In the 20th round of the 2016 Meiji Yasuda J3 League, riding into the home stadium of the top-ranked Tochigi SC, who are on a 10-game winning streak, at Tochigi Green Stadium.

Tokyo has been losing consecutive home games and wants to change the momentum in this match.
In the previous match, despite conceding the first goal, Muriqui's penalty kick equalized the score, resulting in a draw.
Tokyo surrounded the GK. Yanagi made his first appearance in the DF line since Sec. 16.
In the middle are Renkawa and Okazaki, the winning duo of the recent Club Youth Championship (U-18). On the left, the fabric is inserted.
Ito and Suzuki are at the bottom of the midfield, with Mizunuma, Burns, and Hiraoka lined up in the second row.
The one top is a 4-5-1 formation with Washington.
Tochigi.G deploys a 4-4-2 formation, with Ko OISHI, who has scored 7 goals so far, in the forward line. The bench also includes two foreign FW players, making the team's depth of players very strong.
The match, which kicked off at 17:00 with a slight remaining heat, started with a Tochigi ball.

【First Half】
Both teams are actively pushing forward from the beginning.
Tokyo's Lin combines with a cross from the right side by Grander in the center, shaking the net but no goal due to a foul decision.
On the contrary, in the 5th minute, when faced with a pinch, a cross from the left side was met near the goal and hit the right post.
He was able to stuff this loose ball, but the defense expanded and blocked the diving shot, sending it outside the frame.
In the 8th minute, Burns launched a counterattack from the center of his own field and dribbled up the middle, connecting with Yanagi who had run up the right side.
Yanagi crosses with his left foot from the cutback, but it is deflected.
Both teams have made it to the PA area, but they are unable to create scoring opportunities. In the 29th minute, Ito in the central midfield receives the ball, looks up, and takes a long shot, but it hits the post.
In addition, in the 36th minute, Hiraoka creates space on the left side and distributes it to Mizunuma on the right side.
Mizunuma tries to score a goal with a no-spin mid-range shot from a dribble, but the goalkeeper punches it away.
Then, Tochigi takes the initiative in the game.
38 minutes, Renkawa is fouled inside the PA and a penalty kick is awarded against him. It is converted by Left Sumi, resulting in conceding the first goal.
Even in the final moments of the 45th minute, Sasa SALCEDO made a save after allowing a free shot from the left side, picking up a cleared ball from a set play.
Tokyo ended the first half with 3 shots, while Tochigi had double the amount with 6 shots.

【Halftime】
Coach Nakamura's comment
"Let's focus on our play. Let's involve more players with each pass."
Let's continue to fight on the field.

[Second Half]

Both teams will enter the second half without making any player substitutions.
As both teams try to gain the upper hand in the opening stages with intense battles in the midfield, Tokyo gradually increases their offensive pressure.
53 minutes, DF line Okazaki runs deeply into the left side of the field and sends a long pass.
When Yoshiatsu OIJI initiates a one-on-one, he momentarily evades the opponent and crosses the ball with his left foot, with Hayashi diving in near the goal and then drifting behind.
Mizunuma jumps in here, but narrowly misses.
In the 60th minute, Yanagi is substituted for Uchida and goes straight into the right SB position. In the 63rd minute, Uchida is fouled deep on the right side and earns a free kick.
Kozunawa, who jumped into the far side, tried to match it with Mizunuma, but couldn't make contact.
The pressing in the midfield weakens for both teams, and the game transitions into an open and intense exchange between offense and defense.
Tokyo holds the ball longer, but Tochigi fights back with sharp counterattacks.
In the 73rd minute, there was a change in the attack as Hiraoka was substituted for Hanaya.
Then, in the 80th minute, Tokyo, who had been persistently attacking, earned a left corner kick and obtained a penalty kick from a foul in the crowded goal area.
HAYASHI passes it to the right Smith and it's a tie.
After the tie, the defense line defended against the pinch from both sides and created chances towards the end.
In the 86th minute, Ito steals the ball from a press back in the central area in front of his own penalty area and connects it to Burns, initiating a counterattack with Hayashi and Hanya.
HAYASHI, who received the ball in the opponent's central area, passes a through ball to BURNS, but BURNS' breakthrough is blocked by the defender.
Anton BURNS creates another scoring opportunity in additional time.
In the 92nd minute, Ban'ya cuts diagonally from the right side and passes a last pass to Burns, who jumps out at the right time.
Barnes faces the GK who came out and tries to shoot, but the shot hits the GK and he misses the chance.
The match continued to attack persistently until the end, but it ended like this, stopping Tochigi's winning streak and accumulating 1 point.

Thank you very much for your passionate support for FC Tokyo U-23 today.
Thank you for your continued warm support.

【Summary and Comments from Coach Nakamura's Press Conference】
"First of all, despite the hot summer days, many fans and supporters came. We couldn't win at home last time."
I am truly grateful to the fans and supporters, and I wanted to show them the players' efforts this time. I wanted to have a match that they would feel glad to have come to see, so I entered the game.
I wanted to win this time as well, and I wanted the players to win.
The game against the top-ranked Tochigi.G, who have won 10 consecutive games, was very difficult and tight. However, following the come-from-behind victory in yesterday's J1 Iwata match, I think they showed a fighting spirit until the end, and the fans and supporters also believed in the players and supported them.
In that sense, it was also satisfying content.
However, it is true that we allowed the opponents to create scoring opportunities and there was a possibility of conceding a second goal. Therefore, I believe we need to improve our quality and strength.
(I think we held the ball for a long time, didn't we?) I think everyone had the awareness to receive the ball, not only at their feet but also behind the opponent, on both sides, and in the middle, and they had a high awareness of creating passing lanes and moving the ball.
(I think the defense was very tenacious against Tochigi's attacks. The opponent is a very serious and diligent team that competes greedily for long balls and picks up loose balls. I told the players that we need to surpass that. I think the players maintained a very good level of concentration without losing focus.)
(What are your thoughts for the next match?) I really want to win and celebrate together by earning 3 points this time, because everyone supports us.

【Player Comment】
《Ito》
"(What are your thoughts on the game?) Personally, I was motivated as it was my first start in J3, and I entered the game with the intention of actively getting involved in scoring."
Although we couldn't score in the end, I think it was good because we were able to have a high awareness of shooting and show a never-give-up attitude as a team until the end.
(I think there were opportunities when I was involved?) I didn't feel much pressure when I had the ball. Instead of just passing it back easily, I tried to face forward as much as possible and create opportunities by passing it forward, so I tried to have a high awareness of moving forward.
(What are the challenges?) In order to succeed, we need to play aggressively both in offense and defense. We also need to be involved in scoring goals to move up, and contribute in defense as well.
There are still many things that need to be done, so I would like to continue facing various things and improving in the future.
(Please give us your enthusiasm for the next match) Next, when I participate, I strongly feel the desire to contribute to the team, so I want to play in a way that can lead the team to victory.
 

※In addition to the photos below, other photos are also posted on the official mobile site.
For more details, click here