Win the final home game of the season with a Tokyo-style battle!

　Sec. 33, which comes just two days after the frustrating comeback loss against Yokohama FM, will be a home match against Urawa Reds. It's hard to believe, but there are only two matches left in this season's J1 League. As you may know, Urawa is on the verge of winning the championship, so today's match will attract a lot of attention. Tokyo is currently on a two-game losing streak and hasn't been getting results, but this is the final home game. Let's show our determination and face Urawa head-on.

　In the two days of practice since the previous match, Inoha and Kajiyama, who missed the Yokohama FM match due to conditioning adjustments, have fully recovered and will both start. Jean and Inoha will form the center-back partnership. Additionally, Shiota will make his first start in a league match since the Nabisco Fukuoka match on May 21. Regarding this decision, Manager Kuramata said, "Tsuchiho has been playing in a way that is not like himself recently. It's not because it's the Urawa match, but every player has a chance, and today was his chance." We will face this match as a united team.

　Urawa is currently in first place, leading by 5 points ahead of G Osaka, who is in second place. However, in the previous round, they drew with Kawasaki and lost to Iwata and Nagoya, among the last 5 matches, so they are in a stagnant state. With the final round remaining, they should be determined to win today. Tokyo players should be fired up in this situation. Nevertheless, it is necessary to remain calm and fight without being disturbed by the surrounding noise. Coach Kuramata also declared, "Urawa is tough, but we don't intend to defend by sitting back. We will attack aggressively from the front and take the victory," in a Tokyo-like battle.

　That is also a big point in how we can fully demonstrate our own strength. We want to take advantage of the pressure on Urawa and calmly and aggressively advance the game. The key to victory is to exploit the spaces on the sides of Urawa's 3-back formation by fast passing and gain an advantage there. In order to respond to your year-long support, we want to show Tokyo's uniqueness and end with a victory in this important match. The match started at 14:03 with Tokyo's kickoff at the cloudy Ajinomoto Stadium, where passionate fans gathered one after another, creating an intense atmosphere.

Pressing Urawa with passionate play, but...

　They took the lead with a passionate play from the beginning. They pressed from the front, and Ishikawa and Tokunaga also attacked, attacking from the side. In the first minute, a pass from Baba to Ishikawa on the right. Ishikawa boldly advanced into the area and took a shot. It went to the left, but the aim was good. In the fifth minute, Fujiyama escaped from the cross of Urawa right MF Hirakawa. From this loose ball, Urawa MF Mitsushu shot, but Tokyo DF blocked it. In the sixth minute, a pass went to Urawa FW Washington who entered the area, and FW Ponte also jumped out, but Inaba cut it off with a slide. In the ninth minute, Baba, who received a pass from the left just outside the area, took a sharp shot directly, but it was blocked by Urawa DF Tatsurio with a header.

　In the midst of a tense development, Urawa's counterattack, led by GK Shioda, DF Jean, and Inaba, who made their first start in the league, all worked hard to hold back and turn to attack. In the 22nd minute, Tokunaga advanced to the goal line. On a ground cross, Baba ran in and took a shot that changed course directly, but narrowly missed the target... In the 26th minute, in Tokyo's territory, Urawa's right MF Hasebe connected with central MF Yamada and left MF Mitsumaru, and Mitsumaru crossed. Jean's rebound was picked up and shot, but Shioda made the save! Immediately turning to counterattack, in the 27th minute, they quickly took a right corner kick. Baba's kick was headed by Jean, who was free. It was a great opportunity, but it went over the frame.

　At 30 minutes, Inomata picked up Ishikawa's loose ball from the right cross and took a shot from just outside the area, but it was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's great save. With the resulting right corner kick, Lucas headed the ball from Baba's cross, but once again it was blocked by the opponent's defender. At 35 minutes, Inomata headed the ball from the right corner kick. At 41 minutes, Toda headed the ball into the net from Tokunaga's cross, surpassing Ishikawa. However, neither of them were able to score. In the middle of the first half, it started raining, but the whole team defended against Urawa's attacks and made good counterattacks. However, the first half ended with a 0-0 score.

Unable to seize the opportunity, ends in a scoreless draw

　In the second half, we also grasped the rhythm and created chances. We brought the attack from a persistent defense, and in the 53rd minute, Ishikawa, Kajiyama, and Baba launched a thick attack. Toda received Kajiyama's pass from the right in front of the goal and let it through. Baba ran to the far side to follow up and connected with Ishikawa on the opposite side, but in the end, they couldn't finish. In the 56th minute, Lucas caught up with Kajiyama's lob pass to the front line and tenaciously kept the ball. He passed it back to the center, and Kajiyama dribbled past one opponent and took a shot, but it lacked power. In the 58th minute, Tokunaga advanced into the central space and sent a strong pass towards the goal. Lucas tried to finish it with his left foot, but it narrowly missed the target.

　Unable to take advantage of the chance, the physical activity decreased as time passed, and there were moments where we were put in a dangerous situation due to mistakes. However, other players stayed focused and worked together to cover for each other, continuing to aim for the goal. In the 61st minute, Urawa midfielder Mitsushu played a through pass into the area. Shioda jumped out to catch it, but before he could, it was taken by Urawa midfielder Yamada, who then took a shot from an angle with no space. However, it slightly curved to the right and we escaped the danger.

　In the 65th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Toda. Pressured by the excitement of the stands, in the 75th minute, he kicked a FK from the right side of the opponent's field, but the sharp grounder ball was caught by the opponent's GK. In the 70th minute, Urawa also substituted Ono for MF Yamada, and in the final stage, they were pushed by plays starting from Ono. In the 79th minute, Inoha was unable to stop Washington, the Urawa FW who entered the right area, and he was shot from a close distance, but Shioda saved it with his right foot and did not allow a goal.

　On the contrary, in the 85th minute, they bewildered Urawa with fast passing. Kajiyama ran in response to Baba's lofted pass into the penalty area and dropped it back while competing with the opponent's defender. Suzuki, who had run into this position, took a shot! The momentum was strong, but once again it was blocked by Urawa's goalkeeper's great save... In the end, Tokyo had 20 shots compared to Urawa's 14 shots, but they couldn't score and the game ended. The intense battle ended in a scoreless draw. With G Osaka's victory, Urawa's championship was not decided, but for Tokyo, they just wanted to finish their final home game with a win after playing well. As a result, they only managed to take 1 point and dropped one place to 15th in the standings.

　After the match, Coach Kuramata expressed his gratitude for the support throughout the year. Following that, Miura, who has decided to retire at the end of this season, also gave a speech. Thank you very much for your warm support. Please continue to support us until the Emperor's Cup, including the away match against Oita.

　【Player Comments】《Shioda》"I didn't want to lose to Urawa and it was also Fumitake Miura's last home game, so I definitely didn't want to end with a loss. I was told to start yesterday, but I was instructed to "just play my usual game" and that motivated me. Urawa is a strong team, but I have been fighting in the Nabisco Cup, so it was easier to fight against them. I watched a lot of recent videos and thoroughly analyzed things like covering and defending against counters. In the end, Urawa MF Ono created opportunities and made the sides move up. We were under pressure from their strong attacks and had to defend for a long time. But I think the key to being able to play this kind of game was that we all came together and showed unity. We wanted to win, but it was good that we were able to keep a clean sheet. Before warming up, I asked Fumi-san, "Can I wear your uniform?" I don't have any experience playing in the league, so I asked him to lend me his experience of playing in nearly 300 games. He kindly agreed and wearing that uniform helped me calm down. Today, I felt like everything I have been doing was not wrong. We have one more league game and the Emperor's Cup, and I want to keep winning for Fumi-san."《Miura》"Before the game, I said to the players who were going to play and those who weren't, "I'm sorry to ask this of you, but please lend me your strength today." Everyone shook hands with each other and went out onto the pitch. I was watching from the bench, but everyone was really focused because it was our last home game. It didn't matter if Urawa won the league, we just wanted to win and that showed in our play. We had the fighting spirit. When I look back on my 6 years in Tokyo, the first thing that comes to mind is "I was happy." The fans were warm and the club staff always treated me with care as Fumitake Miura. I am grateful to have spent 6 happy years as a player."

　[Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "I am grateful to have had this kind of game in our final home match. Although it ended in a draw, I think the players did well. We had many chances, so I wanted to turn them into a victory if possible, but I am satisfied that we were able to prevent Urawa from celebrating. However, not being able to score is a recurring issue. In the first half, we aimed to break through the opponent's back three, especially on the right side with Ishikawa and Tokunaga. We created opportunities, such as Baba's shot, that could have made a difference if they had gone in... but we couldn't convert them into decisive shots. In the second half, we expected Urawa to be more aggressive, so we tried to counterattack from both sides, but we couldn't score. It was good that everyone was focused and compact in defense compared to the Kawasaki and G Osaka matches. In particular, Inoha did well in covering Washington, Urawa's FW. Although Shioda has been in good form, he hasn't had many opportunities to play, but it was good to use him today. His judgment was not wrong, and he dealt with crosses properly. (You have been competitive against top teams, but your ranking is not high?) We have conceded too many goals. When we were on a losing streak, most of the goals were from set pieces. We were able to improve in that aspect, but we ended up conceding more goals in the flow of the game. That may be the cause of our instability."

　[Urawa Buchwald's press conference summary] "FC Tokyo won against G Osaka and Kawasaki at home, so we expected it to be a very difficult match. However, we still tried to attack and score goals. It was a fast-paced game with quick transitions between offense and defense. In terms of the flow of the game, it seemed like we had the advantage in both the first and second halves. However, there were also moments where goalkeeper Yamagishi had to make 2 or 3 saves. Today, we instructed our players to move the ball and avoid the press from Tokyo, but they didn't allow us to do that. Tokyo played well and had a good game plan. Ishikawa and Tokunaga are very skilled players, especially considering the opponent. We are satisfied with today's performance. A draw may be the right result for both teams. With a 3-point difference and a goal difference of 5, we will face a match next week that is like a final round. It's a good situation for us. We are looking forward to it. Next, we will play at home where we haven't lost in 21 matches, and Urawa has not lost a match this season with a 3-goal difference. We just need to play our usual game. To be honest, I wanted to win today."