Facing the top-ranked Urawa Reds in the first half of the 2nd stage!

　The 6th match of the 2nd stage will be played at home against the current leader, Urawa Reds. Urawa has won 5 consecutive matches in this stage, being the only team among the 16 teams without a loss, and is currently the most powerful team. In particular, their scoring ability of 21 goals in 5 matches is remarkable. Among them, FW Emerson, who is at the top of the scoring rankings, has scored in 5 consecutive matches, making his attacking power a significant threat. However, we cannot easily give up on victory. This will be a crucial match that cannot be lost in order to advance to the top and win the title. It can be said that it is a major showdown in the first half of the 2nd stage, especially in terms of stopping Urawa's dominance.

　Tokyo returned from injury and Toda, who scored a goal as a substitute in the previous match, started as the right midfielder. Lucas, who missed three games due to injury, was on the bench. On the other hand, Urawa lost key players Tsuboi and Yamase due to injury. Alpay, who received accumulated warnings, was suspended. In addition, Buchwald, the coach, was absent due to personal reasons, which caused some concerns at the start. Emerson, forward Nagai, and midfielder Mitsushu formed a 3-4-3 formation.

The first half ends with a scoreless draw, just as planned

　Tokyo was the first to attack boldly at the start. A through pass was made to Toda, who had run behind the right side DF from Kelly. Then, Kaji, who had advanced in attack, won a corner kick, and in the first minute, Jean scored a header from the right corner kick. In the 6th minute, Toda sprinted down the right side, and Baba crossed the ball to the far side, but the opponent's DF blocked it. However, they skillfully exploited the space on Urawa's side and attacked with an advantage.

　But in the 8th minute, Emerson, who received a long ball, evaded Jean with a one-touch and turned forward, breaking through the front line. Although Kaji quickly returned to prevent any danger, he showed the fear of a "one-shot". In the 13th minute, he sprinted down the left side of Tokyo with a dribble, and Shigeyoshi escaped with a corner kick. In the 14th minute, Nene, the defender, headed the ball from the right corner kick. The high shot slightly curved to the left.

　Both teams set up compact formations and pressed each other in the midfield, and the game progressed quickly. In the 18th and 19th minutes, Keri passed the ball to Kaji, who crossed it. In the 20th minute, Tokyo attacked from the right side, connecting passes between Keri, Kaji, and Toda, and creating crosses. However, just when it seemed like they were on the offensive, in the 22nd minute, Urawa used a wedge pass to penetrate the goal area. Kanazawa took a direct shot from inside the area, following a lofted ball sent by Baba from the front line. Unfortunately, they couldn't find the target, but they showed a good attacking shape from the left side as well.

　In the 36th minute, Urawa created a decisive scene. Mitsutoshi advanced from the Tokyo defense and passed to the right side. MF Yamada cut back inside the right area and took a left-footed shot. The ball hit the post and did not go in, but it was a tense moment. On the other hand, Tokyo also had a chance in the 42nd minute when Toda jumped in from the center to meet Kaji's cross with a header, but the ball went to the left of the goal. In the 44th minute, Kelly, Baba, Kondo Yu, Kanazawa, and Miura connected one after another and approached the Urawa goal with fast passing, but in the end, they were caught offside. However, Tokyo brought about the desired development and ended the first half with a 0-0 score.

Lucas, who has recovered from injury, scores a valuable opening goal!

　Both teams had 4 shots each in the first half. The game was intense with rapid exchanges of attacks and defenses, but it ended in a draw. During halftime, Coach Hara's instructions were to "remember to prepare defensively even when attacking. Don't drop the defensive line too much. Exploit the space behind the opponent's defense." Tokyo, showing the same fighting spirit as in the first half, immediately started the second half with Yusuke Kondo dribbling and earning a free kick in front of the goal. In the 48th minute, there was another attacking opportunity from Miura's interception, resulting in a free kick slightly to the left of the goal. However, Yusuke Kondo and Jean both aimed directly for the goal but missed the target.

　Tokyo, who did not allow Urawa to create decisive chances by playing tightly, also couldn't create many decisive scenes themselves. In the 51st minute, Yusuke KONDO was replaced by Lucas, who made his first appearance since the Tokyo V match in the 3rd section on August 29th. And then, one minute later, the long-awaited goal was born.

　In the 52nd minute, Imakono, who advanced on the right side, took a corner kick. Bamba put a liner ball into this right corner kick, and Lucas in the center made a perfectly timed header shot! The ball shook the net and scored a valuable opening goal with Lucas' first touch.

Urawa wins with perseverance in a thrilling offense and defense! Achieving a valuable victory

　Carrying the behind, Urawa also launched an attack. In the 58th minute, FW Tatsuya TANAKA was substituted for DF Uchidate. Nagai on the right MF, Mitsushu on the left, Yamada on the right MF and Hirakawa on the left MF dropped back to a 4-4-2 formation to challenge the counterattack. However, Tokyo today moved well without losing concentration and their combination play was also effective. They continued to press against Urawa's passers and receivers, stealing the ball and connecting to their own attack. However, in the 69th minute, Urawa also launched a quick attack and MF Suzuki saw an opening in the front and took a middle shot from the midfield. The tense development of being immediately attacked if they showed any gaps continued.

　Tokyo faced a decisive pinch in the 75th minute. Urawa's Nagai attempted to dribble through the center from the right side and took a shot. The ball hit Tokyo's defense and ended up in front of Emerson, who was inside the area. Emerson immediately went towards the ball, but Doi threw his body forward a step ahead and cleared it with a sliding tackle! The cleared ball was also picked up and they were threatened in front of the goal, but they defended this pinch with composed play.

　In the 71st minute, Miyazawa was substituted for Miura, and in the 77th minute, Abe was substituted for Baba, but the intense battle continued. Both teams were determined to win with their fighting spirit. In the 78th minute, Nagai broke through Tokyo's left side and made a negative cross. Although Tokyo's defense barely cleared it, they stuck to Tokyo's goal and launched a wave of attacks. In the final stages, they were on the defensive, but the team came together and defended with their bodies, not allowing any goals. They sealed the key moments with passionate play and achieved a determined victory. Although their goal difference puts them in 6th place, they closed the gap to 5 points with the top team and secured a valuable win.

【Player Comments】《Lucas》"It was frustrating to watch the game from the outside due to injury. I'm happy that we won with my own goal today. Before the game, we all talked about how if we lose here, our chances of winning the title would be gone. Every game is not easy, but beating the top team gives us confidence. There is still a possibility of winning the championship, so I want to focus on each game and fight. I'm no longer worried about the injury and my game sense is also coming back. I think I will improve more as we play more games."《Shigeki》"We talked about defending as a team to prevent one-on-one situations as much as possible. We learned from the previous match and made sure to keep our eyes on the ball until it goes out, until the whistle blows. I tried to shorten the distance with Jean more than usual and focused on covering each other. Everyone was concentrated and responded well to the calls, so we were able to keep a clean sheet. The team atmosphere is also good. Anyway, we want to win against Kashima next and continue winning one by one."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Urawa had a 9-game winning streak in official matches, and the first match was the final match of the 1st stage against Tokyo. We talked to the players that if we made the start of the winning streak, then this time we should end it with our own strength. Urawa still has explosive power. Even if you look at the past few games, they come back with 2 or 3 goals in quick succession after taking the lead. However, they have not experienced close matches, and there were hardly any scoreless draws in the first half, so we wanted to bring it to a close match. Also, today's game was a battle of speed in switching. Urawa tries to utilize the speed of Emerson, so they switch quickly from defense to attack after winning the ball. They have good defense from the front and immediately pass it to the forward players after winning the ball. If we lose in the speed of switching when the ball is taken away and Emerson is used, even if there are many defenders, there is a possibility of being overwhelmed and shot. So, we tried to slow down the vertical speed anyway. I think Miura, Konno, Toda, and Baba in the midfield were chasing well. Baba and Kondo, who have been holding on recently, seemed a bit tired, so I was thinking of bringing in Lucas, Abe, and Miyazawa at the decisive moment. I thought about bringing in Lucas from the beginning of the second half, but I confirmed the way of playing at halftime and decided to bring in Lucas a little later. Lucas has good footwork and can also keep the ball in the front. I asked him to play that role. However, Nene and Toriwaki players are also strong in their footwork, so I told him to keep the ball in the front while running into the space as much as possible and to make use of Kelly and others. I think the substitute players did well in a tough match. I thought it wouldn't be good if Urawa continued to run away, so it was good to stop them. We have another match soon, so I want to switch our focus to the next match against Kashima. (Regarding the question of whether the actual switch was late) Both teams probably wanted to connect a little more during the attack, but they may have been more concerned about the fear of being easily countered. When it got stuck on one side, we wanted to switch to the other side, but there was fear and we couldn't change sides. We want to improve the quality of such plays."

　[Urawa Engels coach's press conference summary] "I think we had a good game. It was fast and intense. In the first 20 minutes, we couldn't cope with the opponent's pressure and couldn't create good opportunities. But after that, we gradually found our rhythm. If Yamada's shot had gone in at that time, the game might have taken a different turn. In the second half, we had a similar start and I thought the pace would drop at some point, but both teams maintained a fast pace and fought until the end. The key moment was when Lucas came on as a substitute and we conceded a goal from a corner kick. From there, we tried to turn the game around. We changed a defender to a forward, tried to build from the outside, and wanted to make use of Nagai and Mitsushu. We also faced Tokyo's counterattacks, but we almost controlled the pace, created good opportunities, especially from the right side. However, Tokyo also defended their goal with determination, sliding tackles, until the end. We need to analyze the reasons for the loss calmly, but the next game is on the 26th. We want to quickly switch mentally and start from scratch for the next match."