18th Tama River Clasico held! Aim for consecutive victories in official matches

　League 31st round is held. Kawasaki Frontale welcomes the Tama River Clasico as the 18th edition at home. In the Emperor's Cup Chiba match, the fresh members showed a lively play and won a comfortable victory at Ajinomoto Stadium. Although it is the match of this round that they face in 2 days after that, they switch their feelings to the league match and aim for victory with a sense of unity and a good atmosphere in the team. On the other hand, Kawasaki is currently in 5th place with 49 points. After the World Cup, GK Kawashima and FW Jung transferred overseas, and this is the first Tama River Clasico they face, but MF Nakamura is suspended for this round. In addition, DF Mori was injured in the Emperor's Cup Yamagata match on the 20th. At the same time, three players are absent due to the Asian Games, and the team's condition can be said to be difficult. However, they have players who can break through with their individual skills, including FW Juninho, MF Vitor Junior, and Kusunoki. Great attention is needed for the counterattacks led by them. On the other hand, we want to focus on strict ball retrieval in the midfield so as not to let the ball into Kawasaki's front line as much as possible. In the attack, the key to goal and victory should be to surpass Kawasaki in the speed of switching. Recently, there has been a thorough awareness of utilizing individual characteristics and expectations are placed on the continuous goals of FW Hirayama and Okubo. Also, the recent official matches have been unbeaten in 5 matches. In the matches against Yokohama FM and the Emperor's Cup, they fought to bring victory to themselves by making judgments according to the situation. Tokyo starts with Tokunaga as the right fullback. Mori Shige, who has just finished his suspension, enters as the center back. The Tama River Clasico is always an intense match, but even if it becomes a shootout, there should always be a chance to win if they fight without panic. They have both aggressiveness and composure, and now they step onto the stage of the Clasico! Ajinomoto Stadium, where the sky is clear. The match started with Tokyo's kickoff at 14:04.

Unable to grasp the rhythm of the attack, time passes in the midfield battle

　They aggressively attacked from the start. In the 2nd minute, Hirayama dribbled from the left side and passed to the right side. Ishikawa timed it and took a shot from the area, but it lacked power. In the 5th minute, Kajiyama attacked up to the right side and crossed. They tried to connect after picking up the clearance, but had their pass intercepted and suffered a counterattack from Kawasaki. They were also brought to the finish line from Kawasaki's counterattack while trying to attack several times. In the 8th minute, a quick attack was launched from Kawasaki MF Vitor JUNIOR as the starting point, but Tokunaga returned and cut it off. In the 10th minute, Kawasaki's left back Komiyama overlapped and FW Juninho in front of the goal was shot with a toe kick, but Gonda made a save. In the 12th minute, they were intercepted while attacking, and FW Juninho was shot by MF Vitor JUNIOR's attack from the center, but Imakawa escaped with a corner kick. Tokyo was conscious of quick attacks, but they couldn't grasp the rhythm of their attacks against Kawasaki's tough defense. As time passed, there was a battle in the midfield. Kawasaki took control by connecting passes, but Tokyo didn't lose focus and neither team could create decisive chances. Tokyo only had two shots in the first half, one from Ishikawa at the beginning and two from Morishige and Okubo from set pieces in the 36th and 37th minutes. On the other hand, Kawasaki only had two early shots. The score remained 0-0, and the game was carried over to the second half.

Equalizing with Morishige's header, but allowing the opponent to take the lead due to a mistake...

　Right after the start of the second half, in the 46th minute, they cut off Kawasaki's attack, and Hanyu passed to Kajiyama, who connected with a direct pass to the speedy Ooguro, but it was offside. Just after that, in the 47th minute, Kajiyama brought the ball into the area, and Hanyu on the left made a cross. However, this was suppressed by Kawasaki's defense, leading to a counterattack. The ball was connected to the front line, and from a dribble by left midfielder Kusunoki, it reached forward JUNINHO in the left area, then to forward Yajima in front of the goal. Forward Yajima quickly turned and shot, scoring into the lower left of the goal. They allowed the first goal right after the start of the second half... However, there was still time left for a counterattack. In the 50th minute, Ricardinho was brought in for Hanyu, and in the 57th minute, Mukuahara was substituted for Ooguro as a right back. Tokunaga was moved to the defensive midfield, and Kajiyama was pushed up a line to attack aggressively. In the 65th minute, Ricardinho made a breakthrough with speed and skillful dribbling, earning a free kick just before the left area after being fouled. Ishikawa aimed directly at this free kick, but the shot that flew towards the goal was saved by the goalkeeper, resulting in a corner kick. Then in the 66th minute, on Ishikawa's right corner kick, Morishige jumped in and headed the ball into the goal! They took advantage of the set-piece opportunity and equalized. The mood to take the lead rose, and they tried to push Kawasaki back. In the 68th minute, Ricardinho sprinted up the left side and made a cross. Ishikawa jumped in the center to connect, but couldn't get a shot off, and the shot went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 75th minute, Ricardinho again entered the left area. He sent a clever dribble pass back, but Tokunaga's shot was blocked by Kawasaki's defense. Following that, they connected passes in front of Kawasaki's goal, and Tokunaga advanced into the left area, close to the goal, but was blocked while trying to pull it back, resulting in a corner kick. In the 78th minute, Kajiyama spread the play to the right front line. Mukuahara's advance earned a corner kick. From the flow of this right corner kick, Kajiyama, who chased the ball tenaciously, aimed for the goal from just before the right area, but it crossed the frame. On the other hand, Kawasaki quickly sent the ball to the front line, and in the latter stages, both teams' lines stretched out, leading to a counterattack exchange. In the 84th minute, Kawasaki connected from their own half, and left midfielder Vitor JUNIOR sent a long pass to the front line. Morishige tried to clear it, but it spilled behind him, and the ball went to the advancing Kawasaki forward JUNINHO. From there, he aimed with a loop, and the shot went over the head of Gonda, who had come out to cover, into the unguarded goal... The defensive weakness showed, and they allowed the lead to slip away... Still, they did not give up until the end, and in the 86th minute, Maeda was brought in for Nakamura. They thickened the front line, and Konno was also pushed up to threaten Kawasaki's goal. In the 4 minutes of stoppage time, they earned a corner kick opportunity, and Gonda also advanced, but they couldn't get a shot off. In the end, they launched a wave attack, and Hirayama took a shot from the center, but it went straight to the goalkeeper and was also offside. They couldn't shake the net until the end... The 18th Tamagawa Classico ended in a painful defeat. 【Player Comments】《Yonemoto》"I think we couldn't position ourselves well or win the ball today. Especially in the second half, we stretched out, and we needed to communicate more effectively. Kawasaki forward JUNINHO played well, but it wasn't just him who caused the problems. I want to reflect on that and make corrections. The tough situation continues, but we need to switch gears properly for the next match." 《Ishikawa》"Today, we couldn't quite find our rhythm and conceded the first goal. After equalizing, there was a feeling that we could turn it around, but... But I want to keep my head up and focus on the next match. Right now, rather than thinking about other teams, we need to improve the quality of our own soccer, which is what we should be doing. I want to pursue our own soccer without worrying about the surroundings." 【Coach Okuma's Press Conference Summary】"Regarding the content, I don't think there's anything to be pessimistic about at all. We were compact and could aim for a second goal. However, in soccer, if there are self-destructive mistakes, it's difficult to pull the result back. For the remaining three matches, I want to correct the points that need correction and fight properly. (What care do the players need as they face psychological pressure?) There have been late goals since before I took over as coach, and there are parts that are being dragged along by that. However, as long as we don't make mistakes, we have the power and mentality to bounce back from such things. I told them they could have confidence, not overconfidence. Even today, even after conceding the first goal, they fought without being pessimistic. We can only believe in what we have built up to this point and continue to fight in the future." 【Kawasaki F Coach Takahata's Press Conference Summary】"We fought for 120 minutes and a penalty shootout in the Emperor's Cup, but unfortunately lost, and the matches with titles are now gone. We faced today's match just two days later. I told the players to fight properly in the remaining four matches towards the goal of the ACL, and to express what they have done so far on the pitch for the supporters who always cheer for us. I think it was a difficult game in a physically and mentally tough state, but the players fought well. I am truly grateful that we were able to win this match. We have three matches left in the season, and we want to accumulate points and aim for a higher ranking. I want to express what we have worked on this season on the pitch without leaving any regrets."