A crucial match for advancing to the top ranks

　In the previous match, Tokyo ended in a draw against Hiroshima, placing them 6th with 15 points. This week, they face Kashima, who are 4th with 17 points. If they win this direct confrontation, they can surpass Kashima and aim for a higher position, so they are determined to secure 3 points. On the other hand, Kashima must also secure 3 points in this home game to remain in the championship race, making this a match that neither side can afford to lose.

　Tokyo made significant changes to the lineup from the previous match. In the lone striker position, Baba, making his first start of the season, replaces Lucas, who has a groin injury. In left midfield, Toda steps in for Kajiwara, who injured his ankle in the last match, and Kanazawa returns to left back for the first time in five matches since Sec. 6, replacing Fujiyama. Kelly plays as the attacking midfielder, and Tokunaga starts for the second consecutive match at right back. The defensive midfield duo of Konno and Asari, who have been a stable partnership since Sec. 7, will also be on the field.

　Kashima's Nakata made his first start of the season as a defensive midfielder. Ogasawara, who has just completed his suspension, joined as an attacking midfielder, and the best lineup was assembled. Having suffered their first home defeat against Tokyo in the Nabisco Cup on April 29, it was expected that they would come into this match with high motivation not only to stay in the championship race but also to seek revenge.

　Can Asari and Kanazawa celebrate their 100th J1 match appearance with a victory in this match? The crucial battle for advancing to the top ranks kicked off at 2:05 PM in the chilly Kashima Soccer Stadium, with a temperature of 11.2°C and a light drizzle.

Overwhelmed Kashima with attacking football

　"Kashima is expected to come out strong at home from the start. To counter that, we need to compete firmly where it matters, and once we win the ball, we should quickly attack from the sides. How we start the game is crucial," said Coach Hara, rallying the team before kickoff. The Tokyo Eleven, responding to his call, overwhelmed Kashima with their fighting spirit from the very beginning.

　The first shot was taken by Tokyo. It missed the target by a wide margin, but in the first minute, Ishikawa's greeting shot sparked the momentum, and Tokyo began to show their strength. They gathered the ball to Kelly, and with the unique ball touch of the lone striker Baba, they created a base in the front line. From the right, Ishikawa and Tokunaga supplied high-quality crosses, while on the left, Toda made energetic movements to exploit space and disrupt the Kashima defense. In the 6th minute, Konno advanced on the left side and delivered a cross, which Toda reacted to, breaking free in front of the goal, but he was brought down by the Kashima defense and couldn't take a shot. In the 9th minute, Kelly broke through on the right side and sent in a cross that flew just past the near post, almost resulting in a goal, but the Kashima GK barely managed to stop it. In the following 11th minute, DF Shigeno kicked a long feed, and Toda rushed in on the left side. Although the Kashima defense touched the ball first, he persevered and regained possession, sending a low cross to Kelly, who had run into the center. However, it was just out of reach, and the DF cleared it. From the resulting left corner kick, Kelly received the ball and attempted a looping shot aimed at the far side, but unfortunately hit the crossbar and did not result in a goal. Furthermore, the ball rolled to the right side, and after picking it up, it was swung back to the left side again, connecting Ishikawa to Toda, who finally evaded the Kashima DF in the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot with his left foot, but it was caught right in front of the GK.

　In the 15th minute, from the right side to the center, Ishikawa passed to Baba, then back to Ishikawa with short passes, and passed to a free Toda on the left inside the penalty area. Toda calmly delivered a cross to the center, but the goalkeeper cleared it with a punch. Although it didn't lead to a goal, they frequently created chances with precise crosses in the early stages.

"Take the shot!"

　Tokyo's dominance continued. In the 22nd minute, Ishikawa took a low, sharp free kick from the right side, which Konno dove to head but was blocked by the opposing defender, resulting in a corner kick. From this corner kick on the right, Konno headed the ball towards the goal, but it went well over the bar. In the following 25th minute, Kanazawa passed to Baba, who then passed back to Kanazawa in a direct play, leading to Konno who made a run into space. Konno made a deep cut and delivered a low cross, but this was also cleared for another corner kick. Despite repeatedly outmaneuvering Kashima with excellent passing, they were unable to convert their chances into goals.

　Up until now, Kashima has been on the defensive, with Fabio JUNIOR positioned as a lone striker, but due to the tight checks from Moniwa and Jean, the ball couldn't be controlled, leading to a difficult situation where the team couldn't push forward. Nakata is still far from his best form, with noticeable passing errors, and both Ogasawara and Motoyama couldn't perform due to the tough pressure from Konno and Asari, making it hard to create any shape.

　Kashima created a real chance in the 27th minute, as Fabio JUNIOR made a strong breakthrough leading to a scramble in front of the goal. The ball rolled in front of Motoyama, who took a powerful shot from close range. However, Doih was able to catch it firmly. In the 31st minute, a momentary gap appeared in the previously perfect Tokyo defensive line, and a cross aimed at the far side found space from the right side. Here, Ogasawara charged in at full speed. He took a header shot from close range, but Ishikawa desperately returned and closed in, causing the ball to miss the target.

　The biggest chance for Tokyo came in the 34th minute when Kanazawa sent a low cross from the left in front of the goal, and Kelly kept it with his back to the goal. He passed to Baba, who was free on the right side of the penalty area, and Baba feinted a shot with his right foot to evade the Kashima defender and shot with his left foot!? But instead of shooting, he passed again to the free Kelly in the center. However, it seemed that Kelly was also caught by the feint, as he missed the pass and couldn't shoot. They missed a golden opportunity.

　After that, in the 39th minute, Baba headed a long pass from Moniwa backward, and Kelly, who ran in, took a shot from directly in front of the goal, but it went over the bar. Tokyo dominated Kashima but could not convert it into a goal, and the match was carried over to the second half.

The team's strength improved with stable defense and Kelly's recovery, but...

　"The content is not bad. Let's attack simply in the second half just like we did at the start of the first half. We need to utilize Ishikawa and Tokunaga more on the right side and focus on delivering fast balls from the flanks. We should dive more towards the near post for crosses. In any case, we can't win if we don't score. Let's take bold shots," said Coach Hara during halftime, and early in the second half, this strategy took shape. In the 50th minute, Asari made a big switch from the right side to the open space on the left side, and Kanazawa rushed in for a left-footed shot. Unfortunately, it was blocked by a tackle from the Kashima defender, but it was a close call.

　With no attacking options, Kashima made substitutions in the 52nd minute, bringing in Narahashi as the right back, and in the 55th minute, adding Nozawa as an attacking midfielder, while reassigning Araiba to the left side. They adopted a more aggressive formation to go for the three points.

　Against Tokyo, the two defensive midfielders became increasingly sharp, with Asari forming a solid defense with Moniwa and Jean at the back, while Konno intercepted the ball high up the pitch and joined the attack with momentum. In the 67th minute, Konno broke through two defenders on the left side and was brought down by a tackle from the third, but quickly got back up and charged forward again. He was brought down once more and earned a free kick, but Konno's spirited play inspired the team.

　The back-and-forth battle intensified. In the 68th minute, Suzuki was brought on to replace Toda. In the 69th minute, Kelly stole the ball on the left side, dribbled, and passed to Baba up front to receive a return pass, but Baba's run behind the defense was unfortunately offside. In the following 71st minute, a pass from Ishikawa on the right found Kelly in the center, and then a pass was made to Konno, who had moved up on the left side. Konno took a powerful shot with his left foot, but it narrowly missed to the left of the goal. In the 72nd minute, Kubo was brought on to replace Baba. Suzuki was placed as a lone striker, and Kubo moved into the left midfield position. In the 75th minute, Kelly brought the ball from the left side into the center, evading two Kashima defenders, but his shot went well over the bar. In the following 76th minute, Kelly dribbled forward and passed to Ishikawa, who entered the open space in the center from the right side, and while competing with a Kashima defender, he took a shot with his left foot. Conversely, in the 78th minute, Fabio JUNIOR kept the ball on the right side of the penalty area, turned, and delivered a low cross in front of the goal, but FERNANDEZ just missed it. In the 79th minute, Konno intercepted a pass in midfield and advanced with the ball to Suzuki on the left side. Suzuki took a bold shot from mid-range, but the ball went wide of the target. It was a disappointing scene as the attack from the counter left Ishikawa and Kelly free on the right side.

　Kashima brought in forward Dai HIRASE as their last card in place of Motoyama in the 80th minute. In the 83rd minute, HIRASE passed the ball to Fabio JUNIOR inside the penalty area from the right side, creating space before dropping it to Nagahashi, who surged forward for a shot. The ball went well over the bar, but it was a dangerous moment as it was a familiar setup for Kashima. Just before the end of the match, once again, Fabio JUNIOR kept the ball inside the penalty area and dropped it, allowing Ogawa to unleash a powerful shot from straight on, but Kanazawa dove in with his body to block it. In the end, although Tokyo had the advantage in shots with a count of 13 to 9, they suffered from the same lack of finishing power as in the previous match, ending with a scoreless draw and only gaining one point.

【Player Comments】《Yuta BABA》"It was a long time since I stood on the pitch for an extended period, and I felt good playing. However, when I was isolated as a lone striker, I held onto the ball too much and lost it, which is a challenge. The combination with Kelly was easy to work with. It was a match we could have won, so it's disappointing that we couldn't finish it off at the end." 《Jo KANAZAWA》"(Today was my 100th match) but for me, it was just another regular match as always. It wasn't because it was my 100th match, but if we won, we could have gone above Kashima, so I really wanted to win. It was a match after a long time, but I didn't feel out of touch and was able to enter the game without any discomfort."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "We made some changes to the lineup from the last match, but Lucas and Kajiyama were not fully fit due to injuries, so we decided to boldly use Baba as a lone striker and included Toda, who rested last week on the left. Both did well. Before the match, we discussed that the Antlers would come at us aggressively from the start, so we should play simply and, once we regained possession, attack from the sides using Ishikawa on the right and Toda on the left. We created good opportunities, but not being able to score is currently our issue. In the first half, Baba's cutback and Kelly's miss were crucial moments that we needed to convert. Our defense has improved and we worked hard. In the second half, the Antlers made substitutions and attacked, but we held up well. Konno and Asari's dedicated defending was effective, and Kanazawa's return brought stability. Right now, Konno winning the ball and pushing forward is creating the most chances. Even when matched up against players like Ogasawara and Nakata, Konno outperformed them in terms of work rate and involvement in chances. There may be times when players from the Olympic team and the Japan national team are unavailable, but we want to utilize energetic players to maintain our team strength."

【Summary of the press conference by Kashima's Toninho CEREZO】 "First of all, in the first 10 minutes, there was a difference in momentum and enthusiasm for the match from FC Tokyo. We had too many simple plays and lacked organized play. Considering the skills and quality of our four midfielders, 25 misplaced passes in the first half are unacceptable. Some players performed poorly in the second half as well. I didn't count the misplaced passes... There has been a trend in recent years where the performance just before the match right after the national team announcement has been poor. Today was no exception. However, Tokyo's defense was good today. They only allowed our center-backs to have the ball. From the first half, the opponent was more motivated, and we were always on the back foot. We were already losing from the start. We tried to improve during halftime, but the opponent was still better in the second half. Today turned out to be a regrettable match."