A crucial match that holds the key to advancing to the top

　In the previous round, Tokyo finished their match against Hiroshima with a draw, placing them in 6th position with 15 points. Kashima, their opponent in this round, is in 4th position with 17 points. If Tokyo can win this direct confrontation, they will surpass Kashima and aim for a higher position. Therefore, Tokyo is determined to accumulate 3 points at all costs. On the other hand, Kashima also needs to accumulate 3 points in this home game to remain in the championship race. It has become a crucial match where neither team can afford to lose.

　Tokyo made significant changes to their lineup from the previous match. In place of Lucas, who has adductor muscle pain, Bamba, who will make his first start of the season, was placed as the lone striker. Toda replaced Kajiyama, who injured his ankle in the previous match, as the left midfielder. Kanazawa, who returned after a five-game absence since Sec. 6, replaced Fujiyama as the left full-back. Kelly in the attacking midfield and Tokunaga as the right full-back started for the second consecutive match. In the midfield, Inokoshi and Asari, who have formed an unchanged partnership since Sec. 7, will start.

　Kashima, who will face them, has Nakata as a starting midfielder for the first time this season. Ogasawara, who has returned from suspension, will join as an attacking midfielder, completing the best lineup. Since they suffered their first home defeat against Tokyo in the Nabisco Cup on April 29, it is expected that they will approach the match with high motivation not only to remain in the championship race but also to seek revenge.

　Can Asari and Kanazawa both celebrate their 100th J1 appearance with a victory in this match? The key to advancing to the top is in this battle, which kicked off at 2:05 pm at the chilly Kashima Soccer Stadium with a temperature of 11.2℃ and a drizzle.

Overwhelming Kashima with attacking soccer

　"Kashima is expected to come out strong from the start at home. We need to compete firmly and quickly attack from the sides when we steal the ball, so as not to lose to them. The way we start the game is important," said Coach Hara, who gave a pep talk before kickoff. Tokyo Eleven, entrusted with that mission, overwhelmed Kashima with their fighting spirit from the start.

　Tokyo took the first shot. It missed the goal by a wide margin, but in the first minute, Ishikawa's shot, which was more like a greeting, sparked Tokyo's momentum. Kelly collected the ball and Bamba, the lone striker, created a base in the front line with his unique ball touch. Ishikawa and Tokunaga supplied high-quality crosses from the right, while Toda disrupted Kashima's defense with energetic movements on the left. In the 6th minute, Imakawa attacked the left side and crossed the ball, which Toda reacted to and broke free in front of the goal, but was fouled by Kashima's defense and couldn't take a shot. In the 9th minute, Kelly dribbled past the right side and crossed the ball, which flew just inches away from the near post, almost scoring a goal, but Kashima's goalkeeper managed to stop it. In the following 11th minute, Toda sprinted on the left side after a long feed kicked by DF Shigeki Shigeki. Although Kashima's defense touched the ball first, Toda stuck with it and regained possession, then sent a low cross to Kelly, who ran into the center. However, the ball fell just short and the defense cleared it. Kelly approached the left corner kick obtained from this and attempted a looping shot aiming for the far side, but unfortunately hit the crossbar and did not score. Furthermore, the ball rolled to the right side and was picked up, then swung back to the left side of the opposite side. Ishikawa and Toda connected, and finally Toda evaded Kashima's defense in the penalty area and took a powerful left-footed shot, but it was caught by the goalkeeper in front of him.

　In the 15th minute, a short pass was made from the right side to the center by Ishikawa, Baba, and Ishikawa, and then a pass was made to Toda, who was free on the left inside the penalty area. Toda calmly crossed the ball to the center, but the goalkeeper cleared it with a punch. Although it didn't result in a goal, they frequently created chances in the early stages with accurate crosses.

"Shoot!"

　Tokyo's dominance continued afterwards. In the 22nd minute, Ishikawa kicked a low and sharp ball from a free kick obtained on the right side, and Makoto Imano dived in with a header, but was blocked by the opponent's defender and resulted in a corner kick. Imano also took a header shot from this corner kick from the right, but it went well over the bar. In the following 25th minute, Kanazawa, Baba, and Kanazawa connected directly on the left side and sent the ball to Imano who had made a run into space. Imano made a deep cut and then delivered a low cross, but it was cleared and resulted in another corner kick. Despite repeatedly bewildering Kashima with brilliant passing plays, they were unable to convert the final touch into a goal.

　Kashima, who has been on the defensive, has Fabio JUNIOR playing as a lone striker and positioning himself near the post, but due to the tough checks from Shigetani and Jean, they are unable to settle the ball and are struggling to push forward as a team. Nakata is also far from his best form, with noticeable passing errors, and Ogasawara and Motoyama are unable to do their job due to the tough marking from Konno and Asari, making it difficult to create opportunities.

　Kashima created a chance in the 27th minute, with a forceful breakthrough by Fabio JUNIOR leading to a scramble in front of the goal. The ball rolled towards Motoyama, who was ready to finish, and he took a strong shot. However, Doi made a solid catch. In the 31st minute, there was a momentary gap in the previously flawless Tokyo defense line, and a cross from the right side found space on the far side. Ogasawara sprinted towards it at high speed. He was shot at close range with a header, but Ishikawa made a desperate return and blocked the ball from going into the net.

　Tokyo's biggest chance came in the 34th minute, when Kanazawa sent a low cross from the left into the goal area. Kelly kept the ball with his back to the goal. He then passed the ball to Baba, who was free in the right position inside the penalty area. Baba feinted with his right foot to dodge the Kashima DF and took a shot with his left foot!?! Just when I thought that, he didn't even take the shot and passed the ball again to Kelly, who was free in the center. However, Kelly also fell for that feint and missed the pass, failing to take a shot. He missed the biggest opportunity.

　Afterwards, in the 39th minute, Bamba dropped a long pass from Shigetoshi behind with his head, and Kelly, who had run in, shot from the front of the goal, but it went over the bar. Tokyo dominated Kashima but couldn't convert it into a goal, and the match was carried over to the second half.

Although the team's strength improved with stable defense and Kelly's recovery...

　"The content is not bad. Let's attack in a simple way in the second half, just like the start of the first half. Use Ishikawa and Tokunaga more on the right side and thoroughly put in fast balls from the side. Let's try to jump closer to the crosses. We can't win if we don't score points. At halftime, Coach Hara instructed us to take shots with determination," but it quickly materialized at the start of the second half. In the 50th minute, Asari made a big side change from the right side to the open space on the left side, and Kanazawa rushed in for a left-footed shot. Unfortunately, it was a close scene but was blocked by the Kashima DF's tackle."

　Kashima, who had no attacking players, made substitutions in the 52nd minute, bringing in Narahashi as a right full-back and Nozawa as an attacking midfielder, and rearranged Arai on the left side. They set up a more attacking formation and went for the win to secure 3 points.

　Tokyo, on the other hand, saw their two defensive midfielders shine even more brightly. Asari formed a strong defense alongside Shigenobu, Jean, and others, while Makoto Imano aggressively stole the ball from high positions in the front line and immediately joined the attack. In the 67th minute, Imano broke through two defenders on the left side and was tackled by a third, but he quickly got back up and continued his charge. He was fouled again and won a free kick, but Tokyo's team was inspired by Imano's spirited play.

　The back and forth battle intensified. In the 68th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Toda. In the 69th minute, Kelly stole the ball on the left side, dribbled and passed it to Baba in the front line, who made a return pass. Baba ran behind the defense and received a perfect through pass, but unfortunately, it was offside. In the following 71st minute, the ball was passed from Ishikawa on the right to Kelly in the center, and then to Imano who had moved up on the left side. Imano swung his left foot with all his might, but the shot narrowly missed the left goalpost. In the 72nd minute, Wu was substituted for Baba. Suzuki was placed as the lone striker, and Wu entered as the left midfielder. In the 75th minute, Kelly brought the ball into the center from the left side, evaded two Kashima defenders, and took a shot that went well over the crossbar. In the subsequent 76th minute, Kelly dribbled up the field, passed to Ishikawa who had entered the open space in the center from the right side, and took a left-footed shot while competing with the Kashima defenders. Conversely, in the 78th minute, Fabio Junior kept the ball on the right side of the penalty area, turned around, and sent a low cross into the goalmouth. Fernando jumped to reach it, but it was just out of reach. In the 79th minute, Imano intercepted a pass in the midfield and carried the ball up to Suzuki on the left side. Suzuki took a powerful shot from mid-range, but the ball missed the target. It was a disappointing scene as Suzuki passed to the left side, where Ishikawa and Kelly were free on the right side for a counterattack.

　Kashima substituted FW Hirase as the last card in the 80th minute instead of Motoyama. In the 83rd minute, Hirase passed the ball to Fabio JUNIOR inside the penalty area from the right side, and then dropped it to Narahashi who came up attacking after creating a pause. The ball went well over the bar, but it was a dangerous situation as it was a favorite form for Kashima. Towards the end of the game, Fabio JUNIOR once again kept the ball inside the penalty area and dropped it, and Ogasawara shot with all his might from the front, but Kanazawa blocked it by diving with his body. In the end, although Tokyo had the advantage with a shot count of 13:9, they cried over the lack of finishing power as in the previous match and ended up with a scoreless draw, accumulating only 1 point.

【Player Comments】《Yuta BABA》"It's been a while since I played for a long time, but I was able to play well. However, one of the challenges was that when I was isolated as a lone striker, there were times when I held onto the ball too much and got it stolen. It was easy to play with Kelly. It's a shame that we couldn't score the final finish in a game we could have won."《Jo KANAZAWA》"(Today was my 100th game) For me, it was just a regular game like any other. It's not about it being my 100th game, but because if we won, we could have gone above Kashima, so I really wanted to win. It was a long time since I played a game, but I didn't feel rusty and was able to fit in without any discomfort."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We made changes to the lineup from the previous match, but Lucas and Kajiyama were not fully fit due to injuries, so we decided to use Baba as the lone striker and Toda, who rested last week, on the left. Both of them performed well. Before the game, we discussed that Antlers would come at us aggressively from the beginning, so we should play simple and try to win the ball and attack from the sides using Ishikawa on the right and Toda on the left. We created good opportunities, but our current challenge is that we can't score goals. In the first half, Baba's cutback and Kelly's missed shot were decisive moments, and we should have scored there. Our defense has improved and we have been working hard. In the second half, Antlers made substitutions and attacked, but we held on well. Imano and Asari's dedicated defense has been effective, and Kanazawa's return brought stability. Right now, Imano is the one who wins the ball and goes forward, which creates the most chances. Even when matched up against Ogasawara and Nakata, Imano has been more involved in terms of energy and chances. In the future, there may be players missing due to the Olympics or national team duties, but we will use energetic players and maintain the team's strength."

[Summary of Kashima Toninho CEREZO's press conference] "First of all, in the first 10 minutes, there was a difference in the momentum and enthusiasm of FC Tokyo. We had many simple plays and lacked organized plays. Considering the quality of the four midfielders as technical players, it is unimaginable to have 25 missed passes in the first half. Some players also performed poorly in the second half. Although I didn't count the number of missed passes... It has been a trend in recent years that the matches before the national team announcement and joining are not good in terms of content. Today was the same. However, Tokyo's defense was good today. They only allowed us to have the ball in the center back position. The opponents were mentally ahead of us from the first half, and we were always on the back foot. We were losing from the beginning. We tried to improve at halftime, but the opponents were still better in the second half. Today's match ended up being regrettable."