I want to continue the momentum of winning in the ACL and achieve two consecutive victories in the league.

Sec. 6 of the league, which will be played 3 days after the ACL Jiangsu Suning match, will see us face Kashiwa Reysol away. Following our come-from-behind victory in the previous league match against Nagoya, we were able to win a fierce away match against Jiangsu. With two consecutive wins in official matches, we aim to continue this positive momentum and go for another victory.

This round, Morishige is suspended and Yoshimoto, who is making his first appearance in the league this season, is appointed as center back. In addition, the combination of the attacking line-up has been slightly changed since the Jiangsu match, with Maeda and Abe as the two top players, and Kono and Higashi on both sides. Captain is Yonemoto, and Muriqui has made his first appearance in the team since joining.

Kashiwa has not yet won in the league with 3 draws and 2 losses, but in the Nabisco Yokohama FM match held on April 6 (Wed), they changed the lineup and displayed an aggressive attitude such as intense pressing from the front line and strength in ball contests. They grabbed their first victory in 8 official matches. DF Masushima, who scored 2 goals in this match and became the driving force for victory in both offense and defense, was appointed as a starter. In the front line, FW Diego OLIVEIRA in the center, FW Nakagawa and FW Taketomi on both sides. MF Ibarata and MF Kobayashi as inside halves. MF Otani serves as the anchor in the 4-3-3 formation.

During the day, the Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Field was enveloped in the spring-like weather, but as night fell, it began to get colder. The match started at 19:04 with Kashiwa's kickoff.

They pushed Kashiwa in and created a decisive chance, but...

1 minute: Tokyo has been in possession of the ball since the start. Starting from Kono on the right side, they connect the ball and East, who entered the area from the left at the right time, aims for a goal with a precise drop from Maeda in the center.

14 minutes: Ogawa, who advanced to the left front line after a quick attack from the midfield scramble, crossed the ball. Maeda, who had entered the area freely from the far side, immediately followed up with a direct shot, but was stopped by a great save from the Kashiwa goalkeeper.
Kashiwa also demonstrated strength in ball control and quick transitions. They launched sharp counterattacks, leading to a fast-paced game. However, Tokyo gradually pushed Kashiwa back even amidst this.

25 minutes: The ball is initially stolen from inside the Kashiwa team, but Ha DAESUNG reacts to the pass from a low position by Kashiwa. He runs up to just in front of the right area, but slips and is unable to complete the shot.
27 minutes: Ogawa overlaps to a high position and sends a cross. Kono in the right area receives it and takes an accurate shot, but the opponent's defender blocks it. He skillfully controls the loose ball and immediately volleys it, but it is touched sideways by the Kashima goalkeeper and escapes as a corner kick.

38 minutes: On the left front line, Kono and then Yonemoto fiercely pressed and stole the ball, and from there Ha DAESUNG exchanged passes with Maeda in the center and broke through to the right area. However, the final pass was cut off just before reaching Abe.

42 minutes: Kono breaks through on the right front line and crosses the ball along the ground. Maeda in front of the goal was not able to get into a shooting position, but quickly switches to the left side and connects carefully. The floating ball sent by Ogawa, who received it, was blocked by the opposing defender.
44 minutes: Abe appeared to have a great chance as he timed his run well and broke into the area, but his opportunity was blocked by the quick reaction and dive of the Kashiwa goalkeeper.

Both teams fought with their fighting spirit in the forefront, and intense offense and defense continued, but Tokyo showed a high defensive awareness without any weaknesses. From there, they quickly transitioned to the attack and created scoring opportunities. However, they were stopped by the opponent's goalkeeper's great save, and the first half ended with a scoreless draw.

Conceded a goal from a penalty kick. Muriqui made his J-League debut and launched a counterattack, but it was unsuccessful.

Tokyo, due to injury, Kawano was replaced by Hashimoto as the right MF from the start of the second half.
48 minutes: From the right side, ABE skillfully turns around and crosses the ball while carrying the opponent's mark. However, he fails to connect in front of the goal and misses the chance. After that, the team gradually loses momentum and makes mistakes when transitioning to the attack, allowing Kashiwa to take control.

63 minutes: The scenes of being attacked from both sides continue, so in order to rectify that, Hayate Hashimoto is substituted for Higashi as the right MF. Riku Hashimoto moves to the left.
64 minutes: Kashiwa FW Diego OLIVEIRA tries to break through in the right area, but Yoshimoto responds tenaciously. They defended with concentration and held on.

71 minutes: Kashiwa substitutes MF Ibarada with FW Tanaka. Tokyo then substitutes Ha Daesung with Muriqui. Muriqui joins as one of the two forwards, Hashimoto moves to the central midfield. Abe moves to the right side, and Hanyu moves to the left, forming the lineup.
73 minutes: Muriqui, in the left area, feinted past the opposing defender and delivered a strong and fast cross to Takumi ABE in the penalty area. ABE tried to control the ball with his chest, but lost control while being marked by the opposing defender.
77 minutes: Connect to Muriqui in the front line from the left side of our own field. Muriqui forcefully tried to break through between two opposing defenders using his speed, but lost the ball as he was surrounded.

81 minutes: Muriqui receives Maruyama's clearance and tries to turn it into an attack. However, Kashiwa's press is tough, and furthermore, Yonemoto and Maeda try to connect, but Kashiwa steals the loose ball and FW Diego OLIVEIRA charges into the area. Hashimoto tries to block it with a sliding tackle but commits a foul, giving Kashiwa a penalty kick.
82 minutes: This PK was scored by Kashiwa FW Tanaka, and we conceded the first goal.

Still, without giving up, they launched a counterattack and pushed Kashiwa back in the final stages, mainly through set plays.
90 minutes: From the flow of the free kick, Kashiwa launched a wave attack in front of the goal, and Ogawa in the center calmly connected with Muriqui on the left area. Muriqui tried to shoot quickly, shifting the timing of the opponent's defender, but it was blocked and no goal was scored.
Unable to take advantage of opportunities throughout the 90 minutes, we ended up with no goals and suffered a devastating defeat.

[Player Comments]
"Muriqui"
"I am disappointed that I couldn't produce results. Personally, I think I made some good moves in the short playing time I had. However, I couldn't score. Still, I want to start from today's match and do my best. I want to continue to work hard, grow, and share the joy with everyone at the end of the season. Thank you for your continued support."

"Like today, I thought it was my role to contribute to the team and achieve results with the chances that came my way. However, I couldn't keep the goals against to zero, which means I still have a lot of room for improvement. Especially against Kashiwa's ball, I was conscious of challenging and covering, but in the second half, we couldn't move forward and snatch it as much as we wanted, and the overall performance became sluggish. However, there should have been something I could have done when the penalty kick was given. I have regrets and reflections on that."

[Summary of Hiroshi JOFUKU's press conference]
"I apologize for not being able to achieve 3 points and feel disappointed. If we had not given any opportunities to Kashiwa's ball-passing soccer and had been able to demonstrate the quality of our attacks, the result might have been different. We were unable to adapt to the slippery ground, resulting in many mistakes. I want to review today's performance and get closer to the soccer we aim for. We cannot use fatigue from consecutive matches as an excuse, the players fought well but lacked composure after gaining possession. We were unable to convert decisive chances. Even if it can be said that the substitution strategy did not work well, it became an inevitable result. However, I want to take today's experience as a hint for the future."

[Kashiwa · Takahiro SHIMOTAIRA Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"It became an aggressive game development from the start. The flow was speedy and we couldn't settle the game, but the players worked hard aggressively on both offense and defense. I think it was significant that we were able to take the lead with a penalty kick in the second half, as we started to grasp the rhythm in such a flow."