J-League - FC Tokyo 0-1 Machida Zelvia; Early Tokyo Derby Blues - Tokyo Drop Points

FC Tokyo missed a massive early chance in a 1-0 loss in an alternative Tokyo derby against Machida Zelvia. In the midst of a fantastic gameweek two which saw most GW1 winners drop points – Tokyo could not follow up to their initial success.

The Ajinomoto stadium saw a fixture where Zelvia came out the victors twice in the past, a clear 3-0 win away and a 2-1 deficit over the capital city contenders. However, this specific Tokyo derby has only happened twice over last season since Machida’s arrival in the J-League.

Matsuhashi’s side remained unchanged for this game with every player from their 1-0 opening win staying in the starting XI.

Kuroda’s Machida Zelvia swapped Ryuho Kikuchi for Kosovan Ibrahim Dresevic in defence – their only change.

Both sides lined up in a 3-4-3 formation.

The first few minutes of the game were a kick-ball chaos from both sides. Mostly up in the air until Machida began to try and play the ball on the floor amongst their back three.

A brilliant darting run in with the ball from Tawaratsumida meant Tokyo had an early chance in the 5th minute but it went out for a corner.

As of the 5th minute mark, Machida Zelvia had 66% possession over FC Tokyo. However, only 0.01 xG for FC Tokyo and none for Zelvia.

After 10 minutes, Zelvia seemed to be winning most of their battles in the middle of the park in what was a scrappy game so far.

Despite that, Masato Morishige came close to goal heading the ball into the crossbar from a perfect corner delivery – with Kei Koizumi unluckily blowing the second ball into the air.

FC Tokyo’s fluidity could really be seen when they attack – as seven men in total darted forward in hopes. This 3-4-3 formation seems to be rather positive.

But so far, Machida seem rebuffed by the defensive prowess of Morishige, who up to the 15th minute, did a very good job of keeping the visitors at bay.

Kanta Doi seemed to make the occasional run-up to support building attacks in the opposition’s half – the defender is quick, agile and loves to get involved. I was particularly impressed by how he took risks to do this.

Tokyo’s right hand side – Doi, Shirai and Kei Koizumi – all darted up rather fast on attacks and had a very attractive link-up. They have a very fluid shape, and Kei could sometimes be seen operating on the opposite side of the pitch too.

Se-Hun Oh was booked for a retaliation on Koh after a tussle in the box leaves things heated. The altercation came after a ball was cleared from the FC Tokyo box, but Morishige kept a firm hold on the Machida striker’s shirt.

Although Tokyo have been resurgent in their attacks, Ryan was not too effective up front with the likes of Dresevic keeping him in check.

Se-Hun Oh came close in a chance in the late first half, but was not able to keep the first time shot on target, hitting it wide.

A dangerous Nakayama ball almost resulted in Machida going into the break 1-0 up, but Mochizuki squandered their chance heavily.

HALF TIME - Both sides went into the break regretting missed chances. Both sets of defenders were having a great game keeping their respective strikers at bay, however it was Tokyo who posed more of a goal threat at the Ajinomoto albeit a 50/50 possession count– FC Tokyo 0.43 xG, Machida Zelvia 0.15 xG.

After the second half kicked off, it looked like FC Tokyo had kicked up the intensity, dominating and pressing relentlessly deep in the visitor’s half. By the 50th minute mark there was around three fouls given away due to the recklessness.

The real threat for Machida was Mochizuki – the right winger was tenacious and loved a physical battle. His height and pace made for a devastating combination. In the midst of this, both of the strikers in this game were pretty unimpressive.

Machida attempted to change things around by subbing Oh off for Shota Fujio.

It gets even more tense as Dresevic was booked for a harsh foul from behind on Ryan during a darting run. The free kick was wasted, but Tokyo seemed determined to make it two wins in a row.

Despite all the energy thrown at Machida, Dresevic was not to be beaten – he held the title for MOTM so far into the 62nd minute.

Tokyo began to make their first changes of the game by introducing Kein Sato and Soma Anzai at the expense of the ineffective Marcelo Ryan and gameweek one goalscorer Kosuke Shirai.

Yuki Soma was unlucky not to have his cross into the Tokyo box finished as it zooms past all three Machida men, only to go out for a throw in.

Despite the result sitting at 0-0, the Ajinomoto Stadium was blaring with Tokyo chants. The atmosphere just wouldn’t die and it was absolutely electric. FC Tokyo seemed eager to get back on their intense tiki-taka counter attacking style.

With the changes introduced, Yuto Nagatomo seemed to switch into a much more attacking role on the right hand side despite being deployed on the left. He was all over the place and relied on as tenacious midfielder.

Although Kanta Doi had a decent game, Tokyo introduced defensive changes with Yasuki Kimoto replacing him in the 73rd minute.

While Machida brought on Hokuto Shimoda and Na Sangho into their attacking front in a last resort to try and push the hosts into a situation.

Both midfields and defences were still very impressive, controlling and steadfast in attempting to play in their 3-4-3. But as stated before, there was a lack of quality finishing and not much cutting-edge runs into the box.

It was five yellow cards just before the 80th minute mark after Hiroyuki Mae displayed grit towards Koh, dubbing the game a total battle. Both sides wanted the three points, but it was still a deadlock, and Tokyo looked under siege.

Tactically, everything seemed up in the air as both sides began to press relentlessly for these early J-League points. With contenders Vissel and Kawasaki having both drawn in their respective games, it was an important game for Tokyo to build on their first win.

However it was not to be, as Machida finally find the net via Takuma Nishimura after a defence splitting ball in behind was delivered by Yuta Nakayama who caps off a cracking game.

Yuta Nakayama completed most of his passes during such a demanding game (89% accurate passes) and his first cross into the box resulted in a goal.

Tokyo looked more desperate than ever, immediately throwing forward after conceding to Machida, but it was in vain as the header is wide.

It could have well been 2-0 easily after Mochizuki managed to find the head of Shota Fujio who hit it a bit too wide.

Kento Hashimoto and Everton were introduced in the 83rd minute for Tokyo in a bid to up the intensity and try rescue a late point.

The desperation began to show even more in the stoppage time minutes as Tokyo resort to long-ball coercion instead of their usual rebuffing build up. It looked more unplanned than ever, Everton, Kein and Sato did not even seem to get a sniff of the ball.

Machida capped off their third win over city neighbours FC Tokyo, putting consolation on their first loss earlier last week.