It's time for revenge!

　Still fresh in memory, the humiliating defeat in the 1st stage... The first match of the season against JEF, which took place on April 29th, ended in a 0-3 defeat at home, which can be described as a humiliating and significant loss. JEF completely capitalized on this match and continued their impressive performance, finishing the 1st stage in 2nd place, the highest position in club history. On the other hand, Tokyo completely lost confidence in this match and suffered another major defeat against Hiroshima with the same score. As a result, Tokyo fell to the bottom of the club's history for the first time. (In the end, these two consecutive defeats became a turning point, and Tokyo eventually recovered...)

　Certainly, this season's Jeff has been strong and has shown a completely different fighting style from the "regular members of the J2 relegation battle" so far. The reason for this is that the tactics of the second-year genius coach Verdenik have permeated the team, and he has gathered players who can achieve it, although not flashy. In particular, the addition of South Korean representative striker Jose Oscar Bernardi has been significant, and they have succeeded in obtaining a focal point and scoring power in the front line. They have maintained their good form in the 2nd stage as well, proving that their impressive performance in the 1st stage was not a fluke, and they are currently in 5th place.

　Tokyo has been on a winning streak since the previous match against G Osaka and Hiroshima, which they struggled with. It's a great opportunity to take revenge for the "1st stage" and Fukuda, who transferred from Nagoya, has already scored a goal and fit into the team. Yukihiko, who was also selected as a "candidate for the Japan national team," is also in great shape. The match between two strong teams took place in a brand new stadium with a beautiful view of the Alps, and the cold wind of Matsumoto's unique "Norikura Oroshi" blew as the kickoff whistle sounded.

Difficult Development for Jeff Pace

　In the early stages, it was JEF who took the lead. JEF distributed passes from a deep midfield position through Abe, who had the ability to play both short and long passes, and dropped the ball to the top player Choi. Midfielder Muchin, who is a playmaker, and forward Oshiba, who has a high work rate, were involved in stirring up the midfield and effectively holding the ball. Then, the wing-backs aggressively joined the attack on the open spaces on both sides. As it was in the 1st stage, the 3-5-2 system proved to be a highly functional tactic, allowing JEF to take control of the game. The team had confirmed sufficient care for Choi's post-play in the pre-match meeting, but they were unable to shut down the passes from Abe, Muchin, and others before that, causing Tokyo to be on the back foot in various situations.

　On the other hand, Tokyo's attack was unable to steal the ball on the front line and was attacked, and although they attempted to counterattack by stealing the ball in their own deep position, there were many scenes where Amaral, the top player, was isolated in contrast to JEF, and Amaral had many opportunities to lose the ball due to his poor form, so it was a difficult time where they couldn't create a base point in the front line.

　22 minutes, JEF Abe's FK narrowly missed the goal and escaped danger just above it. In the immediate 24th minute, Choi broke free from Abe's long pass and was shot from close range, but GK Doi barely caught it. JEF's young hope, Abe, who is only twenty years old and currently a candidate for the Japanese national team, played with Tokyo with his reputation as "better than Inamoto" with his unparalleled accuracy in passing and technique. In the 27th minute, JEF Abe sent a precise and unparalleled ball like an arrow from near the center circle to the front line. Daishi, who reacted sharply to it and broke free, touched the ball a moment faster than GK Doi, who had jumped out of the goal, and shot. The ball mercilessly went into the unmanned goal. Just like in the first stage, they allowed JEF to take the lead once again.

　Tokyo, who wants to turn the tide, had Kelly break through the situation with excellent technique, but due to being pushed back as a whole, they were attacked for a long time and lacked the number of attacks even when they tried to counter, which made it less impactful. Also, occasionally Fukuda cuts inside from the left side to take a shot, but JEF's large defender Milinovic stands like a guardian deity in front of the goal and stops him every time. Still, in the last minutes of the first half, Amaral tries to retaliate by heading the free kick Yuki Hoshi raised from the right, but it narrowly goes to the left of the goal. The only chance-like opportunity was this one shot by Amaral, making it a very disappointing content, and they ended the first half with JEF leading by one point.

Kina's entry changed the flow.. Amaral's equalizer goal for a counterattack!

　From the start of the second half, when Kina took the pitch, the flow changed. In the first half, Tokyo's support to Amaral and Kelly was slow, and the two were isolated, which resulted in a lack of depth in the attack. In response to this, Kina, who has a high ball retention ability, was substituted for Asari in the defensive midfield. Kina used his high ball retention ability to become the focal point in the midfield. He settled the ball in the midfield, which had previously been focused on counterattacks, and developed a cohesive attack with overall pressure.

　After 3 minutes into the second half, Kina, who kept the ball in the midfield, made a big side change to Fujiyama, who had moved up from the left side. Fujiyama dribbled into the center and crossed the ball, and Fukuda shot with a jumping volley. JEF's goalkeeper barely deflected it, but Amaral, who was following up, kicked it in neatly to equalize! With Kina's addition, Tokyo caught up with the tie and gained momentum. Furthermore, in the 10th minute of the second half, Fukuda forcefully took a shot from the center, and the ball deflected off the opponent's defender and flowed to the back. Kelly broke free and faced the goalkeeper one-on-one, but the shot went over the crossbar. Not capitalizing on this decisive chance would have a significant impact afterwards.

Take it back if it's taken! Tokyo, a determined comeback!

　Tokyo, who caught up with the tie, gained momentum and overwhelmed JEF. In the 11th minute, Yukihiko crossed the ball that came out behind from Kelly on the right side, but unfortunately, the opponent's goalkeeper caught it. In the following 15 minutes, Fujiyama intercepted the ball in his own territory, dribbled up to the front line, and passed a through ball to the space on the right side, and Yukihiko jumped out freely and crossed, but it hit the opponent's defender and resulted in a corner kick. Tokyo, who wanted to fold up the game with this momentum, but JEF, who maintained their good form, did not allow it so easily.

　In the 18th minute, Choi received a single pass from the left and was able to trap it freely, but his shot was saved by Hoi with a fine save. Even though JEF was being attacked, they demonstrated the ability to reverse the formation with Abe's accurate long passes and Choi's decisiveness, and the match continued with a back-and-forth battle.

　Tokyo, who wanted an additional point, substituted the tired Fukuda for Kagami, who has been scoring consecutive goals in the last two matches and riding the wave. In the 31st minute, Kelly broke through the left side with superb technique and immediately passed to the center. Amalao let it go through, and Kagami, who had run in from behind, shot from the center, but unfortunately it went to the left of the goal. On the contrary, in the 33rd minute, Jeff Muitin took a powerful shot from the central free kick, but GK Doi prevented it with a fine save. Tokyo created a chance when Yukihiko made a side breakthrough from the right, and Jeff also showed sharp movements in the front line with Oishi and substitute Hayashi, creating chances. With a back and forth struggle, it seemed that the second half would go into extra time, but in the 40th minute, Jeff Abe scored a header from a corner kick, once again putting Tokyo one point behind. Tokyo Eleven momentarily dropped their shoulders with a fatal goal conceded in the most difficult time. However, as they have shown in the last two matches, Tokyo did not give up and quickly switched their mindset. Tokyo attempted to attack with all their might, but Jeff defended with all their members. As time passed by, when Tokyo got a corner kick, all the Tokyo supporters in the goal end moved to the front row of the stands and repeated their loud cheers as if it was their last chance. There was less than a minute left, but the ball kicked by Yukihiko was easily bounced back by the Jeff DF, and the ball was returned to the back of the line by Komine, who was at the end. At the moment when everyone thought "it's all over...", the ball kicked directly by Komine fell behind the Jeff DF who was about to raise the line, and Tetsuya Ito, who had gone up with a corner kick, pushed it in with a jumping volley to equalize! Tokyo showed their determination at the last minute and brought the game back to square one.

A valuable draw in a tough match

　Tokyo, which caught up at the last minute and was in high spirits, wanted to settle the game quickly, but once it went into extra time, it was JEF who took the lead. In extra time, JEF's front line players, Oishi and Hayashi, became the focal point with their abundant energy, especially with their skillful penetration into the penalty area, where accurate through passes from Abe created dangerous situations that could have led to a winning goal. On the other hand, Tokyo, driven by their "determination to win," had a strong attacking mindset overall, which led to a noticeable imbalance in defense and several scenes where they were countered. For a moment, it reminded me of the Shimizu game in the 2nd stage (lost in extra time), but on this day, Tokyo's final line, led by Doi, Kominato, Sandro, and Ito Tetsuya, maintained their focus until the end, and ultimately the game ended in a draw. Both teams engaged in a fierce battle where their determination clashed, and although Tokyo couldn't achieve revenge, it was significant that they were able to secure "1 point" in a situation that could have been worse, especially considering Amaral's poor performance. It is commendable that they showed perseverance with their "never give up until the end" style of play, even in difficult times, and managed to bring the game to a draw. Tokyo, who can now produce results even in bad times, not just momentum, will face their arch-rivals Urawa at home in the next match at Tokyo Stadium.

[Coach Okuma's Comment]

"It was unfortunate that today's goals were due to coordination mistakes and set plays. However, it is commendable that we were able to draw with our characteristic 'never give up until the end' football. It is a problem that we couldn't make adjustments when we couldn't establish a base in the front line or when we couldn't pass the ball in the midfield, but it is also commendable that we maintained balance and minimized goals conceded. Therefore, we would like to reevaluate the balance between offense and defense, and approach the next game with a renewed mindset."