Shimizu S-Pulse and Tokyo played out a 1:1 draw at IAI Stadium Nihondaira in the fifth round of the J-League 1 regular season on 2 September 2026. By then the home side sat 16th with three points from four games, while Tokyo held fifth place on seven. The result left the gap between them at four points.
Soma Anzai opened the scoring in the 50th minute for the visitors, but Kosuke Kinoshita responded three minutes later to level things. There was a moment of drama in the 71st when a penalty was awarded to Anzai, only for the VAR decision to cancel it. And here's the thing — that call would have changed everything.
Shimizu made several changes in the second half, bringing on Shion Homma and Marcelo in the 77th minute, followed by Takahiro Ko and Yudai Shimamoto later. Tokyo also turned to the bench, with Homma's double substitution drawing attention. The home side had already replaced Yuto Tsuji before half-time.
Tokyo controlled possession at 56 per cent but could not convert their advantage. They registered five shots on target but managed only one goal, while Shimizu struck twice from two attempts on target. The visitors blocked seven attempts and made one save, compared to the home side's two blocks and four goalkeeper stops.
Shimizu had lost three of their previous four league matches, including defeats to Kashiwa Reysol and Cerezo Osaka. Tokyo arrived with momentum after a 3:0 win over V-Varen Nagasaki. The draw ended their winning run but kept them within striking distance of the teams above.
