J League resumes from Nabisco Cup! Challenging Kashiwa away

　The J-League, which has been suspended since May 24th, will resume from today's Nabisco Cup. The Nabisco Cup is entering its 5th round, and the qualifying league is reaching its climax. Currently, Tokyo is in first place in Group B, tied with 2nd place Yokohama F. Marinos and 3rd place Vegalta Sendai with 7 points. This is a crucial match that cannot be lost as it determines their advancement to the final round. On the other hand, Kashiwa is in 4th place with only 1 point. It will be a difficult situation to aim for a top 2 spot, but depending on today's result, there is also a possibility of being eliminated from the qualifying league, so they will surely show their determination not to lose easily.

　In addition to focusing on the game, today's match is also a highlight of how much we can show our results during the break period. It also holds an important meaning in order to enter the league in a good form. The long-awaited game took place at the away Kashima Soccer Stadium at 7pm in the cold rainy season.

Shoot aggressively, but...

　Tokyo is in a 4-4-2 formation. Amaral is up front, Abe is in the center, and Kelly is free to move from the left side. On the other hand, Kashiwa's lineup is also in a 4-4-2 formation, but with FW Marcio at the top, FW Tamada and MF Jucilei on the sides, it is a formation closer to a 4-3-3.

　Both teams actively try to steal the ball from the start. In the 1st minute, Tokyo's Amaral heads in a cross from Ishikawa on the right side. In the 3rd minute, Kashiwa's Marushio receives a cross from right back Nagai and takes a header shot, but both teams end up floating the ball. Gradually gaining rhythm from direct passes, Tokyo makes a breakthrough in the 9th minute when Miura sends a through pass to Amaral who had made a run up front, but it was called offside. In the 11th minute, Amaral steals the ball on the right side of the midfield and quickly launches a counter attack, with Kelly making a tempo pass to Abe in front of the goal. Abe takes a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, but it is saved by Kashiwa's GK Minami and goes out for a corner kick. In the 13th minute, Ishikawa and Kelly exchange passes in the center, and then Akachi makes an early cross from the side. Kelly once again connects in the center, creating a decisive scene, but the shot goes over the goal. In the 15th minute, Miura and Kelly link up in front of the goal, and Amaral makes a run and takes a middle shot, but it is caught by the GK.

Intense play with back and forth attacks and defenses

　Both teams fiercely battled in the midfield, and in the 23rd minute, Kashiwa's left back Tanigami received a yellow card for stopping Kagawa's breakthrough. With this play, Kashiwa earned a free kick, and midfielder Ricardinho attacked the goal with a powerful kick from just outside the penalty area. In the 26th minute, Marcio dribbled up from the halfway line and passed to Jucie for a shot. In the 27th minute, Ricardinho took a shot from a free kick. Although Tsuchi's excellent save prevented any goals, Kashiwa's shots were precise and accurate, showing their high level of skill.

　Tokyo, 30 minutes in, Ishikawa in the center → Kelly on the right → Kanazawa on the left side → Abe with wide passing to threaten the Kashiwa goal, but under midfielder Shimodaira's retreat, the Kashiwa defense holds strong and Tokyo struggles to attack. From this point on, "Abe lost the ball in the center too often, so (Manager Hara) changed positions, putting Kelly in the center and Abe on the left."

　In the middle of the game, while the battle for possession continues, in the 34th minute, Ishikawa steals the ball with persistent defense and Miura follows up. The strong ball sent to the front line is blocked by the opponent DF, and Miyazawa picks up the loose ball and takes a free shot, but it goes off target. In the 34th minute, there was a fierce play and Shigetaka received a yellow card. In the 35th minute, Amorao traps Kaji's early cross and takes a shot, but it goes to the right of the goal. In the 39th minute, Kashiwa connects a right corner kick and Jusie enters the right area and takes a shot. After hitting the DF, they get another corner kick, and from the chaos in front of the goal, Marcio takes an overhead shot. However, Tsuchi firmly catches it and the first half ends with both teams scoreless.

Unable to create decisive scenes together, ending in a draw.

　In the second half, coach Hara's instructions were "to compact the midfield more and not let the opponent have an easy time with the ball. When we win possession, let's connect simply and use the space on both sides. Let's send in fast balls from the sides." However, Ricardinho's passes led to aggressive attacks from Tamada and Marcio, making it difficult to control the ball. In the 49th minute, Kashiwa's attack was cut off by the DF line and quickly brought up, but Kelly's shot was blocked by the DF. In the 52nd minute, Abe intercepted the ball in enemy territory and took a shot after dribbling. In the 56th minute, Ishikawa dribbled from the right side and entered the area to take a shot, but both were caught by the GK.

　It became a back-and-forth of interceptions and missed passes, gradually leading to a high number of fouls. In the 71st minute, Kashiwa connected with a quick pass from the front to Jushie → Ricardinho, who then passed to Tanoue on the left side. From here, Marcio headed the cross to the far side, creating a decisive scene, but Jean's clearance saved the day. Tokyo, who had been unable to create chances as they gradually lost possession to Kashiwa, substituted Toda for Abe in the 72nd minute and Suzuki for Amaral in the 77th minute. They took the strategy of stirring up the front line with fresh players.

　However, in a development that was interrupted by a foul, both teams lacked the decisive touch. Finally, in the 84th minute, Toda headed in an early cross from Miyazawa on the left side. In the 88th minute, Suzuki sprinted down the left side and Kelly headed in a free header from the cross, but both shots missed the target. In stoppage time, Kelly passed to Kaji on the right side from Ishikawa. Suzuki headed in the cross, but it was not a clean hit and the time was up. The away team Tokyo managed to take one point, but their advancement to the final round will be carried over to the 6th round of the qualifying league against Sendai.

【Player Comments】《Doi》"As we approached the first game after the break, we talked as a team about fighting as usual and playing simply. We were aware that we needed to be careful of Ricardinho, who we were facing for the first time this season. As expected, they attacked through him, but our Tokyo defense line stepped up and held them back, playing clearly. I think we defended well."《Miyazawa》"As we can't break through without pushing forward from the defensive midfield position, I was conscious of actively attacking. However, in the second half, the whole team became stretched out and we couldn't pick up loose balls. The opponent's 1-on-1 marking was strong, but I felt that we needed to move the ball faster and use the center and sides more effectively. We want to correct our issues and approach the league games."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "After a long break, the key was how we could get into the game. We also made good preparations, but Kashiwa came at us fiercely. In particular, their players - Marcio, Jucilei, and Tamada - made frequent runs into our front line, making it difficult for us to create the kind of game we wanted. In the first half, we were able to create good opportunities from one-twos and counter attacks, and Kelly and Abe had a few chances. As a team, we want to score goals in those situations. We wanted to get all three points, but we will take the one point positively and make adjustments for the next league match."

[Summary of Kashiwa Aurelio's press conference] "Both Kashiwa and FC Tokyo gave their all and it was a very well-balanced game. Kashiwa had good marking and made the most of their few chances, and they moved well. The two fullbacks usually don't play in this position, but they worked hard. The team also played well together. For FC Tokyo, it was a game that they absolutely had to win, but Kashiwa also fought hard and I think it was a very good game."