Incredible form of Ichihara and a highly anticipated match

　Sec. 10, which marks the 2/3 mark of the 1st stage, is approaching. After this round, a 6-week break will begin, and the last match before the break will be an away game against JEF United Chiba.

　Ichihara has achieved a breakthrough with "running soccer" under the new coach Osim, who took office this season, and is currently in second place. He has scored 23 goals in 9 matches, and his scoring ability is at the top of the league along with the first-place Iwata. In particular, FW Choi Ryong-su, who is leading the top scorer ranking, is in good shape. It is expected to be a tough match away, but it won't be easy to win. I hope for a good game that will lead to the remaining 5 matches. Also, in order to enter the break period in a good shape, I want to confront Ichihara, who is said to be "the strongest now", without hesitation.

　Tokyo, who will be without Kelly due to accumulated warnings, started the kickoff with a formation consisting of Amaral and Abe as the two top players, Ishikawa on the right side of the midfield, Toda on the left side, and Miura and Miyazawa forming a double pivot.

Defending well against Ichihara's attacks and creating chances from counterattacks

　Immediately after the start, Tokyo showed an aggressive attitude by pressing from the front line, but they were quickly drawn into JEF's fast pace and dominated the game. Taking advantage of that opening, in the 6th minute, a clearance ball from Shigeki's end line was connected, quickly expanding to the right side. Miyazawa ran in to the cleared ball from Ishikawa's cross and took a middle shot. In the 11th minute, Jean made a long pass to the front line. Toda followed up with a shot from outside the area, but it went over the goal.

　Although Ichihara dominated, they couldn't create any decisive chances so far, but in the 14th minute, MF Abe took the first shot of the day from the midfield. In the 16th minute, they attacked the goal from a throw-in and had two consecutive shots. They picked up the clear ball from Tokyo DF and launched a wave attack. In the 18th minute, DF Milinovic took a shot from a short corner. It hit the DF and Sandro tried to shoot the loose ball. However, Doi jumped in. The ball rolled in front of the goal, but Jean cleared it just before the goal. With a fantastic covering, Tokyo escaped a decisive pinch.

　At 20 minutes, Ishikawa dug deep on the right side and crossed the ball, but the goalkeeper caught it. At 21 minutes, Miyazawa aimed for a direct goal from a free kick of over 40 meters, but hit the crossbar. Tokyo created some close chances, but in the flow of the game, Ichihara consistently picked up second balls, leading to a difficult situation. Sato and Abe, the two central midfielders, showed sharp attacking movements, while right midfielder Sakamoto crossed the ball from wide positions. In the 31st minute, Choi headed Sakamoto's cross. In the 35th minute, the ball was passed to Sakamoto, who had entered the penalty area from Sandro, but the cross was cut off and resulted in a corner kick. In the 37th minute, a quick counterattack involving a side change allowed a free shot for Choi just outside the penalty area, but it missed the target. In the 42nd minute, Abe and Sato combined in front of the goal, and Sandro returned the ball with a header, but Doi caught it.

Toda's shot was unfortunately offside.

　The cross was thoroughly bounced back by Jean and held up with concentrated defense. In the 43rd minute, Ishikawa, who received a pass from Kaji on the right side of the area, raised a direct cross. Toda, who ran in freely from the center to this ball, made a header shot. It was a perfect timing, but the ball went slightly to the right. In the injury time, Kanazawa, who went up the left side, connected with Toda, and Abe, who received a cross in front of the goal, competed, and Kanazawa ran in again and took a shot. However, it curved to the left, and the first half ended with a score of 0-0.

　Tokyo withstood Ichihara's fierce attack well and sought chances on the counterattack, betting on the remaining 45 minutes. However, Ichihara was the first to get a big chance in the second half as well. In the 47th minute, after a fierce challenge in midfield, Sato stole the ball and charged forward with a dribble, passing to the left side, where MF Murai made a one-touch through pass in front of the goal. Choi ran in free and took a shot, but it veered to the right and was saved. Gradually, Tokyo also began to pick up second balls and create chances. In the 56th minute, Miura sent a fast long pass behind the defensive line, and Abe received it while shaking off his marker but could not get a shot off. In the 58th minute, Kanazawa dived in to a cleared ball from Kaji's early cross, creating a scramble in front of the goal. Kanazawa again picked up the loose ball inside the penalty area and took a shot. The close-range shot was saved by the opposing goalkeeper Kushino, but Toda picked up the rebound and the shot ball shook the net. However, the goal was unfortunately disallowed due to an offside decision.

Get valuable 1 point

　In the 70th minute, Ichihara Milinovic advanced and appeared to take a middle shot, but passed to Choi in the penalty area. Choi entered a shooting position, but Jean intercepted. Jean consistently stood in front of Choi today. From that play, Tokyo launched a quick attack, and Abe jumped in with a header from Ishikawa's cross, but the ball went slightly to the right. Both teams had chances, and the back and forth battle continued.

　In the 72nd minute, Bamba was substituted for Amaral, who was not in good shape. In the 74th minute, Ichihara substituted Lin, a speedy forward, for Sandro. Immediately after that, Ichihara dropped a cross from the left side, and Hayu, the midfielder, headed it down. Choi shot from the right side of the area, but it went to the right of the goal. In the 75th minute, Tokyo picked up a loose ball in the midfield and connected a quick pass between Bamba and Miyazawa near the edge of the area. A perfect through pass behind the defense line of the forward. Toda ran into the goal area, overtaking Miyazawa, and faced the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation, but was stopped by the sharp footwork of goalkeeper Kushino just a step away from scoring.

　Tokyo substituted Suzuki for Toda in the 81st minute, and Ichihara substituted Yamagishi for Murai in the 82nd minute. Both teams used their substitution cards to seek opportunities, but neither had the decisive touch and the game ended in a scoreless draw. However, Ichihara withstood the fierce attack and fought hard until the end without giving up. They earned a valuable point.

【Player Comments】

"In the first half, we were pushed back by the opponent's pace, but in the second half, we were able to attack from both sides. That was a positive aspect of today's game. However, I couldn't score because of my own fault. I'm sorry." "I didn't intend to defend by sitting back, but we ended up being pushed back by their runs. However, during the game, we tried to thicken the center, including the defensive midfielder, and force the opponent to the outside to compete. In that sense, we were able to defend according to the plan."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Ichihara is a team with high scoring ability, known for running long distances to initiate attacks and excelling in fast-paced offense. Therefore, we thought that if we prevented them from launching quick counterattacks and forced them into slower attacks, our counters would be more effective. In the first half, without Kelly, their defensive midfielders lined up side by side, which allowed them to win second balls. We also kicked the ball too much, but from around the end of the first half, we made adjustments and decided to tire them out even if they held the ball to some extent, aiming to make a decisive move in the second half. In the second half, I think we created chances both from counters and from the flanks. As expected, Ichihara was strong and full of momentum. I think we fought well despite Kelly being absent. While we aim to play attacking soccer, pressing aggressively from the front, I also believe that this season it is necessary to be patient in away games. We have not changed our style of play. The number of clear chances has increased, so I believe we are on the right track."

[Summary of Ichihara Osim's press conference] "It didn't go well until the end. We were able to play well, but it's disappointing that we couldn't score goals. The results reflect reality. It probably wasn't expected to earn this many points in these 10 matches. However, there is still something lacking when facing a team that completely defends. Today, we played solidly and took risks to attack. The opponent always defends with 6 players and it's easier to play on the counter-attack than constantly attacking. Constantly attacking consumes energy. That's why I think the opponent was able to play easily today. However, FC Tokyo has been a really good team among those we have seen so far. If it was the previous JEF, we might have lost 0-1 today. I think we are growing in that sense."