Finish the home final game with a victory to celebrate the championship

　League 37th round is held. We are having our final home game and will be playing against JEF United Chiba. With the victory in the previous round against Tottori, we have secured a place within the top 3. At the same time, depending on the results of other matches the next day, the championship will also be decided. In order to grasp the "feeling" of winning the championship, we want to end today's match with a victory. This match is not only about avenging the away game, but also about maintaining our undefeated record at Ajinomoto Stadium this season. We must continue to grow with each game and approach the victory with a strong mindset. However, Kajiyama, who injured his left calf, will be absent as he prioritizes his recovery. Therefore, Hayabusa will be used as a defensive midfielder. Taniyama will be in the forward position, and Tanabe and Ishikawa, who missed the previous match, will be on the sides. On the other hand, Chiba is currently in 7th place with 55 points. They have already lost the possibility of finishing in the top 3, so this round can be considered a match to fulfill their fixtures. However, they achieved victory against J1 Iwata in the Emperor's Cup and advanced to the 4th round. Also, today, forward Oroi and defender Mark Milligan are suspended. Midfielder Sato Isamu is also absent, but the motivation of the fresh members seems to be high. The formation consists of center-backs Takeuchi and Aoki, left full-back Chano, right full-back Watanabe, defensive midfielder Funagessel, midfielders Yamaguchi and Murai in front of him, and forward Kubo as the front line, with midfielders Yonekura and forward Fukai on the sides, in a modified 4-3-3 formation. In particular, we need to be cautious of the sharp counterattacks and runs from the second row initiated by forward Kubo. In order to take care of that, we need to be careful about maintaining balance and not losing the ball while attacking. We want to counter by taking control of the game. We want to win with the football we have built up so far. As the night falls, Ajinomoto Stadium becomes colder. The match started with Chiba's kickoff at 17:34.

Tokyo Aim To End Season In Style

Jef United Chiba were the visitors to Ajinomoto Stadium for the 37th game of the year. Following the victory over Tottori that confirmed Tokyo's promotion on the previous Saturday, other results conspired to crown the club J2 champions on Sunday afternoon. With the title in the bag, the side was determined to finish the season unbeaten at Ajinomoto Stadium with a win and to gain a measure of revenge for a defeat in Chiba earlier in the campaign.
Kajiyama had suffered a calf injury and was rested, Hanyu taking his place in central midfield. Yazawa played in a striking role with Tanabe and the returning Ishikawa on the flanks.
Chiba lay in 7th place with 55 points at kick-off. Despite all hopes of promotion being extinguished, the match was far from a dead rubber as the side had kept its season alive with a victory over J1 Jubilo Iwata to earn a place in the 4th round of the Emperor's Cup. Regulars Aaroy and Mulligan were suspended, while Yuto Sato started on the bench, allowing squad members a chance to stake a claim to a place in the first team. Takeuchi partnered Aoki in central defense with Chano on the left and Watanabe on the right of a back four protected by defensive midfielder Van Gessel. Yamaguchi and Murai filled out the midfield with Yonekura, Kubo, and Fukai in attack in a 4-3-3 formation.
Forward Kubo, with his sharp bursts from midfield on the counter-attack, was the danger man for the Tokyo defense to guard against. Maintaining the team balance and not losing the ball when pushing forward would be vital for the home side who would also need to seize the initiative to dominate a game that was an opportunity to demonstrate the qualities developed over the course of the year.
Evening brought a chill to the stadium as Chiba kicked off shortly after 5:30 pm.

Unable to break Chiba's defensive block, it was a tight game...

　The first half continued with a battle for the ball. Chiba started with a strong press, but Tokyo calmly responded without panicking. They tried to maintain their own rhythm. Chiba gradually solidified their defensive block and formed a compact formation. There were periods of time when Chiba dominated, but both teams prevented each other from playing freely with their strong defense. In the 19th minute, Tokyo had a chance when Tanizawa quickly restarted a free kick and Tanabe received a pass from Hayashi, Lucas, and Tanizawa's combination on the left area, but his trap was slightly long and he couldn't take a shot. In the 22nd minute, Tanizawa, who tried to drop back and connect in his own half, was dispossessed, leading to a counterattack by Chiba. They couldn't stop MF Murai's dribble and he took a powerful shot, but it was saved by Shibata and resulted in a corner kick. In the 28th minute, Chiba's counterattack led to a pass to FW Fukai, who dribbled into the left area, but Morishige quickly covered and the shot went wide. After that, Tokyo persistently held off Chiba's strong counterattacks and shifted their focus to attacking, mainly through Hayashi and the fullbacks pushing forward. However, there were moments when the coordination in the front line didn't click and there were also mistakes, so they couldn't break through Chiba's block. The first half ended with a scoreless draw.

Defence Dominates In Tight First Half

The game began with possession changing hands rapidly. Chiba pressed hard from the front but Tokyo refused to panic and attempted to build a rhythm. As the game progressed the visitors gradually tightened their block defence, maintaining a compact formation. Although Chiba did enjoy some periods of possession defence dominated in a chance-free opening quarter.
In the 19th minute Yazawa, Lucas and Hanyu combined to set up Tanabe from a quickly-taken free kick but the young midfielder's first touch was heavy and the shooting opportunity was squandered. Yazawa lost possession in the 22nd minute allowing Chiba to launch a rapid counter attack. Murai dribbled forward and unleashed a fierce low drive that Shiota tipped around the post at full stretch. Chiba threatened again on the counter in the 28th minute as forward Fukai took the ball inside the Tokyo area on the left. Morishige was smartly across to cover and forced Fukai to snatch at his shot which sailed well wide.
A gritty and spirited Chiba side continued to threaten with their speed on the break and although Tokyo responded through the sidebacks and Hanyu the attack stuttered and failed to penetrate the solid Chiba defence. The first half ended scoreless.

Lucas scores a goal at his favorite home ground! Takes control and remains undefeated at Ajinomoto Stadium!!

　In the second half, we created several big chances from the beginning. In the 47th minute, Tokunaga crossed the ball and Hayashi dropped it for Ishikawa to shoot. In the 48th minute, Hayashi from the right area perfectly timed a last pass to Tanabe who ran freely into the left area. We created decisive chances, but we couldn't convert any of them. In the 57th minute, Hayashi intercepted Takahashi's pass and shot, but it went wide to the left.

　Roberto CESAR replaced Tanabe immediately after the 57th minute. In the 61st minute, Cesar broke through the area in response to Hayu's pass from the front line, but the shot lacked power... It was blocked by the goalkeeper's save. In the 65th minute, Takahashi intercepted a clearance from Chiba's right back and took a shot. It flew just above the upper right corner and seemed to be blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's hand... resulting in a goal kick for Chiba.

　Chiba continued to push but couldn't score, and in the 75th minute, Chiba MF Yamaguchi received his second warning and was sent off. With the numerical advantage, Tokyo completely dominated the ball. In the 77th minute, after Mori Shige passed to Hanyu just outside the area, Hanyu dribbled and created space, then passed to Cesar in the center. Cesar sent a final pass to Lucas, who skillfully evaded the defender and confidently shot from the front of the goal, scoring!

　Lucas once again scored at his favorite Ajista Stadium and took the lead. Tokyo continued to pass the ball to aim for additional points. In the 78th minute, Yazuwa on the right side passed to Cesar, who rushed in from the left area, but his powerful shot narrowly missed to the right. In the 86th minute, Mokuhara connected with Lucas in the center via Tokunaga, and then passed wide to Mokuhara's area. Lucas and Morishige were involved again, moving to the opposite side. They kept passing the ball, Suzuki passed to Cesar on the right corner of the area, and Uchida on the inside tried to return the ball, but couldn't finish.

　Although we couldn't score a second goal, we didn't give Chiba a chance to counterattack. In the first half, we struggled to break through Chiba's defense, but in the second half, we completely took control and ended the final home game with a victory. It should be noted that this season we never lost at Ajinomoto Stadium and finished undefeated.

　【Player Comment】《Imano》"We had a match where we absolutely couldn't afford to lose, and I'm grateful to all the supporters who came. We couldn't play very good soccer and the performance wasn't great, but we've been able to start winning. Chiba is a strong team, and I can feel our growth little by little. Most importantly, it's great that we were able to win and report our championship. I'm truly grateful to the supporters for their passionate support, both at home and away."

　"It wasn't Ajinomoto Stadium where we secured promotion and won the championship, so today I wanted to leave a result at home. I played in the midfield, but I was able to pass the ball and maintain stability in the back, so I was focused on moving forward. I am grateful to the supporters for this year. I wanted to play with that feeling and I hope we can continue to fight together, including the Emperor's Cup."

　[Summary of Coach Okuma's Press Conference] "In the first half, we struggled to break through the opponent's solid defense. However, we believed that we would not give up, including our physicality, so we were able to keep the score at zero without panicking. In the second half, we were able to play our own football as the opponent started to tire. However, in order to move up in the future, we must play the same kind of football as in the second half from the beginning, and we must develop the strength, judgment, and versatility to threaten the opponent for the full 90 minutes."

　In J1, there is a high probability of conceding goals, and the remaining matches should be a fierce battle against Sapporo.D in the Emperor's Cup. Whether we can play the game with more threats from the first half. It remains a challenge to find more passes and spaces towards the goal, and to be able to dribble and shoot. However, we can confidently say that we were able to play our own soccer to some extent.

　[Summary of Chiba and Kobe Coaches' Press Conference] "Congratulations to everyone at FC Tokyo on winning the championship and promotion. We couldn't achieve it this season, but we definitely want to become like that for the next season. In terms of the power balance between us and FC Tokyo, we will inevitably spend more time defending in the match. We expected that we would retreat from the beginning and the match would become a battle of aiming for counters from there."

　In the first half, we were able to finish without conceding any goals by compacting the defensive line. If I had to say something, I think we could have had a chance if we had been more aggressive in winning the ball and launching counterattacks from closer to the goal. In the second half, we couldn't go up to the front line to steal the ball in deep positions, or we made mistakes there and couldn't go on the attack. We had no choice but to defend, and it was tough... that's the impression. We became 10 players, and immediately after that, we conceded a goal, so maybe we could have defended if we had 11 players... I think the players fought their best with their current abilities."

Home Boy Lucas Grabs The Winner As Tokyo Go Unbeaten In Ajinomoto Stadium

In contrast to the first half, Tokyo carved out two excellent openings as the second period began. In the 47th minute, Tokunaga crossed, Hanyu knocked the ball down, and Ishikawa shot. Less than a minute later, Hanyu played in Tanabe on his left with a superbly-timed pass as Tokyo pushed forward at pace; both chances were clear-cut but neither were taken and the game proceeded at 0-0.
Takahashi intercepted the ball in midfield in the 57th minute and Ishikawa moved it on to Hanyu who shot narrowly wide from outside the Chiba area. Moments later, Roberto Cesar replaced Tanabe. A long ball over the top of the Chiba defense from Hanyu in the 61st minute allowed Cesar to show his pace and sprint clear of the visitors’ backline; with only Okamoto to beat, Cesar's attempt to place the ball beyond the onrushing keeper lacked power and was easily saved. In the 65th minute, Takahashi swung a boot at a headed clearance some 25 meters from goal; the shot seemed desultory at first until it appeared to be arrowing towards the far top corner, forcing Okamoto to backpedal rapidly and seemingly tip it over the bar. The officials awarded a goal kick to Chiba.
Tokyo continued to press without finding a way through. Their fortunes took a sudden upturn in the 75th minute as Chiba midfielder Yamaguchi earned a second yellow card and was sent off. The home side ruthlessly exploited their advantage just two minutes later. Morishige picked out Hanyu just outside the Chiba area and the Tokyo midfielder held possession before laying the ball off to Cesar in a central position. Cesar rolled the ball forward to Lucas who then produced a sublime turn that left his marker for dead and the ball was in the back of the Chiba goal before Okamoto barely had a chance to react.
Yet another goal at home from Lucas had broken the deadlock. Tokyo continued to control possession and pushed forward in search of a second goal. In the 78th minute, Yazawa found Cesar in a central position and the Brazilian took the ball on before blazing a shot narrowly wide of the post. As the clock ticked down, Tokyo enjoyed almost unbroken possession, moving the ball around fluidly and probing for openings in the harried Chiba defense. A second goal failed to materialize, however, and the final whistle blew on a 1-0 win. The Chiba defense had frustrated Tokyo in the first half but the second period had seen near total domination by the home side. The result meant that Tokyo had gone an entire season unbeaten at Ajinomoto Stadium.


Players' comments
Konno
"With so many of our fans coming today it was a game we absolutely didn't want to lose. We didn't play much good football and it wasn't a great performance but we're winning games like these now. Chiba are a decent team so it feels like we're making progress little by little. Home and away our fans are fantastic and we're really grateful".

Hanyu
"We won promotion away and the league was also decided away from here so we really wanted to win today. I was playing in defensive midfield and since we were moving the ball around at the back fairly comfortably I tried to get forward as well. I'd like to thank the fans for their support over the year. Their spirit helps my game and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season with their support".


FC Tokyo manager Kiyoshi Okuma
"We couldn't make much headway against their defense in the first half. But we thought that if we could keep them out then we'd be fine since we wouldn't let our work rate drop. Then in the second half they lost their shape and we were able to play our own game. However, to improve from now on we have to be able to play the way we did in the second half for the full 90 minutes, in terms of carrying a threat, the variety of our play and our decision-making. In J1 the likelihood of conceding is high and our remaining games this year, against a Sapporo team fighting for promotion and in the Emperor's Cup, should be similar matches. Somehow or other we'll have to carry more of a threat in the first half. Passing the ball more facing the opposition goal, finding space, dribbling and shooting are all issues for us to address but we have confidence and we were able to play our way to some extent".

Jef United Chiba manager Kambe
"Congratulations to everyone at FC Tokyo on winning the Championship and gaining promotion. We weren't able to make our dreams come true this season but we hope to be in that position next year. Regarding the game, we seemed to spend a lot of time defending. We had expected that we'd be playing deeply and hitting on the counter attack. In the first half we kept a compact defensive line but failed to conjure a goal. If we could have been a little more positive from the front and won the ball nearer their goal then maybe we could have created more chances. In the second half we couldn't get up to win the ball as far forward as in the first, the mistakes appeared and we struggled to attack. There was nothing we could do but defend and it was hard going. We went down to ten men and then they scored almost immediately; if we'd had all 11 on the field then maybe we could have hung on for a draw, who knows. The players gave everything they could during the game I think."