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】《Kurisawa》"We conceded in a way that should not have been allowed. As a result, we became anxious and made many floating passes, leading to many mistakes and giving the ball away to the opponents. The pitch was slippery, so I think if we had connected more passes at our feet, we could have established a rhythm. However, even when we managed to regain possession, there was not enough movement from our teammates. We lacked both physicality and composure in our passing. We practice these things and it's not like we can't run. Each and every one of us needs to think about what actions we should take next, whether it's supporting our teammates or making runs behind the defense. We can't continue to slide 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 had few shots in attack. We haven't been able to establish our shape. When the game progresses in such a negative flow, the opponents also gain momentum. We have no choice but to practice in order to establish our own shape. For that, better communication is necessary. We understand what we want to do as a team, but we haven't been able to bring out the best in individuals. We need to think as a team about how we can do that."

　[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "Kashiwa has been in good form since the start of the season and is a team with momentum. We expected them to defend compactly and come forward with speed. We had a sluggish game in the Nabisco Cup match against Oita, so today we talked about taking the initiative ourselves and not losing to Kashiwa with our momentum. However, we lost many ball contests and had the ball taken away from us. In the first half, the ball settled with Hirayama, but the subsequent movements were not sharp. We somehow passed the ball around, but couldn't exploit the opponent's weaknesses. And when we tried to move forward, we were countered and lost the ball. In the second half, Ishikawa was substituted due to a back injury. We tried to move the ball simply by bringing in Kajiyama, but we immediately conceded from a corner kick and lost confidence. So we brought in Kawaguchi to make runs into space and expected Wanchope to contribute in front of the goal. Even though we were losing, we pushed forward and the ball started moving, but we couldn't score because we didn't take a shot in the finishing situation. Despite receiving support from so many supporters, we are still not fitting together as a team. We need to regroup properly. It's not that Hirayama is playing poorly, but we are not clicking. We also need to consider how to make the most of his abilities."

　[Summary of Kashiwa Ishizaki's press conference] "Today, it was an important match as we bid farewell to President Onodera and the PR staff who will be replaced. We won 2-0 and were able to send them off in a good way. In the first half, we moved the ball simply and successfully changed the sides in the midfield. However, there are still many easy mistakes and we couldn't break through decisively. In the second half, Tokyo changed their members and system, and there were moments when we were pushed back a bit, but our defensive line and midfielders worked hard. We were able to take the ball in good positions, but if we could smoothly develop the attack from forwards like França, midfielders like Suganuma, and Tatsuya Suzuki, there would have been opportunities to reach the finish. I think we could have played more interesting soccer with more shots if we improve on that. With today's performance, it would have been fine to have around 20 shots. The defensive balance was not disrupted, but in the second half, the defensive line dropped and the position to win the ball became lower. Even if we win the ball, we cannot attack. We want to improve on these points and prepare for the next match."