A crucial match that tests true value

　The 2nd stage also enters the third of the season, and this week we will play against JEF United Ichihara Chiba. Under the command of coach Ivica OSIM, who took over this season, Ichihara plays an aggressive wave-like attack soccer and was involved in the championship race until the end of the 1st stage. In the 2nd stage, they are currently in 2nd place, and today's match will be a direct confrontation between 2nd and 3rd place. Tokyo had a great victory against Yokohama F.Marinos in the 3rd section, but in the previous match, they drew 0-0 against Oita, so it can't be said that they are riding the wave. Ichihara also lost to Kashima in the previous match and would definitely want to avoid consecutive losses. It will be Tokyo's first match against a top team, and it will be a match where their true value is tested.

　In the previous stage, the match ended in a draw without Kelly, but today, Ichihara's ace Choi Ryong-su is suspended. Tokyo's injured Amaral returns to the substitute members. For both teams, this is an important match that started with a hot night game reminiscent of midsummer, with Tokyo's kickoff.

In a close battle, Miyazawa's left foot explodes! Creating the opening goal

　The match progressed with both teams creating chances from the beginning. In the 5th minute, Kanazawa made an overlap and received a pass from Miyazawa, taking the first shot of the day. In the 7th minute, Ichihara MF Abe advanced from the defensive midfield position to the penalty area and received a pass from FW Sandro, taking a shot. In the 10th minute, Tokyo picked up the clearance from Ishikawa's free kick and Kanazawa aimed for the goal. In the 11th minute, Ichihara DF Nakanishi crossed from the right side and won a corner kick. In the 14th minute, Ishikawa headed the ball towards the far side of Kanazawa's beautiful cross from the left side, but it unfortunately overlapped with Abe and the ball went over the bar.

　After 15 minutes, it is Ichihara who dominates the ball and passes it around. However, Tokyo wins the battle on the sides and launches effective attacks, threatening Ichihara's goal. In the 17th minute, Toda receives a early cross from Kaji in the far post and drops it to Kelly in the center. Kelly passes it through and Miyazawa runs in from behind to take a shot. It was a perfect timing, but the right-footed shot slightly deviated to the right.

　However, it was one minute later. After cutting off the opponent's ball on the right side, Ishikawa passed to Miura, who advanced in the center. Although surrounded by the opponent's defenders, Miyazawa ran into the loose ball and this time struck it with his left foot. The mid-range shot of about 25m, with the speed behind it, skimmed the opponent's defenders and was sucked into the bottom right corner of the goal, GOAL! Creating an opportunity from the side, they took the lead in a good position.

Create chances from fast attacks, and Toda scores an additional goal!!

　Tokyo took the lead, but the game became hectic after about 20 minutes. In the 20th minute, a free kick was allowed in front of the goal, and Chiba MF Abe took a shot. It was blocked, but then MF Hanou shot from the middle. In the 22nd minute, Toda connected with a header from Abe in front of the goal, but Kelly's shot went wide to the right. In the 23rd minute, Chiba left MF Murai took a ground shot. The game was characterized by a back-and-forth struggle. In the 31st minute, Ishikawa used Kelly, who had moved up from the right side, and Kelly crossed. Abe tried to compete in front of the goal, but was blocked by the defender.

　Tokyo, which continues to create chances with fast attacks from counters, made another opportunity in the 39th minute. Toda sprinted from the left side, following Miyazawa's lofted through pass, and competed with the opponent's goalkeeper near the end line to win a corner kick. Ishikawa connected this short corner to Kelly, who crossed it to the center. Abe aimed a precise header towards the goal, but it hit the opponent's defender and the loose ball ended up at Toda's feet, who was positioned near the left side of the goal. Toda neatly stabbed the ball into the net, scoring the second goal!

　Tokyo, which gained momentum with this, continued to attack for the remaining time of the first half. In the 44th minute, Kelly fought hard on the right side and won a free kick, and Miyazawa aimed directly for the goal. The ball narrowly grazed the crossbar, but there was no additional goal. They went into the second half with a two-goal lead.

Trailing by 2 points...

　In the second half, Ichihara made a move. Left MF Murai and attacking midfielder Hayashi were replaced by MF Yamagishi and FW Maki. FW Sandro, Oishi, and Maki took a counterattacking stance by moving freely in the front line. However, in the 53rd minute, Tokyo launched an attack. Miura sprinted up the right side and crossed the ball, but Abe picked up the ball that the opponent's defender had cleared behind and took a shot. However, the ball from an angleless position was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper near the goal. Ichihara continued to aggressively attack Tokyo's goal, but they couldn't break through the solid final line of Tokyo. In the 55th minute, Abe's free kick from the front of the goal was also blocked by Tokyo's defenders. In the 59th minute, Sandro took a shot from a pass in front of the goal, but it was saved by Doi. In the 61st minute, they won a corner kick, but they were countered by Tokyo and Kelly took a shot.

　At the 64th minute, Tokyo substituted Asari for Miura, and Ichihara substituted Lin for DF Chano. Sandro, Maki, and Lin were placed in the front line, with Ohshiba and Yamagishi on the sides, forming a five-man attacking team. The defense consisted of Milinovic and Nakanishi. They took a gamble in order to counterattack. Then, at the 71st minute, Maki made a header shot from Ohshiba's early cross on the right side. It was a decisive moment, but Doi saved it with his left hand. Immediately after that, Tokyo substituted Fujiyama for Ishikawa, and they joined Jean and Motonii in the final line. However, with Lin's entry, Ichihara's front line was revitalized, and at the 76th minute, they created a chance from consecutive free kicks in front of the goal. Tokyo survived this pinch and at the 78th minute, they launched a counterattack, and Toda broke free in front of the goal. However, the opponent's goalkeeper made a save, and they couldn't score an additional point.

　In the 82nd minute, Fujiyama cut off the opponent's ball near the end line, but the clearance was poor, allowing the opponent to regain possession and connect. Sato, the defensive midfielder, allowed the opponent to advance. Miyazawa, who went to block the entry into this penalty area, was fouled and a penalty was awarded. Sandro scored the penalty kick, narrowing the gap to one point.

　In the 84th minute, Toda broke through in front of the goal with a pass from Doi, flowed to the left side and crossed. Abe made a decisive move by jumping in from the far side, but the shot was not well-measured. The intense attack and defense continued for a moment, but in the 88th minute, Ichihara's midfielder Sakamoto received a cross from the right side and persisted. He cut back against Kaji and passed the ball on the ground in front of the goal. This allowed Lin's goal, and they were caught up in a tie with less than 3 minutes remaining.

　In stoppage time, Kanazawa took a shot and Miyazawa crossed the ball from the top, but Toda's diving header did not result in a goal. In the end, we exposed our weaknesses in both attack and defense, and were unable to hold onto our 2-goal lead, resulting in a disappointing draw. The shocking way we were caught up has dealt a big blow, but there are still 10 matches remaining. We must use this game as a learning experience and move forward towards the next one.

【Player Comments】《Takumi ABE》"If I had scored the third goal, it would have been a game we could have won. However, even during the draw against Nagoya, I reflected and thought, 'Should I have kept the ball more on the side...?' But today, I couldn't do that and ended up retreating. The rhythm wasn't bad, so it's disappointing."《Sandro》"The reason we were caught up is not because the defensive line system changed. We need the mental strength to endure even in difficult times and communicate with each other. It's unfortunate that we were defeated in that way at the end, and only a bad image remains. But I want to switch my feelings and face the next challenge with determination."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "After the match, I spoke with Coach Ivica OSIM about how 'you never know what will happen in soccer.' Of course, we wanted to win 2-0, but we were able to attack continuously against Ichihara and had a good match; the content was good. In the second half, Ichihara took risks by increasing the number of players in the front line, so it was inevitable that we had to defend. I tried to balance the team by bringing in Asari and then Fujiyama. However, since Kelly was able to hold the ball almost all the time, I wanted to create a situation where Abe and Toda could run off him. Ultimately, we conceded a penalty due to a mistake, and while we had a one-goal lead, it was disappointing that we couldn't hold on and ended up equalizing. More frustrating than that was not being able to score the third goal. There were three decisive moments from the end of the first half, and I believe we could have won if we had scored then. The problem might have been that when Asari and Fujiyama came in, everyone shifted to a mindset of 'we need to defend.' At that point, I thought if we could counterattack and exploit the opponent's weak defense, we could secure the win. Bringing in Amaral was an option, but in a situation where we were being pressured, Amaral would likely return to defend diligently. So I left Toda and Abe up front. This result is disappointing and frustrating, but I think not losing is a sign of growth. There are still 10 matches left, and there is no significant difference in strength among the teams. Sendai in the next match will also come at us desperately. But we will switch our mindset and definitely win."

[Summary of Manager Osim's Press Conference in Ichihara] "It is difficult to express in words, but in the sport of soccer, it is about whether or not you can fulfill your role properly. It is a question of whether JEF or FC Tokyo will do it. In that sense, JEF has revived from a place where it once died. It is not possible in a normal life, but it is in soccer. In a state of losing, there was nothing to lose. So we attacked with five players. However, even though we got results, we should not play such a game. It is regrettable that the situation of losing has continued for a long time."