Can they achieve their first three consecutive victories this season?

　The opponent for the 3rd match of the 2nd stage is Hiroshima. In the 1st stage, which was the first match after the resumption of the World Cup, Tokyo won a decisive victory with a furious 4 goals, including Toda's hat-trick. However, under the guidance of coach Kimura, who took office in the latter part of the 1st stage, the team has gradually transformed through active use of young players, and the team has been steadily improving, defeating Yokohama FM away in the previous match. In addition, the team's strength has been enhanced by the addition of a reliable foreign player, former Croatian national team forward Elčić, who just joined the team this week and is already on the bench. Hiroshima is currently standing on the edge of relegation to J2, ranking 14th at the end of the previous match, so their motivation for this home game should be extremely high, including the meaning of revenge from the 1st stage.

　On the other hand, Tokyo is riding high on a 2nd stage opening 2-game winning streak, and moreover, a shutout victory. Their motivation is high as they aim for a 3-game winning streak that they have yet to achieve this season. The defense, which left a fragile impression towards the end of the 1st stage, has shown resilience and stability with goalkeeper Doi, who has kept a clean sheet in the first 2 games of the 2nd stage. In the attacking aspect, Ishikawa, Amaral, and Kelly have maintained good form. Breaking free from the "2-game winning streak halt" is an essential task for establishing themselves in the top positions. If they overcome this, the "Hara attacking soccer" will gain more confidence and show even further advancement in high performance. Tokyo, aiming for their first 3-game winning streak of the season, faced the challenge with the exact same starting lineup as the previous match.

Three Out Of Three? 

F.C.TOKYO made the long trip to Hiroshima for the third game of the second stage. Sanfrecce, after a disappointing first stage campaign (which included a 4-0 drubbing at Tokyo Stadium in the first game after the World Cup, highlighted by Toda's hat trick) had replaced their manager during the break; an excellent away win over F Marinos in the previous game plus the signing of former Croatian international striker Erceg signaled a positive start under new manager Kimura. However, in 14th place in the overall standings, Sanfrecce were peering into the abyss of relegation; with a vital three points at stake and revenge on their minds, the players' motivation would be undoubted.
F.C.TOKYO had made an excellent start to the second stage, winning both games without conceding a goal and allaying the fears raised by some defensive frailty in the first stage. Yoichi Doi, the TOKYO No. 1, had been in superb form while Ishikawa, Kelly, and the ageless Amaral were back to their best at the other end. Aiming for a third consecutive win, TOKYO were unchanged from the previous game.

Intense game with fierce attacks

　The match started with both teams showing an attacking posture. In the 1st minute, Toda broke free after receiving a through pass from Kelly on the left side and charged towards the goal, but instead of shooting, he passed it back to the middle where Amaral couldn't connect, and Ishikawa, who had run in from the opposite side, took a shot that hit the defender. In the following 5th minute, Kaji's cross from the right side crossed in front of the goal, and in the 6th minute, Amaral received a sharp pass from behind in front of the goal and took a shot while turning around, but narrowly missed to the left.

　Tokyo continues to miss big chances, while young Hiroshima gradually begins to shine. In the 8th minute, FW Shigeki broke free from the chaos in front of the goal, but the Tokyo DF barely managed to clear it just before the shot. Immediately after that, Hiroshima FW Nakayama caught up with Jean's half-hearted back pass and took a shot, but it was not well-timed and GK Doi stopped it with his foot, avoiding any danger.

　On this day, Hiroshima's starting lineup had an average age in their 20s, with Mogi and Nakayama, especially the two top players, being extremely young at 18 and 20 years old respectively. However, these two players' performances were more than expected and caused trouble for Tokyo. Hiroshima's attack started by taking the ball from Tokyo and passing it to Nakayama at the top, where Mogi, Fujimoto, and Takahashi quickly followed up with direct and fast passes, adding depth with the participation of Komano, Hattori, and other speedy fullbacks. Tokyo, being countered and facing the speed of Mogi, as well as Fujimoto and Takahashi moving up sharply from the second line, were pushed back without properly marking them.

End To End 

TOKYO pressured Sanfrecce straight from the kick off as Kelly's through ball set Toda free down the left. He elected to pass instead of shoot: the ball evaded Amaral and Ishikawa, following up, struck his shot against a defender. Kaji overlapped and centered in the 5th minute and a minute later Amaral fired fractionally wide from a good position.
Fortunate not to be behind, the young Sanfrecce team fought back and only a desperate block prevented Mogi from opening the scoring following a goal mouth melee. Soon after, an under hit back pass from Jean played in Nakayama but he scuffed his shot and Doi saved with his legs.
With an average age of only 22 and a strike force of 18 year-old Mogi and 20 year-old Nakayama, Sanfrecce unexpectedly began to cause problems for the TOKYO defense with their simple, direct football. Long balls played to Nakayama were knocked down or laid off to Mogi, Fujimoto or Takahashi while side backs Komano and Hattori lent their weight to the attack. Fast passing movements and darting runs from the speedy Mogi proved difficult to contain and the visitors found themselves on the back foot.

First goal conceded in the 2nd stage

　Chances came alternately. In the 18th minute, Tokyo sent a sharp FK from the left to the far side, and Amaral hit a powerful header from a distance but hit the bar. On the contrary, in the 22nd minute, Hiroshima sent a through pass from the right side to the back of Tokyo's shallow DF line, and Fujimoto reacted sharply and broke through, but GK Doi cleared it a moment faster. However, in the immediate 23rd minute, Mogi received the ball freely on the left side, dribbled into the middle, and easily allowed a goal.

　Tokyo conceded their first goal of the 2nd stage to Hiroshima's rookie, Shigeki, in the form of his first goal, but they continued to play their own soccer without getting flustered. They overwhelmed Hiroshima with breakthroughs from the side utilizing Ishikawa's speed, long passes from Miyazawa, and chances created one after another with headers from Amaral. In the 35th minute, Ishikawa and in the 44th minute, Miyazawa each unleashed powerful middle shots, and in injury time, Jean attempted a goal with a header from a corner kick, but each time they were stopped by Hiroshima's goalkeeper's offense and defense, resulting in no goal. In the end, they finished the first half trailing 0-1.

TOKYO Concede First Goal of Second Stage 

Both teams were creating and spurning chances. Amaral headed a vicious Miyazawa free kick against the bar at the far post in the 18th. minute and shortly after Doi hared out of his goal to clear off Fujimoto's toes as a fine through ball had split the TOKYO defence. Doi was unable to prevent Sanfrecce taking the lead in the 23rd. minute as Mogi finished cleanly after being left unmarked.
His first J.League goal was the first conceded by F.C.TOKYO in the second stage. TOKYO responded by not panicking and maintaining their pressure on the Sanfrecce goal. Ishikawa and Miyazawa both had long range efforts well saved by the Sanfrecce keeper who also produced a fine stop to deny Jean's header from a corner in injury time. The first half ended 0-1.

Equalized with Ishikawa's goal, but unable to score an additional point, heading into overtime

　"The defense needs to catch Mogi, Fujimoto, and Takahashi firmly. And in the attack, we need to exploit the space left by the opponent's full-back after they push forward. We have more chances, and if we take one more step after the shot, we can score. Just like we have been done to us before, today we will come from behind in the second half and win. We can definitely do it!" Coach Hara instructed the players and gave them a pep talk at halftime. As the second half began, the game unfolded exactly as he had described.

　With the decrease in the movement of Hiroshima's attacking line, Tokyo's defense line stabilized, and following Coach Hara's instructions, they created chances by exploiting the open spaces on Hiroshima's flanks. In the 5th minute, Kelly, Amaral, and Ishikawa broke through with short passes to create a clear opportunity, but unfortunately, it was offside. In the 7th minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Kaji, who had advanced up the right side, and switched to his left foot to aim for a shot, but the ball ended up at the feet of the free Amaral in front of the goal. Amaral found himself one-on-one with the GK but once again hit the GK, missing a great opportunity. Despite creating chances, Tokyo struggled to score, but in the 67th minute, Miyazawa sent a floated pass into the space on the right side from the center, which Ishikawa perfectly trapped and charged forward with a high-speed dribble to shoot. The ball, kicked calmly after assessing the GK's position, shook the Hiroshima goal net firmly, finally leveling the score.

　Tokyo, which caught up with the tie as planned by Coach Hara, quickly pressed on with momentum. In the 28th minute, Ishikawa, who broke through the right side with a dribble, passed a ground pass in front of the goal, but Amaral, who jumped in, fell short by a step. In the 35th minute, Miyazawa ran in from behind to aim for a loop shot after Amaral dropped a pass with his heel on the left side, but it went well over the bar. In the 41st minute, substitute forward Fukuda broke through with Amaral's direct pass and took a shot from the right side, but the ball missed the goal by a wide margin.

　On the other hand, Hiroshima, who turned to the defensive, had a solid defense line centered around the large center back Belong, and everyone repelled Tokyo's attacks with high concentration. Substitute foreign forward Elchech and substitute forward Kubo also launched powerful attacks. In the 44th minute just before the end of the second half, when a pass from the left side was threaded through to the center player, midfielder Morisaki Hiro received the ball freely from behind and was hit by a powerful shot from a dribble, but it narrowly missed to the right of the goal.

　Tokyo, who survived a decisive pinch at the end of the game, had Ishikawa receive a pass from the left side in the midfield immediately after, and he took a powerful shot from the dribble, but unfortunately it missed to the left and the time was up. The game was extended to extra time.

Ishikawa Ties It! 

At half time TOKYO manager Hara urged his defence to "Get hold of Mogi, Fujimoto and Takahashi" and his attack to "Use the space created when their side backs push forward". He added "We're creating chances and have a great chance to turn the game around". Which is exactly what happened.
The TOKYO defence got to grips with the Sanfrecce forwards as the second half unfolded and the attack suddenly found acres of space down the flanks.
A very close offside decision denied TOKYO in the 50th minute and soon after Amaral seemed certain to score as Ishikawa's shot landed at his feet with only the keeper in front of him. Somehow the keeper beat his shot away but the visitors were not to be denied. In the 67th minute Miyazawa floated a pass into space on the right for Ishikawa to control the ball cleanly and fire coolly past the keeper for the equaliser.
TOKYO scented blood and continued to press forward. Amaral was inches away from Ishikawa's low cross in the 73rd minute and a neat heel pass from the same player teed up Miyazawa soon after but his lob sailed over the bar.
Fukuda, on in place of Toda, blazed wide in the 86th minute.
The Sanfrecce defence, ably marshalled by giant centre back Bilong held firm and the home side nearly snatched the winner as extra time beckoned. An infield pass from the right was allowed to run by a Sanfrecce player and midfielder Morisaki lashed a thunderous drive fractionally wide of a post.
The final chance of the 90 minutes fell to Ishikawa who rasped a shot wide of the post from outside the box. The game moved into extra time.

No fruitful attack... Crying over a single shot despite overwhelming pressure

　Tokyo has not had any victories in overtime this season, but for the team that is currently on a 2-game winning streak, the awareness of that jinx is low, and the players overwhelmed Hiroshima with high concentration and excellent attacking power.

　In the early stages of the first half of extra time, there were moments when Hiroshima pushed forward, but Tokyo's back line showed no signs of fatigue and, with high concentration, repelled the attacks, creating decisive chances multiple times. In the 8th minute, Fukuda broke through from the left to the goal front with a vertical pass from substitute DF Fujiyama and took a shot with his left foot, but it hit the opponent's DF and was caught by the GK. In the following 9th minute, Miyazawa took a powerful mid-range shot directly from the center after the opponent's DF cleared the ball, but it was deflected right in front of the GK. In the 11th minute, Ishikawa's shot from the right side was also caught by the GK right in front. In the 13th minute, Fukuda aimed for a diving header from a right corner kick at the near side, but this too was thwarted by the GK's excellent save. In the 14th minute, Fukuda flowed a long pass from the DF to the goal front, and Amaral, who ran in, seemed to be brought down from behind while keeping the ball inside the penalty area, but the decision was 'no foul.' The stadium reached a peak of excitement with the thrilling developments of the match that left no room for breath.

　In the end, the game was not decided in the first half of extra time, and it finally entered the final chapter. Tokyo, with a pressing mood, showed momentum in the second half of extra time as Ishikawa surprised with a unexpected middle shot right after the start, responding to the intense and passionate support of the supporters who rushed to Hiroshima.

　"Just one more step. Just one more push to win." Just when everyone involved in Tokyo thought that, the smiling goddess suddenly turned towards Hiroshima. In the 2nd minute of the second half of extra time, while Fujiyama hesitated in his judgment on the left side, the ball was taken away, leading to a counterattack with a pass to Hiroshima FW Kubo on the right side. Kubo shook off the responding Shigeno with a sharp breakthrough and made a last pass to the center. Elchegg, who ran in, easily scored the goal, sealing the match. The shot count was 22 to 13. After entering extra time, it was overwhelmingly 9 to 1, making this defeat all the more regrettable. The cause of this defeat should not be blamed on the final mistake, but rather on the fact that they could not convert so many chances. This also means that the first three consecutive wins of the season have been postponed. The next match is a home game in four days. Since the content is not something to be pessimistic about, they must quickly switch their mindset and start accumulating victories one by one again.

[FC Tokyo Manager's Press Conference Summary] "The main reason for the loss was that we couldn't convert our chances into goals. We missed big chances in the early stages of the game and allowed the opponent's young player to score. Although we have won two consecutive games in the second half, we have only scored one goal in each of those games. It will be tough if we don't score another goal. The team's situation is not bad, so we need to improve our finishing ability. We have a game on Wednesday, so we need to quickly switch our focus and prepare for that."

[Hiroshima Kimura Coach Press Conference Summary] "This season, we had never won in extra time, so today's victory is a big confidence boost for the players. As for the content, FC Tokyo has a strong attacking power, with players who have speed, height, and power. In the first half, we managed to hold them back well, but in the second half, we were pushed back. However, I think everyone concentrated until the end and defended well in front of the goal. And most importantly, the players who needed to score did so and we were able to win."

TOKYO Press But... 

TOKYO had failed to win any of their games which required extra time this season but set about breaking that jinx in aggressive fashion as the "V Goal" first period kicked off. Chance followed chance but the Sanfrecce keeper held everything TOKYO could throw at him: a powerful shot from Fukuda that deflected off a defender, a blast from Miyazawa, a fine effort from Ishikawa and a near post diving header from Fukuda. In the final minute of the first period of extra time Fukuda picked out Amaral with a sumptuous long ball; the "King of Tokyo" held the ball up inside the area before being barged over by a charging defender. "No foul" was the referee's decision; the home crowd made barely a sound.
The second period began with Ishikawa again going close with a well struck drive but, as TOKYO strove for the goal that seemed so near, the fates suddenly turned against them. Fujiyama lost possession in the middle of the park and the ball reached Kubo on the right. He outpaced Moniwa and rolled the ball inside for the fast breaking Erceg to smash it past Doi for the winning goal. Unbelievably TOKYO had lost a game in which they outshot the opposition 22-13, and 9-1 in extra time.
Three consecutive wins for the first time this year was beyond TOKYO's reach. The cause of the defeat was not the mistake which led to conceding the "V Goal" but the profligacy at the other end. The team has four days to regroup before the next match.

F.C.TOKYO manager Hara:
" Well, we just didn't take our chances today, simple as that. We had two or three great opportunities, and all credit to
Sanfrecce's young players, but we need to score more than one goal per game.
The team condition isn't bad at all but we have to rediscover the knack of converting the chances we create. There are four days until the next game and we hope to bounce back quickly".

Sanfrecce manager Kimura: 
" This is our first "V Goal" victory of the season and a great boost to the players' confidence. TOKYO are a very strong team but we coped well with their power in the first half. The second was more difficult but the defence held their concentration and performed very well. 
The most satisfying thing was that the players who should decide the game did just that".