start, we wanted to approach the game with momentum as the opponent had been dominating the Emperor's Cup with no losses against Sendai. They were a very strong team.
The beginning was more pressured by the opponent, and in about 10 minutes, Morioka's number 15 (player Yasuraku Kenta) was a good player, but we conceded a goal.
However, after that, the players did not panic and were able to play their usual style of soccer, carefully passing the ball and making runs behind the opponent's defense, which I think was the plan from the middle of the first half.
We were able to catch up in the first half.
In the second half, we continued to play that soccer and created scoring opportunities for 20-25 minutes (65-70 minutes) without stopping our legs. However, in the remaining 15 minutes, our legs stopped and the opponent made effective player substitutions, creating space in the front line and making it difficult for us to win loose balls. In the end, we were pushed back, but I think we were able to end the game in a draw thanks to the efforts of our GK.

【Player Comments】
《Okaniwa》
"Even though I haven't been able to practice with other players much, the seniors have been giving me a lot of encouragement, so I was able to approach the game with a little more relaxation."
However, the first 20 minutes were a tough situation.
The players in front and behind me encouraged me, so I was able to gradually show myself. I have no regrets, but I feel that I need to raise my own standards.
(What was the reason for becoming stiff?) I think it was because of the tension or the atmosphere of the venue.
(The opposing player was the key player in the attack) He was told to be the key player since the meeting. I thought I wouldn't let him do it, but I was a little stiff and as the second half went on, I got used to it and understood how to dribble and the distance between us. As an improvement point, I think I was a little too easily done in the beginning.
(Harvest and challenges?) The coordination with the defense and line control is still lacking, and I didn't have any offsides where I dropped too far back.
Even in attack, at first it was tough so there was a little less movement, but I hope to increase the amount of movement from the beginning and become a source of points.
Unlike U-18, each individual's strength is very high, and I want to raise the standard even higher.
(What is Standard?) It's about not letting them play one-on-one in defense, and aligning the line with the seniors.
In attack, we want to have a lot of vertical movement, and in terms of the quality when going up, we still need to improve our coordination with the FW players and the quality of our passes. So we want to work on those areas.
(What's the difference with U-18?) The clear difference was in terms of speed and one-on-one strength. I'm usually not a player who gets cramps, but I got cramps towards the end of the second half, and I think that affected my overall strength in those areas.
(What about the play after the stiffness is gone?) We were done in on the defensive side, but I thought that if I could attack on my own side, I would gradually get into my own pace.
I feel like I've gotten used to my own pace and have become more relaxed, and I also feel like I've gotten used to the one-on-one aspect.
(Did you hear the voices of the fans and supporters?) Yes, I did. I heard them quite clearly. It was amazing and made me very happy.
(The next match will be held at Ajinomoto Stadium, but) I'm not sure if I can participate yet, but if I'm called, I want to prepare well and gradually improve from today.」
 

※Photos other than the ones shown below are also posted on the official mobile site.
For more information, click here