A match that tests "Tokyo's Football"

　In Sec. 9 of the 1st Stage, we will face the strong team Kashiwa Reysol in an away game. After the last match, Kashiwa is in 4th place. Although they have conceded 11 goals, their total goals scored is 17. With forward Kitajima, who is currently tied for 2nd place in the scoring rankings, they boast strong offensive power this season. They will want to extend their winning streak at home and stay in the championship race at all costs.

　Tokyo had a poor record against Kashiwa last season, losing both matches. How will they find a chance to win this time? Above all, how much of their characteristic style of football can they showcase? This is also a match that will test their ability to achieve consecutive victories. The starting lineup remains unchanged from the previous match, approaching with a 4-5-1 formation.

Fast-paced offense and defense, but neither side gives in

　Five minutes into the first half, Kashiwa FW Kō receives a ball from the side, dribbles into the vicinity of the penalty area arc, and takes a powerful shot. The goal misses, but Kashiwa places FW Kitajima at the post and, with midfielder Ōno and Kō pulling back, distributes passes to the side. They launch attacks from the outside. Particularly, there were several instances where they were threatened by MF Hirayama attacking from the left, creating chances. However, Tokyo did not just defend against this; instead, Sato and Naito aggressively pushed forward from the right, and Kelly moved freely to maintain possession of the ball in response. In the 7th minute, Amaral received a pass from Naito on the right side, brought the ball alone in front of the goal, and took a shot, but the ball went over the goal.

　Kashiwa, when the front gets stuck, GROT Koh shows a sharp attack from the DF line to follow up. In the 18th minute, Kashiwa's CB Watanabe Takeshi advanced to the penalty area, and although Tokyo's DF initially cut it off, it was regained and connected, leading to a shot from Ohno, who was waiting free. The crisis was averted as GK Doi made the save. In return, in the 19th minute, Sato received a ball for a side change, cut inside, and shot. Both teams displayed a strong awareness of attacking towards the goal, not just breaking through vertically, leading to a fast-paced offensive and defensive battle.

　However, today in Tokyo, everyone demonstrated extremely high concentration. Sandro closely marked Kitajima, and even when the ball came to Kitajima from the side, he was not allowed to take a shot. At the 25th minute, goalkeeper Doi committed a “6-second rule” violation, conceding an indirect free kick inside the penalty area, but the defenders blocked the shot with their bodies. Conversely, at the 29th minute, Kelly headed a cross delivered from the combination play between Sato and Naito. At the 31st minute, Masamitsu KOBAYASHI broke through the left side, dribbling close to the goal, and although his final pass was cut off by the Kashiwa defender, the team began to find their attacking rhythm. Kashiwa also fought back with Ono and midfielder Yanagi taking aggressive shots, but at the 39th minute, Tokyo had a big chance. Miura broke through the right side with a one-two pass with Naito, evaded the defenders, and sent a cross that Kelly volleyed! The ball deflected off Kashiwa goalkeeper Minami’s hand and hit the post. The rebound came back to Kelly’s feet, but he ultimately could not score.

Kelly scores the opening goal! And the match is intense

　Immediately after this play, an accident occurs. In the 40th minute, Miura's sliding tackle prompts a retaliatory act from Kashiwa's Yanagi, resulting in a red card. And then... Sato, who approached Yanagi, was also shown a red card. Both teams had been evenly matched, but with this expulsion, they were reduced to 10 players each. For Tokyo, the expulsion of Sato, who had been a key player on the side and had shone in his efforts, is painful, but there is no choice but to accept the decision once it has been made. They can only regroup and start over. Kelly was placed on the right side of midfield, and Kashiwa switched to a formation with Myojin as a lone defensive midfielder as they headed into the second half.

　In the 47th minute of the second half, Kelly received a ball from Kobayashi and dropped it, allowing Amaral to shoot. Immediately after, Kashiwa's Kitajima contested in front of the goal, and with the combination of Ko and Ohno, they approached the goal. Then in the 50th minute, Miura, who had dived into the left side, was fouled near the goal line, earning a free kick for Tokyo. Here, the ball kicked by Kelly curved over the goalkeeper Minami's hand and into the upper right corner of the goal! With this artistic direct free kick by Kelly, Tokyo took the lead.

　From here, the match becomes more and more intense. Trying to bounce back from behind, Kashiwa pushes the entire team forward, Hong attacks, and Huang rushes towards the goal. Taking advantage of this gap, Tokyo launches a quick counterattack. In the 55th minute, Naito passes to Miura, then to Amaral, and in the following 56th minute, Kashiwa's corner kick leads to a counterattack by Fujiyama and Kelly, but neither can secure an additional goal.

　Kashiwa made substitutions in the 58th minute, replacing both side midfielders Hirayama and Watanabe Koki with MF Sunakawa and FW Sakai, aiming to utilize attacks from the sides once again. However, in the 61st minute, Tokyo broke through the left side with Kelly and Fujiyama, and in the end, Kelly received a return pass in the center and shot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. Conversely, in the 62nd minute, Kashiwa executed a large cross-field pass from the left, which Kitajima dropped for Sakai to shoot. It narrowly missed to the right of the goal. Two minutes later, MF Myojin's middle shot was saved well by Doih, resulting in a corner kick, and the intense back-and-forth continued. However, Doih also saved Sunakawa's powerful shot in the 66th minute. A fine play shone brightly.

Show Tokyo's style in both offense and defense

　At 73 minutes, Tokyo substituted Kobayashi for Shimodaira for the reason that "Amaral was dropping too deep, so Shimodaira could give instructions from the holding midfielder position to prevent balls coming in from the sides" (Coach Okuma). At 78 minutes, from a free kick, Miura broke behind the left side DF and advanced into the penalty area to shoot, but was stopped by the post. Kashiwa raised their CB Watanabe to the front line and launched a fierce attack to score, but the DF defended with their bodies, and Tokyo launched their characteristic fast counterattacks repeatedly. Although they could not score an additional goal, Tokyo maintained full concentration throughout the match today. At 88 minutes, Kashiwa's Huang's shot was saved by Doi. At 89 minutes, Hong's powerful shot was also prevented by Shimodaira's spirited sliding tackle. And just when it seemed the match would end 1-0, in stoppage time, Kelly received a throw-in from Naito on the right side and forcibly sent the ball in front of the goal despite an awkward posture. Amaral, waiting in the center, precisely headed the ball into the lower left of the goal! This second goal stopped Kashiwa's momentum...

　Tokyo secured victory in a great match where both teams clashed with pride, marking the first consecutive wins of the season. They want to carry this confidence and momentum into the next home game at Tokyo Stadium.

[Coach Nishino's Comment] "The reason for the defeat was that we couldn't attack effectively. Even when we were pushing and holding the initiative, we couldn't break through at the final stage. We couldn't break through with slow attacks. I think we lacked more challenging balls. I believe our strength is sufficient, but we can't play the soccer we aim for. I feel strongly that we need to build a team that can deliver the best performance, saying, 'This is Reysol's soccer.'"

[Coach Okuma's Comment] "There were times when we fell back too much after scoring a goal, but we didn't lose our balance. The defense was able to maintain a zone, and the forwards were able to bring the ball to the goal area. Our energy levels didn't drop, and I think we performed well in both offense and defense. I want us to stay focused like today and approach the next match with the same intensity."