Win the final match with Tokyo-style soccer!

　Sec. 34 of the J1 League is an away match against Cerezo Osaka. Finally, we are approaching the final match of the league. In the previous match against Kawasaki, although we conceded the opening goal, we completely controlled the pace of the game with Sasa's equalizer in the final stages. We launched a fierce attack and stormed Kawasaki's goal, but we couldn't score the winning goal and ended the match in a draw. However, we can say that we have completely overcome the temporary slump with an unbeaten streak of 11 league matches and regained our momentum. In the final matches of the league, we have troubled the top teams such as G Osaka, Kashima, and Chiba with equal or better performance, so we are confident to challenge C Osaka and aim for victory.

　C Osaka took the lead with 58 points in the previous round. It goes without saying that they are determined to win this crucial match for the championship. In the attack, they have the highly skilled and in-form forward Nishizawa as the key player, along with the agile forward Morishima, midfielder Furuhashi, and the midfielder Fabiano who often makes runs from the midfield. It is necessary to pay sufficient attention to them. Coach Hara also emphasizes the need to control them, saying, "We must absolutely contain them." Tokyo needs to aggressively press from the front as usual and aggressively try to win the ball. On the other hand, the key defender Bruno Quadros is suspended, and Yagimoto will take his place as the center of the three-back defense. They will form a stable defensive line with skillful cover, but if they thoroughly exploit the speed of players like Abe, Toda, and Suzuki Nori, they should be able to create chances by attacking the backline.

　Tokyo, on the other hand, will be without Lucas and Baba due to injury, and Kaji and Sasa will be suspended due to accumulated yellow cards. In their place, Fujiyama will play as right back, Abe Yoshi will be in the forward position, and Toda will take the right midfield position. Coach Hara also said, "The stability of the team's defense is thanks to the pressing from the front. Abe Yoshi, Toda, and Suzuki Norio can run aggressively and chase after the ball wherever it goes. I want to use their energy effectively." He also added, "The opponent's ranking and the title race don't matter. It's about who has the momentum and who is stronger between C Osaka, who has been undefeated in the last 15 matches, and Tokyo, who has been undefeated in 11 matches. The only goal is to win the upcoming match."

　The possibility of winning is still left to 5 teams, but there is no doubt that this game will be the most anticipated game. The players are also burning with the determination to "absolutely not let the championship happen right in front of us". Manager Hara is also enthusiastic, saying, "I want to play a game where everyone can say 'FC Tokyo is the best' with their hearts and souls". Run, run, go and get the ball... Win with the exciting Tokyo-style soccer! Although the occasional wind is cold, the Nagai Stadium is relatively warm, and the game started with Tokyo's kickoff at 2:04 pm.

TOKYO Aim To Sign Off In Style

The final league game of the season saw TOKYO travel south to take on Cerezo Osaka. Despite conceding an early goal to Kawasaki Frontale in the previous game, TOKYO dominated and, following Sasa's equaliser, attacked with abandon but failed to find the winning goal. The team had shaken off the mid-season slump, returned to form and was unbeaten in 11 games. Excellent performances against several of the top sides in recent weeks had boosted confidence and the team aimed to finish the season on a high by claiming one last win.
Cerezo were top of the league with 58 points; a win would see them crowned champions. Their attack was based around strikers Nishizawa and Morishima, with midfielder Furuhashi and defensive midfielder Fabinho also requiring attention from the TOKYO defence. "We have to control them at all costs," warned TOKYO manager Hara. Defender Bruno Quadros missed the game through suspension with Yanagimoto taking his position in a three-man backline. The speed of Toda, Abe and Suzuki would be the visitors' principal weapon if they were to find space behind Cerezo's stable defence.
TOKYO were without the injured Baba and Lucas, while Sasa and Kaji were suspended. Fujiyama appeared at right back, Abe started as lone striker and Toda began in the left wing position. Manager Hara commented, "Our defensive stability comes from the forward players pressing hard from the front. Abe, Suzuki and Toda will run hard and chase all afternoon; we want to use them wisely. Our opponent's title aspirations and league place don't mean anything; they haven't lost for 15 games and we haven't lost for 11. It's just about which team is stronger and has the greater will to win over the 90 minutes."
Five sides remained in contention for the title with this fixture being the main focus of attention. The TOKYO players were determined not to allow Cerezo to celebrate victory in front of them. "Go out and play with heart and spirit. Play so that everybody watching thinks, 'Oh yes, TOKYO are a good team,'" exhorted manager Hara. The teams lined up in a relatively warm Nagai Stadium and TOKYO kicked off shortly after 2pm.

Despite conceding the first goal, Norio Suzuki's goal equalizes the score

　As expected, C Osaka came out attacking. In the 1st minute, FW Furuhashi kept the ball and MF Kudo attacked into the penalty area, resulting in a right corner kick. Despite managing to defend, in the 3rd minute, FW Furuhashi's throw-in from the right side was connected to MF Kudo, who crossed the ball and FW Nishizawa scored with a perfect header in the center. This led to an early goal for C Osaka.

　As Tokyo, we were suddenly put in a difficult position, but we didn't panic and continued to play at our own pace. In the 10th minute, Kajiyama dribbled and took a shot from the middle. In the 13th minute, we earned a free kick from the right corner, although the opponent cleared it once. Immediately after, we earned another free kick from outside the right area. Suzuki Nori aimed directly from a position of 26-27 meters, but it went to the left. In the 16th minute, Fujiyama's early cross was cleared by the opponent's defender. Kanazawa picked up the loose ball and crossed from the left. Imano, who closed in on the clearance, took a shot from the front of the goal, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. Gradually, we began to take control and scored an equalizer from a counterattack.

　20 minutes, Kajiyama, who won the ball near the halfway line from a clearance by Shigeki, sprinted towards the goal with a dribble. He passed the last pass to Suzuki Nori, who had moved up to the left area, and Suzuki Nori scored a goal to equalize! After that, in the 24th minute, Abe Yoshiro on the right side made a dribble into the penalty area from a quick attack and was stopped by the opponent's goalkeeper's great save just before hitting the crossbar. However, after the 30th minute, C Osaka started a fierce counterattack as if they had regained their breath.

　In the 31st minute, MF Zekarlos took a powerful shot from just outside the area after a loose ball from a left free kick. It was heading towards the goal, but Mochida made a save. In the 35th minute, C Osaka launched a quick attack and FW Furuhashi entered the area. Suzuki Nori, who stole the ball, was judged to have committed a foul and a penalty kick was awarded. It was a desperate situation, but Doi stretched his right hand and made a save at the lower corner of the goal from MF Zekarlos' shot. In the 41st minute, FW Nishizawa dropped a right cross from FW Furuhashi in the far area, and FW Morishima, who had closed in on the goal, took a shot from a close distance, but Doi made a solid catch. Despite continued pressure from C Osaka, the team managed to defend and the first half ended with a 1-1 draw.

Suzuki Ties Early Cerezo Strike

As expected, Cerezo attacked TOKYO hard from the kick-off. In the very first minute, Furuhashi held the ball up, then slipped it to Nunobe who burst into the TOKYO penalty area on the right. Somehow the TOKYO defense cleared the danger for a corner. In the 3rd minute, Furuhashi found Nunobe with a quickly taken throw-in down the right wing; Nunobe raced to the byline and delivered a pinpoint cross that Nishizawa adroitly headed down and past Doi to open the scoring for the home side.
TOKYO maintained their poise and steadily set about searching for an equalizer. In the 10th minute, Kajiyama dribbled forward and shot, while in the 13th minute pressure earned a corner kick and then a free kick some 27 meters from goal. Suzuki stepped up but fired his effort wide. In the 16th minute, the Cerezo defense cleared Fujiyama's early cross out to Kanazawa on the left; Kanazawa crossed again and the ball reached Konno in a good position. Konno shot straight at Yoshida in the Cerezo goal. The balance of play was slowly shifting to TOKYO and a rapid counter-attack in the 20th minute brought the equalizer.
Moniwa cleared the ball out to the halfway line where Kajiyama disposed of a Cerezo player and set off for goal at full speed. As he reached the edge of the Cerezo penalty area, he slipped the ball to Suzuki who had raced forward in support on the left; Suzuki buried a low drive into the back of the net and the game was all square. In the 24th minute, Abe hit the bar with a powerful strike from a tight angle following a mesmerizing run into the heart of the home defense. Cerezo reasserted themselves and began to threaten from around the half-hour mark.
In the 31st minute, Ze Carlos latched onto a loose ball following a free kick and lashed a low drive goalward that Moniwa cleared with an outstretched leg. In the 35th minute, Cerezo countered at pace with Furuhashi taking the ball into the TOKYO area on the left. He collapsed under Suzuki's challenge and the referee pointed to the spot. Midfielder Ze Carlos took his time with the free kick but Doi guessed correctly, diving to his right to palm the ball away. In the 41st minute, Furuhashi crossed from the right, Nishizawa headed the ball back into the middle and the unmarked Morishima seemed certain to score from point-blank range but Doi cleanly held his header. Cerezo launched waves of attacks at the TOKYO goal but the visitors' defense refused to buckle and the first period finished 1-1.

Kono's determined goal decides the draw, ending the league match

　Despite receiving instructions from Coach Hara during halftime to "be careful because the opponent will come out strong in the second half," they easily allowed the opposing team to take the lead. In the 47th minute, FW Nishizawa -> Morishima took a shot in front of the goal from MF Zekarlos' pass, but it was blocked by Tokyo DF. However, in the 48th minute, FW Nishizawa picked up the clearance from MF Zekarlos' shot inside the right area and scored a powerful shot.

　Tokyo wanted to launch a counterattack, but they struggled to build up their attacks. Then, in the 54th minute, Miyazawa was substituted for Kurizawa. They changed their approach by using Miyazawa as a starting point to send the forward into the space behind the opponent's defense and pick up loose balls, gradually gaining control of the ball and launching a counterattack. In the 56th minute, Miyazawa boldly aimed for a free kick from a somewhat distant position, but it went over the crossbar. In the 58th minute, Kajiyama showed persistence in the midfield, Suzuki Nori -> Toda connected directly, and Abe Yoshii, who had moved up on the right side of the area, took a free shot, but once again it went over the crossbar. In the 62nd minute, Jean attempted a header from Miyazawa's right free kick, but it narrowly missed to the left of the goal. In the 65th minute, C Osaka launched a quick attack and Nishizawa, the forward, turned and took a shot, but it went to the right of the goal.

　Tokyo, who completely attacks, faces the development of C Osaka's counterattacks. In the 69th minute, Yusuke KONDO was substituted for Kajiyama. They switched to a two-top formation to increase the number of attacks and go for a goal. In the 73rd minute, Fujiyama shoots the ball that came loose from the left corner kick, and it falls again in front of the goal, but they still couldn't score.

　In the 75th minute, Jean had a great chance for a free kick in front of the goal, but Miyazawa's shot was blocked by the opponent's wall. In the 78th minute, Jean followed up on Miyazawa's left free kick from the chaos in front of the goal, and the ball flew towards the goal where the opponent's goalkeeper had come out, but the defender cleared it. In the 83rd minute, Kanazawa → Konno connected and Miyazawa took a good shot, but the opponent's goalkeeper made a save. Just when it seemed like the goal was out of reach, in the 89th minute, a goal was finally born.

　After Fujiyama's dribble breakthrough, Miyazawa put a liner-like ball far from the goal with a right corner kick. Yusuke Kondo, who had been running fiercely, made a powerful volley shot, but was blocked by the opponent's defender. However, Imano, who followed up on this, calmly chested the ball and shot with his left foot! With a determined goal that reflected the feelings of the entire team, they caught up to a tie. After that, the time was up without any goals from both teams during the 3 minutes of stoppage time. The league match ended with 12 undefeated games.

　【Player Comments】《Konno》"Cerezo, who was in first place, had momentum and a strong front three. But we wanted to show that we also have strength. I think it was a good game. I definitely wanted to score in that situation. The opponent was very focused, but I was able to do a chest trap as I imagined and score. The opponent may be disappointed, but I also would have been devastated if we had lost. I thought if they won the championship right in front of us, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. However, we ended up not losing for 12 consecutive games, but today we only drew. This is a regrettable reflection that we couldn't turn this into a win throughout the season. I want to aim for even higher quality and consistent play to play high-level soccer."《Suzuki Nori》"We scored early, so I thought the opponent would definitely start defending. So we switched to attacking with speed. As for the shot, I've always been told, 'Just kicking with all your strength near the goal won't work,' and I saw Abe-chan on the opposite side, so I aimed for the far post. I think I was able to kick it calmly. To be honest, I wanted to win. I think my weakness was exposed in the situation where we gave up a penalty kick. I was shaken. I want to use this as an experience to grow mentally."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Cerezo is a very good team and has gone undefeated in 15 games. We heard that there would be a lot of fans coming to the game because the championship is at stake. We were able to win or draw, so we entered the game without fear and showed our strengths even without Lucas and Lins. We knew that Cerezo thought it would be difficult to win with a draw, so we told the players to be prepared for a strong start, but both goals were scored in the beginning of the first and second half. We were trying to connect passes, but they were taken away and scored on the counter. Cerezo tends to play more defensively after scoring a goal, so we talked at halftime about attacking without fear. In the end, we were losing, so we added more players to the front line and used Miyazawa's long balls or rebounds to create chances. We also put in Miyazawa because we thought we could create chances from restarts. It wasn't because Kajiyama or Kurisawa were playing poorly, but we made the substitution with that strategy in mind. I think the players fought until the very end and that was great. In the home game against Cerezo, we were leading 2-0, but they caught up with a PK and FK, so it was the opposite result today. But after playing the game, I think Cerezo is a really good team with a fast transition between offense and defense. I heard that Gamba won the championship, but this season, any team could have won. However, objectively speaking, I think Gamba should have won the championship much earlier. I'm thinking of getting a present from Mr. Nishino."

　[Summary of C Osaka Coach Kobayashi's Press Conference] "We were able to score at a really good timing in the beginning, but the following 20 minutes were unstable. Since we were able to score, it would have been better if we could have passed the ball more calmly and balanced our defense. Also, I think we couldn't stay calm when the opponent approached, and we panicked. Since Suzuki Norio remained on the left side, we placed DF Fujimoto on the ball side and dropped one midfielder to focus on the lone striker, which worked well in the second half, but our defense was still unstable. We ended up adapting to the opponent's linear attacks, and our own attacks became one-off as well. We were easily caught by their passes, and couldn't find our rhythm, resulting in conceding on the counter. Even in such a situation where we couldn't create that tempo, it was significant that we were able to score in a good way. As a team, we are gradually improving, and experiences like today will lead to the next step. We need to continue pursuing being able to defend and keep the ball firmly in the last 5 minutes, 10 minutes... There is a need to work harder for the upcoming season, as both myself and the staff have learned the intensity of the final 5 minutes. We want to give it our all for the next season."

Late Konno Strike Ties It For Tenacious TOKYO

Although manager Hara warned his team that Cerezo would continue their all-out attack as the second period began, TOKYO conceded early in the half yet again. After Ze Carlos and Nishizawa neatly set up Morishima for a shot that the TOKYO defense somehow blocked in the 47th minute, Nishizawa gave his side the lead a minute later, rifling home after a deflected shot landed at his feet.
TOKYO were struggling in attack and Miyazawa replaced Kurisawa in the 54th minute. Miyazawa began to dictate play, probing the space behind the Cerezo defense with accurate balls for his forwards to chase as TOKYO slowly increased the amount of time in possession of the ball. Miyazawa fired a long-range free kick over the bar in the 56th minute and Abe fired high from inside the area after Kajiyama battled hard to gain control of the ball in the 58th minute. Jean headed Miyazawa's deep free kick against the outside of the post in the 62nd minute. Cerezo came close to extending their lead in the 65th minute as Nishizawa fired narrowly wide following a counterattack.
The pattern of the game developed into TOKYO pressing for the equalizer while Cerezo sat back, content to defend their lead while looking to hit on the counterattack. Striker Kondo replaced Kajiyama in the 69th minute as TOKYO switched to a two forward formation. In the 73rd minute, Fujiyama pounced onto a loose ball following a corner but saw his shot blocked; picking up the rebound he raced into the area but found no way through.
TOKYO earned a free kick in prime position, just outside the Cerezo area, in the 75th minute but Miyazawa struck his effort into the defensive wall. Jean came within a few inches of tying the game in the 78th minute as he poked a loose ball towards the undefended goal after Yoshida found himself stranded following a wild charge at a Miyazawa free kick and a goal mouth scramble. The ball bobbled towards the line until a defender slid in to hack it clear. In the 83rd minute, Yoshida cleanly held a curling, dipping strike from Miyazawa. Cerezo were hanging on for grim death; just as they seemed to have survived TOKYO's onslaught and the final seconds of regulation time ticked away, the goal that had threatened for so long finally arrived.
Fujiyama pushed forward, winning a corner on the right. Kondo met Miyazawa's low ball with a thunderous volley that smacked into a defender and flew up in the air; Konno took the ball on his chest and neatly dispatched a volley through a ruck of players and into the corner of the net. The tenacious spirit shown by the team had earned a deserved equalizer. The three minutes of injury time failed to produce a decisive goal and the match ended 2-2. TOKYO had stretched their unbeaten run to 12 games.

Players' comments
Konno
"Cerezo were the league leaders and played with three forwards but we showed how strong we are as well today. It was a good game, I thought. When the chance came at the end I was determined to score. Our opponents were very focused but I just visualised trapping the ball on my chest and shooting; it went in exactly as I saw it. They were thunderstruck and I think I would have been too, if I were in their position. Losing when you are so near to winning the title must be something you regret for the rest of your life. But anyway, the match was a draw and we haven't lost for 12 games now. We have to aim to play better football at a higher level".

Suzuki
"After they scored early we expected them to defend so we knew we had to use our pace to get back into the game. I usually go for the near post when I shoot but I saw Abe at the far post, tried to keep calm and hit it. To be honest, I wanted to win today. I showed my weakness in giving the penalty away; I just got over excited. It's another experience I can learn from to make the mental side of my game stronger".


TOKYO manager Hara
"Cerezo are a very good team and hadn't lost for 15 games. This was a big game today; the outcome of the title depended on it, there was a huge crowd and even though we were without Lucas and Sasa we played bravely and performed well on such a big stage. We knew that Cerezo would have to win the game to take the title so we expected them to hit us hard and indeed we conceded an early goal in each half. We tried to play the ball in towards our players' feet but lost possession and that allowed them to counter attack. We sent on Miyazawa for his ability to play the long ball; the idea was for Konno to win the loose balls or gain an advantage from quick restarts. Kajiyama and Kurisawa weren't playing badly at all, we just wanted to change our style of play. I'm very pleased with the way the players fought to the very end. In the reverse fixture we took a two goal lead but they equalised with a late penalty and a free kick; today was the exact opposite. They're a good team though and switch from defence to attack very quickly. Any one of five teams could have won the title this year. Gamba won but they really should have sown it up much earlier. I think Mr.Nishino ( the Gamba manager ) owes us a present".

Cerezo manager Kobayashi
"We got an early goal but then struggled for about 20 minutes after that. We should have kept our heads and played the ball around but panicked after they scored. The second half was better as we had moved Fujimoto out from defensive midfield but the defence was very nervous. We were forced to adapt to our opponents' long ball game and our attack became one-dimensional. They picked off our through balls easily and that allowed them to counter attack. We couldn't find our rhythm but we have to be able to create scoring chances even when we aren't playing fluently. The team has come a long way though; today will be a great learning experience. We learned the hard way how important it is to defend solidly and keep the ball in the last few minutes. We'll be aiming to do our best next year".