Finish the season with a victory!

　The 2001 J1 League, which will be concluded with a match against Tokyo Verdy 1969 this round. It was the first meeting since the opening match in March, but the situations of both teams had become contrasting during this season. Verdy, who is involved in a relegation battle that has dragged on until the final round, will surely approach this match with all their might. On the other hand, Tokyo needs to focus on the game in front of them on a different stage from the relegation battle, despite the absence of Sandro and Kelly due to accumulated warnings, as well as Amalao and Tetsuya ITO due to injuries. Both teams have "Tokyo" as their hometown, and it is inevitable that Verdy, who has "no future," will come at them with fierce fighting spirit from the start, but Tokyo cannot afford to lose this match.

　The starting lineup consists of DF Minoru KOBAYASHI on the right, Yamao, Komine, and Fujiyama. In the midfield, there is a double pivot of Shimodaira and Miura, with Toru KABURAGI in the center, Sato on the right, and Masamitsu KOBAYASHI on the left. They kicked off with Fukuda as the lone striker.

Showcasing Edimundo's Presence

　From the beginning, Sato on the right side of Tokyo checked Verdy MF Ogura rigorously. Verdy kicked a free kick into the goal area, and MF Nagai, who received the return outside the penalty area, shot without hesitation. It was anticipated that it would be an intense match from the start. Against Verdy, who actively attacked, Tokyo caught up with a long ball played behind the defense in the 4th minute, and passed to Miura, who had come up for support. Miura dribbled into the penalty area, shook off three opposing defenders, and took the ball to the goal line to aim for a goal, but the shot went far off target. After missing this big chance, Tokyo became completely defensive. They struggled against Verdy's tough midfield pressure, quick transition from defense to attack, and attacks led by MF Nagai and FW Edimundo. In the 5th minute, Nagai dribbled up the midfield and took a shot. In the 7th minute, Edimundo broke through in front of the goal with a through pass, but Komine stopped him just in time. In the 10th minute, there was a free kick in front of the goal, in the 11th minute, a powerful shot from Edimundo after a post-play, and in the 13th minute, another free kick in front of the goal. They were bombarded with shots, but Doi's excellent save prevented any goals.

　However, it was difficult to stop Edmundo's dribble from a withdrawn position, and there was no moment to relax even for a second, as he could shoot or make a last pass from there. And just 13 minutes later, Edmundo dribbled into the penalty area, threading through the defenders, and the ball for the final touch spilled in front of Nagai who was waiting. Nagai swung his right foot and scored. They conceded the opening goal from Edmundo's breakthrough.

Tokyo struggling to counterattack...

　Tokyo, who wants to counterattack, continues to struggle as their passes do not connect despite their intention to move forward. Even when they steal the ball near their own penalty area and send a long ball to the front line, they fail to trap it or get it cut off by the opponent, making it difficult to maintain possession calmly. In the 30th minute, Kaburagi scored a header from Sato's cross, but it went over the bar. In the 36th minute, Fujiyama aggressively intercepted and attacked from the right side, but Sato was heavily checked and knocked down. Even the headed shot by Yamao from the free kick obtained here could not find the target.

　After that, Verdy's MF Yamada made a sharp read and a fierce tackle, and Nagai was overwhelmed by Edimundo, and the ball was attacked in front of the goal, but the DFs defended the goal without losing focus. They held back the 13 shots in the first half to only one goal. On the contrary, in the 44th minute, Miura carried the ball from GK Doi to the front line and aggressively attacked the goal, earning a CK. Fujiyama picked up the clear ball from this CK and passed it to Sato on the left side. Sato lifted a perfect cross, and Yamao jumped in from behind Kagamiki and Fukuda and took a shot on the far side. The ball was initially saved by Verdy's GK Kikuchi, but Yamao pushed it into the goal with his body!

　However, the ball seemed to shake the net, but unfortunately it was judged as a "handball". However, even in the midst of being attacked, they showed a play that took advantage of one chance and connected the hope of a comeback to the second half.

Intense back and forth attacks

　Tokyo replaced Shimohira with Kina in the second half. In the 46th minute, Fukuda received a pass from Kobayashi after connecting the ball from Kina's keep and took a shot from outside the left penalty area. Kina's dribbling to keep the ball created a rhythm and actively aimed for a shot, which was struggling to connect passes in the midfield. In the 47th minute, Sato obtained a corner kick from a breakthrough on the right side, but Yamao's header shot from that corner kick was caught by the goalkeeper.

　I never let my guard down against Verdy's attack led by Edmundo, but in the 53rd minute, Kaburagi tried to break through the defense with a pass from Kina, and immediately after, Kaburagi received a pass from Kobayashi and tried to cross from the left side. This cross was inaccurate and couldn't be turned into a shot, but the chance was being created. In the 57th minute, when Sato's cross from the right side was cleared by the defense, Kobayashi took a bold mid-range shot. It was blocked by the defense and resulted in a corner kick, but in the following 61st minute, Toda, who had speed, was substituted for Fukuda, and the mood for a counterattack increased.

　However, in the 64th minute, Atsuhiro MIURA, who had replaced Tsutomu OGURA, broke through the right side and sent a pass to the goal, and Nagai ran in and took a free shot. The ball was caught by Tsuchi as it hit his body, but the intense back and forth battle continues.

Lacking the finishing touch despite showing fierce attacks

　After that, Tokyo began to show signs of fatigue from Verdy's press and dominated the midfield. Sato attacked from the right, while Kaburagi and Kina attacked from the left side, creating chances in front of the goal. In the 69th minute, Kagami replaced Kobayashi. In the 71st minute, Miura stole the ball in the midfield and Sato sent a fast pass behind the defense to utilize Toda's speed. The defense cleared the ball quickly and the goalkeeper caught it, but in the 73rd minute, Kaburagi received Kagami's pass on the left side and made a big switch to the right. Kina aggressively attacked the goal with a shot after Sato dropped the ball in the center. In the 74th minute, Toda broke through the defense line with Kagami's lofted pass, but Verdy's goalkeeper Kikuchi quickly came out and caught it. In the 7th minute, they took advantage of the forward position and Edmundo took a header shot in the penalty area, but goalkeeper Doi made a solid save as well.

　Verdy's ball separation is getting worse and worse, and it is increasingly becoming Tokyo's pace, but they just can't bring it to a finish. In the 83rd minute, Fujiyama intercepted the ball at the defensive line, ran up the midfield, and sent a final pass to Kyoga Kaburagi, but it was offside. From around the 85th minute, Tokyo attacked by sticking to Verdy's goal. In the 88th minute, Verdy counterattacked, Miura ran up the right side and took a shot that missed the left goal, and Tokyo also pushed Yamao forward to aim for a scoring opportunity.

　However, we continued to attack, including 3 minutes of injury time, but ultimately we couldn't take a shot and the time was up. We showed a persistent attacking attitude until the end, but we were left with the challenge of "not being able to win" and it was a frustrating defeat with the weight of one point. As a result, in the second stage, we finished in 8th place with 5 wins, 5 losses, and 5 draws. We also finished the entire J1 League season in 8th place.

　This season, only the Emperor's Cup remains, but the goal is, of course, "to win". This season, we have been fighting for one year with the goal of "winning one title" from the start, but we have not achieved our goals in the league and cup matches. In order to make the Emperor's Cup the culmination of this season, the team and the front will come together as one and bet on the "last chance"!

[Coach Komimi's comment] "We had to change tactics while considering the progress of other venues, but it was quite difficult because the 1-0 time was long. I think it was good that we were able to defend with the help of luck. It was symbolic of this season's battle that we couldn't push back against the opponents who came to recover from a one-point lead. We had the intention to score the second goal, but I think the difference between a team that can relax and play and a team that carries the pressure came out there."

[Coach Okuma's comment] "In today's game, despite the situation of accumulated warnings and injured players, both individually and as a team, I think the players did their best and were able to do what they intended to do. Looking back on the season, we had a good balance as a team in defense, but we felt a lack of strength in the attacking part. If we cannot "decide" things with combinations such as vertical combinations and overlapping of fullbacks, as well as individual strength in terms of finishing ability, we cannot win and end up with a draw. I felt that there was a barrier to consistently aiming higher. However, even in a situation where players who are constantly participating were absent, the balance as a team did not collapse. I feel progress in the fact that the depth of the player's layer has relatively increased. I want to do my best to aim for victory in the Emperor's Cup with a new mindset."