A crucial match for both teams aiming for advancement to the top

　Sec. 13, battling against JEF United Chiba away. This is a consecutive match where we will play 3 games in a week starting from last Saturday. This match will be held on a weekday night game. It's a tough schedule, but from here until the final match, we will continue to face direct confrontations with teams aiming for the top, and the situation is tough where we don't want to lose a single game.

　Ichihara is currently in 6th place with 17 points. In the 1st stage, they have not won any matches since Sec. 7, and in this match, they will be without the key defender Milinovic due to suspension and the defender Saito due to injury. However, they have scored a total of 22 goals so far, and their attacking power is a threat. Furthermore, at their home stadium, Ichihara Rinkai Stadium, they also boast an undefeated record since Sec. 5 of the 1st stage of last season.

　Tokyo started with the same starting lineup as the previous match. Ichihara lined up with Abe, Chano, and Yuki as a three-back formation in the defense. Despite the clear weather during the rainy season, the temperature of 17.3 degrees made it feel chilly. The match started with Tokyo's kickoff.

30 seconds into the game, Kiro scores his first goal in the league, taking an early lead!

　The match started off quickly. Imamura, who boldly moved forward from the right side of Ichihara, intercepted the feed. Immediately, he ran up to the space behind the side and sent a direct cross in front of the goal. Suzuki, who had run in from the far side, scored with his right foot!! He made the most of the chance in the first 30 seconds and took a valuable lead!

　The early lead in the game raised expectations for today's match. However, both teams maintained a high defensive line and engaged in an equal battle with tight marking from compact formations. In the 8th minute, Tokyo regained possession in their own half and connected passes between Toda, Lucas, and Baba, with Suzuki moving up on the right side and delivering a cross. Kanazawa, who had advanced forward, took a shot from the left area but it veered to the right without an angle. In the 11th minute, Ichihara also attacked Tokyo's goal, with midfielder Sakamoto taking a middle shot from the cleared ball by the defense. In the 15th minute, midfielder Nakajima, who had circled around from the left side, took a shot. In the 16th minute, Tokyo had a chance. Suzuki aimed directly for the goal from a free kick that was about 40 meters away.

　Ball possession gradually favored Ichihara, but Tokyo quickly launched attacks and created scoring opportunities. In the 21st minute, midfielder Lucas passed the ball to Tokunaga on the right side, who then dashed towards the goal. He received a ground cross, evaded the Ichihara defenders, and took a shot, but it was not perfectly timed. In the 24th minute, Tokunaga stole the ball in his own half and made an early cross to the forward line. The opposing defenders failed to deal with it, and Toda, who was chasing after the ball, seized the opportunity. It was a decisive moment as he faced the goalkeeper one-on-one in front of the goal, but his shot was blocked.

Kiro's left foot explodes, leading by 2 points...

　When they missed a big chance, Ichihara started creating shooting scenes from attacking with speed. In the 25th minute, Marcinhos received a long ball in the right area and took a shot. In the 31st minute, there were consecutive free kicks in front of the goal. In the 33rd minute, Marcinhos again took a heading shot from a corner kick. In the 34th minute, Tokyo also took a corner kick with Lucas stealing it, and Toda and Konno connected from Baba's kick, but the heading shot went over the goal.

　However, the situation changes after this. In the 42nd minute, Ichihara MF Sato received his second warning today for unsportsmanlike conduct and was sent off. After that, they had to continue playing with 10 players. Immediately after Tokyo's goal kick, the play resumed from Doi to Tokunaga. Tokunaga sent a vertical pass, and Suzuki dribbled down the right side. He brought the ball into the penalty area and struck it fiercely with his left foot. The ball violently shook the net in the next moment! With a spectacular goal that was too fast to see, they scored an additional point and ended the first half.

　2-point lead, the opponent entered the second half with 10 players. However, it was Ichihara who went on the attack. They pushed libero Abe up one line and set up a counterattack formation. In less than 40 seconds after the start, they attacked the goal from the left side of Tokyo. Jean cut it off, but immediately after that, Marcinhos invaded the left side of Tokyo again. Shigeki Mochida was dealing with it properly, but he shot a cross-like shot that seemed desperate, and the ball floated and hit the far-side post, resulting in a goal. In a completely opposite development from the first half, they conceded a goal in the early stages of the match and the lead was reduced to one point.

The intense match ends in a draw with neither side giving in

　With this momentum, Ichihara launched a speedy attack from a combination that did not make them feel disadvantaged numerically, and Tokyo had to switch to a defensive stance. In the 51st minute, they couldn't stop FW Sandro's dribble from a quick counterattack and allowed a shot from the front of the goal. In the 57th minute, Marquinhos ran down the left side and sent a sharp cross into the goal area.

　Tokyo, who wants to break this situation, "I wanted to keep the ball in the front line (Manager Hara)," and in the 65th minute, Kajiyama was substituted for Baba, who showed signs of fatigue. In the 68th minute, Ichihara also substituted FW Hayashi for MF Hanyu, and in the 70th minute, substituted MF Yamagishi for Sakamoto. Marquinhos, Sandro, and Hayashi came to score an equalizer goal with a formation close to a front three.

　Ichihara was able to maintain the rhythm even after the substitution. Tokyo was slow to transition from attack to defense, and in the 71st minute, Ichihara's Abe, who was free in the midfield, took a middle shot. Then, in the 72nd minute, Ichihara, who obtained a free kick on the left side, quickly restarted and moved to the space on the left front line. MF Murai, who caught up with this, sent a cross to the front of the goal, and Marquinhos scored. In that moment when Tokyo's movement stopped, they were quickly caught up to the same score.

　Substitute Abe for Suzuki in the 76th minute. In the 85th minute, Ichihara Nakajima received a second warning and was sent off. With Ichihara reduced to 9 players, Tokyo launched a fierce attack. However, in the end, no goals were scored and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Ichihara also received warnings and had players sent off one after another, which can be described as a draw that both teams suffered. However, Tokyo was unable to capitalize on Suzuki's two goals, resulting in a painful draw that is almost like a loss.

[Player Comments] {Kanazawa} "It was the worst. At the start of the second half, we created the worst possible situation. (With a 2-goal lead and the opponent down to 10 men) we became a bit complacent and lost focus in some areas. Even though we could have let the opponent have the ball to some extent, we should have defended well and aimed for counterattacks, but from midway through the first half, we lacked awareness in situations like loose balls and one-on-ones. If we aim for the championship, we need to be strict in these areas. We can't win like this." {Moniwa} "The worst possible scenario. In the second half, the gap between the front line and the defense line widened, and the opponent kept sending in long balls, but we couldn't pick up the second balls. We fell into the rhythm of Ichihara's 10-man play. (The reason we fell back) was because Ichihara has Abe's free kicks, so we were definitely scared of fouls in front of the goal. However, the second goal came from a free kick, but if someone had dealt with the ball that came out or with Murai, it could have been prevented. In attack, we knew that Ichihara is a team that can run, but even with one extra player, we couldn't pass the ball quickly in a good shape after winning it. We needed to keep it simpler."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "In the beginning, Konno broke through in a good shape and scored the first goal, and Kiro brought it in to score the second. Ichihara tends to push forward if we get scared and fall back, so we talked about applying pressure from the front, and we were able to do that in the first half. In the second half, even after the opponent went down to 10 men, I instructed the team to keep pressing without fear, but a cross-like shot went in, and from there we became too scared and fell back too much. However, if we had defended well and regained possession in a good shape, we should have been able to create chances since the opponent had fewer defenders left. Unfortunately, we conceded the second goal due to a delayed response to a set piece. It would have been better if we could have held on a little longer during the time of the first goal conceded, as that energized the opponent and made us passive instead. Ichihara went down to 10 men, but they took risks by bringing Abe up to attack. In that situation, if we let Marquinhos, Sandro, and Hayashi face forward, it becomes dangerous. The players probably understood this in their heads, but they couldn't press from the front, and their marking became loose and soft. However, the biggest issue was that we couldn't score the third goal in the exchanges. We had so many chances to score in the final stages, but even if we say it was close, the shots weren't on target, and instead of finishing with a shot, we ended up passing to others. It was necessary to calmly break through from the sides and finish with a shot."

[Summary of Coach Osim's Press Conference] "The first goal conceded was a matter of concentration. Such things have happened many times at JEF. The team must have been shocked by that first goal. The second goal was the same. In a similar way, someone was caught off guard and we conceded. The problem for JEF is that there are players who cannot sleep well at home. So instead, they end up sleeping on the field. The cost of that is significant. However, in the second half, they played incredibly bravely. They took risks. In the first half, they couldn't attack bravely and take risks. In the second half, they managed to do both. Certainly, when we were down to ten men, they started to fight, move, and run. In my opinion, when we went down to ten men and it was 0-2, FC Tokyo probably felt they had won the match. So when they conceded a goal, they panicked, which led to this result. But to be honest, given the opponent's attack, it wouldn't have been surprising to concede five goals in that match. Still, JEF did not just defend; they attacked. At times, they played well enough to win. Courage brought fortune. Although it turned out this way, I think they did well. Now, I want to quickly find a way to break the draw."