Expressing strong feelings in the game and challenging Kashima!

In Sec. 6 of the league, we will face Kashima Antlers at home. In the previous match against Kawasaki, we created chances from our own time but unfortunately lost two goals, resulting in a frustrating defeat. After that, due to activities with the Japan national team, Tokunaga, Nagatomo, and Ishikawa left the team, and we were only able to train together for two days. During that time, Coach Jofuku explained, "I wanted to reflect on our soccer once again and provide stimulation to the team. Considering our current performance, opponents, and overall situation, I decided that the benefits of keeping it closed to the public outweighed the drawbacks." We prepared with our own focus while keeping Kashima's strategies in mind. On the other hand, Kashima currently sits in second place with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. Although they lost narrowly to Sendai in the previous match, they are, of course, the reigning J-League champions and a team aiming for a fourth consecutive title. In this match, FW Marquinhos is suspended, so FW Osako will start. Nevertheless, Coach Jofuku states, "Kashima has a deep player pool, and even with a fixed lineup, fresh players have emerged, raising the overall level of the team. Their defensive methods, attacking power, quick transitions between offense and defense, and high precision in counterattacks remain unchanged." For Tokyo, the focus will be on how to exploit Kashima's weaknesses while maintaining our own time. Ideally, we want to apply pressure from a high position and launch a speedy attack before the opponent's formation is set, increasing our chances. However, it is also necessary to read the flow of the game and remain calm even when we have to play defensively, fighting tenaciously. Since the beginning of the season, Coach Jofuku has highlighted the symbolic match from last year, "Sec. 23," emphasizing the team's strong desire to "defeat Kashima" and the walls they must overcome. That said, there are no tricks. The players have all expressed their desire to "break through Kashima's wall with our own soccer" and challenge Kashima without fear. Tokyo will see Shigematsu make his first start. Kim Yong-gun will play as left-back, Nagatomo will move to the right, and in midfield, Matsushita will join, along with Kondo, who was also a concern due to injury, making the starting lineup. As the spring evening approaches at Ajinomoto Stadium, the match started at 19:04 with Kashima's kickoff.

First goal with Hirayama's penalty kick! Always taking the initiative and grasping the rhythm, but...

　From the start, they ran aggressively in both offense and defense, surpassing Kashima in the early stages. In the 3rd minute, Hirayama won a corner kick, and Matsushita took the right corner. It was cleared by the Kashima defense once, but a foul by the Kashima defense in the area resulted in a penalty kick. In the 4th minute, Hirayama calmly converted it, scoring the opening goal early on. In the 8th minute, a cross from Kashima's midfielder Endo was dropped by FW Kuroki, and FW Osako took a shot from the right area, but the Tokyo defense blocked it, resulting in a corner kick. They gave away four consecutive corner kicks from there, but defended with concentration, and in the 13th minute, while connecting in the opponent's half, Kim Yong-gun unleashed a powerful shot from distance. After that, they tried to find their rhythm, evading Kashima's press and quickly moving the ball forward. In the 23rd minute, forward Jūmatsu created a starting point, and Hanyū made a run, spreading it to the left. Matsushita delivered a cross... creating an attacking shape, but the cross drifted to the far side. In the 31st minute, they earned a free kick from the right side, and Hirayama headed Matsushita's kick to change the direction, but it went wide. In the 33rd minute, Kashima's left back Arai made an attacking run to the sideline, sending a strong and fast cross to FW Kuroki in the right area. However, a handball foul from FW Kuroki's trap resulted in a Tokyo ball. As time passed, both teams launched fierce counterattacks, and in the 38th minute, Ishikawa dribbled up the center and passed to Jūmatsu just before the right area, but it was a bit long, and the opposing defense returned quickly, preventing a chance. In the 39th minute, from the attacking run of Kashima's left back Arai, midfielder Ogasawara took a precise shot from distance. Gonda made a save, but FW Kuroki reacted quickly to the rebound and scored... leveling the match. Immediately after that, Ishikawa broke through the right side and crossed. Matsushita at the far post moved in and headed it down, but the ball went to Hirayama in the left area. However, he missed the shot and couldn't capitalize on the opportunity. The first half ended at 1-1.

Despite the exciting back and forth, they were unable to capitalize on their chances and the match ended in a draw

　In the second half, they aggressively took the ball and launched attacks, creating scoring chances early on. In the 54th minute, they won the ball in their own half, and Hanyu in midfield sent a direct pass into the right front space. Ishikawa ran into this space and delivered a low cross in front of the goal. The Kashima goalkeeper deflected it, and it didn’t reach Hirayama behind, but the loose ball fell to Shigematsu in the left area. Shigematsu took a well-controlled half-volley shot, but it went wide to the left of the goal, missing a great chance. At the 60th minute, from an interception by Kim Young-gun, they launched an attack, connecting passes from Hanyu to Shigematsu on the left. From a loose ball created by Shigematsu’s dribble in the area, Kim Young-gun surged forward and took a powerful shot. In the 67th minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Shigematsu, who had drifted to the right side, and shot through the Kashima defenders. However, none of these chances were converted. Immediately after, Ricardinho was brought on for Shigematsu. In the 74th minute, Ricardinho, who had moved to the left side, passed to Nagatomo, who overlapped and ran outside. Nagatomo sent a low pass into the right area from a high position near the goal line, but it was blocked by the opposing defenders and did not reach Ishikawa. Although Kashima was prevented from launching coordinated attacks, there were also moments when they were threatened by sudden counters and set pieces. Centered on Gonda’s saves, the game was a back-and-forth battle. Still, when Tokyo attacked into the opponent’s half, they tried to create chances by connecting passes and breaking down the defense. In the 82nd minute, Mukuhara was brought on as right back. Nagatomo was pushed up to midfield aiming for a goal, but in the 83rd minute, Hirayama’s header from Ricardinho’s cross was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 87th minute, from a Kashima corner, the ball was passed around inside the area to DF Lee Jongsu, DF Iwamasa, and MF Nakata, creating a dangerous situation, but Tokyo defended with concentration. Hanyu sent a long ball forward to launch a counterattack. Ricardinho chased it but had no support; he ran alongside the opposing defender and took a shot, but it flew straight to the goalkeeper, and no goal was scored. Although they did not concede an additional goal to Kashima, the second half ended goalless, and the match finished in a 1-1 draw. 【Player Comments】《Hanyu》“We ended with 1 point, but I don’t think there’s any reason to be pessimistic. To compete for the championship, not losing is also important. Of course, there were chances to win, but it was a match we controlled ourselves. That is a gain and growth. In previous matches lost to Kashima, they started with long balls and scored early. So today, for the first 20 minutes, we tried to enter carefully without taking risks. Even then, when we pressed the opponent, we thought about connecting passes and breaking them down. Since it was a home game, we had to win, but everyone worked hard for 90 minutes. Based on this, if we can perform like this against any team, I feel we can accumulate points.” 《Hirayama》“I said I wanted to take the penalty myself. We entered the match in a good way, and the flow was ideal. However, I regret not scoring during the run of play, and I am also frustrated with the draw.” 【Coach Jofuku’s Press Conference Summary】“From the start of the year, we clearly aimed to overcome the Kashima barrier. Today was a home game, and we approached it with the attitude of definitely wanting to take 3 points, but it is disappointing that we ended with just 1 point. I think there were plenty of chances to get 3 points. Last year, we lost twice to Kashima, both times conceding early goals, so today we wanted to control the pace for the first 20 minutes at all costs. I told the players this was the key, and they fought with that mindset. Our approach to the start of the match may have been different from usual as a priority to play our style of soccer. Normally, we have longer possession, but today we thought aggressively that it was okay to lose the ball. The pace slows in the second half, so we wanted to create our own time then. How to improve quality and create our own time when tired. To put it bluntly, how to rest during our time and bring the accumulated energy to the front. If we improve that quality, I believe we can definitely achieve results in the J League. Raising quality with this spirit is the challenge. There is definitely a reason why we ended with 1 point here, so we will analyze it and build up to get 3 points next time. I told the players that today’s game must become the standard. (Regarding the starting of Kim Young-gun and Shigematsu) It was a decision in building the team around our core. Prioritizing countermeasures against the opponent might have made their selection risky. We are experimenting with what is necessary to raise the team’s quality. It is frustrating not to have celebrated victory with the fans today, but the content is not something to be down about, so it is important to use it for the next match. Also, we want to avoid falling behind the top teams. As of today, some players have played 5 matches in 13 days, and including the Nabisco Cup on Wednesday and the league next week, they will play 7 matches in 20 days. We will consider how to seek points in the next two matches while taking player condition into account.” 【Kashima Coach Oliveira’s Press Conference Summary】“(The first half didn’t go well, why?) Soccer has many elements. In every match, the opponent learns and analyzes us. Kashima fights the previous team, finds good points, analyzes again, and does similar things next time. It was clear they tried to stop our attacks by fouling from the start. That is one reason it became difficult. Another is that Tokyo’s tactics today were clear from the start. They let both side halves stay high, and the moment a back pass is made, one of the forwards cuts the opposite side center back and applies pressure. Pressing means the midfield and defensive line push up, creating space behind the last line. We aim for counters there, but interceptions happen in midfield. When we try to win the ball and attack, the opponent forcibly stops us. Sometimes refereeing stops us even when we want fouls to be allowed to flow. I think it is the referee’s role to preemptively respond to the opponent’s tactics, but this year, the opponents have challenged us more strictly than in the past three years. However, I want to aim for consecutive championships even under this pressure. (About today’s result) I felt FC Tokyo intended to exploit our weaknesses. Also, FC Tokyo has capable attackers and forwards, always showing awareness of scoring, and their organization and plans were excellent. However, the imbalance in refereeing decisions affects players’ psychological state. This is not new but always present. It also affects players’ health, so I hope everyone considers this.”