Challenge the in-form Kashiwa with a challenger spirit

　Sec. 4 of the league, we will challenge Kashiwa Reysol away. Currently, we have 1 win and 2 losses in the league. We have not achieved victory in the Nabisco Cup either, so this is a crucial match where we want to produce results by any means necessary. However, Wanchope missed practice earlier this week due to a cold. Evaldo temporarily left due to personal circumstances. Additionally, Hirayama, Inoha, and Kajiyama joined the team after playing in the Olympic representative qualifiers on Apr 28 (Wed).

　The period in which the players practiced together was short, but Manager Hara said about the three Olympic representatives, "The time they were away from the team was shorter than before. There were also domestic matches, and above all, they won three games in the second qualifying round and gained confidence. I can feel their enthusiasm of 'Next is with the team!'". Hirayama himself maintained good form by scoring goals in three consecutive matches in the Olympic representative matches. He started alongside Inoha. Kajiyama started on the bench. In addition, Doi returned to the starting lineup for the first time since the third league match, and Kurizawa returned to the starting lineup for the first time in two matches. Hirayama and Lucas formed a two-top, with Ishikawa as the right midfielder and Kurizawa as the left midfielder, and they will face the match in a 4-4-2 formation.

　Kashiwa is currently in 4th place with 2 wins and 1 draw, and they are in good form. They press from the front line, and when the ball reaches the top forward, França, the surrounding players quickly make runs. At the same time, their defense is resilient, having conceded only 1 goal in the league. In the Nabisco Cup, they have tried various things by changing the lineup, but they have formed a "shape" as a team, and their momentum is something to be cautious of. In particular, it will be crucial to contain forward França.

　Coach Hara said, "We are challengers. We will compactly defend and press, and see who can run and pick up more balls." Without losing to Kashiwa's momentum, we will quickly switch between offense and defense, take the initiative, and aim for victory. The match started at 19:04 at Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium, the first league match since 2003.

Although we tried to counter Kashiwa's momentum, we were deprived of the opening goal...

　The match started with a sudden heavy rain, making the pitch slippery, and a speedy development from the beginning. Shortly after the start, the ball was stolen in the midfield, and Kashiwa FW Franka expanded to the right. MF Suzuki Tatsu connected and shot by the right side back Kurakawa who advanced. In the 5th minute, Imano → Ishikawa ran up the space and crossed. Hirayama in the center and Kurizawa in the far side jumped in, but they couldn't quite connect. In the 12th minute, Lucas's middle hit the opponent's DF and suffered a counterattack. Suzuki Tatsu, who received a through pass from Kashiwa left MF Suganuma, shot from the right and circled around the area, but Tsuchi made a brave save by jumping out! Both teams showed an attacking attitude and continued to engage in a back-and-forth battle.

　However, gradually Kashiwa began to surpass Tokyo in terms of physical strength and quickness in the ball contest, and Tokyo struggled against the attacks led by FW Frank. In the 17th minute, Kashiwa approached the goal from a quick pass play, and FW Frank positioned himself for a shot. The rebound was picked up, and FW Frank attempted a header shot again. In the 25th minute, Tokyo earned a free kick after Hirayama was fouled just outside the area on the left. Lucas took a direct shot. In the 29th minute, Inaba -> Hirayama -> Lucas took a shot from the post, but both missed the target. In the 30th minute, they lost the battle in the midfield and Kashiwa FW Frank expanded into space. MF Kanno's fast cross was saved by Doi with one hand. Up to this point, even though Kashiwa had the initiative, Tokyo persistently defended and counterattacked.

　However, in the 34th minute, they took advantage of a gap and Kashiwa MF Tatsuya SUZUKI took the ball and made a free attack. Tokyo DF was dragged along and a long cross was sent to the far side. MF Kanno, who ran into this area, couldn't catch up with Ishikawa, who had returned with a dash. He was perfectly matched with the cross and allowed a goal to be kicked in. In the 36th minute, Hirayama → Imamura, who made an attacking move, took a sharp shot, but the opponent's GK caught it. The attack ended in a single shot and they couldn't create a chance that seemed like a chance. They went into the second half still trailing by one goal.

Unable to counterattack in an all-out battle, defeated with no points

　The rain has completely stopped, but a strong wind blows in the second half. Tokyo, who wants to change the flow, substitutes Kajiyama for Ishikawa as a defensive midfielder. Fukunishi is moved up to attacking midfielder position to aim for an equalizer. However, in the 48th minute, a direct pass in front of the goal leads to a left corner kick from Kashiwa MF Suganuma's shot. From the competition for this corner kick, the ball is kicked into the goal by DF Koga, resulting in the second goal being conceded.

　Still trying to score a goal, in the 52nd minute, Kajiyama passed Fukunishi with a one-two and entered the area, but was blocked by the Kashiwa DF. In the 53rd minute, Suzuki Nori passed to Fukunishi who had broken into the area, but his shot went over the bar. Missing this chance, they lost the ball to the fast-starting Kashiwa and couldn't create any more chances. In the 66th minute, Hiraoka and Kurizawa were replaced by Wanchope and Kawaguchi. They launched a full-scale counterattack. Immediately after in the 67th minute, the ball spilled from Wanchope in the area, but Suzuki Nori in the left area couldn't take a shot and passed to the center. From here, Kajiyama closed in on the loose ball, but the timing was off and he couldn't take a shot.

　In the 75th minute, Suzuki Nori caught up with Fujiyama's pass to the left front line and made a fast cross. The loose ball rolled in front of Wanchope, but he couldn't take a shot. Nevertheless, Fukunishi ran in and took a shot, but it went over the bar. In the final stages, Tokunaga and Inoha switched positions, and Tokunaga attacked from the right. In the 89th minute, they connected from a left throw-in and took the right corner kick from Tokunaga's shot. However, Kajiyama's right corner kick was cleared by the defender. Despite attempting a counterattack, the goal was far away. In the end, they were defeated without conceding a goal, as Kashiwa, who had a fast start throughout the match, maintained control.

　【Player Comments】《Kurizawa》"We conceded a goal in the worst possible way. This led to anxiety, resulting in more floating passes and often giving the ball away to the opponent due to mistakes. The pitch was slippery, so I think we could have created more rhythm by connecting on the ground. However, even when we regained possession, there was little movement from those around us. Our work rate was insufficient, and we lacked the composure to connect the plays. We practice this, and it's not that we can't run. Everyone needs to think about what actions to take next, whether to support or make runs behind. We can't let things drag on like this, especially for the fans who supported us desperately in the rain."《Tokunaga》"I don't feel like we were completely broken down, but we keep conceding from set pieces. We made many mistakes, and there were few shots in attack. We couldn't create any shape. If the game progresses in such a negative flow, the opponent gains momentum. We can only practice to show our own shape. For that, we need better communication. We understand what we want to do as a team, but we aren't able to showcase our individual strengths. We need to think as a team about how to bring that out."

　【Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference】 "Kashiwa has been in good form since the opening and is a team with momentum. I expected them to defend compactly and come forward with speed. We had a stretched game in the Nabisco Cup match against Oita, so today we approached the game with the intention of taking the initiative and not losing to Kashiwa in terms of momentum. However, we often lost the ball in duels. In the first half, while the ball was settled at Hirayama's feet, the movements afterward were not sharp. We managed to circulate the ball somewhat, but we couldn't exploit the opponent's weak points. When we tried to move forward, we lost the ball and were countered. In the second half, Ishikawa was substituted due to a back injury. We brought in Kajiyama to move the ball simply, but we quickly conceded a goal from a corner kick and lost confidence. At that point, we brought in Kawaguchi to exploit space and hoped for Wanchope to do his job in front of the goal. In the end, even though we were in a losing situation, we started to move the ball forward, but we didn't shoot in finishing situations, which prevented us from scoring. Despite having so many supporters cheering for us, the team feels like it is not fitting together during the match. We need to regroup properly. It's not that Hirayama is bad, but we are not clicking. We need to think about how to utilize him better."

　[Summary of Coach Ishizaki's Press Conference] "Today marks the change of President Onodera and the public relations officer, so it was an important match to send them off. Winning 2-0, I am glad we were able to send them off in a good way. In the first half, we moved the ball simply, and the switches in the midfield worked well. However, there are still many easy mistakes and we are unable to break through decisively. In the second half, Tokyo changed their members and system, and there were moments when we were pushed back, but the defense line and the holding midfielders did well. We were able to win the ball in a good way, but when we went on the attack, if we could have developed the play more smoothly from the forwards like Franca and midfielder Suganuma, as well as Tatsuya SUZUKI, we could have had more chances to finish. If we improve on that, I believe we could play a more interesting football with more shots. Given the content of today's match, we should have had about 20 shots. The balance of defense was not broken, but in the second half, the defense line dropped back, and the position to win the ball became lower. If that happens, we cannot attack even if we win the ball. I want to improve these aspects and prepare for the next match."