Facing Kashiwa in the rain at National Stadium, aiming for consecutive wins

　In the previous match, Tokyo won against Kobe away. This match, which is three days after, will be a home game at the Japan National Stadium against Kashiwa Reysol. There are concerns about fatigue in the midst of consecutive matches, but Tokyo will have the same starting members as the previous match. Iwakawa, who has an injury in his right adductor muscle, and Jean, who suffered a laceration above his left eyebrow during practice yesterday, also stood on the field with determination to aim for consecutive wins.

　Kashiwa, who started the 1st stage with 2 consecutive wins, has not been in good shape with 5 consecutive losses after a draw. This round, GK Minami and MF Myojin are suspended, and Japan national team's FW Tamada is also on the bench. However, the average age of the young eleven is 23.82 years old, and they should have an unstoppable momentum. In times like this, it is important to be careful. In addition, Coach Ikeda said, "Tokyo has a 3-top formation with wide players on the sides. Even if we respond with a 3-back, there is a risk of becoming a 5-back, so we will use a 4-back to control the space. We can also put more players in the midfield." With their playing style being studied, how much can they win against "Tokyo's soccer"? That will also be one of the highlights. The match started with Tokyo's kickoff in the light rain.

Kashiwa was unable to create any decisive chances in the early stages, before eliminating the space.

　In order to aim for consecutive victories, we wanted to avoid conceding the first goal, especially in the early stages where we have been conceding goals. As a result, both teams put pressure on each other at key points and the game became a back and forth battle. In the 4th and 6th minutes, Ishikawa sent a cross from the right, and in the 7th minute, Fujiyama sent a cross from the left, but neither resulted in a shot. In the 8th minute, Ishikawa broke through on the right side from a quick restart and sent a cross, but Toda's header just missed the far post.

　Tokyo is gradually pushing Kashiwa, but there is no space in front of the defensive line, and they are unable 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 middle shot. In the 26th minute, Kajiyama picked up a cleared corner kick and aimed for the goal from just outside the box, but the opposing defender blocked it. In the 27th minute, they won two more corner kicks, but were unable to finish. In the 29th minute, Lucas passed to the space on the right side from a quick counter, but it narrowly missed Ishikawa who had come out, and went out of bounds.

　Kashiwa had not been able to take a single shot until now, but in the 31st minute, MF Ricardinho took a middle shot, which seemed to be a signal, and started creating chances. In the 32nd minute, MF Taniyama made a through pass to the space on the left side. He received a return from FW Kanno, who caught up with it, and crossed from the left. FW Roberto Cesar was free on the far side and took a header shot, but Tsuchi made a nice save. In the 34th minute, Kanno took a shot from a through pass that took advantage of the gap in the Tokyo DF's front line. In the 39th minute, Taniyama intercepted Jahn's jump and entered the penalty area with a dribble. He sent a last pass to the left, but it narrowly missed Zeheldt, who had jumped in. Tokyo escaped the pinch.

Kono's second consecutive goal gives us the lead! Riding the rhythm, Jean adds another point.

　In the 33rd minute, Lucas made a long through pass from the center after advancing up the field. Although it was offside, in the 34th minute, Ishikawa cut back the defense and took a left-footed shot, not allowing Kashiwa to control the rhythm. Then in the 40th minute, Kajiyama ran up the left side and stole a corner kick, but the opponent's GK cleared the left corner kick kicked by Ishikawa. Now, with his back to the goal, Imakawa boldly took an overhead shot from the loose ball. It was an acrobatic shot that surprised everyone, but the ball pierced the net and it was a goal! Imakawa scored his second consecutive goal and Tokyo finally took the long-awaited lead since the 2nd round against Oita!!

　Tokyo, who went into the second half with a one-point lead, aggressively attacked from the start. In the 46th minute, Toda picked up a loose ball in the midfield and connected it to Kajiyama, who advanced forward and drew the DF, then made a last pass to the right side of the area. Ishikawa received the ball and took a powerful shot, but the GK made a great save and it resulted in a CK. In the 47th minute, Jean picked up a loose ball from Ishikawa's cross and took a shot from a set piece. In the 48th minute, Lucas, who had been persistent on the right goal line, sent a cross and Kajiyama picked up the DF's clearance and took a shot from the left side of the area. Although neither of these shots resulted in a goal, in the 50th minute, Imakano intercepted the opponent's counterattack in the midfield. He then aggressively attacked and Lucas hit the post from Kaji's cross, and Kajiyama took a shot. This was blocked by the DF and resulted in a left CK.

　Kajiyama's corner kick was perfectly timed to Jean, who was left open in front of the goal, and his header shot went in! In the early stages of the second half, they once again scored a valuable additional point from a set piece.

Despite conceding one point, we rose to 6th place with our first consecutive victory of the season.

　Kashiwa, who was behind by two points, substituted MF Shigehara for MF Dudu and substituted Tamada for FW Suganuma in the 53rd minute. As a result, in the 56th minute, Shigehara stole the ball on the left side of the Tokyo team and crossed it. However, the Tokyo DF could not clear it and the ball ended up at the feet of Tamada on the left side of the area. Tamada immediately aimed for the goal, but Jean cut it off with a sliding tackle. DF Watanabe headed the resulting left corner kick, but it went wide. In the 59th minute, Tokyo's Fujiyama attacked and picked up the loose ball from Toda's cross, shooting from just outside the area. It was a decisive shot, but it missed the goal. In the 60th minute, Kashiwa's Tamada → Zehoberto's entry into the area was cut off by Motonoba. Inoue then launched a quick attack, and Ishikawa on the right dribbled and shot.

　However, gradually the ball settled in the front line and Kashiwa regained their rhythm in the midfield, launching a fast-paced attack. In the 63rd minute, Tamada, who was on a roll, took a powerful shot from just outside the area, but Tsuchiho 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 time the accuracy of their crosses was low and they couldn't create any scoring opportunities. In the 72nd minute, Bamba was substituted for Kajiyama, and in the 75th minute, Abe was substituted for Lucas. However, they were unable to disrupt Kashiwa's rhythm. On the contrary, they lost the ball frequently in the front line and were hit by Kashiwa's counterattacks.

　And finally, in the 82nd minute, Shigehara, who took the ball inside the Kashiwa team, made a vertical pass to Ricardinho. After receiving the return, he dribbled up and sent a long ground pass to the front line. Doi jumped out to this ball, but just before touching it, Tamada broke through to the front of the goal and scored, tying the game by one point. The remaining time passed in the Tokyo team, but in the end, Kashiwa's fierce attack was held off by the defense of Asari and Fujiyama, and the game ended. Although they missed a clean sheet, they achieved their first consecutive win of the season and rose to 6th place, where they can aim for a high ranking in the future.

【Player Comments】《Imano》"For the goal scene, I just wanted to finish with a shot and cross the goal line. It was my first time scoring with an overhead kick and scoring in two consecutive games. We were able to take a 2-0 lead and relax, but towards the end it became hectic and tough. We should have gone for the third goal with confidence instead of defending. There are many areas we need to improve on, but we want to become even better at managing games when we are winning."《Jean》"The injury isn't serious. Kashiwa has been on a losing streak, so I knew it would be a tough game and they would come to win. It's an important game, so I was planning on playing. But luckily my header didn't hit my injury and I was able to score (laughs). We had been conceding goals from our own mistakes in the past few games, so today we were careful not to make any mistakes. Winning two games in a row gives us confidence, but we wanted to keep a clean sheet. We will fix our shortcomings and prepare for the next game."

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "We played 4 games in 11 days, including the Nabisco Cup, but during that time Kelly and Kanazawa were injured and had to leave. In that situation, today's performance was not good, but we didn't give up the first goal. In the past few games, we have conceded early goals in the first half, and when we concede first, we tend to panic in a bad team situation. In that situation, Konno scored a difficult shot from a set piece, just like in the previous game. At halftime, we talked about how to deal with the slippery rain and Kashiwa's defensive tactics - with a 4-back formation that matches Tokyo's style of play, the 3 midfielders line up in front and are quickly pulled back, so just attacking the same side won't create a good defense. We talked about not being afraid to switch sides. In the second half, we were finally able to play our usual wide attack from right to left and left to right. From that, we were able to score an additional goal from a corner. We haven't had a winning streak this season, so regardless of the performance, winning gives the team confidence. We have a week until the next game, so we can hope for the return of injured players. It was difficult with national team activities and consecutive games, but we want to fix the things that need to be fixed. Right now, we need 3 points. We want to play a better game, but first we need to win. The next game is important."

[Kashiwa · Ikegaya coach's press conference summary] "The scene of the goal, but the way it was taken was bad. It was taken easily from the restart, despite the time. We tried 4 back for the first time today, but it didn't work in the first half and we couldn't create chances easily. Even in that situation, we were able to create some decisive scenes and wanted to come back in the second half, but we conceded again from the restart. We have been on a losing streak, but today's game will lead to the next one, and I don't think it's just a bluff, it's quite different from the previous defeats. In the midfield, Tamada, who came in from the middle, was able to create fluid movements and improve the quality of crosses. We have been too focused on certain aspects of our strength, but we were able to expand our perspective. Next, we will play against Kashima, but we definitely want to beat them."