Win the final match of the season!

　Tokyo, currently in 4th place in the 2nd stage, will face Kashima Antlers, who are in 3rd place, in the 15th section. It will be the final section held at the away Kashima Soccer Stadium, and it will be the first match against Kashima since the opening match of the 1st stage. It is an important match that will test the growth of both teams over the past year. As the culmination of this season, we want to close the league with a victory using our attacking football.

　Tokyo's Jean, Kaji, is suspended due to accumulated warnings. In addition, Amaral will be absent from the league match for the first time due to injury, making it a difficult lineup. However, 17-year-old Wu, who will make his first appearance since the 6th round against Gamba in the 1st stage, will be used as a right back. Fukuda, who scored the winning goal in the previous round, will serve as the lone striker, and Miura will also make a comeback after about 9 months and be on the bench, raising new expectations.

　Kashima, who is the opponent, has almost the best lineup. The battle for the third place in the stage started from Kashima's kickoff.

Last Game 

The final League game of the 2002 season saw F.C.TOKYO take on Kashima Antlers at Kashima Stadium in a match-up of the third and fourth placed teams. An interesting fixture since the two sides hadn't met since the opening match of the season; the progress made over the course of the year should have been visible.
TOKYO were without Jean and Kaji through suspension and Amaral was injured; 17 year-old Oh made his first appearance since April in an unfamiliar line-up that was boosted by the welcome return of Fumitake Miura after 9 months out injured. Fukuda, scorer of the dramatic winner in the previous game, kept his place as lone striker.
Antlers fielded their strongest starting eleven and kicked off on a clear but cold afternoon on the Pacific Coast.

Allowing the first goal from a set play despite grasping the rhythm

　1 minute into the game, Wu, who made his first start in the league, received a pass inside the opponent's territory and boldly took a middle shot, showing his determination for today's match. In the 3rd minute, Ishikawa caught up with Miyazawa's long pass and penetrated into the middle of the right penalty area, crossing the ball along the ground. Fukuda then jumped in and showed a good attacking form.

　Kashima had a chance in the 6th minute, as DF Fabiano headed a shot from a left corner kick, but it was blocked by a teammate just before reaching the goal, allowing Tokyo to escape the danger. Tokyo aggressively took control of the ball from the start, connecting one-touch passes to find their rhythm. They continued to threaten Kashima's goal, but Kashima countered with strong pressure and gradually gained control of the ball. In the 12th minute, FW Yanagisawa made a perfectly timed through pass from the midfield to the front of the goal. FW Eurer broke through the defense and faced GK Doi in a one-on-one situation, but Doi made a nice save! Doi also blocked the subsequent shot from the cleared ball, and Eurer followed up on the rebound, but the goal was not allowed. Tokyo managed to withstand Kashima's continuous attacking waves.

　But it happened right after that. Tokyo DF cleared Kashima's cross, and with this play, Kashima won a right corner kick. From here, Ogasawara kicked the ball, and Akita, the DF, freely headed it towards the goal. It was a header shot, and it went in, Tokyo already conceded one point.

TOKYO Shine But.... 

In the first minute of his first full game Oh picked up the ball, pushed forward and shot from outside the area. If he was nervous he certainly didn't show it and TOKYO opened brightly, pressurizing the home side across the field. Veteran Akita made an important clearance to prevent Ishikawa reaching a low cross from Miyazawa in the third minute. At the other end a Fabiano header from a corner was blocked on the line prompting a wild goalmouth melee; somehow the ball stayed out of the net but, perceptibly, the balance of the game was tilting toward the home side.
In the 12th minute a superbly timed ball from Yanagisawa split the TOKYO defense and put Euller clean through with only goalkeeper Doi to beat. He shot and the TOKYO No.1 pulled off a great save; the ball rebounded to an Antlers player, but again Doi was equal to the task. He pushed Euller’s second attempt around the post for a corner and TOKYO breathed a sigh of relief. However, when the corner came in Akita evaded the defense to head the Antlers into the lead.

A determined goal from Ishikawa from a good counterattack!!

　However, Tokyo immediately counterattacked without feeling down. In the 16th minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Kelly after an excellent keep and cut into the right penalty area with a ground cross. However, it narrowly missed Fukuda on the far side and was offside. In the 17th minute, Fukuda headed the ball after Wu's cross was cleared high in the air. In the 23rd minute, Baba aimed for a middle shot. However, after that, there were many desperate passes against Kashima's tight marking and solid defense in the final line.

　However, it was the 28th minute. Baba received a clear ball from the DF and launched a quick counterattack. Seeing no pressure from the opponent's defense in his own deep position, Baba dribbled forward. As he drew the attention of the defenders in the center of the Kashima area, he passed the ball to the right side, where Fukuda had run into the left side as a decoy. Ishikawa, who received the ball freely, entered the penalty area with speed and took a shot! The ball pierced into the top left corner of the net! With Baba's excellent attacking decision and pass, and Ishikawa's passionate and beautiful goal, Tokyo equalized the score.

　Tokyo struggled against Kashima's tough press after conceding an early goal in the first half, but they managed to recover well by capitalizing on one chance. In stoppage time, Yamashita dove to head the ball perfectly timed from Yanagisawa's cross, but Doi made a fine save to deny the goal. The first half ended with a 1-1 draw as they headed into the second half.

Sharp Counter 

TOKYO bounced back quickly with Fukuda given offside a minute later in a marginal decision after some great work by Kelly to shield the ball. Fukuda looped a header over the bar from Oh's cross in the 23rd minute as some tight marking began to restrict chances for TOKYO.
Then, in the 28th minute, a lightning fast counter attack tied the score.
Baba latched onto a clearance, raced the length of the field, then drew the defence to him before slipping the ball to Ishikawa who fired first time from just inside the area. The Kashima keeper stood no chance and TOKYO were back on level terms despite being under severe pressure for most of the game.
Both sides maintained a high level of concentration for the remainder of the half with chances at a premium; the Antlers nearly snatched the lead in the dying seconds of injury time but a superb reflex save by Doi from Motoyama's diving header preserved the 1-1 score line.

Against 10 Kashima, without a decisive factor

　In the second half, both teams burned with determination for victory and engaged in intense offense and defense. In the 48th minute, Tokyo's Kure sprinted towards the center after receiving a pass in the space on the right side, and Kelly received a pass on the left side and took a shot from just outside the penalty area, but it lacked power and was caught by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 49th minute, Kashima's defender Narahashi overlapped on the right side, and Eurel headed a shot from a cross, but it went straight to Doi. In the 50th and 53rd minutes, Augusto, the left side defender, and Narahashi again launched wide attacks from the side multiple times. In the 57th minute, Eurel, who stole the ball on the left side, attempted to break through until just outside the goal area, but Doi escaped the danger with a brave dive. In the 59th minute, Motoyama, who had drifted to the right side, sent a pass to the right penalty area with one touch, and Yanagisawa received it freely and took a shot, but it missed the goal, missing a big chance.

　On the other hand, Tokyo showed determination on the right side with Kelly in the 61st minute, bypassing the defender. Immediately after that, Fukuda aggressively closed in on the loose ball in Kashima's defensive line, snatching it back and displaying a passionate play. In the 68th minute, Ishikawa caught up to Kelly's pass on the right side, and just like in the first half scoring scene, he took a shot from inside the penalty area, but unfortunately, it was blocked by the goalkeeper's fine play.

　From the fast-paced back and forth attacks, it turned into a counter-attack battle. In the 70th minute, Fabiano fouled to stop Baba's dribble breakthrough. Fabiano received his second yellow card and was sent off. Kashima now has to play with 10 men.

　However, in the exchange of fouls, it ended up giving Kashima a set-piece opportunity, and Tokyo couldn't find their rhythm. In the 73rd minute, Ishikawa was fouled just outside the penalty area, and Miyazawa attempted a direct goal from the free kick, but it was blocked by the opponent's defense wall. In the 79th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Baba, and in the 85th minute, Sato was substituted for Fukuda. The formation was changed to put Ishikawa and Suzuki in the front line, but they couldn't find a breakthrough, and it seemed like they would go into extra time like this.

　However, in the 88th minute, Kashima Antlers picked up a loose ball on the right side of the Tokyo defense, and Narihoshi entered the penalty area. Eurer, who was waiting freely in front of the goal, took a powerful shot from a ground cross. This goal was scored, and we were unfortunately conceded an additional point at an unfavorable time.

　Tokyo showed a forward-looking attitude without giving up even in injury time, but in the end they couldn't create any chances and the time was up. It was a frustrating defeat as they couldn't take advantage of their numerical superiority.

　However, the final ranking was the highest ever at 5th place. Although the overall annual ranking ended at 9th place, it can be said that it was a significant achievement for young players like Kure, Baba, and Suzuki to gain experience in actual matches. With renewed determination, we will now prepare for the last tournament of the season, the Emperor's Cup.

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Even without regular players Amaral, Jean, and Akira KAJI, I don't think our performance was bad. Fukuda, Wu, and Komine did well. However, we were concerned about the lack of tall players for set plays. We were unfortunately scored against, but I think we did well to recover from that. We were able to establish a good rhythm."

　The thing that can be said when looking back on this season is that we were always too panicked when the opponent was one player short. Our physicality dropped and in the end, we were defeated. Overcoming that is a challenge we must face. We need to become a team that can still win even when we are one player short, like Kashima today, a team with perseverance.

　You can see that there are few players who have participated throughout the year, compared to the opening and today. We have been competing between young players and veterans. Among them, young players have been gaining strength, and we want to prepare well for the Emperor's Cup by assembling the best team."

[Summary of Kashima Cerezo's coach press conference] "At the beginning, there were many missed passes due to tension, and the rhythm was disrupted. If we had connected properly there, I think we could have played at Kashima's pace. The side was the starting point, but we had many situations where we were cut off by misplaced passes in the center and exploited in the back. Also, both of our defensive midfielders went up in the first half, and Kelly was able to receive the ball behind us with his individual skills. Tokyo was missing Jean and Amaral, and Kashima had the advantage in terms of height. We tried to exploit that, but we couldn't effectively deliver the ball from the outside to the center. If we had targeted their weak points there, I think we could have won with a better flow. Also, Tokyo left three players up front, so if we could have effectively exploit the spaces, we could have scored with our height advantage."

　The two players who are playing on the wing position in Tokyo are incredibly accurate, and that led to the scene where we conceded a goal. However, in the second half, their positioning improved and they were able to create chances up front, which helped the team. I think the determination to win definitely showed throughout the game.

　Tokyo, although the number 9 player was very active and aggressive, it was fortunate that there was no cunning Amaral. Tokyo has many young players and will become a formidable presence in the future.

10 Man Antlers Battle Back 

The second half mirrored the first; Oh burst down the right and picked out Kelly on the left. Unfortunately his shot lacked power and the keeper easily held it. Following this foray forward TOKYO were forced onto the back foot as first Narahashi, then Augusto, overlapped and sent telling crosses into the danger area. Yanagisawa should have put his side ahead in the 59th minute as a neat touch from Motoyama set him free inside the area but he shot wide with only Doi to beat.
TOKYO were looking to hit Kashima on the break and fashioned an identical counter attack to the one that brought the goal in the 68th minute. This time, however, the Antlers keeper was smartly off his line to deny Ishikawa with a fine save.
Tokyo were given a boost in the 70th minute as Fabiano collected a second yellow card for bringing down Baba in full flight and received his marching orders from the referee. However, as often happens in such situations, the man advantage failed to work for TOKYO, and apart from winning a couple of free kicks were unable to make much impression on the massed ranks of the home defence. Manager Hara reshuffled the team as extra time loomed, replacing Baba with Suzuki and Fukuda with Sato, pushing Ishikawa forward into a striker's role. The game seemed destined for extra time until Narahashi seized on a loose ball down the right in the 88th minute, sped into the area and powered in a low cross that Euller lashed into the net from close range.
The few minutes remaining failed to produce an equaliser and the game finished 1-2. The result, combined with results elsewhere, meant a 5th place finish in the Second Stage (the best since promotion to the top level) and an overall ranking of 9th. TOKYO hope to make the most of the promise shown by youngsters Baba, Oh and Suzuki in the final tournament of the year, the Emperor's Cup.


Manager Hara:
" Even though we were missing three regulars in Amaral, Kaji and Jean I thought we played well today. I was very pleased with Fukuda, Oh and Komine. With such important players out I felt we might be in trouble from set pieces and, unfortunately, I was right. Still, the team did very well to fight back and equalise against the run of play. For some reason we have struggled against teams reduced to 10 men this year; our effort drops and at the last we concede a late goal. We have to maintain our work-rate and concentration in such situations.
I feel that, over the course of the year, the young players have improved by leaps and bounds and now there is a healthy competition between them and the senior players for first team places. We hope to field our best team and make a good run in the Emperor's Cup ".

Antlers Manager Cerezo:
"We started poorly today, gave the ball away far too much and failed to find our rhythm. If we could have imposed ourselves from the start I think it would have been a very different game. TOKYO got behind our defence far too often today and Kelly caused us many problems with his great skill, particularly after the sending off. With Amaral and Jean out we definitely had the advantage in the air but as TOKYO used three strikers in the second half it was very difficult for us. The TOKYO No. 9 (Fukuda) was dynamic and seriously troubled our defence all afternoon.
F.C.TOKYO have many very good young players and can only improve as a team-it's a frightening prospect for the other sides in the league".