TOKYOism

Match Review

Two weeks after achieving their first victory against Avispa Fukuoka, Tokyo is now aiming for their first consecutive win of the season as they face Kawasaki Frontale in the Tamagawa Classico. The starting eleven remains unchanged from the Fukuoka match. Yuto NAGATOMO, returning from the Japan national team, will play as right back, while Kashif BANGNAGANDE, from the U-23 Japan national team, will take the left back position, with Ryotaro ARAKI and Kuryu MATSUKI forming a partnership up front.

There is no doubt that we gained a sense of achievement in the Fukuoka match, and the team's atmosphere is good. We won at Todoroki for the first time in six seasons, and we want to build momentum for the upcoming back-to-back matches against Urawa Reds and Kashima Antlers at Japan National Stadium.

1st HALF - Although we maintained possession of the ball, we couldn't break through the opponent's defense.

The game progressed in a very tense atmosphere. At the start, Kawasaki Frontale had possession of the ball, but Tokyo responded calmly and gradually increased their time with the ball as the game went on. Since Kawasaki did not press from the front, there were no difficulties in building up play and advancing from their own half, and moments where Takahiro KO, Kei KOIZUMI, and Matsuki touched the ball were noticeable.

However, the buildup and tactics after entering the opponent's territory were noticeably monotonous, with few scenes where the ball was delivered well to both wings, resulting in no clear chances created. Although several crosses came in from both sides, they were cleared away.

As a result, Kawasaki gradually regained control of the pace. There were more situations where they were broken down during the build-up even when pressing, and when players like Wakisaka and Ienaga moved fluidly and faced forward in their own half, they conceded the opening goal in the 34th minute of the first half.

Yasuki KIMOTO, who responded to the cross from the left back player Miura in the area, attempted to clear the ball with a sliding tackle, but the ball hit the post and spilled in front of Waki Saka. Go HATANO also rushed out, and the ball was rolled into the unguarded goal.

Furthermore, in the 44th minute of the first half, we lost the ball during a build-up from our own half, and although Seko had a decisive shot, it went wide. Conversely, in the 45+1 minute of the first half, Matsuki attempted a volley with his left foot from a corner kick, but it did not shake the goal net, and we went into halftime trailing by one goal.

2nd HALF - 2 goals conceded after a player was sent off

Even in the second half, chasing a one-point deficit, the structure of the game did not change significantly, and Tokyo sought to connect the ball while looking for opportunities to attack. However, similar to the first half, they moved the ball into the opponent's territory without much difficulty, but lacked the quality and ideas in the crucial attacking third, resulting in continued scenes where they could not take a shot.

On the contrary, there were moments when the high line was breached, leading to dangerous counterattacks. In the 14th minute of the second half, player Ellison broke through the final line and shook the goal net, but they were saved by an offside decision.

Then, to change the flow of the game, three substitution cards were used in the 19th minute of the second half. Talents with strong individual skills, including Diego OLIVEIRA, Jája Silva, and Tsuyoshi OGASHIWA, were brought in to try to break through. However, they were unable to receive the ball in a good position, and in the 27th minute of the second half, Go HATANO, who attempted to clear the ball after coming out of the area, fouled Elison and was sent off. In the midst of being behind, they were forced into a situation of numerical disadvantage.

Tokyo, wanting to counterattack somehow, set up a 4-4-1 formation with Diego TABA at the top aiming for the goal, but in the 38th minute of the second half, they were again caught behind the final line, allowing the second goal. In the additional time, with their offense pushed forward, they conceded the third goal. This resulted in missing their first consecutive wins of the season.

However, we have a two-match series at the Japan National Stadium in just three days from now. There is no time to look down, and it will be a week that tests Peter Tokyo's rebound mentality.

MATCH DETAILS
<FC Tokyo>
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Go HATANO
DF Yuto NAGATOMO/Masato MORISHIGE/Yasuki KIMOTO (39th min: Hotaka NAKAMURA)/Kashif BANGNAGANDE
MF Kuryu MATSUKI (19th min: Go KOBAYASHI)/Hiroshi TAKAUCHI/Kei KOIZUMI
FW Keita ENDO (19th min: Jaja SILVA)/Teruhito NAKAGAWA (30th min: Teruhito NAKAGAWA)/Ryota ARAKI (19th min: Diego OLIVEIRA)

SUBS
DF Kanta DOI
FW Kota TAWARATSUMIDA

GOAL
－

<Kawasaki Frontale>
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Chong Sung-ryong
DF Yusuke SEGAWA (substituted in 19 minutes into the second half: Asahi SASAKI)/Jesiel/Kota TAKAI/Sota MIURA
MF Kento TACHIBANADA/Juki SEGO/Yasuto WAKIZAKA (substituted in 45 minutes + 5 minutes into the second half: Yuki YAMAMOTO)
FW Akihiro IENAGA (substituted in 45 minutes + 5 minutes into the second half: Yu KOBAYASHI)/Daiya TONO (substituted in 37 minutes into the second half: Hinata YAMAUCHI)/Ellison (substituted in 37 minutes into the second half: Arata YAMADA)

SUBS
GK Naoto KAMIFUKUMOTO
DF Takuma OMINAMI

GOAL
34th minute of the first half: Yasuto WAKIZAKA/38th minute of the second half: Shin YAMADA/45th minute plus 2 minutes of the second half: Kento TACHIBANADA

[Peter CKLAMOVSKI Coach Interview]

Q, please review today's game.
A, everyone is feeling the pain from not getting results. Looking at the performance, I think not much happened from the beginning until the 60th or 70th minute. In a close match, the opponent capitalized on one moment. I believe that if we continue to play our football, the momentum will come back, and we will be rewarded, so we kept fighting. However, we found ourselves in a situation with one less player, making the match difficult. The players fought aggressively to catch up and equalize, but we conceded more goals and lost the game. Everyone is feeling the pain, so we want to become stronger.

Q: You made three substitutions all at once in the second half. Was this part of the planned substitutions?
I made substitutions thinking about bringing in fresh players. There was a desire to inject energy into the attack, and Ryotaro ARAKI, Kuryu MATSUKI, and Keita ENDO were doing very well, but I tried to add energy to the attack by bringing in Diego OLIVEIRA, Tsuyoshi OGASHIWA, and Jája Silva. Up until that point, I don't think there were any decisive moments in the match, but soon after, we ended up with 10 players, making the mountain we had to climb higher. I believe the players fought desperately to equalize even with 10 men and gave it their all, but unfortunately, we couldn't secure any points here. I am sorry that we couldn't bring smiles to our fans and supporters.

[Player Interview]
＜Ryotaro ARAKI＞

Q: Please reflect on the match.
A, we were doing well until we conceded a goal, but I think we couldn't regroup after that. I believed that scoring the first goal would allow us to control the match, so if we had taken our chances, the outcome would have been different. However, personally, I couldn't showcase my performance well, and I should have been more of a catalyst. I wasn't clear on what to do when the opponent had prepared for us. It's difficult to change during the game, but I hope we can communicate more and make changes against the opponent.

Q: It seems that the marking on Araki was strict. What were you conscious of while playing?
A, I thought my job was to handle the ball as usual and move towards the goal. I didn't have the impression that the man-marking was that strict, but today the ball didn't settle well at my feet, or rather, my ball touch condition wasn't very good. My desire to win every match hasn't changed, but I was really focused for the match against Kawasaki, and today there were many disappointing plays, which I need to reflect on. However, I know that not every match can be a good one, and I believe there are games like this, so I want to use this as a learning experience and switch my focus to the next match.

Q: How do you want to rebuild the team from here?
A, I definitely want to improve our scoring ability. I want us to be a team that can score 2 or 3 goals even if we concede. I believe that if we switch gears and play our style of football, we can achieve results. Since we have consecutive matches, we will all recover quickly and prepare for the next game.

<Takahiro KO>

Q: The situation continued where we couldn't showcase our strengths. How do you reflect on the match?
A, it was a very frustrating result. The opponent capitalized on their chances effectively. We had very few shots, and we need to increase the number of opportunities we create. I believe we need to significantly improve both the frequency and quality of our entries into the goal area. Of course, we also need the ability to convert our chances, and ultimately, if we concede goals, we cannot win, so we want to focus on keeping a clean sheet.

Q: There were noticeable scenes where you struggled against the opponent's press.
A, however, I believe that having them press like that makes it easier to break through, and I communicated at halftime that I wanted them to pay a bit more attention to me. In the second half, we had to go for goals, so we played more vertically, but I want to improve the quality of those aspects as well, and I think we need to demand more from the entire team in terms of positioning and quick decision-making against opponents who press.

Q: How is the collaboration with Ryotaro ARAKI?
A, I wanted to provide a good vertical pass, but from the conversation after the match, it seems there were areas where they wanted to focus a bit more forward. So, we as defensive midfielders need to coordinate whether to take a higher position or to drop back to them.

Q: If there were things you could have done a little better, what aspects would they be?
Yes, that's right. We should have played forward with quality instead of backward. As a team, conceding goals and the red card were painful, but we need to increase the number of times we enter the goal area, and I feel that game control is necessary even while playing more aggressively, so I think we need to improve on that. I still don't think we are good enough, so I hope the whole team can work together to get better.

<Tsuyoshi OGASHIWA>

Q, how do you feel about reviewing the game?
I think one of the points for reflection is that after I, Diego OLIVEIRA, and Jája Silva came on, we couldn't change the game in a positive direction. There were chances to score, such as the moment I broke free, and I believe the coach sent us onto the pitch with the intention of equalizing, so I think if we miss those chances, it leads to results like this.

Q: What kind of play did you want to perform?
Today, Ryotaro ARAKI and Kuryu MATSUKI were in the forward position, but since they are not originally forwards, I think we forwards were expected to bring fear and threaten the opponent's goal when we came in. I believe that can only be shown in the form of goals, and it's frustrating that we couldn't demonstrate that as a result.

Q: Considering the flow of the match, what improvements do you think are necessary moving forward?
A, we became 10 men early on, which meant the opponent had the ball for a longer period of time, and I think there were few scenes where our midfielder Takahiro KO could hold the ball freely. However, there were still gaps, and I believe we lacked the skill to exploit those. From the first half, we were able to hold the ball, but we didn't create enough opportunities to shoot. After all, you can't win without scoring, so I hope we can pursue being more threatening.