To avoid consecutive losses and prove the growth of attacking soccer

　Sec. 13 will face Shimizu S-Pulse. In the home game at Tokyo Stadium, which is the first game in three weeks, we want to aim for victory with attacking soccer without being dragged down by the defeat in the away game of the previous round. Of course, we want to aim for a higher position by giving our all, and as we approach the final stages of the 2nd stage, we also want to show the proof of growth in this season. Toda will be absent from the team due to an ankle sprain, and Ishikawa will also be absent due to injury, but rookie Baba will make his first league start as a forward. Sato will enter as the right midfielder, and Kaji will also return from injury. It has become a formation that gives new expectations.

　On the other hand, Shimizu S-Pulse plays with a 4-4-2 formation on the team sheet, but in reality, they use a 3-5-2 system with Ichikawa, the right full-back, positioned higher up the field. They have Baron, who is strong in the air, and the Japanese national team's Mitsumaru as the two forwards, with An Jeong-hwan (Jeon JIWAN), who joined in the middle of the second stage, playing in the central midfield, adding a constant threat.

　The match kicked off under a chilly cloudy sky with a temperature of 11.6 degrees.

Proof Positive 

F.C.TOKYO returned to Tokyo Stadium for the 13th game of the J.League second stage, against Shimizu S-Pulse, hoping to make amends for their last-gasp defeat by Grampus in the previous match. TOKYO were without the injured Ishikawa and Toda; Sato replaced the former while youngster Yuta Baba made his first appearance as striker. Kaji returned from injury to complete the starting line up.
S-Pulse presented a 4-4-2 formation on paper but on the field right side back Ichikawa was pushed forward, creating a 3-5-2 system. Towering centre forward Baron and fleet footed Japan striker Santos formed the strike force with Korean World Cup star Ahn Jung Hwan in the creative midfield role.
The game kicked off on a cold afternoon in suburban Tokyo.

Early goal competition

　The game, which started with both teams feeling each other out, got off to an early start. In the 3rd minute, Shimizu picked up a loose ball in the midfield and passed it to MF Ito. Ito then returned the ball to FW Mitozhu, who was in the center of the penalty area, and made a fierce dash towards the goal. Mitozhu received the return pass again and quickly scored a goal. Shimizu took the lead with a brilliant one-two attack.

　For Tokyo, it was a conceding goal at the beginning that they couldn't keep up with Mark and were "done" cheaply. However, they didn't let it get them down and launched a solid attack to counter. In the 6th minute, the ball was connected from the right by Kaji to Baba in the center, and Miyazawa picked up the ball that the opponent's defender cut off and took a shot. It was saved by the goalkeeper, but they showed a fast-paced attack. And right after that, in the 7th minute, Amaral aggressively joined Baba in his attacking run, luring the opponent's defender out. The ball was cut off just before the penalty area, but Miyazawa ran into the loose ball and swung his left foot from behind the left corner of the penalty area, and the ball bounced once in front of the opponent's goalkeeper and found the back of the right corner of the goal. They quickly reset the game.

Flying Start 

Both teams soon generated some heat on the pitch, however, as the game began at a furious pace and S-Pulse needed only three minutes to take the lead.
Ahn latched on to a loose ball in midfield, played a one-two with Ito then played another one-two with Santos on the edge of the TOKYO area before coolly stroking the ball inside the left post for a sublime goal.
TOKYO, given an early and painful lesson on the danger posed by Ahn and Santos, refused to panic and attacked with purpose and commitment. In the 6th.minute Miyazawa reacted fastest to a deflected pass from Baba and fired a low drive that the Shimizu keeper did well to save. A minute later, and in a similar position, another TOKYO attack was broken up with the ball again falling to Miyazawa; he produced a curling shot which bounced awkwardly in front of the keeper and buried itself in the right corner of the net. TOKYO needed only four minutes to restore parity.

Despite Shizuoka Baron being sent off...

　Both teams scored goals in pressure-free situations, but afterwards, they tried to build up the play by connecting passes, yet they were unable to create space for each other, resulting in a midfield battle.

　Among them, Tokyo dominates the ball and shows an aggressive attitude towards the goal. In the 9th minute, Sato, who was waiting in front of the goal, took a free volley shot from Kelly's cross from the right side, but it was blocked by the goalkeeper's great save. In the 19th minute, Baba sent a decisive ground through pass to Amaral from the midfield. However, he was closed down by the opponent's defender just before shooting. In the 22nd minute, Sato took a shot from outside the right penalty area. In the 25th minute, Jahn aimed for the goal from a free kick, and in the 26th minute, Sato ran into the shot with speed after Amaral connected the ball to the front line. However, despite overwhelming attacks, they couldn't break the goal.

　At the 29th minute, Taku SHIMIZU, the forward for Shizuoka, received his second warning for rough play and was sent off. Shizuoka was now forced to play with 10 players.

　Tokyo, with Kelly's keeping ability, Fujiyama's overlap, Miyazawa's side change, and Baba's dribbling accent, grasped the rhythm, but couldn't create decisive scenes. In the first half injury time, Kelly in the center connected with Baba on the left, then Amaral, and Kelly again took a shot, but it hit the goalkeeper's face and remained 1-1 as they entered the second half.

Baron Off! 

Shocked by their defensive profligacy both teams tightened up; space was at a premium and the game developed into a midfield battle. TOKYO nearly claimed the lead in the 9th.minute when Kelly danced down the wing and centred at waist height; Sato fired his volley into the ground and Shimizu keeper Hada produced a superb save to turn the ball around the post. TOKYO slowly began to gain ascendancy in midfield and created a series of half-chances, repelled by some increasingly desperate defending from the visitors.
TOKYO seemed to receive a major boost in the 29th.minute when Baron was red-carded for two consecutive fouls. The home side, paced by Kelly's ability to hold the ball up, Fujiyama's overlapping, Miyazawa's cross field passes and Baba's dribbling, were comfortably in the driver's seat but unable to fashion a clear-cut opening. In first half injury time Baba and Amaral worked an opening for Kelly but his shot was straight at the keeper. The half finished 1-1.

Unable to take advantage of numerical superiority, sinking to Shimizu's counterattack

　Tokyo continues to attack from the start of the second half. Immediately after the start, Miyazawa aims for a direct goal from a free kick from the right side of the penalty area. In the 48th minute, Baba drops a header from Kaji in front of the goal and sends it to Amaral on the left side of the goal area, but it narrowly misses.

　However, Shimizu took advantage of Tokyo's forward position and made a breakthrough. In the 49th minute, Shimizu intercepted Tokyo's pass in their own half, then connected with Mitsuru and Yasushi with two passes. Yasushi then dribbled forward. Allowing this solo run, Mitsuru, who had moved up to support from the left side, received the final pass. Mitsuru aimed at the position of goalkeeper Doi and scored with a looping shot. With this goal, Shimizu's sharp attack by the Japanese-Korean representative duo resulted in an additional point being taken away. Shimizu, who took the lead, had firmly established their strategy here. They reinforced the number of players in the defense line and focused on counterattacks led by Yasushi and Mitsuru. Tokyo struggled against this intention.

　In the 58th minute, Sato broke through the defense line behind with a sharp cross from Miyazawa's left, but his close-range shot from the right corner of the goal area was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 63rd minute, rookie Suzuki, who is left-handed, was substituted for Fujiyama. They aimed for a goal with a 3-5-2 formation. Despite it being Suzuki's first appearance in the league, he bravely created an opportunity with a cross from the left and in the 64th minute, Shigeki Mochida intercepted the cross and won a corner kick. However, three consecutive corner kicks were unable to result in a shot due to the opponent's defenders marking tightly. In the 69th minute, Fukuda was substituted for Baba. Tokyo continued to increase their momentum and rhythm in attack, while Shimizu defended. An impressive battle between Tokyo's attack and Shimizu's defense continued. In the 74th minute, Suzuki followed up on a ball cleared by the opponent's defender from a right corner kick, but the ball went over the goal.

　80 minutes, Kaji's early cross reached Fukuda, who was free inside the penalty area, and he had a big chance, but his shot after controlling the ball was saved by the goalkeeper who came out. In the 83rd minute, Suzuki crossed from the left and Fukuda headed the ball on the far side, but once again the goalkeeper caught it. After that, Kaji crossed from the right and Suzuki crossed from the left continuously, and Tokyo launched a fierce attack, saying "Let's score a goal somehow!", but on the contrary, there were many defenders in front of the goal, and Shimizu took the loose ball and counterattacked. In the injury time, Doi also showed his determination by going up for the corner kick, but Tokyo, who lacked finishing power, couldn't take advantage of their numerical superiority and the time was up. In front of Shimizu's tenacious defense and sharp counterattacks, Tokyo suffered another defeat.

[Summary of Manager's Press Conference] "We talked about moving the ball quickly and creating 2v1 situations from the sides to attack, especially since the opponent had one less player in the first half. However, there was some impatience in the quality of crosses, passes, and shots, and we couldn't create good opportunities. The biggest reason for our defeat was not being able to convert decisive chances. We had many fans come to support us, and everyone tried to play attacking football, which was evident in the players' efforts. I think Baba and Suzuki also took bold actions. We wanted to catch up to the tie faster by moving the ball quicker, but our attacking rhythm became too slow. We lacked power and accuracy."

[Summary of Shimizu Zemnovic's press conference] "It was a difficult and tough match. We took the lead but conceded a goal a few minutes later, and it became a game where we couldn't predict the outcome. In addition, we were without Baron, which made it even more challenging. In the second half, Tokyo had more control over the game, but it was important to use counterattacks as a weapon. We scored an additional goal in that flow, and then we faced fierce attacks from FC Tokyo, but we didn't allow any goals. I want to celebrate not only the effort and fight we put in but also the results and achievements. Furthermore, I want to praise the fighting spirit and fair play of FC Tokyo's players as true footballers."

One Break Breaks TOKYO 

TOKYO began the second half on the attack. The Shimizu keeper held Miyazawa's free kick soon after the restart then Amaral went desperately close to connecting with Baba's knock down from a Kaji cross. In the 48th minute another attack broke down and Santos pounced on the loose ball to feed Ahn; Ahn raced up field, drew the defence and slipped the ball to Santos who chipped the advancing Doi from just inside the penalty area. The ball described a perfect arc into the far corner of the goal and TOKYO had fallen behind to the smoothest of sucker punches.
From then on the game settled into a predictable pattern: TOKYO piling forward in search of an equaliser, S-Pulse content to defend en masse and strike on the break.
In the 58th minute Sato raced through the S-Pulse back line to meet Miyazawa's powerfully struck cross with a leaping volley from point blank range that drew a stunning instinctive save from the keeper. Suzuki made his first J.League appearance when he replaced Fujiyama in the 63rd minute as TOKYO switched to a 3-5-2 formation, and was soon involved as his cross to Moniwa earned a corner. TOKYO won a string of corners but the massed ranks of the visitors' defence proved an impenetrable wall. Fukuda replaced Baba in the 69th minute and had a clear chance to tie the score in the 80th minute as an early cross from Kaji found him unmarked in the penalty area.
The keeper spread himself and somehow blocked the shot. The keeper again foiled Fukuda in the 84th minute, this time holding a far post header.
TOKYO keeper Doi joined the attack for a corner in injury time but to no avail; the home side had been undone by solid defending and the rapier-like counter-attacking prowess of Santos and Ahn.


TOKYO Manager Hara:
" With our opponents reduced to ten men so early in the game I instructed the team to move the ball around at speed and use our advantage to outnumber them down the wings. But the crossing, passing and shooting were not of sufficient quality to produce an equaliser. Not taking our chances was the reason we lost. We maintained our commitment to attacking football, and in that respect I feel Baba and Suzuki performed well, but we couldn't add enough speed or variety in attack. We were a stopping train today, not a bullet train ".

S-Pulse manager Zemunovic:
"That was a hard game. It was impossible to predict what was going to happen next. After we lost Baron TOKYO dominated the game and we knew we would have to find something on the counterattack if we were to have any hope of salvaging the game. We managed that and then held TOKYO in midfield and defence. I think all football fans would like to praise F.C.TOKYO for their fair play".