Facing the strong Urawa after the break period

　The second stage resumed after a two-week break. Sec. 10 will see Urawa Reds, currently in 2nd place, face them at home. This will be the 4th match against Urawa this season, including the Nabisco Cup. So far, it's been a draw with 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss, but this is a crucial match for both teams to stay in the championship race.

　Despite the difference in rankings, the current situations of Urawa and Tokyo are quite similar. Urawa achieved a spectacular victory with a 6-1 win against Shimizu in the Nabisco Cup Semifinal Round during the league break, while Tokyo also had a big win with a 5-1 score against Kashima in the previous league match. Following this, three players from Tokyo—Doi, Kaji, and Mobu—were selected for the Japan national team, while Urawa also called up Yamada and Tsuboi amidst a tough schedule. In the match against Tunisia, Kaji and Mobu played the full match as right back and center back, while Yamada and Tsuboi did the same in the match against Romania. Additionally, Ishikawa, along with Suzuki and Tanaka from Urawa, participated in the U-22 Olympic team training camp, making this break period a crucial one to watch. Tokyo will be missing Abe, while Urawa will be without GK Tsuzuki and DF Nikiforov due to suspensions. The match started with Urawa's kickoff under the rain that began to fall before the game.

Concede the first goal with Emerson's strike

　Tokyo pushed forward right after the start. Kelly connected with Amaral, and Ishikawa, who ran into the space on the right side, sent in a cross, but the opposing defender cut it off. However, after that, both teams had noticeable passing mistakes, and the ball was unsettled, lacking a decisive touch. In the 12th minute, Miyazawa's free kick saw Jean make a run, but he was offside. A long ball was sent from their own half to the front line, but they were caught offside five times by the 17th minute. The first shot from both teams was by Amaral. In the 22nd minute, Ishikawa dribbled up the center of the opponent's half and sent a through pass to Amaral on the right side of the penalty area. He shot from a tight angle, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 23rd minute, Urawa forward Emerson took a shot from outside the area. In the 26th minute, Kaji made a bold dribble forward, received a return pass from Ishikawa, and sent in a cross. It was a mishit, but it seemed to threaten the Urawa goal with a trajectory that almost went in.

　Tokyo gradually starts creating chances from attacks initiated by FW Tanaka and Emerson from the right side, while Urawa also attacks from the right side. In the 30th minute, Urawa's Tanaka breaks through the right side and crosses the ball, which Emerson volleys but is saved by Doi. In the 34th minute, Tokyo gets a big chance. Miura receives a through pass from Ishikawa and dribbles past the defender into the penalty area, then sends a final pass to Ishikawa who has sprinted up from the right side. Ishikawa, who has aggressively attacked, appears to be fouled by the goalkeeper, but there is no whistle. The ball spills out and the goal is wide open, but the shot cannot be taken due to the desperate clearance by the opponent's defender.

　It was what happened after missing a close chance. In the 39th minute, Urawa, who had stolen the ball in their own half, sent a long through pass to Emerson, the forward. Emerson, who received the ball on the right side of the area, was marked by Shigetoshi Hasebe, but with a feint that utilized his speed, he quickly broke through vertically, and in an angleless position, he unleashed a right-footed shot in an instant. The bullet-like shot, which was too fast to follow with the eyes, broke through the side of the goal defended by Doi and forcefully pierced into the net.

　Tokyo had been doing a good job of containing Urawa's attacking duo, but they couldn't stop Emerson's super goal, and ended up conceding the first goal.

Equalized with the intended shape of attacking the side!

　However, in the 43rd minute, Tokyo also created a decisive scene. Ishikawa, who received a pass on the right side from Kanazawa's interception, launched a fast attack and cut into the center. A well-timed through pass in front of the goal. Kelly had a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper at close range, but the shot was unfortunately saved, and they went into the second half still trailing by one point.

　Entering the second half, the instruction from Manager Hara during halftime to "use side changes to attack more on the sides" immediately came into play. In the 47th minute, Kelly persistently won a corner kick on the right side. When Miyazawa took this corner kick, the sharp kick was cleared by the opposing defender in front of Jean, who was positioned in the center, resulting in an own goal and being drawn into the Urawa goal. It was an unexpected turn of events, but Tokyo, as planned, created a chance and scored an equalizer, gaining momentum. In the 50th minute, Amalao, who had drifted to the left side, attempted a breakthrough and passed it back. Miyazawa crossed the ball. Kelly's well-aimed header was met with a last-minute save by the goalkeeper, escaping as a corner kick.

　In the 53rd minute, Urawa's Tanaka ran up the left side and crossed the ball, which was then connected by MF Suzuki. Emerson took a powerful shot from the front of the goal, but it hit the post. After Tokyo escaped this pinch, they overwhelmingly picked up loose balls in the midfield and attacked Urawa's goal. In the 56th minute, Kanazawa received a pass from Miyazawa's side change and dribbled up, evading two defenders and taking a shot. Then, from the left side where Miyazawa drifted to the center, Kaji on the right delivered a powerful cross, widening the attack. In the 60th minute, Ishikawa broke through to the right side from Miura's through pass, but the cross narrowly missed Toda. In the 61st minute, Amaral took a shot from a throw-in on the right side, but missed the goal.

Unable to grasp the rhythm and score additional points

　In the 66th minute, Asari was substituted for Miura. Immediately after, Amaral received Jean's long pass and took a shot after turning around. In the 68th minute, Toda and Ishikawa utilized their speed and exchanged passes in front of the goal, but were cut off by Urawa's Suzuki who anticipated their move. However, they couldn't score a goal and gradually the momentum shifted to Urawa. In the 70th minute, Emerson's free kick from the front of the goal was blocked by the wall. In the 72nd minute, Emerson, who had advanced on the right side of Urawa, was marked by Shigeno and Kanazawa, and Suzuki, who had become free, was allowed to take a shot from inside the area, but it narrowly missed to the right. Tokyo then initiated a counterattack by connecting this goal kick, and Amaral took a shot. However, this one also missed to the left.

　In the 74th minute, starting with Emerson, Yamase passed to Tanaka on the left, then Suzuki on the right, and Emerson made a run with a through pass, evading the marking of Shigeki. He was left free in front of the goal. Although the final pass didn't connect and he couldn't take a shot, a decisive scene was created. In the 75th minute, Hasebe ran into the clear ball from Emerson's left cross and took a powerful shot from inside the area. Doi saved the ball, helped by the post, and somehow managed to avoid the danger.

　In the final stages, Tokyo struggled to connect their passes and create clear chances despite engaging in a fast-paced counterattack. In the 81st minute, Bamba was substituted for Ishikawa, and in the 87th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Amaral. However, they were unable to create any decisive opportunities. In the 89th minute, Toda broke free from the defense with a long pass from Jean, but as he advanced deep into the penalty area, he was surrounded by defenders. Despite a fierce attack in stoppage time, they were unable to take a shot against Urawa's solid defense, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

【Player Comments】《Moniwa》"In the moment of conceding a goal, I was passed by Emerson, and it became a match I regret. However, until now, I would get down after conceding from mistakes, but today I didn't let my feelings drop. I asked the attacking players to somehow make up for my mistake, and we managed to keep a clean sheet in the second half. I believe that is a gain from going to the national team. I have not given up on winning yet, so I want to fight carefully, one match at a time." 《Ishikawa》"I was cautious of the opponent's counterattacks, but I regret that I was dispossessed in a situation where I shouldn't have been. We had some good attacking shapes, but we couldn't finish. Urawa's defense was solid, and the marking on Amaral and Kelly was strict. I wanted to play faster football by developing from there. The timing and judgment between the passer and receiver are still issues. However, by continuing the movements of 'this is what I want to do,' the timing should come together. My condition has also improved. I believe it is important to keep repeating and continuing."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "With so many fans coming, I wanted to create more goal-scoring opportunities. However, the rain that started before the match affected our ball touches. It was the same for Urawa, which helped us in some ways, but our passes were not connecting. When Tokyo is playing well, we use side changes to attack from the full-backs, but in the first half, the slippery pitch caused several weak clearances from Shigeno and Jean to go to the opponent, forcing us to kick the ball forward. However, Urawa had numbers back, making it difficult to break through. We were also afraid of losing the ball on side change passes and getting countered. I was paying close attention to Emerson and Tanaka, but once they faced forward and entered the penalty area, they could score with just one touch. I was careful not to let them get into that position, but our response after losing the ball was slow. At halftime, I said there was no need to fear the one-goal difference. We can't win if we don't score, so we talked about being more precise in breaking through the sides. On the right side, Kelly won a corner kick, and Miyazawa delivered a good ball, resulting in an own goal. After that, we moved Toda to the center, and Kanazawa advanced on the left side, or Miyazawa would go forward. There was a risk when Yamada came forward after losing the ball, passing it to Emerson, but we intentionally brought Toda into the center to go for a goal. We wanted three points, but we want to do our best for the next match."

[Summary of Urawa Ooft's press conference] "In the first half, the start was not calm. The players were focused, but there was no excellence in details such as effective ball distribution and speed of passes, and the game became hectic. We settled down around the 20th to 25th minute, but still couldn't create chances. However, we were able to score from Emerson's individual skill. In the second half, we were able to create space on the right side and Emerson, Suzuki, and Yamada were able to break through and create many chances. By attacking, we put pressure on the opponent. There were some close shots that hit the post, but we couldn't score additional points in the end. However, when I think about last season, we usually lost games like this. It is an acceptable result to draw 1-1 like this. It should lead to the next game against Kashiwa."