Arch Rivals! Allies!? J1 Showdown with Kawasaki Frontale

In the previous match, Tokyo suffered a painful comeback loss against Shimizu. This round, which was played with only two days in between, will see them face off against Kawasaki Frontale, who have fought through both the JFL and J2. As rivals who have engaged in fierce battles countless times in the past, this match is a hot topic as two teams in their first year of promotion. In J1, Frontale has struggled to solidify their lineup and currently sit at 15th place with lackluster performance. However, Yukihiko SATO says, "Teams that are struggling are trying various things and those are the scariest times. In fact, we lost to Gamba who were in that situation. We will use that lesson and experience to make sure we don't repeat the same mistake today."

From this round, I want to mercilessly aim for victory against the new Frontale led by new coach Toshiaki IMAI, who served as the coach of Tokyo Gas until 1994.

Unable to score despite dominating the game

From the kick-off, a fierce exchange of fouls was expected, but it was Tokyo who took control of the pace. In the 7th minute, Fujiyama on the left side started the attack and crossed to Kanno who made a run behind the defense, but narrowly missed the goal. In the 8th minute, Naito on the right side set up Yukihiro. A perfect ball was sent into the box, but Kanno's header went just wide. Shortly after, TUTO took a strong shot, but it was saved by the keeper.

After that, Kawasaki Frontale faced Tokyo's attacking dominance by lining up with four defenders and sometimes even five, showing a solid defense. Although there were moments where they were caught on the counter due to lack of concentration from Tokyo's attacking fatigue, they were still in a favorable position thanks to Frontale's mistakes. In the 26th minute, Sandro's header from a set piece and in the 33rd minute, Yukihiko's direct free kick from the center of the goal resulted in 12 shots in the first half. In the 35th minute, TUTO, who was constantly running around the field, made a through pass to Yukihiko who took a powerful shot, but the opponent's defender cleared it just before the goal. Despite Tokyo having multiple chances, they were unable to score and ended the first half without breaking the deadlock.

Masamitsu KOBAYASHI scores first goal in J1 league!

In the second half, Tokyo struggled to break through Kawasaki Frontale's defense. However, in the 10th minute of the second half, Frontale's DF cleared Alvaranga's free kick. Kobayashi then headed the ball to Kamiya, who quickly launched a counter attack. Kamiya dribbled up the field and passed to Kobayashi, who was making a run towards the goal. Kobayashi then dribbled past the goalkeeper and scored an open goal! The speed of transition between offense and defense, as well as Kobayashi's decision making, were highlighted in this first goal.

TUTO, a powerful header goal!!

Frontale, who had been leading, made a simultaneous substitution of FW Moriyama and MF Ikeda in the 60th minute. They changed to a 3-back formation and started to counterattack. Tokyo, whose energy had started to drop, also made a substitution, bringing in Kina for Koike. The match continued to be evenly matched. In the 70th minute, Frontale made another substitution, replacing MF Ito with Alvarenga and switching to a 3-top formation. However, in the 73rd minute, Kobayashi connected with TUTO and played a one-two pass, sending the ball back to the right side. Naito then dribbled past the open space on the side of the 3-back formation and delivered a perfect cross. TUTO, who was waiting for it, headed it in to make it 2-0! This was a perfect opportunity for Tokyo to take advantage of Frontale's weakness.

However, as Tokyo gradually became unable to chase the ball on the front line, the defensive line became more withdrawn and the ball was passed around in the midfield. As the marking shifted one step at a time, in the 79th minute, the ball fell into a wide open space in front of the goal from a scramble, and this was cleanly shot by forward Ikeda. They were caught up by one point. Immediately after that, midfielder Kuno ran into the box to meet a high-precision cross and almost scored, but Tokyo held on to the lesson learned from the Shimizu game and managed to survive the dangerous time. In the 83rd minute, Kamiya was replaced by Toda, and in the 89th minute, GROT was replaced by Yamao, securing their 7th win in a solid manner.

"Coach Imai's Comment"

"Regarding the first goal, we were aware of Tokyo's attacking characteristics beforehand and knew to be cautious of counterattacks. However, I believe that our response was not well-prepared, which was the biggest reason for our defeat today. We did have a chance to equalize by scoring one goal back and potentially scoring another, but unfortunately we were unable to do so. I think this game has become a challenge for us to improve in terms of scoring goals."

"Coach Ooguma's comment"

"I think it was a good game, with a fighting spirit based on the recent schedule, the way we lost to Shimizu in the previous match, and the consecutive losses against Gamba. However, we must reflect on the fact that we gave the opponent energy from ourselves in the end. We must make our team concept clear so that we never do it again. Considering that time, I think we could have played a little safer."