On Saturday of last week, FC Tokyo faced an unprecedented challenge - with a man down, they were able to score two goals in a row thanks to the miraculous performance of substitute Keita Endo to draw 2-2 away to Tokyo Midori, and ultimately returned home with a one-point deficit.
An aggressive offensive and defensive strategy was the winning formula for FC Tokyo to turn the score around, and Keita Endo's brilliant performance proved that the team's bench has extraordinary strength.
Machida Zevia, a newly promoted team, showed amazing organization and sturdy defense, and I personally think that Keita Endo, who is full of confidence after preparing for Sub Kenchi, knows that he has the chance to rewrite the game at crucial moments, and his goal threat has certainly become a big killer up front for FC Tokyo.
Machida Zevia, on the other hand, suffered their second league loss of the season in the previous week's match, a 1:0 defeat against Kobe Victory.
Although offense is Zevia's strength, the team suffered a pinch in this game and was forced to turn to defense, ultimately failing to hold off the Victory Ship's offensive attack.
The attacking end of the pitch was hampered by the absence of star players Yoh Hirakawa and Shota Fujio, who were out to represent the Japanese national team at the U23 Asian Cup, as well as Alec, who was out with an injury. Luckily, Go Miao-sei held up the front for the team with his excellent physical play, and I'm confident that he'll be the biggest goal threat in today's match.
Tokyo FC also has a number of players called up by the national team and both teams are missing from their starting lineups. With such equal strengths, I think this match is likely to end in a draw, with each side taking a point.
