Aiming for consecutive wins, facing Kashiwa at the National in the rain

　In the previous match, Tokyo won against Kobe away. After a three-day break, this match will be a home game at Japan National Stadium against Kashiwa Reysol. There are concerns about fatigue from the consecutive matches, but Tokyo has the same starting lineup as the previous match. Ishikawa, who has an injury to his right adductor muscle, and Jean, who suffered a cut above his left eyebrow during practice yesterday, both took the field with determination aiming for consecutive victories.

　Kashiwa, on the other hand, has not been performing well, with two consecutive wins at the start of the 1st stage followed by one draw and five losses. This week, goalkeeper Minami and midfielder Myojin are suspended, and Japan national team forward Tamada will start on the bench. However, the young eleven, with an average age of 23.82 years, should have a fearless momentum, and it is crucial to exercise caution during such times. Coach Iketani mentioned, "Tokyo tends to play with three forwards, and the wide players are spreading out. Even if we respond with a three-back formation, there is a risk of it becoming a five-back, so we will switch to a four-back to control the space. This allows us to have more players in midfield." This marks the first time this season that a four-back formation has been deployed. As they study their playing style, how much they can win with 'Tokyo's football' will be one of the highlights. The match started with Tokyo's kickoff amidst a light drizzle.

Before Kashiwa, who eliminates space, they couldn't create decisive chances in the early stages.

　To aim for consecutive victories, we wanted to avoid conceding the first goal, especially the early goals that have been happening lately. Perhaps because of this, both teams applied pressure and marked each other tightly from the start, resulting in a back-and-forth development. In the 4th and 6th minutes, Ishikawa delivered right crosses, and in the 7th minute, Fujiyama sent a left cross, but none resulted in a shot. In the 8th minute, Ishikawa broke through on the right side from a quick restart and crossed, but Todaka's header at the far side just missed the target.

　Tokyo gradually pushes Kashiwa back, but there is no space in front of the tight defense, making it difficult to create effective attacks from the sides. The first shot of the day for both teams came in the 20th minute when Asari took a mid-range shot. In the 26th minute, Kajiyama picked up a cleared corner kick and aimed for the goal from just outside the area, but the opposing defender blocked it. In the 27th minute, they won two corner kicks but could not finish. In the 29th minute, Lucas passed to the space on the right side from a quick counterattack, but it just missed Ishikawa, who had made a run, and went out of play over the goal line.

　Up until this point, Kashiwa had not taken a single shot, but in the 31st minute, midfielder Ricardinho took a long-range shot, which seemed to signal the start of creating chances. In the 32nd minute, midfielder Tanizawa made a through pass into the space on the left side. After catching up, forward Suganuma received the return pass from Tanizawa and sent a left cross. Forward Ze Roberto was free on the far side and attempted a header, but Doih was able to make a nice save. In the 34th minute, Suganuma took a shot after exploiting a gap in Tokyo's defense with a through pass. In the 39th minute, after intercepting, Jean was dispossessed while advancing, and Tanizawa dribbled into the penalty area. He sent a final pass to the left, but it just missed Ze Roberto who had dived in. Tokyo escaped the danger.

Kono scores in consecutive matches to take the lead! Riding the rhythm, Jean adds another goal.

　In the 33rd minute, Lucas broke free from a long through pass by Kaji, who advanced centrally. This was ruled offside, but in the 34th minute, Ishikawa cut back past the defender and took a left-footed shot, ensuring that Kashiwa never gained control of the rhythm. Then in the 40th minute, Kajiyama, who surged up the left side, won a corner kick, and Ishikawa's left corner was cleared by the opposing goalkeeper. The loose ball was bravely volleyed by Konno, who had his back to the goal. It was an acrobatic shot that surprised everyone, and the ball pierced the net, scoring a goal! Konno scored for the second consecutive match, and Tokyo finally seized the long-awaited opening goal since the match against Oita in the second round!!

　Tokyo, leading by one goal, returned for the second half aggressively attacking from the start. In the 46th minute, Toda picked up a loose ball in midfield and connected with Kajiama, who drew in the defenders and made a last pass to the right of the area. Ishikawa received it and unleashed a powerful shot, but it was saved well by the goalkeeper, resulting in a corner kick. In the 47th minute, after picking up a loose ball from Ishikawa's cross, Jean shot during a set piece. In the 48th minute, Lucas, who persisted near the right goal line, sent in a cross, and Kajiama, who picked up the clearance from the defenders, shot from the left of the area. None of these attempts resulted in a goal, but in the 50th minute, Konno intercepted an opponent's counterattack in midfield. He surged forward fiercely, and from Kaji's cross, Lucas acted as a decoy, allowing Kajiama to shoot. This was blocked by the defenders, resulting in a left corner kick.

　The corner kick taken by Kajiyama perfectly reached Jean, who was free in front of the goal, and his header shot went in! Early in the second half, they scored another valuable additional goal from a set piece.

Although we conceded a goal, we achieved our first consecutive wins of the season and rose to 6th place.

　Kashiwa, trailing by 2 goals, substituted MF Dudu for MF Shigehara and FW Suganuma for Tamada in the 53rd minute. This led to Shigehara stealing the ball and delivering a cross from the left side of Tokyo's defense in the 56th minute. Tokyo's defense failed to clear it, and the ball reached Tamada at his feet on the left side of the area. Tamada immediately aimed for the goal, but Jean made a desperate sliding tackle to cut it off. From the resulting left corner kick, DF Watanabe headed the ball but it went wide. In the 59th minute, Tokyo's Fujiyama advanced quickly from a fast restart, and after picking up a loose ball from Toda's cross, Fujiyama shot from just outside the area. It was a decisive chance, but it went over the goal. In the 60th minute, Shigehara cut off Kashiwa's Tamada as he entered the area, connecting to Konno to launch a quick attack, with Ishikawa on the right taking a dribbling shot.

　However, gradually, Kashiwa regained their rhythm in midfield and launched a well-paced attack as the ball settled in the front line. In the 63rd minute, a speeding Tamada unleashed a powerful shot from just outside the area, but Doi saved it with one hand. In the 64th minute, Shigehara boldly aimed for the goal from mid-range. Tokyo also aggressively attacked from the sides, but during this period, the accuracy of their crosses was low, and they couldn't create any clear chances. In the 72nd minute, Baba was brought on for Kajiyama, and in the 75th minute, Abe was substituted for Lucas. However, they were unable to disrupt Kashiwa's rhythm. Instead, they increasingly lost the ball in the front line, leading to Kashiwa's counterattacks.

　Finally, in the 82nd minute, Shigehara took the ball in the Kashiwa defense and passed it vertically to Ricardinho. After receiving the return pass, he dribbled forward and sent a long ground through pass to the front line. Doih was about to intercept the ball, but just before he could touch it, Tamada, who had made a run ahead of him, scored, bringing the score to a one-point difference. The match continued in the Tokyo defense for the remaining time, but Kashiwa's late surge was held off thanks to the brave defense of Asari and Fujiyama, leading to the final whistle. Although they missed a clean sheet, they achieved their first consecutive wins of the season and rose to 6th place, which is a position where they can aim for a higher ranking.

【Player Comments】《Konno》"In the goal scene, I was thinking to finish with a shot, to break the goal line. Since I am a defensive player, scoring with an overhead kick and scoring in two consecutive matches is a first for me. Today, after taking a 2-goal lead, I became a bit complacent, and in the end, it got hectic and was tough. I think I should have gone for the third goal with confidence instead of just defending. There are many issues to address, but I want to improve on how to manage the game when we are winning." 《Jean》"The injury is not serious. Kashiwa has been on a losing streak, so I thought today would definitely be a tough match. Since it's an important game, I was naturally planning to play. But the header shot didn't hit the injured area, so I was able to score well (laughs). In the last few matches, we had conceded goals due to our own mistakes, so today I was careful not to make mistakes. Fighting together and achieving consecutive wins gives us confidence, but I wanted to finish with a clean sheet. I want to correct the areas where we fell short and prepare for the next match."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "We played four matches in eleven days, including the Nabisco Cup, but during that time, Kelly and Kanazawa were injured and had to leave the team. Given that situation, I can't say today's performance was good, but we didn't concede the first goal. In recent matches, we've often conceded early in the first half, and when we fall behind in such a difficult situation for the team, we tend to panic. In that context, Konno continued from the previous match and scored a difficult goal from a set piece. At halftime, it was slippery due to the rain, and Kashiwa was defending deep—using a four-back formation suited to Tokyo's style, with three midfielders lined up in front, quickly retreating. Just attacking the same side wouldn't allow us to break their defense. We talked about not being afraid to switch sides. In the second half, we finally started to attack wide, from right to left and left to right, like Tokyo should. I believe we earned a corner from that, which led to an additional goal. We hadn't had consecutive wins this season, so regardless of the content, being able to win consecutively gives the team confidence. We have a week until the next match, so we hope for the return of injured players. It has been difficult with national team activities and ongoing matches, but we want to correct the points that need fixing. Right now, we need three points. I want to play a little better, but first, winning will lead to the next step. The next match is important."

[Summary of Coach Iketani's Press Conference] "Regarding the scene of the conceded goal, the way we conceded was poor. We were easily caught off guard during the restart. Today, we tried a four-back formation for the first time, but it didn't function well in the first half, and we struggled to create chances. However, we managed to create a few decisive moments, and I wanted to make a comeback in the second half, but we conceded again from a restart. Although we are on a losing streak, I believe today's match will lead to the next step, and it's not just bravado; it's quite different from our previous defeats. In midfield, the involvement of players like Tamada, who came on as substitutes, improved our fluid movement and the quality of crosses. We had been too fixated on certain aspects of our strength, but we were able to broaden our perspective. Next, we will face Kashima, and we definitely want to win."