Aim to break the losing streak at home!

　Returning home for the first time in three matches, Tokyo aims to break their losing streak. In Sec. 7, they will face Kashiwa Reysol. However, today Tokyo is in a difficult situation with Miyazawa suspended and Ito unwell. Kinama will make his first start of the season as a defensive midfielder. Additionally, Komine will start as a center-back for the second time this season since the Nabisco Cup on May 12. In times like these, we want to play as a team, push towards the goal, and seize victory.

　On the other hand, Kashiwa had become a different team from the 1st stage. With the new coach Marco AURELIO, they are looking to gain momentum by introducing fresh talent centered around the Brazilian trio of midfielder Sampaio, Ricardinho, and forward Edilson, aiming for a third consecutive victory.

　Tokyo is expected to focus on side attacks centered around Sato, but in response, Kashiwa has changed their defensive line from a traditional 3-back to a 4-back. They have pulled both wing-backs, Watanabe (Hikari) and Hirayama, who were positioned high up the field, back to the defensive line, and Kelly is being closely marked by Sampaio, while Amaral is being man-marked by DF Nebiki.

　How will Tokyo break through this encirclement from Kashiwa? The much-anticipated match has started.

Losing the Losing Streak

Following two consecutive away defeats F.C.TOKYO returned to Tokyo Stadium for the seventh game of the second stage against Kashiwa Reysol. TOKYO, without the services of the suspended Miyazawa, the injured Ito and Japan Under 21 team members Ishikawa and Moniwa, fielded an unfamiliar formation. 
Kina made his first start of the season as a defensive midfielder while Komine appeared at centre back for his second start of the year. 
Reysol are a team reborn after a disastrous first stage. Under new coach Aurelio, with the Brazilian trio of Sampaio, Ricardinho and Edilson at the heart of the team, they had won three straight games and were slowly dragging themselves away from the relegation zone. 
To counter the threat of Sato down the flanks Reysol switched from their customary three back system to a back four with Mitsuteru Watanabe and Hirayama in more withdrawn positions; they also elected to man mark Kelly and Amaral. How TOKYO would deal with this approach was the main question as the game kicked off on a glorious autumn afternoon.

Although they created a chance towards the end of the first half, Toda's header resulted in no goal.

　From the start of the first half, both teams continued to battle for possession in a crowded midfield. In the midst of this, Tokyo saw Kina flow to the left side in the 4th minute, and in the 7th minute, Sato sent a cross from the right side, but the opposing goalkeeper caught it. In the 8th minute, Kashiwa maintained possession with a series of short passes in front of the goal, and Edjuson sent a last pass to the free forward Unosawa in the left penalty area, but Komine made a quick cover to deflect it for a corner kick. In the 12th minute, from a counterattack, Kelly connected to Sato, and Todai broke free for the last pass, but unfortunately, he was offside.

　However, Amaral and Kelly's tight marking against Tokyo means that they are unable to settle the ball and take control, and gradually the match begins to progress within Tokyo's territory against Kashiwa, who excel in ball retention.

　In the 16th minute, Kashiwa's MF Ohno made a through pass, allowing FW Unosawa to break free on the right side and earn a corner kick. In the 17th minute, Edjuson was fouled on the right side of midfield, resulting in a free kick. They also won corner kicks in the 24th and 26th minutes. In the 30th minute, Unosawa attempted to break into the penalty area from a large play, but the Tokyo defense was quick to respond, preventing any shots on goal.

　Tokyo repeatedly tried to find a breakthrough from the sides using Kaji's long throw as a weapon, but they struggled to create a starting point in the front line. In the 33rd minute, Amaral headed down a pass from Kelly on the right side into the left side of the penalty area, and Kinjo took a mid-range shot. It went over the bar, but this was the first shot of the day for both teams. In the 36th minute, Kelly ran onto a through pass from Kinjo to the front line, but the combination didn't work. In the 37th minute, they successfully launched a counterattack using space on the left side, but they lost the ball to Kashiwa in front of the goal. Edilson and Ricardinho surged forward, and DF Hirayama, who ran in from behind, took a shot. The ball was cut by the DF and went out for a corner kick.

　Tokyo shows good moments in defense with Komine's persistence and Fujiyama's interceptions, but in attack, their lack of decisiveness makes it difficult to find a way to score. However, in the 40th minute, Kaji delivers an early cross that Amaral heads towards the goal. Following that, Kelly sends a through pass to Toda, who breaks through the defense, but the Kashiwa defender cuts it off. From the resulting corner kick, Jean takes a sharp header, but unfortunately, it goes straight to the GK. In the 43rd minute, Sato receives a pass from the left side and breaks into the right side of the goal area to take a shot, but the GK makes a save. Tokyo shows their momentum.

　Then, in the 44th minute, after a throw-in from the right side, Kaji sent in a cross, and Toda made a header shot. The ball shook the net, and it seemed like the opening goal. However, Toda's play was ruled a foul against the goalkeeper, and the goal was disallowed. A missed opportunity.

　In the first half, both teams had a lackluster impression, but towards the end, Tokyo created chances, raising hopes as they headed into the second half.

TOKYO Create Chances

TOKYO started positively, breaking free of the midfield morass to launch crosses into the danger area in the 4th and 7th minutes. The latter led to a quick counter attack from Reysol but a well-timed block by Komine on Edilson averted the danger. In the 12th minute neat interplay between Kelly and Sato saw Toda breach the Reysol defence only to be given offside in a very marginal decision. TOKYO were dominating possession but the blanket defence and man-marking tactics of the visitors denied any clear-cut chances.
Reysol threatened mainly at set pieces and won a string of corners midway through the half which the home defence dealt with comfortably. In the 30th minute a cross-field ball reached Unozawa inside the TOKYO penalty area but the brief danger was soon smothered. Such was the efficacy of both defences that the game had to wait until the 33rd minute, when Kina volleyed Amaral's knockdown over the bar, for the first shot. A fast break from Reysol in the 37th minute saw Ricardinho set up Hirayama but a lunging defender turned his shot around the post.
TOKYO turned up the pressure as the first half drew to a close. Amaral connected with an early cross to send a header wide, Kelly's through ball to Toda was scrambled away for a corner which Jean headed straight at the goalkeeper and in the 44th minute TOKYO thought they had the lead. A throw in on the right reached Kaji who delivered a pin point cross for Toda to nod past the keeper. Unfortunately the goal was disallowed for a foul on the goalkeeper. The half finished 0-0, neither side having been able to dominate.

The anticipation of a goal, but Komine is sent off... Fighting with 10 players for 3 consecutive matches

　Tokyo, switching their mindset after Toda's disallowed goal, approached the second half with determination. In the 46th minute, from an interception, Sato sped forward and crossed to Amaral in front of the goal, but the opposing defender Watanabe (Hikaru) made a desperate clearance at the last moment. In the 48th minute, Kashiwa's Unozawa dove headfirst at Edilson's pass, but the shot went wide to the left. In the 52nd minute, Kaji's long throw went over Amaral's head, and Toda, who picked up the ball on the left side, turned and shot. In the 54th minute, Fujiyama ran up the left side space, cut inside, and took a shot. The ball rose slightly to the upper right, but it was a good shot that hinted at a goal. In the 57th minute, from a quick restart, Fujiyama ran into the left penalty area and sent a cross, but it just missed Sato, who was rushing in from the right, and the opposing defender cut it off. In the 61st minute, Sato headed Fujiyama's cross in the center of the goal, but it went over the crossbar. Tokyo created attacking opportunities from the left side as well, pressing Kashiwa back.

　Kashiwa substituted forward Masaru KATO for Ohno here. It was just after the 62nd minute. Komine fouled Unosawa, who received a pass from Ricardinho near the penalty arc. Komine, who had already received a warning in the 35th minute of the first half, received a second yellow card for this "repeated offense" and was sent off. Tokyo was set to face their third consecutive match with 10 players.

Early Bath For Komine

Spurred by the disallowed "goal" TOKYO began the second half at a furious pace and soon had Reysol on the ropes. Sato made a smart interception and set off down the wing before curling an inviting centre towards Amaral; a desperate clearance foiled the "King of Tokyo". In the 52nd minute Amaral flicked a Kaji long throw into Toda's path but his shot was blocked. Soon after Fujiyama cut in from the left and fired a rising effort that drifted just wide of the left upright. In the 57th minute a quickly taken free kick found Fujiyama on the left of the Reysol penalty area but his cross, aimed at Sato, was cleared. The same pair combined shortly after and this time Sato connected with Fujiyama's cross, only to see the ball sail over the bar. Just as TOKYO seemed about to make a breakthrough disaster struck. Komine brought down Ricardinho on the edge of the penalty arc and was shown the yellow card, his second of the game. Red followed and Komine trudged disconsolately from the field; for the third consecutive game TOKYO were down to ten men.

Scored on a single chance, suffering a painful three consecutive losses

　Tokyo, which placed Shimohira as a center-back, substituted Asari for Kina in the 67th minute. Shimohira was moved back to the defensive midfield, Asari was positioned on the left of the defense, and Jean and Fujiyama formed the final line.

　The development seemed to mirror the previous match, but Kashiwa's attack was not particularly powerful. Although Tokyo was pushed back, in the 81st minute, Todai connected with Amaral from the post, and Shimohira took a mid-range shot, showcasing a balanced battle that did not suggest they were behind.

　But it was a moment of carelessness. In the 84th minute, Kashiwa made a slow passing play, and a pass was sent to the right side of the penalty area where Ricardinho caught up and maintained possession. He passed it back, and Watanabe (Hikari) delivered a cross directly. Kato dove in at the perfect timing in front of the goal area and connected with a diving header, scoring a goal. Tokyo allowed a goal at a difficult time.

　After that, Tokyo attempted to counterattack without giving up. In the 87th minute, Kaji's long throw was cut off by the opposing defender, and the loose ball was picked up by Amaral, who took a volley shot but unfortunately hit the crossbar. However, despite Tokyo's relentless attack, Kashiwa's defense by Sampaio and Myojin was effective, and they were not allowed to take a shot.

　Entering 4 minutes of stoppage time, Kelly received a throw-in from the right side and attempted to break through forcefully, but was brought down in the right penalty area with no whistle. In the end, Dohi showed determination by coming up for two consecutive corner kicks, but ultimately they could not take a shot, and time was up. They suffered a painful three consecutive losses in a self-destructive manner.

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "In the last three matches, we've been missing players and had a sending-off, which has been very tough. In the first half, our rhythm and balance were slightly off, and I don't think it was good at all, but within that, Komine showed good marking, and Kinama gradually started to show his strengths. From the end of the first half into the second half, we were able to create a lot of good opportunities, and we were able to contain Kashiwa's wing attacks, so I thought if we could just score a goal. Even with ten men, we weren't broken down, so if we placed Sato and Toda on both sides, the opponent wouldn't be able to push forward on the wings, and within that, I wanted to score a goal through wing breakthroughs or counterattacks. However, we conceded at a very tight time, and honestly, I felt we just didn't have enough time."

"Three consecutive matches of suspension, regarding the ejected player, I don't think it was that dirty of a play, but I believe we need to control that."

[Summary of Coach Aurelio's Press Conference] "There are no easy matches, but today was a very tough game. However, the strategy of Kashiwa is to neutralize the opponent's key players. Today, we aimed to eliminate high balls to Amaral and disrupt the opponent's attacks from the right side. We persevered and executed the right attacks at the right times. Tokyo relies on Amaral as their lone striker, so we had our defender Nebiki mark Amaral, allowing Satsukawa to be free, and we set up our formation to the right side of the opponent while successfully neutralizing Kelly. In the end, we broke through from the right side and were able to score using Kato."

Kashiwa Snatch Late Winner

Following Komine's dismissal Asari replaced Kina and moved into the back line. The nine outfield players stepped up their work rate and matched Reysol right across the field; TOKYO nearly had the lead in the 81st minute as Amaral set up Shimotaira who shot wide. The killer blow came in the 84th minute as Ricardinho chased a long ball down near the corner flag, held it up and slipped it back to Watanabe. Watanabe curled a teasing cross into the TOKYO area which Kato met with a perfectly timed diving header that gave TOKYO keeper Doi no chance.
TOKYO threw everything into attack and nearly equalised in the 87th minute as Amaral volleyed a loose ball over the keeper and onto the bar. Veterans Sampaio and Myojin stood firm at the heart of the Reysol defence and survived a confident appeal for a penalty as Kelly went down under pressure in the 89th minute. Goalkeeper Doi joined the attack as TOKYO won a pair of corners deep in injury time but to no avail and the final whistle blew on a third consecutive defeat.

TOKYO manager Hara:
" That's the third game in a row we've finished with ten men and it's tough. I don't feel the play was dirty but it's something we have to deal with. The first half we couldn't find our balance or rhythm but the period just before and after half time we played well and I thought we would score. We contained Reysol's threat down the flanks and created several chances. After being reduced to ten men we didn't buckle and I felt the threat posed by Sato and Toda might produce something for us. Their goal came from a counter attack down the wing and we ran out of time ".

Reysol manager Aurelio:
" There are no easy games but today's game was particularly difficult. We managed to neutralise the main TOKYO threats though: Nebiki was detailed to cut out high balls into Amaral, Kelly was man marked and Sato was blocked down the right wing. The winning goal came from a move down the right and Kato took it very well ".