Review: Cerezo Osaka vs FC Tokyo (J1 100 Year Vision League Play-off Round 1st Leg)

Cerezo come back twice from behind to draw 2-2 at home against FC Tokyo in the First Leg of the Meiji Yasuda J1 100 Year Vision League Play-off Round.

Five days after sealing second place in the WEST Group in the final Regional League Round fixture against Fagiano Okayama, the first leg of the Play-off Round got underway, a tie between sides of equal standing from East and West to determine their final positions. Cerezo Osaka hosted FC Tokyo, who had finished second in the EAST Group, naming an unchanged starting eleven from the Okayama match and carrying the momentum of three consecutive wins into the contest.



It was Cerezo who created the first clear-cut chance of the match. In the 4th minute, Dion Cools burst down the right flank. After the ball was worked through Masaya Shibayama, Thiago Andrade drifted right and delivered a cross, and it was Ayumu Ohata who threw himself at the defender's clearance in the box. He struck a powerful effort with his right foot, only to be denied by a fine save from FC Tokyo goalkeeper Hayate Tanaka. Cerezo continued to threaten, with Motohiko Nakajima dropping into pockets to look for balls in behind, but from the mid-point of the first half, FC Tokyo took control of possession and began to press Cerezo back. Rikito Inoue produced several excellent covering interventions to keep the sheet clean through this period. Cerezo began to regain the initiative after the half-hour mark, with Yumeki Yokoyama cutting inside from a Nelson Ishiwatari pass to have a shot, but just as the tide appeared to be turning, they conceded. Ryunosuke Sato held up the ball in the right half-space of Cerezo's own half and turned forward. Left winger Keita Endo received and drove down the line before whipping a cross into the box. As the ball cut sharply across goal, Ohata, attempting to deal with Kein Sato's run at the far post, could not get a clean clearance, and the ball went in off him. Cerezo had been undone by FC Tokyo's wide threat and found themselves behind. Moments later, a further blow arrived as Thiago went down injured and was replaced by Solomon Sakuragawa. Despite the disruption, a clear chance fell to Sakuragawa in the 39th minute: he held up the ball and laid it wide, Yokoyama drove past two opponents before delivering a cross to the far post, and Sakuragawa met it with a header, only to be denied by a brilliant save from the goalkeeper. That golden opportunity went begging, but Cerezo drew level in first-half added time. Sakuragawa reacted to Cools' ball played in behind. Ohata then made a diagonal run beyond him and collided with the goalkeeper, briefly raising hopes of a penalty, but play was allowed to continue. Shibayama collected the resulting defensive clearance and whipped his left foot through the ball, curling a shot into the far corner to make it 1-1. Despite a somewhat difficult first half and having fallen behind, leveling the score at the break was of enormous significance. However, Ohata picked up a knock in the build-up to the goal and did not come out for the second half, with Kyohei Noborizato taking his place at left back.





Cerezo came out on the front foot in the second half, with Nakajima getting a shot away from Yokoyama's cut-in in the 46th minute, but in the 49th minute they conceded from a short corner routine. Kei Koizumi's cross was met by a header from Marcelo Ryan, handing FC Tokyo the lead once more. Cerezo had been caught off-guard for a moment, but the second half was largely played at their tempo. Nakajima threatened from a direct free kick in the 52nd minute, and in the 70th minute Shunta Tanaka intercepted in midfield to spark a quick counter. Sakuragawa met Shibayama's cross with a clear-cut chance but could not convert. Manager Arthur Papas, judging this to be the decisive moment, responded by introducing Shion Homma and Shinji Kagawa in place of Yokoyama and Nakajima. From this point, Cerezo asserted themselves still further, penetrating deep into the FC Tokyo half, with the left flank in particular coming alive as Shibayama also drifted over from the right to combine in tight spaces. In the 79th minute, they drew level. Homma drove inside from the flank and played a firm pass to Kagawa in the center, who brought it forward with an exquisite first touch. Noborizato arrived late from behind and drove his left foot through the ball, forcing it in on "sheer determination," as he later put it. The No. 6 was playing his first game in 11 matches. "I came on putting pressure on myself," he said, and delivered. The technical quality and tactical intelligence of experienced veterans, Kagawa included, had saved the team. With the energy of the home crowd behind them, Cerezo launched an all-out assault, working down the left again in the 87th and 88th minutes to carve out further chances for Homma, but the winning goal proved elusive and the match ended 2-2. The draw was a fair result, though Cerezo had clearly outplayed FC Tokyo in the closing stages, setting up a positive platform heading into the second leg away from home.





After the final whistle, a farewell ceremony was held in honor of Aeri Ikeda, who has served as a pitch reporter and stadium MC for 13 years. Her heartfelt address drew a warm round of applause not only from the fans and supporters, but from manager Papas, the players, and staff alike. This was followed by the end-of-season home finale ceremony, at which captain Shunta Tanaka and manager Papas both addressed the crowd, expressing their gratitude to partners and supporters and reaffirming their commitment to finishing the competition in third place, a stepping stone toward the greater ambitions that lie ahead next season. An intense match, a moving ceremony, and with a deep sense of occasion lingering in the air, the final home fixture of the season came to a close.