Rival! Ally!? J1 showdown with Kawasaki Frontale

In the previous match, Tokyo suffered a painful comeback loss to Shimizu. In this match, held just two days later, they face Kawasaki Frontale, a team that has battled through both JFL and J2. This matchup, as rivals who have fought fiercely in the past and as teams in their first year of promotion, is always a topic of discussion. Although Frontale has struggled to fix their lineup in J1 and currently sits in 15th place, Yukihiko SATO said, "A team that is struggling is trying various things, and that is when they are the most dangerous. In fact, we lost to Gamba, who were in such a situation. We need to use that lesson and experience to avoid repeating the same mistakes today."

From this match, I want to go all out for victory against the new Kawasaki Frontale led by the new coach Toshiaki IMAI, who served as the manager of Tokyo Gas until 1994.

Dominating the game but unable to score

It was expected to be an intense match with a flurry of fouls from the start, but Tokyo seized the pace. In the 7th minute, Fujiyama on the left side became the starting point, and Kamino jumped in for a cross from TUTO that slipped behind the defensive line, but just missed connecting. In the 8th minute, this time Naito on the right side became the starting point for Yukihiko. A perfect ball was sent in front of the goal, but Kamino's header unfortunately went wide. Shortly after, a forceful shot from TUTO was saved by the goalkeeper.

After that, against Tokyo, who dominated the ball and attacked, Kawasaki Frontale approached with a defensive line of four, sometimes five at the back, showing a solid defense. There were moments when they were countered due to a lack of concentration leading to passing mistakes, but they were helped by Frontale's mistakes, and the advantage remained unchanged. In the 26th minute, Sandro's header from a set piece, and in the 33rd minute, Yukihiko directly aimed for a free kick from the center of the goal, resulting in a total of 12 shots in the first half. In the 35th minute, a through pass from TUTO, who was more active than usual, reached Yukihiko, who took a decisive shot, but the opposing defender cleared it just in front of the goal. Despite Tokyo having several clear chances, they ended the first half without scoring.

Masamitsu KOBAYASHI scores the opening goal with his first J1 goal!

In the second half, Kawasaki Frontale tightened their defense, making it difficult for Tokyo to get shots off. However, in the 10th minute of the second half, Frontale's defender cleared a free kick from Alvalenga. Kobayashi headed the ball to Kamino, launching a quick counterattack. Kamino, who advanced with a dribble, passed the ball again to Kobayashi, who dribbled past the goalkeeper and slotted it into the empty net! It was a brilliant opening goal that showcased the quick transition between defense and offense, as well as Kobayashi's excellent decision-making.

TUTO, a determined header goal!!

Kawasaki Frontale, who were trailing, brought on forward Moriyama and midfielder Ikeda simultaneously in the 60th minute. They switched to a three-back formation with high positioning on the sides to launch a counterattack. Tokyo, whose energy levels were dropping, substituted Koike for Kina. The exchanges continued to be evenly matched. Furthermore, in the 70th minute, Frontale replaced Alvarenga with midfielder Ito, setting up a formation resembling a three-top attack. However, in the 73rd minute, Kobayashi connected with TUTO through a one-two pass, sending the ball back to the right side. Naito brought it into the open space on the side of the three-back, evaded one defender, and delivered a superb cross. The free TUTO, who was waiting, headed it in to make it 2-0! This was a perfect exploitation of Frontale's weakness.

However, Tokyo, which gradually lost the ability to chase the ball in the front line, had its defensive line pulled back, allowing the midfield to control the ball. As the marking shifted step by step, in the 79th minute, the ball spilled into a wide-open space from a scramble in front of the goal, and Ikeda from Frontale made a clean shot. They were pulled back to within one goal. Immediately after that, there was a close call when Moriyama ran in to connect with a precise cross from midfielder Kuno, but Tokyo managed to hold on through the tense moments, applying the lessons learned from the Shimizu match. In the 83rd minute, Kamino was substituted for Toda, and in the 89th minute, TUTO was replaced by Yamao, successfully securing their seventh victory.

Director Imai's Comments

"Regarding the first goal, we were aware of Tokyo's attacking characteristics in advance and knew we had to be cautious of counterattacks. However, I believe our lack of preparation to respond to that was the main reason for today's defeat. We did manage to score one goal back and had a chance to equalize, so I thought we could have tied the game. I think this match has left us with challenges to address regarding scoring going forward."

Director Okuma's Comments

"Considering the recent schedule, the way we lost against Shimizu in the last match, and the consecutive losses against Gamba, I think we fought with a fighting spirit and it was a good match. However, we must reflect deeply on the fact that we gave energy to the opponent with our plays at the end. We need to ensure that this does not happen again and clarify our team concept. Given the timing, I believe we could have played a bit more safely."