The 17th Tama River Clasico will be held, a match where we want to overcome the frustration of last season

　The league match resumes. In the 5th round, we will play against Kawasaki Frontale away on Sunday and welcome the 17th Tama River Clasico. In the Nabisco Nagoya match, we conceded 2 goals, but Coach Jofuku said, "The challenges are basic things for the team. It is something that applies to any opponent, such as extending our own time, how we are stolen, and the play just before being stolen. We aim to further build on our progress." However, in the case of the Kawasaki match, "We lost 2 out of the "2 draws and 6 losses" against the top teams last season. That's why we really want results. The players also convey that feeling. We value the frustration and the accumulation so far and aim to express it."

Create scoring opportunities by grasping the rhythm, but allow Kawasaki to take the lead with a "one-shot"

　From the beginning, they faced Kawasaki's intense pressure and did not lose in one-on-one situations. In the midfield, Tokunaga often became the starting point, connecting passes to create their own time. In the 3rd minute, a pass connected to Ishikawa, who tried to break behind the opponent's DF, but it was offside. In the 4th minute, from Konno's pass to the front line, Hirayama stole the opponent's DF clearance, brought it forward, and aimed for a mid-range shot. However, Kawasaki's counterattack was also quick, leading to a fast-paced transition between offense and defense. In the 11th minute, they faced this counterattack, and Kawasaki's right-back Mori sent in a cross. MF Taniguchi, who had jumped into the area, trapped it with his chest, but it was ruled a handball, resulting in a Tokyo ball. In the 18th minute, Tokyo launched a quick attack, with Suzuki advancing and passing to Ishikawa on the right. Ishikawa cut in from the right side, and his aimed shot hit the DF and deflected. Nakamura, who followed from the left, took a direct shot. He controlled it well, but it went wide to the right. Until then, there had been almost no shooting scenes from Kawasaki, but in the 21st minute, FW Kurotsu broke through the left side and sent in a cross from the sideline. Morishige cleared it, but FW Jeong, just in front of the area, reacted to the ball with a clever move. Taking advantage of the Tokyo DF's delayed response, he scored a powerful shot, allowing the first goal. However, without losing heart, they moved the ball and attacked. In the 24th minute, from Nakamura to Nagatomo's cross, Hanyu took a shot, but it hit the left post... Hirayama shook the net with the rebound, but this was ruled offside. In the 28th minute, Hanyu pressed the opponent's holding midfielder and stole the ball, passing to Ishikawa. Ishikawa's grounded negative cross reached Hirayama in the center, but the shot ended up being half-hearted and went out of bounds. In the 32nd minute, Mukuahara overlapped and sent in a cross, which Hirayama met with a high point, but the header hit the bar... The rebound flew in front of Nakamura on the left side of the area, but the shot ended up being a miss. In the 37th minute, Hanyu passed to Nakamura, who dribbled to the center. He sent a last pass to Hirayama, who was crossing in the front line, but the timing was off, and the Kawasaki GK caught it. In each case, they lacked precision and coordination at the last play, failing to connect it to a goal, and the first half ended.

Conceding a goal from FK, Konno snatches a determined goal but suffers a bitter defeat...

　In the 47th minute of the second half, Ishikawa received a pass from Hirayama and broke into the right area behind the opposing DF. It was a great opportunity, but the final cross was too strong and did not connect with Suzuki or Nakamura, who were closing in. After missing this chance, Kawasaki aimed for an additional goal, sending long balls to forward Jeong to build momentum. Therefore, in the 59th minute, Kim Yong-gun was brought in as a center-back to replace Nakamura. Konno moved up to the defensive midfielder position, and Hanyu shifted to left midfield to launch a counterattack. However, in the 61st minute, a foul on Kawasaki forward Jeong resulted in a free kick just outside the left area. Jeong took the direct shot with a sharp grounder, which slipped under the jumping Tokyo DF wall and deflected off Gonda's hand into the goal. They conceded a second goal from a set piece... In the 63rd minute, Shigematsu was brought in for Suzuki, and in the 68th minute, Ohtake replaced Hanyu. They connected passes and advanced the ball towards the goal, but in the 71st minute, Ohtake received the ball between the opposing DF and MF and sent a floating pass to Shigematsu in the left area, but he was tightly marked by the Kawasaki DF and could not finish. They also had moments where they lost the ball while attacking, suffering from Kawasaki's powerful counterattacks. Time passed without a decisive goal. It seemed they would end the match scoreless, but just after entering 4 minutes of stoppage time, Hirayama dropped Gonda's kick, and Ishikawa broke through into the area to earn a throw-in. Mukuahara threw it in, Ishikawa crossed to Mukuahara, and Shigematsu shot from behind Hirayama, who had jumped into the center! The close-range shot was saved by the GK, but Konno rushed in to capitalize on the rebound and scored a goal! They fought until the end and managed to get this one goal back, but it was not enough, and the 17th Tamagawa Classico ended in defeat. 【Player Comments】《Tokunaga》 "There were times when we could play our football, but there were also times when we were pushed back. We made many mistakes and have a lot to reflect on. Of course, we need to score goals, but it became difficult after conceding first. Once we gave Kawasaki the opening goal, we had to counterattack, which led to them targeting us with counters. It’s hard to correct issues immediately, but I want to think about how to extend our time without losing our focus here." 《Morishige》 "After conceding the second goal, there may have been a bit of panic. We made substitutions and changed our formation, but we couldn't change the flow in the second half. As a defense, we wanted to limit it to just one goal. Regarding the first goal, our response to the cross was just barely off, so I tried to clear it... I want to show more 'strength' as we continue to play matches." 【Coach Jofuku's Press Conference Summary】 "In last year's match, we suffered a last-minute defeat here at Todoroki. After that, we won in the Nabisco Cup, but I don't recall that at all when I come back to Todoroki. Not just us, but the Tokyo supporters who came to cheer also faced today's pitch with that kind of regret. Even after conceding the first and second goals, the supporters continued to cheer for us, and I believe that led to the final goal. I am truly grateful for the strong support from the fans. It is very regrettable that we could not clear the regret from last year here. Regarding the content, I think the first goal was conceded when we had enough defenders. We must reflect strongly on that. However, in the first half, we were able to show our attitude to score while playing our football. I think there were many scenes where we needed to finish and equalize. The first half was not bad in terms of creating from the center and attacking from the outside, including the accuracy of finishing inside. Honestly, I wanted to equalize in the first half. However, when Kawasaki pressed us again in the second half, we couldn't overcome that. I need to reflect on how we started the second half. Also, after making substitutions, we couldn't regain the pace we had in the first 30 minutes, so I also have reflections on the substitutions. It is a matter of hindsight, but I want to take it as my own reflection and challenge. We couldn't clear the regret from last year, but considering that, the next match will be important. I want to fight together with everyone again." 【Kawasaki Coach Takahata's Press Conference Summary】 "After a long journey from the ACL match against Melbourne in Australia, we faced this match just three days later, and it was the last of five consecutive matches. There were concerns about our condition, but we talked about helping each other and relying on the supporters' strength to secure three points, and sent the players out. The players played aggressively from the start, showcasing our style of football, and fought well for 90 minutes with focus. The supporters supported us with their usual passionate cheers. It was a difficult match, but I am grateful to the players for performing as we should for the full 90 minutes."