A game worthy of the 20th Tama River Clasico, a traditional battle

　Entering the 26th section of the league, Kawasaki Frontale will face off against each other as the 20th Tama River Clasico. In the previous section against Shimizu, we made adjustments during the game and regained our rhythm. We are able to fight while accurately assessing the flow according to the situation. Therefore, in the remaining 9 matches, we want to take control throughout the 90 minutes, convert it into goals, and accumulate victories.

　Above all, this round is also a "traditional battle". Coach Popovic said, "We must play a game worthy of the name 'Clasico'. In order to do that, we need not only the quality of play, but also the quality of fighting spirit. Only by showing both can we continue the tradition," and he is heading towards victory with determination.

　Kawasaki, on the other hand, is currently in 12th place with 33 points. In April, they welcomed coach Kazama as their new commander and aimed to "take the initiative and take action on their own style" . It can be said that they have been struggling without a win in the last 6 matches, but they are still aiming to win with their attractive soccer. In this match, DF Tanaka and Igawa are suspended, and DF Ito is used as the right back and DF Jesse as the center back. FW Kusunoki is at the forefront, FW Yamase and FW Oshima are on the sides, and MF Koya Kazama is in the top position.

　Kawasaki's attacking lineup has the individual ability to break through, and their strength lies in their ability to embody Coach Kazama's intentions. They are a team that aims to attack by connecting with each other, but the Tamagawa Clasico is unpredictable. Regardless of how the game unfolds, we want to maintain our composure and focus, and strive for victory by sticking to our own style. Under the autumn-like weather, 34,822 people gathered at Ajinomoto Stadium. The match started with Kawasaki's kickoff at 19:04.

Take the initiative and dominate Kawasaki, but the first half ends scoreless

　Tokyo showed coordinated play from the start and found their rhythm. In the 2nd minute, Ishikawa -> Kajiyama pushed forward from the right side and crossed. Lucas competed for the loose ball in the center, and Yonemoto followed up from just outside the box, aiming for a shot, but it was saved and resulted in a corner kick. In the 7th minute, Yonemoto intercepted the ball in the opponent's half. He passed it to Lucas in front, who returned it to him and entered the left area. In the 10th minute, they quickly launched an attack from their own half, and Ishikawa sent a right cross from Hasegawa's play. However, they were unable to control the ball before finishing in both instances.

　In the 14th minute, Kawasaki created a chance. Kawasaki MF Nakamura passed the ball to FW Yamase in the central area, who then broke through the Tokyo DF and took a shot from the left area. It was a clear opportunity, but it missed the target and Tokyo escaped the danger. As a result, this was Kawasaki's only chance in the first half. Tokyo took complete control with a strong defense, not allowing the opponent to play freely, and launched attacks. In the 17th minute, Lucas received a through pass in the center and moved towards the right area. Ishikawa made a decisive move here, but lost control as he stumbled on the pitch...

　21 minutes, Kajiyama's well-aimed shot is blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 28th minute, they connect passes and push forward, with Tokunaga breaking through vertically. He sends a sharp ground cross in front of the goal, but Hasegawa fails to strike it cleanly. In the 28th minute, Maruyama -> Lucas in the center turns and shoots. In the 31st minute, Lucas drops a pass from defender Takahashi in front of the penalty area, and Yonemoto -> Kajiyama connects with one touch, passing it to Lucas right beside him. They bewildered Kawasaki with a quick direct play, creating a big chance, but Lucas' shot narrowly misses the target...

　Kajiyama hit a powerful shot in the 41st minute, but it was saved by the goalkeeper at the last moment. Kawasaki had only one shot in the first half, while Tokyo had nine shots but couldn't score. The first half ended with a scoreless draw.

Edmilson scores his first goal, but 2 conceded goals weigh heavily...

　It was a second half with high expectations for a goal, but just after the start in the 46th minute, the ball was stolen when Yamamoto passed it to Hasegawa in their own half, and they quickly suffered a counterattack. Kawasaki MF Nakamura passed it to FW Yamase, who then passed it to MF Koya Kazama, who was advancing forward. Kazama dropped the ball and FW Kusukami quickly moved to the right side. From there, he dribbled into the right area, evading the sliding tackle from Morishige and the cover from Maruyama... and scored a goal. They conceded the opening goal from a mistake, breaking the momentum at the beginning of the second half.

　Kawasaki, who is gaining momentum, takes the initiative. Tokyo, on the other hand, becomes passive in response to their fast-paced attacks. In the 53rd minute, Yonemoto tries to bring the ball out from their own half but gets pressed and counterattacked. Morishige quickly covers, but commits a foul, giving Kawasaki a free kick. Nakamura sends the ball from the right area to the left front line, where DF Jef competes with Takahashi and scores a header... In an instant, they concede two goals.

　However, in the 63rd minute, Nemanja VUCICEVIC was brought on as a left back, and in the 68th minute, Tanabe was also brought on as a left back. Kajiyama moved to the defensive midfield position and the team launched a counterattack, regaining their rhythm. In the 70th minute, Lucas seized a loose ball in front of Kawasaki's goal and turned around. He skillfully slid past the opponent's defender near the right area and took a decisive shot, but it hit the crossbar... In the 73rd minute, Tanabe showed persistence on the left front line and Hasegawa provided an early cross. Lucas perfectly headed the ball, but it went wide to the left.

　In the 75th minute, Edmilson was brought on. Increasing the depth of the front line, they aimed for the first goal. However, despite attacking, they were unable to score a goal as time passed. Finally, in the 88th minute, VUCICEVIC intercepted the ball that the opponent's defender was about to take out and quickly counterattacked. He attracted the opponent's defender inside the area and sent the ball to the right, where Edmilson, who had run into the area, struck a left-footed shot!

　Edmilson's first goal after joining Tokyo was a retaliation, and the mood for a comeback increased... However, we were unable to catch up with Kawasaki, who defended by pulling back. The two goals we conceded, which were taken advantage of our vulnerability, weighed heavily on us, resulting in a painful defeat.

　【Player Comment】《Edmilson》"I'm happy to have scored my first goal, but it's very disappointing that it didn't lead to a victory. As a team, we were playing well and had a good flow, but we were also stopped by the opponent's goalkeeper's great play. Nevertheless, we continued to play our own football, but couldn't produce results. Unfortunately, in football, even if you have many shots, you can't win. I have been out of the team due to injury, but I want to work hard from now on to make up for it."

　"I was conscious of creating a rhythm on both offense and defense, and creating a good rhythm for the entire team. In the first half, we were able to create a flow and were almost dominant. At halftime, we talked about continuing that style of play in the second half and increasing the pressure even more. We were starting to play our game... but then we conceded a goal and panicked a bit. I felt like we were mentally shaken by conceding a goal during a good period of play. It shows that we still have room to improve. In order to overcome that, we want to be able to dominate throughout the entire 90 minutes. I think that is the style Tokyo should aim for, and we want to continue striving for it."

　[Summary of Coach Popovich's Press Conference] "There are very few games that you can be satisfied with after losing, but today's game was exactly that. We couldn't get the result, but I have to say 'well done' to the players' fighting spirit and performance. It may sound arrogant, but in terms of the first half performance, I haven't seen a team that plays such attacking football and shows this level of quality in the J-League since I came to Japan. However, even though we created clear chances, we couldn't convert them into goals. As a result, we ended up paying for it with conceding goals. Regarding the goals conceded, it was more due to us showing vulnerabilities rather than being broken down by the opponent."

　After conceding a goal, we took control and managed to bounce back by scoring one ourselves. There were scenes that looked like a penalty kick from the pitch, but it wasn't judged as such. We appreciate all the fans and supporters who came to watch the match, and although we believe that delivering results is the most important thing, we don't blame anyone for the outcome. The result didn't go our way. Congratulations to Kawasaki. We also want to express our gratitude to the supporters of both teams who created a fantastic atmosphere. We believe that our task is to continue playing this kind of football, evolve, and showcase even higher-quality matches in the future."

　[Kawasaki Kamata Coach's Press Conference Summary] "I thought it would be this kind of game from the first half, but we were pushed back for quite a long time. However, in this week's training, we talked about staying true to our style and focusing on winning as a team. The players fought faithfully and made adjustments at halftime, and in the second half, we were able to create chances for ourselves. In the first half, FW Kanagami had dropped back. We could see that the opponent wanted to steal the ball in the midfield, so when I told them to "stick to the front line" in the second half, we immediately scored a goal. I think he was conscious of it from the first half, but I think he improved in the second half. Overall, I don't think we are still technically good enough, but the players focused on winning using their own skills. I think that was a game where we made progress."