Defeat the weak team Kobe and achieve a draw in the win-loss ratio

　It can be said that it is a weak point. The record against Kobe is that we have never won in the league, with 1 draw and 3 losses in the past 4 matches. In this year's Nabisco Cup qualifying league, we won 1 and drew 1, but we still want to defeat them in the league.

　Kobe this season has been struggling, ranking 15th with 2 wins, 10 losses, and 1 draw, with only 7 points after the 13th section. Especially recently, they have suffered 5 consecutive losses and 3 consecutive games without scoring, reaching a bottom state. Tokyo, although not in top form with a pattern of losing winning games in the second half in the past few games, should have plenty of opportunities to win against the current Kobe. Today, they must win and return the win-loss record of the 1st stage to a tie of 6 wins, 6 losses, and 2 draws in order to face the final match of the season in the right condition. Even the players before the game naturally spoke such words, but now that the championship is out of reach, one goal in the current ranking is to "surpass" in the 1st stage.

　Kobe in a difficult situation, started with a rough treatment of benching Kazu, but on the other hand, Tokyo also approached the game with a lineup that adds depth to the side attack that had been hiding in the past few games, with Kaji returning from injury after 3 games as the right fullback, and Kobayashi Minoru starting as the left fullback for the first time in 8 games due to Fujiyama's suspension for accumulated warnings.

TOKYO Visit Bogey Team Vissel In Hope 

If F.C.TOKYO have a bogey team then it's surely Vissel Kobe. The four previous league meetings have resulted in three defeats and a draw; in this year's Nabisco Cup group stage however, TOKYO managed a win and a draw. The team made the journey to Kobe hoping for a first league victory over their hosts.
This season Vissel have struggled to a W2 D1 L10 record for 7 points and 15th.position in the league. TOKYO have fared better but have developed an unfortunate habit of conceding second half goals; still, the team felt confident they had enough to take the three points and return their record to W6 D2 L6.
Vissel started with Kazuyoshi "Kazu" Miura on the bench, although he would be almost certain to see action at some point; Kaji returned for TOKYO after missing 3 games through injury and Minoru Kobayashi made his first start for 8 games as replacement for the suspended Fujiyama. TOKYO were clearly hoping to make more use of the wings than they had been able to in recent games.

2 consecutive matches! Once again, Amaral takes the lead with a penalty kick!

　Contrary to the steamy Tokyo Stadium in the previous match, on this day Kobe Univ had perfect conditions with a refreshing cool breeze that made you feel the autumn. Once the game started, both teams aggressively pressed from the front, resulting in a fast-paced and intense match.

　Tokyo collected the ball to Kelly and formed the rhythm of the attack by breaking through from the side through Amaral's post-play. Toda on the left side became a solid base with accurate play and a bold jump, and Ishikawa on the right side created numerous chances with sharp dribble breakthroughs. Both Kaji and Kobayashi Minoru's participation in the attack as full-backs was also effective, overwhelming Kobe in the attack and defense on the sides.

　On the other hand, Kobe has been putting pressure on the front line with the passionate play of Castle and Hashido, but Tokyo has dominated the ball for a long time, so the overall team has been somewhat defensive and has been aiming for chances with sharp counters after stealing the ball from deep positions. In the 7th minute, Tokyo took advantage of the situation where they were pressing forward and took the back with a single pass, but Tokyo's GK Doi made a good judgment and came out to clear it. After that, they continued to steal the ball and put crosses from the sides, but the accuracy of the ball was low and they couldn't create decisive chances.

　The game started moving in the 19th minute, when Amaral jumped into the corner kick from the right for Tokyo, but at that time, Kobe DF Kitamoto pulled Amaral's shirt and a penalty kick was given. Furthermore, Kitamoto, who was not satisfied with this decision, persistently protested to the referee and received a second yellow card, resulting in a dismissal. Tokyo, who obtained a penalty kick in this unexpected situation, decisively scored in the left corner of the goal with Amaral, taking the lead. Following the previous match against Kyoto, once again Amaral scored the opening goal with a penalty kick.

Amaral Fires TOKYO Ahead 

In contrast to the recent sauna-like conditions in Tokyo Stadium, it felt almost like autumn in Kobe Universiade stadium as the game kicked off in near perfect weather: 26C and a pleasant breeze. TOKYO began brightly with play being funneled through Kelly to Amaral whose layoffs to Toda on the left and Ishikawa on the right had the home defense under pressure. Both sidebacks, Kaji and Minoru Kobayashi, joined in the attack as TOKYO attempted to overwhelm Vissel down the flanks.
The home team seemed content to allow TOKYO the lion's share of possession and hit on the break with twin strikers Jo and Bando busying themselves amongst the visitors' defense. In the 7th minute, TOKYO keeper Doi had to race out of goal to clear a long ball played behind the back line. Neither team managed to create any clear cut chances until the 19th minute when the game suddenly burst into life. TOKYO won a corner on the right; Amaral leapt for the ball as it came in but tumbled to earth having had his shirt pulled by Kitamoto. The referee pointed to the spot and brandished a yellow card at Kitamoto. Kitamoto vented his spleen at the referee and was promptly sent off. Amaral made no mistake from the spot kick, sending the keeper the wrong way for his second converted penalty in two games.

Unable to break through the 10-man Kobe

　Tokyo, who received an early goal and a significant advantage, continued to attack in search of additional goals. However, after Kobe had one player sent off and changed their system from a 3-5-2 to a 4-4-1, they were unable to exploit the spaces on the sides and their attacks became predominantly centered around Amaral. In the 28th minute, Kelly broke through the center with a one-two pass with Amaral and delivered a perfect through pass to Toda, who had made a run into the goal area, but unfortunately, it was offside. In the 39th minute, Amaral received the ball in the center and skillfully turned forward, sending a decisive pass to Kelly, who had made a run into the penalty area, but it was cleared by the Kobe defender just a moment before the shot.

　On the other hand, despite being one player down, Kobe tried to seize the few chances with a determined play by Castle, who became the lone striker and led the team by putting his body on the line in the front line. In the 40th minute, he unleashed a powerful overhead shot from a position about 25 meters in the center, narrowly missing the goal to the right and causing GK Doi to panic. Kobe's chances were not many, but everyone played with great determination, surpassing Tokyo's attacks and clearly demonstrating a unified attitude to aim for a goal from counterattacks. There should have been no doubt that Tokyo's players outnumbered Kobe's on the pitch, but after the match, Kobe's coach Matsuda said, "Castle, as the lone striker, worked hard and played as if he was a two-striker team," creating a completely different impression. In the early stages, Tokyo overwhelmed Kobe with splendid soccer that broke through from the sides, but conversely, they slowed down as if adapting to Kobe, who solidly defended after losing one player, and entered the second half without being able to score an additional goal.

Ten Man Vissel Battle On 

Vissel immediately regrouped into a 4-4-1 formation which cut down space on the flanks for TOKYO and the attack switched inside with Amaral as target man. He played a neat one-two with Kelly in the 28th minute and a fine through ball saw Toda outpace the defense but he was given offside. In the 39th minute Amaral burst into the area but his cross to Kelly was cleared by a defender. The Vissel players more than made up for the loss of Kitamoto with a redoubling of their efforts and Jo, playing as the lone striker, busied himself to such an extent that sometimes it wasn't clear which team had only 10 men. He tried a spectacular overhead kick from 25m that sailed just wide of the post in the 40th minute. Although under considerable pressure Vissel stuck to their task and the first half ended 1-0 to TOKYO.

Pressed by Kobe's determination, the game is tied and goes into overtime.

　After the Verdy match in Section 10 (7/24), Tokyo has been following a pattern of conceding goals in the second half even after taking the lead in the first half. At halftime, they approached the second half with instructions to "apply intense pressure from the start, move the ball more simply, and score additional goals with attacks that utilize not only the center but also the sides." On the other hand, Kobe also approached the second half with confidence, following the instructions given at halftime, "if we continue playing the way we are now, chances will definitely come," and an intense battle unfolded from the start.

　Tokyo grasps the rhythm with an attack using the side as instructed by the coach in the early stages of the first half. In the 51st minute, Amaral passes to Kaji, who runs deep from the right side of the post and creates a chance. In the following 58th minute, Miyazawa takes a powerful low trajectory shot from mid-range, and Amaral follows up after the opponent's GK fails to catch and drops the ball forward! However, the decision is offside. It was a very close decision, but the team was encouraged by Miyazawa's bold play. Furthermore, in the 60th minute, Ishikawa dribbles through deep on the right side with amazing speed and passes a pinpoint ground pass in front of the opponent's GK, but Kelly falls just short. In the 62nd minute, Ishikawa, who has now shifted to the left side, crosses to the center, and Toda heads the ball, but it goes over the bar. Tokyo's chances continue. In the 67th minute, the ball flows from Ishikawa, who brings it in from the left, to Amaral in the center, and then to Kaji, who runs up the right side, and Kaji takes a powerful shot from the dribble, but the ball narrowly misses to the right of the goal. In the 70th minute, this time Tokyo counterattacks as Kelly dribbles up and passes to Ishikawa on the right, Ishikawa cuts inside and takes a left-footed shot, but it is saved by the opponent's GK.

　Kobe, who withstood Tokyo's fierce attack with determination, gradually turned the tide. In the 74th minute, he headed the central free kick in front of the goal, but GK Doi barely punched it away. In the following 76th minute, Hato made a shot after shaking off two Tokyo defenders with a determined charge from the counter, but the ball hit the crossbar. In the 77th minute, the ball was headed in front of the goal from the left, but Doi caught it. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Tokyo substituted Kobayashi Minoru for Shigeno to strengthen their defense. They adopted a strategy to hold on and escape, but in the immediate 82nd minute, the ball that was contested in the center from a left corner kick rose high in front of Tokyo's goal. It seemed that Doi would catch it, but amidst the crowded players, DF Shijikurei cleverly positioned himself at the drop point of the ball, creating a path and kicked it directly with his right foot, scoring a goal. In the crucial time when they had to concentrate the most, they were caught up by Kobe, giving away an equalizer.

　The match returned to square one, but Tokyo still had one more player. In the 85th minute, Baba, who came on as a substitute, brought the ball from the right to the center and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot. Unfortunately, it went over the crossbar, but with Baba's addition, Tokyo's ball possession rate definitely increased and they had more chances. In the 87th minute, when a pass from Ishikawa on the right reached Miyazawa in the center, Miyazawa dribbled past two defenders and passed to Kelly on the left side of the goal. Kelly trapped the ball, but the opponent's defender couldn't resist and committed a high kick foul. With 3 minutes remaining, it was a great opportunity for an indirect free kick from a distance of 3 meters in front of the goal, but Jean's shot went well over the crossbar. In the end, the score remained 1-1 and the match went into extra time.

Kobe Equalise, Extra Time Beckons 

Since the Verdy match on July 24th, F.C. TOKYO's games had fallen into an unwanted pattern: take a first half lead and then concede second half goals as concentration lapsed. To avoid a repetition, the players were instructed to harry their opponents and use the wings more, while maintaining their concentration. Vissel felt they were doing enough to create chances and snatch an equalizer and started the second half in confident mood.
But, as the second period unfolded, TOKYO, following the manager's half-time direction, found their rhythm and used the flanks to greater effect. Some neat play by Amaral in the 51st minute set up Kaji for a shot on goal. In the 58th minute, the Vissel keeper spilled a low blast from Miyazawa; Amaral pounced but the goal was disallowed for offside. Two minutes later, Ishikawa blazed down the right wing and curled a low cross in towards Kelly who failed to make contact by a whisker. Ishikawa was the provider again in the 62nd minute as Toda headed his cross narrowly over the bar. The chances were coming thick and fast for TOKYO; in the 67th minute, Amaral rolled a pass inside the last defender for the charging Kaji to fire fractionally wide and three minutes later, Kelly found Ishikawa on the right. He cut inside and shot powerfully with his left foot but the Vissel keeper made a fine save.
Vissel somehow survived everything TOKYO threw at them and slowly began to gain a foothold in the match. In the 74th minute, Doi punched clear a dangerous free kick; two minutes later, Bando beat two defenders but shot over the bar. As the game entered the final 10 minutes, Moniwa replaced Kaji to bolster the defense but disaster struck for TOKYO in the 82nd minute.
Goalkeeper Doi seemed to have cleanly held the ball from a corner but somehow lost it in a wild scramble of bodies and Sidiclei was on hand to prod home for the equalizer.
TOKYO seemed determined not to let conceding a late goal disturb their rhythm and nearly had the winner as Baba picked the ball up on the right, raced into a shooting position and let fly. The ball flew fractionally over the bar but the introduction of Baba for Toda had a positive effect on TOKYO. With 3 minutes remaining, Miyazawa waltzed past two defenders and found Kelly. The referee gave an indirect free kick to TOKYO for a "high foot" by a Kobe defender on Kelly and presented TOKYO with a golden opportunity to take the game. Jean blazed the chance way over the bar and the 90 minutes finished 1-1.

A painful penalty kick... once again crying over a comeback defeat

　Mentally, Kobe had the advantage, but Tokyo still had one more player, and the game was in a situation where it could go either way. In the first half of extra time, Tokyo showed a fierce attack again. In the 100th minute, Ishikawa broke through the right side and crossed, but it was cleared by the opponent's defender. In the 102nd minute, Baba took a powerful shot, and in the immediate 103rd minute, Kelly passed a perfect through ball to Kaji, who had run up the right side, and Jahn, the defender, closed in on the center but was cleared. In the 104th minute, Amaral aimed for the left side of the goal and took a shot, but it narrowly missed to the right. Immediately after that, Ishikawa's powerful shot from the right side of the penalty area also missed to the right of the goal.

　Tokyo, which overwhelmingly attacked, did not let up on their offensive even in the second half of extra time. In the 108th minute, Amaral stretched his leg and dived into a big cross from the right side, but the ball went over the goal net. In the 109th minute, Baba aimed for a middle shot but missed above the bar, but Baba's movement to draw out the ball and his aggressiveness became a big positive factor for the team.

　Tokyo, who couldn't score no matter how much they attacked, instead gave Kobe the courage to make a final attack. In the 111th minute, substitute Okano, who has quick feet, made a run after just one through pass, but Jean barely managed to defend it. However, Okano's speed instilled fear in Tokyo. Okano, along with the top striker, tirelessly chased after the Tokyo defenders from the front line, mustering his last bit of strength. In response, the Tokyo defenders made easy pass mistakes two or three times, losing the ball. In the 115th minute, Tokyo lost the ball from an easy mistake on the left side, and when a direct pass was made behind the defenders from a throw-in, Okano shook off defender Shigeki and charged forward. Defender Ito caught up with Okano in the penalty area, but in the momentum, he ended up fouling Okano and giving away a crucial penalty kick. Kazu, who came on as a substitute in the 104th minute, took the kick. There was no way the former Japanese ace would miss a penalty kick in this situation. Kazu's shot calmly shook the Tokyo net, sealing the deal. Tokyo, who had truly lost a "winnable game," confirmed their losing streak in the 1st stage with one final match remaining. The entire team was downhearted by this painful defeat, but now it's time for the last home game of the 1st stage. The players quickly switch their mindset and have no choice but to "fight" for the sake of the fans who support them and for themselves.

[Summary of the Press Conference by the Former Coach] We scored a goal through a penalty kick early in the game, but our pace deteriorated after one player was sent off. Ideally, we should have continued to press on at that point, but instead we ended up playing at the opponent's pace. It's frustrating that we couldn't score against Kobe, who were playing with one less player and giving their all. What was disappointing was the goal we conceded in the second half. Our teammates ended up conceding in a situation where they should have cleared the ball. We really wanted to win today's match and bring the win-loss record back to a draw, but we can't change this fact anymore. We need to switch our mindset for the next game and aim for a victory in the final match.

[Vissel Kobe, Coach Matsuda Press Conference Summary] I'm just happy to win. It was a game that I thought would end in a draw, so it's even more so. It was painful to concede a goal at such an early time and to have one player sent off, but we were able to adapt well by changing the system from 3-5-2 to 4-4-1. This was largely due to the work of the two forwards, who were able to play a 4-4-2-like football. Even with one player down, we were able to play with a good rhythm and our concentration until the end led to the winning goal. It was a tough match, but I think the players understood that if they concentrate and don't give up until the end, the results will come, even in such matches. In that sense, it was a valuable victory.

TOKYO Fall To Extra Time Penalty 

Despite being a man down, Vissel's late equalizer had given them a boost and it was anyone's game as extra time unfolded. From around the 100-minute mark, TOKYO began to threaten: an Ishikawa cross was cleared, Kaji fired in a shot from middle range, and a beautiful Kelly through pass was cleared off Jean's toes by a defender. Amaral fired wide in the 104th minute and Ishikawa repeated the trick a minute later. TOKYO launched waves of attacks on the Kobe goal but a winner just wouldn't come. Amaral stretched out a leg to divert a cross over the bar in the 108th minute and the sparkling Baba fired over a minute after that.
Vissel hadn't given up the fight and with the jet-propelled Okano partnering Jo were capable of giving TOKYO a fright. Jean did well to cut out a simple through ball to Okano in the 111th minute but the speedy striker sowed the seeds of doubt in the TOKYO defense, resulting in some hesitant play that gifted the ball to the opposition. The decisive moment came in the 115th minute as Okano, chasing a long ball, went down under pressure from Ito and the referee unhesitatingly pointed to the spot. Kazu Miura, ex-Japan ace striker, had come on in extra time and confidently beat Doi for the winning goal. Unbelievably, TOKYO had lost a game that had seemed to be in their pocket. The players will have to pick themselves up and try to finish the first stage with a win in front of the home supporters in the final game next Saturday.

Manager Hara:
" Although we took an early lead and they were a man short our pacing of the game wasn't good. We have to make opponents play to our pace. Kobe fought very well but we should have made more of our opportunities. Conceding the late equaliser was terrible-we didn't deal with the danger at all. We really wanted to win today to move our record up to .500 for the season, but it's no use crying over spilt milk. We'll regroup and aim to finish the first stage with a win".

Vissel manager Matsuda:
" Obviously we are very pleased with the win as we expected the game to be a draw. Losing a goal and a player so early on was a blow but when we changed to 4-4-1 Jo worked so hard it seemed like 4-4-2, and that was the key really. We kept our shape, found a good rhythm and concentrated to the very end. In terms of showing the players what they can achieve through hard work this is a valuable win ".