Tokyo Verdy are set to return to the J.League 1 after a last-minute penalty from Itsuki Someno ensured that the men in green will be returning to the top-flight after 15 years away, following a 1-1 draw with Shimizu S-Pulse in Saturday’s J.League 2 promotion play-off final at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
The way of how the J2’s promotion play-off matches were set up – with the higher-ranked team advancing in case of a draw – have played into Verdy’s advantage throughout this season. Having finished 3rd in the regular season, a 0-0 draw with 6th placed Montedio Yamagata was enough for Verdy to book their spot in the play-off final, where they face-off against a Shimizu side who were relegated from the top-flight in 2022.
However, despite the “home field” advantage as well as being higher-placed in the league table, Verdy found themselves under immense pressure from Shimizu, who finished 4th in the regular season. The likes of Carlinhos Junior, Takashi Inui, and Thiago Santana bombarded the Verdy defense throughout the first half, however it took 63 minutes for the men from Shizuoka Prefecture to finally get their deserved advantage.
An inadvertent hand-ball from Koki Morita within the area led to a penalty for Shimizu, which was dispatched coolly by J2 top-scorer Santana.
Almost immediately after conceding the opener, Verdy piled on forward for an equalizer. Someno almost found a breakthrough in the last minute of regulation time, only for Shimizu defender Yuji Takahashi to intervene with a last-minute block.
Shortly afterwards, Takahashi turned form hero to villain after in the sixth minute of injury time, fouling Someno within the area and costing Shimizu a penalty. The forward duly converted from the spot, tying the game up and sealing Verdy’s J1 ticket with only seconds to go.
Verdy’s promotion meant that for the first time in history, Tokyo will be represented by three teams in the J1. FC Tokyo were a top-flight mainstay for the past decade or so, while Machida Zelvia, from the western suburbs of Machida, sealed their top-flight debut by winning this season’s J2.