"Last Game at Nishi-Gaoka"

On March 14, 1999, the venue for the memorable debut match of FC Tokyo (J2) was here at "Nishigaoka Soccer Field". The opponent was Sagan Tosu, the same team as that day. Under a clear blue sky with not a cloud in sight, FC Tokyo overwhelmed Tosu, showcasing their new power in front of the 3,685 fans who had gathered. Okamoto and Amaral scored multiple goals, resulting in a dominant 2-0 victory. They splendidly adorned the opening match with a win... Since then, approximately seven months have passed, and the J2 League, which has been described as a long journey, is already approaching its final stages, with only seven matches remaining, including this day's game. And this game at "Nishigaoka" is also the last one. This season, they have played matches mainly at "Nishigaoka," as well as at three other stadiums: "Edogawa Ward Athletics Stadium" and "Komazawa Athletics Stadium." Out of the 18 home games, they played 10 games here at "Nishigaoka," making it the "ground where sweat and tears have soaked the most." The dedicated stadium, with an extremely close distance between the stands and the pitch, is one of Japan's most "atmospheric stadiums" where fans and players can become one. There are many fans and media personnel who support "FC Tokyo Soccer at Nishigaoka" due to its bench seats, standing room behind the goal, and dim night lighting, which give it a local J2-like image. The players feel the same way. They couldn't help but hope for a last game victory at "Nishigaoka."

Impact of Amaral's absence

In the first half, Tokyo took the first chance. Tokyo launched a strong attack from the left and right full-backs and the attacking participation of the defensive midfielder, Shinjo, with Aumir as the starting point of the attack. Shinjo aggressively stole the ball and created chances by moving forward to the front line. In the 14th minute, Shinjo took advantage of Aumir's through pass, broke through on the left side of the penalty area, and made an exquisite pass to Kagamiki who was running fiercely towards the center. Kagamiki faced the opponent's goalkeeper one-on-one and took a shot, but it narrowly missed the right goal post. However, the momentum gradually shifted to Tosu from this point. Although Tokyo built up their attacks well from the sides with Umayama and Yukihiro on the right and Fujiyama and Okamoto on the left, when Kagamiki, who was leading the front line, could no longer keep the ball due to Tosu's tight marking, the passing options became limited and the rhythm deteriorated. On the other hand, Tosu's counterattacks were sharp, with their forward players running long distances into the spaces on the sides and creating a solid base with good ball retention. Tokyo, who were often exposed from the sides, faced a decisive pinch in the 25th minute. When Tosu's forward player flowed into the space on the left side from a counterattack, Yamao and Sandro tried to sandwich him, but he broke through and even surpassed the rushing goalkeeper Suzuki, leaving the goal unguarded. However, Fujiyama made a sliding tackle just in time to prevent a goal. Tokyo, who couldn't establish a base in the front line, temporarily improved their attacking rhythm when Aumir started playing as a forward and became a target man. With a base in the front line, the full-backs participated more in the attack, and Kagamiki was able to face forward and compete from the balls dropped by Aumir. However, on the other hand, when Aumir played as a forward and focused on being a target man, there was no player in the midfield to build up the game, and the attack became monotonous. When Amoroso was on the field, Aumir could move around freely and create decisive opportunities through combination plays and versatile passes with Amoroso, who provided stable target play. However, when Aumir himself became the target man, the attacking starting point was lost. I was once again reminded of the importance of Amoroso's presence. In the first half, the attack and defense continued to go back and forth, and it ended 0-0.

The fierce attack of Tokyo began with the introduction of Enomoto, but...

Tokyo, which couldn't establish a base on the front line and lost the starting point of the attack, brought in FW Enomoto, who is good at post-play, on the front line. With this, the flow changes dramatically. By changing the FW to a two-top of Kagamiki and Enomoto and moving Almir to his original position as a defensive midfielder, Tokyo's attacking power has increased. Enomoto demonstrated stable post-play as expected and actively entered the deep spaces on the left and right alternately with Kagamiki, greatly increasing Tokyo's passing routes. Almir becomes the starting point of the attack and spreads passes to the left and right, and the "wings" of Fujiyama on the left and Umayama on the right take off! From there, Tokyo's attack rhythm, which involves cutting in from the side and shooting towards the center, has returned. This is where Tokyo's "fierce attack show" begins. In the 13th minute, Enomoto unleashes a powerful left-footed shot from a splendid ball control, and immediately after that, MF Shinjo, who advanced forward, shoots a strong left-footed middle shot, which is his specialty. Next, a delicate through pass from Almir finds Yukihiko waiting on the left side, and he shoots with his left foot with great force! Although all of them were prevented by the fine saves of the Tosu goalkeeper or the goalpost, for the first 15 minutes from the start of the second half, Tokyo's fierce attack was impressive.

Tokyo, who had started to feel anxious because they couldn't score in decisive moments that they had visited many times, even had their key defender Sandro join the attack and continued to launch fierce attacks. However, in the 25th minute of the second half, Tokyo was caught off guard. Tosu's forward ace Takemoto rushed towards Tokyo's goal from a counterattack. Takemoto received a perfect cross from the left, just barely avoiding the offside line, and shook Tokyo's goal net with a powerful left-footed shot, leaving Yamao, who had come to mark him, behind. Tokyo, who conceded a goal with 20 minutes remaining, also brought in forward Wada and launched a further fierce attack with a "Japanese-made street top". In the 34th minute of the second half, Enomoto jumped in to meet a low centering pass from right side by defender Yamao, but unfortunately, it was cleared by the defender. In the following 37th minute of the second half, Yukihiko picked up a loose ball about 25 meters in front of the center of the goal and unleashed a perfect curved shot, but it was prevented by Tosu's goalkeeper's splendid saving. The goalkeeper of Tosu, who had made a series of fine saves early in the second half, seemed to have completely gotten into the game. Even after that, Tokyo continued their fierce attacks until the end, but Tosu's defense line, centered around the goalkeeper, held firm, and ultimately the game ended with a score of 0-1. Tokyo, who shot nearly twice as many times as Tosu with a shot count of 17-9, lamented their loss with only one goal, following their previous league defeat against Yamagata. It is regrettable that they couldn't finish their last game at "Nishi-Gaoka" with a victory, but next week on the 17th (Sunday), they will face Sapporo, who they defeated convincingly in the previous round, and on the following week on the 24th (Sunday), they will face the top-ranked Kawasaki F, which will be a decisive match. I want the players to focus on resting their bodies and switching their minds. This is where the real battle begins.

＜Coach's Comment＞

(Sagan Tosu - Hiroshi SOWA, Manager's Comment)

It was a tough game with many pinches, but the backline held up well. As a tactic, we paid attention to suppressing the dribbles and attacks from the left side by Fujiyama. The players understood well and responded accordingly, but it was a big loss that Amaral was not there. With him keeping the ball there, the participation of the fullbacks in the attack increases and the defensive line becomes unstable. We had never won in Tokyo before, so I am just happy.

(Tokyo - Coach Kiyoshi OKUMA's comment)

I always thought the opponent's Wanchope would come. It hurts that we couldn't take it where we could have taken it first. I think the result would have been different if we could have kept the ball a little longer in the front line. The way we lost the ball was also bad, and the fullbacks couldn't push up. The good point was that Enomoto showed us the potential as a striker. In the future, we have no choice but to fight with this team, and we want to consider various combinations such as two top and second row.