Home Final Match, Escape the Quagmire with Support!

In the 14th round of the 2nd stage, which is the last home game of this season's J1 League. Tokyo, who has not won since July 22nd, cannot afford to lose here in order to repay the strong support they have received over the past year. On the other hand, JEF United Ichihara, who can secure their J1 status with a win today. They are in high spirits after achieving a victory with a V-goal against Avispa Fukuoka in the previous round. However, regardless of the opponent's situation, aim for victory with your own soccer!

Unmovable Game

Naito, who has recovered from his injury after three games, returns. As in the previous match, Asano starts and there are high expectations for an exciting football match.

However, the first shot was taken by Ichihara, who adopted an attacking formation of 3-4-3. In the 1st minute, FW Benson ran into the box after a one-two pass between MF Muto and Sakai and took a shot. They showed an attacking rhythm. Tokyo had a free kick taken by TUTO in the 9th minute, but it went over the goal. In the 16th minute, Masuda broke free from the defense line aiming for a ball from Asari, but he couldn't take a shot. They created opportunities, but couldn't convert them into decisive chances.

Ichihara, who is pushing the game forward, had MF Nakanishi dribble from the backline in the 39th minute. Benson ran in and took a shot at the last pass sent to the goal. This was a nice save by GK Doi, narrowly avoiding a pinch.

The ball is unsettled in front of the thick midfield of Ichihara, and the side MFs Sakai and Nakanishi cover the backline, sometimes preventing side attacks by the 5-back DFs, making it difficult for Tokyo. Without fast combination plays or a quick overall press, the impression of slow soccer remains, and both teams ended the first half with no goals.

No shot, no goal...

Tokyo, who wants to break the situation, substituted Kina for Asano in the second half. "I want to pass the ball quickly to Kina and Naito and make them the starting point of the attack" (Coach Okuma). However, once again in the second half, FW Oshiba dribbled through Tokyo's right side. In the penalty area, Ogura stuck with Benson and passed to Sakai for a shot. Although they didn't allow a goal, it was a close call.

Tokyo, who wants to create some attacking opportunities, somehow. In the 55th minute, TUTO tried to get into a shooting position again from TUTO and Masuda's direct pass, but couldn't shoot as Ichihara DF closed in. In the 57th minute, Asari overlapped to the right side and crossed, but no one could connect in front of the goal. Immediately after that, Masuda shot past the goal by dribbling past the DF in front of the penalty area. And in the 60th minute, from the loose ball of Ichihara's CK, TUTO, Fujiyama, and Amarao counterattacked with their favorite speed, but couldn't get the shot on target. On the contrary, in the 63rd minute, Ichihara FW Ogura's middle shot hit the crossbar directly. Just as Tokyo's rhythm began to emerge gradually, it was a moment that made us hold our breath.

Ichihara substituted Benson with the speedy forward Lin and in the 76th minute, he substituted Ogura with the forward Baron. Tokyo also made substitutions, replacing the lackluster TUTO with Kaburagi in the 63rd minute and replacing Masuda with Yukihiko SATO in the 84th minute. They tried to break the deadlock with player substitutions.

After that, it became a back-and-forth counterattack, but both teams' defenders defended bravely and the match ended 0-0 after 90 minutes. Up until this point, Ichihara had 14 shots compared to Tokyo's 4 shots.

Tokyo finally managed to grasp the pace just before the end, but entered the extra time with the help of Ichihara's carelessness.

Yukihiko's goal that settled the 112-minute battle!!

As the game went into extra time, there was an intense exchange of offense and defense. Both teams had two corner kicks each by the 95th minute, but none resulted in a goal. With both teams struggling to score, the second half of extra time began. Tokyo pushed forward with Naito and Sandro, but they were unable to create effective opportunities. Neither team was able to maintain composure and control the pace, leading to a frantic back and forth.

However, in the 112th minute, Amaral passed the ball into the space in front of the penalty area, and Naito ran in and delivered a powerful cross in front of the goal. The goalkeeper of Ichihara GK, who was competing with Kaburagi for this ball, couldn't catch it and Sato, who was filling in the loose ball, shot without hesitation!

Shaking the goal net, they settled the tough battle!! And this left-footed goal not only adorned the final home game with a victory but also marked a valuable one point that put an end to the long streak of defeats.

After the match, Coach Kiyoshi OKUMA addressed the home supporters, saying, "We have been together, rejoicing and grieving, always encouraging each other, with the team of J1 1st graders. This does not mean that the battle of FC Tokyo is over. We will continue to fight together and aim to become a team that can continue to fight together. I am grateful for the support over this year and I pledge to give my all in the remaining one match."

"Verdenik's comment"

"Just like in life, there are very tough things in sports as well. Looking at the result of today's game, I think it is possible for a situation that is quite unbearable to occur. That is why we, as sportspeople, must maintain our mental strength and endure firmly even after such a game, because we are living in this kind of world. I think the player himself fought very well. He put into practice what he had been doing in training on the field, and I think the team is moving forward step by step."

I think today's game was one of the best games we have played so far. However, even though we worked so hard, we were faced with a tough result of zero points. You may question what we have been doing all this time, but I want to move forward with confidence, knowing that we have made progress based on what we have done so far. I think the last play (the challenge with the goalkeeper) was a foul, but if it wasn't a foul, the goalkeeper should have caught it no matter what. I think the same can be said for our attack. We need to improve the quality of our plays to score in the end, and we have to keep working on that."

"Coach Okuma's comment"

"It is difficult for Tokyo to control the flow of the game for 90 minutes in J1. We haven't been able to create our own rhythm and turn it into results in recent matches, which is one of our strengths. There are still various issues, but I think today we did well by focusing on defense. I believe that Toru Kaburagi showed decent movement and effort, which I think is a result of the Korean training camp and other strengthening schedules. It may not have an immediate impact, but when players like him step up and do their job, I feel that the overall team strength will also increase. I also want to bring out more players like him and further improve our overall strength. In the remaining one match, I want to continue playing Tokyo's tenacious football until the end."