[J League (J1) latest information]Round 9 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League will be held on April 21st. FC Tokyo and FC Machida Zelvia played against each other at Ajinomoto Stadium.
Round 9 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League was held on the 21st, with FC Tokyo vs. FC Machida Zelvia.
This is the first match between FC Tokyo, who are undefeated in their last three games, and host Machida, who lost to Vissel Kobe in the previous round. FC Tokyo started with Teruto Nakagawa, Kota Tawara Tsukuda, and Keita Endo, while Machida started with Na Sang-ho, Keiya Senzu, and Kazuki Fujimoto.
The match took a turn in the 14th minute. Kicker Sento Keiya kicked the left CK from Machida into the far field, and Na Sang-ho, who was waiting, reacted. He fired a right-footed volley that found the back of his old team’s net. This was Na Sang-ho’s first goal after joining Machida.
However, in the 20th minute, when FC Tokyo was trying to break through, Dreszewicz hit the ball against his body and his play was ruled a handball. When FC Tokyo won a penalty kick, kicker Tsuyoshi Ogashiwa’s shot bounced off the right post, but tied the game.
Still, Machida had another chance to score in the 25th minute. Henry Kaiki Mochizuki ran out to the right side and delivered a cross from the line. Oh Se-hoon ran into the center and connected with a diving header to take the lead again.
Machida succeeded in turning the game around, and at the start of the second half, sent out Vasquez Bailon in place of Daigo Takahashi, aiming to score even more points.
FC Tokyo wanted to catch up, but Nakagawa slipped behind the final line early in the second half, but goalkeeper Akio Tani ran out to the outside of the box to deal with it. Despite having possession of the ball, FC Tokyo continued to be unable to break down Machida.
After that, both teams continued to make substitutions, and FC Tokyo brought on Ryunosuke Sato in place of Tawara Tsukuda in the 73rd minute. This will be the J1 League debut for 17-year-old Sato.
However, Machida maintained their lead until the end and the match ended at 2-1. FC Tokyo suffered their first loss in four games. Machida, on the other hand, won for the first time in two games, continuing their undefeated streak that began in last season’s J2 League. Furthermore, after the 9th round, Machida overtook Cerezo Osaka and re-emerged into the lead.