Baby’s first FC Tokyo game!

Yesterday was my first FC Tokyo game, and boy, what a cracker!

After lunch in a beautiful traditional Japanese restaurant we (me,  Tim, George, Miki, Kazumi, Asako and Miyuki) headed to Tobitakyu on the Keio line and Ajinomoto stadium to buy some FC Tokyo merchandise and watch the J1 FC Tokyo game versus Gamba Osaka.

Things were looking slightly sub-optimal for us at half time, being 2-0 down and all, but this was the least of our worries. Our inability to close down Osaka meant that a substantial drubbing was on the cards. Luckily we managed to hold on until the 77th minute before Japan national team player Konno pulled one back for us. The FC Tokyo fans, who had not stopped singing for the entire match despite their team playing very poorly up that point, really had something to shout about now.

Voices raised, the team was reinvigorated and the transformation was complete four minutes later when Suzuki cut in from the left and fired an unbelievable 30 yard-strike into the top right corner. I can feel the adrenaline running through me just thinking about it! Three minutes later we clinched victory when star player Ishikawa, whose name was emblazoned on the back of my newly-purchased FC Tokyo Professional Conditioning top, showed good composure in the box and slotted coolly past the keeper through a forest of legs. Tokunaga, George’s chosen player, contributed more to the opposition’s effort than our own having gifted Osaka with their second goal!

How can you celebrate a victory like this? With four hours of non-stop karaoke, that’s how!