Rematch

The J2 League, which continues to be tumultuous, has completed one-third of the total schedule (36 games) after the previous round, with FC Tokyo in 4th place with 20 points. 1st place Niigata, 2nd place Oita with 23 points, and 3rd place Kawasaki F with 21 points. 5th place Yamagata has the same 20 points as 4th place Tokyo, and 6th place Sapporo has 17 points, with 6 teams tightly competing within a 6-point difference. With only 2 more games left, the teams will enter a one-month interval, so each team wants to win and maintain their position in the top. In such a situation, Tokyo's opponent for this day is Montedio Yamagata, who is currently tied in points. In the 1st round, despite pushing the game forward, they missed a penalty kick and couldn't convert their chances, gradually losing their rhythm and conceding a goal in extra time, suffering a humiliating V-goal defeat at home. This match on the away field is a perfect opportunity for revenge.

Reliable Ace Amaral!

The match started moving early on. At the beginning, Yamagata deployed a fluid attack with a two-top of FW, midfielders Hirama and Takahashi, who freely changed positions. Tokyo, confused by this, could not mark properly and Yamagata smoothly passed the ball around. In the first minute, Yamagata's DF Iwamoto, who joined the attack, took a powerful shot from the right side of the penalty area, taking advantage of Tokyo's weak press. The ball was sucked into the left corner of the goal, beyond Horiike's desperate save. After that, Yamagata continued to run behind Tokyo's unstable DF line and created decisive chances from sharp counterattacks, but GK Horiike made fine saves and did not allow any additional goals. The defense, centered around Sandro, gradually regained their usual composure as time passed, and the intense press from midfielders Asari and Shinjo also began to function. On the other hand, in the attack, they tried to gather the ball to Amaral, who started as a starter for the first time in a while, and build up the rhythm from there. Amaral was marked tightly, but the attacking participation of fullbacks Fujiyama and Umeyama, as well as Almir's stable play as a central breakthrough post, created chances. The back-and-forth battle continued, but in the 39th minute, Tokyo equalized with a header from Amaral, who received a cross from Fujiyama on the left side and returned it to the center, and Yukihiro scored with a right-footed volley. With this, Yukihiro repaid his debt from the first round (missed PK) and Amaral made a strong impression by doing decisive work.

Waiting for this man's comeback!

Tokyo, who was able to end the first half in a good shape, launches a fierce attack in the second half. However, in the 46th minute of the second half, just as they were about to start their attack, Tokyo was awarded a penalty kick for pulling down Yamagata FW Mutail who was keeping the ball in the penalty area. The fans and staff of Tokyo were shocked by this development, which was like a nightmare from the previous match against Niigata, but the goalkeeper Horiike, who had a great performance that day, made a fantastic save against the kick from Yamagata's kicker, preventing them from scoring an additional point. With this, Tokyo gained momentum while Yamagata lost their shine. Tokyo created several close chances in quick succession, with a volley shot by Okamoto in the 11th minute, a powerful middle shot by Asari in the 12th minute, and a super long shot by Yukihiko in the 14th minute. In the 67th minute, Tokyo makes a move. Despite being tied, Tokyo wanted an additional point, so they substituted the defensive Shinjo with the attacking Kaga. And it worked. Kaga, who was selected for the JFL Best Eleven last year, has not been performing well this season and has often been on the bench. He also tended to be passive in his play, but on this day, Kaga was different. He had the ball at his feet, had good ball control, and showed off his brilliant passing skills with Almir in the midfield. Then, in the 80th minute, Amalao chested down a cross from the right by Yukihiko, and Kaga scored a powerful middle shot from the center with his right foot. The goalkeeper of Yamagata couldn't move an inch against this clean shot, and Tokyo took the lead. In the end, Tokyo continued to attack and held on to their lead, avenging their loss in the first round away match. Now in third place, Tokyo will face the top-ranked Oita at Nishigaoka on May 29th. It's a shame that Almir won't be able to play due to accumulated warnings, but there are many bright spots for the decisive match, such as Amalao's comeback and Kaga's revival.