A fierce battle between teams boasting solid defense and quick counterattacks

Since the 1995 season, Kashiwa Reysol has competed in the J-League and achieved 99 victories. If they win today, they will reach a total of 100 wins. On the other hand, Tokyo, despite being at the top, has only 3 wins in J1. This difference reflects the historical gap in the top league. To narrow this gap even slightly, they can only fight earnestly in each match.

In today's game, Tokyo's attacking lineup centered around the in-form Amaral and TUTO will face off against one of the top DF teams in the J-League, Kashiwa. Conversely, how will the defense contain the spotlighted FW Kitajima from the Olympic team? Both teams are known for their solid defense and quick counterattacks, making for many highlights.

Chasing and being chased, Amaral scores in three consecutive matches!

In the first half, Tokyo, with the wind at their backs, aggressively attacked from the start. In the 9th minute, Fujiyama, who had made several attacking runs today, passed to TUTO, who ran behind the DF. He crossed it back, and Yukihiko dove in, but was contested by the DF and narrowly missed the goal. In the 10th minute, Sandro attempted a header from a corner kick, but it was ruled offside. They couldn't break through the well-read final line of Kashiwa. Kashiwa began to create opportunities by spreading the ball to the sides from interceptions in the final line and the defensive midfield, taking control around the 20th minute. Then, in the 24th minute, Kitajima headed in a cross from left midfielder Ohno for a goal. They allowed the opening goal after being caught off guard. After that, Kashiwa maintained a higher defensive awareness than Tokyo, quickly transitioning between offense and defense. Tokyo desperately wanted to move the ball quickly to the goal area on a counterattack, but Kashiwa's midfield closed in fast, disrupting their attacks. However, in the 40th minute, Koike sent a ball into the left space, and Fujiyama ran in to the center. Amaral's header hit the opposing DF but found its way into the bottom right corner of the goal! Despite being on the back foot, the ace, Amaral, took advantage of a single chance and equalized the score.

Showed resilience! Yukihiko's equalizing goal!!

In the first half, Tokyo struggled with half-hearted passing mistakes and weak defensive clearances, lacking composure. The intensity of the offense and defense remained unchanged in the second half, with both teams becoming heated over each other's tough fouls, leading to a tense period. Both teams wanted to seize the momentum, but it was Kashiwa who made the first move. In the 63rd minute, FW Kato and MF Sakai were replaced by FW Park and MF Hirayama. Just after that, in the 68th minute, Kashiwa earned a free kick on the left side of Tokyo's penalty area. The kicker was Hirayama, who was also selected for the Olympic team. The sharply kicked ball induced a clearance mistake from Asari and headed towards the goal. Tokyo found themselves trailing by one goal again. However, gradually, Amaral began to become a focal point despite being tightly marked, showing a proactive awareness of getting behind the DF from both sides. In the 75th minute, after replacing Koike with Kinama, TUTO headed down a ball from Kobayashi, and Amaral, slipping past the DF's mark, took a shot! Yukiho, who was following up, got the ball that slipped through GK Minami's legs!! It was a determined strike that brought them back to level terms, chasing after Kashiwa who had taken the lead. After that, a series of counterattacks continued, but neither team could capitalize on their chances, and Tokyo entered extra time for the second consecutive match.

The wall of Hong Myung-bo that stood in the way

Both teams are increasingly engaged in fierce offense and defense. Tokyo aggressively attacks with high energy, but TUTO's finish does not hit the target. On the other hand, Kashiwa brought Hong Myung-bo up to the midfield to take a chance. "I told him to play with just one defensive midfielder, Myojin, and to have Hong Myung-bo play just behind the forwards. I checked if he could handle it physically, and he said, 'I'm fine!" as Coach Nishino mentioned, Kashiwa energetically chased the ball and their defense also pushed forward. As time went on, Tokyo left the midfield open, but in the second half of extra time, they substituted Todai for Kobayashi. They actively tried to attack but couldn't get a shot off. In the 118th minute, which seemed like it would end in a draw, on the left side of Kashiwa, a cross from Hirayama found an unmarked Hong Myung-bo who jumped and trapped the ball! In the next moment, when everyone thought, 'Was that a handball!?' the ball, perfectly struck with his left foot, slipped past Doih's left hand and rolled into the goal...

The shock of the extended V goal. The first defeat in J1 became a bitter experience. But this is football. Although it was subtle, Coach Okuma calmly analyzed, "The problem was creating situations that allowed the opponent to shoot." It seems that Hong Myung-bo's determination for the goal surpassed everyone else's. And although they missed out on a "fourth consecutive win," there is no reason to hang their heads after this defeat. The current Tokyo team has the resilience to come back from two deficits without ever giving up. They should reflect on their individual performances and aim for their "fourth victory."

Manager's Comment

Director Nishino's Comments

I expected it to be a tough game, but Tokyo didn't press as much as I anticipated and aimed for counterattacks from a defensive position. Even when we were behind, it didn't feel like they changed their style to go for goals (as a whole). If they had pushed up the defensive line to go for goals, it would have made it easier for us to aim for counterattacks, but that simple attack made it harder to fight, and despite having the initiative, we couldn't score additional goals. While there are reflections on not being able to fully attack, I think we defended well in the midfield and defense, and we were able to fight as planned.

Director Okuma's Comments

"In extra time, Hong Myung-bo moved up to the midfield, and we tried to take care of that, but we couldn't manage it. The opponent was coming to win, so we wanted to first hold them back defensively and then attack behind the DF. However... (In the first half, we were often attacked from the right side where Naito was) we lost our rhythm due to intercepted passes and repeated passing mistakes. Additionally, due to the low accuracy of our feeds, we couldn't create a focal point in the front line and couldn't execute attacks behind the DF. Although we lost, we have only just finished four matches. We want to continue to fight hard in each match going forward."