GAME RESULTGame Result

Sec. 24 2006/9/24 (Sun)
Audience 17,398 people 
Weather: Sunny, Temperature: 23.0°C, Humidity: 52% 
Referee: Kazuhisa OSADA Assistant Referees: Keiji KAMIARA / Kimihiko DAKIYAMA Fourth Official: Takahiro OKANO

J1 Sec. 24

Kashima

HOME

Kashima Antlers

3-2

Match Finished

First half1-0

Second Half2-2

AWAY

FC Tokyo

Kashima Antlers FC Tokyo
28' FERNANDO
47' FERNANDO
67' FERNANDO
Scorer 83' Yohei KAJIYAMA
89' Yasuyuki KONNO
62' Fabio Santos → Masaki NAKAGO
88' DASILVA → Shinzo KOROKI
88' Atsushi YANAGISAWA → Kohei TANAKA
Player Substitution 45' Nobuo KAWAGUCHI → Lucas
68' Satoru ASARI → Masashi MIYAZAWA
68' Shingo AKAMINE → Yuta BABA
15 Shoot 16
11 CK 7
20 FK 18
22' Atsuto Uchida
Warning
Exit
Kashima Antlers Starting Lineup
GK 21 Sogahata Jun
DF 20 Atsuto Uchida
DF 4 Go OIWA
DF 24 Aoki Takeshi
DF 7 Arai Tetsu
MF 26 Mashida Seishi
MF 16 Fernando
MF 25 Takuya Nozawa
MF 18 Fabio Santos
FW 13 Atsushi Yanagisawa
FW 17 SILVA
Kashima Antlers Substitute
GK 1 Hidemi Ozawa
DF 2 Narahashi Akira
DF 31 Keita Goto
MF 22 Masaki Nakago
MF 23 Shinzo KOROKI
FW 11 Masaki Fukai
FW 27 Tanaka Kohei
FC Tokyo Starting Lineup
GK 1 Yoichi Doi
DF 25 Yusuke Tokunaga
DF 3 Jean
DF 8 Ryuji Fujiyama
DF 19 Masahiko Inoue
MF 7 Asari Satoru
MF 6 Yasuyuki Konno
MF 18 Naohiro Ishikawa
MF 20 Nobuo Kawaguchi
MF 23 Yosuke Kajiyama
FW 24 Shingo Akamine
FC TokyoSubstitute
GK 22 Hitoshi Shiota
DF 38 Sota NAKAZAWA
MF 16 Miyazawa Masashi
MF 14 Yuta Baba
MF 27 Ryoichi Kurisawa
FW 11 Yoshiro Abe
FW 9 Lucas

[Player/Coach Comments]

Prevent consecutive losses with a calm game plan!


 J1 League Sec. 24 will be an away game against Kashima Antlers. Tokyo, who has suffered 4 consecutive losses and is not in the best condition, has been preparing for the game by participating in practice matches and red and white scrimmages, which are close to actual games. They have tried various tactics such as a 3-5-2 formation against Kashima, placing Kajiyama as an attacking midfielder, and putting Baba as a forward, but what is important is for the team to come together as one and play with passion, rather than focusing on the system or who will be playing.

Kashima, who is currently in 5th place, will face off against Shimizu, who they defeated in the previous league match. On the 20th (Wednesday), they will face Yokohama FM in the Nabisco Cup, and although they were defeated, they have secured a spot in the final round. Fatigue may be a concern, but their motivation should be high. FW Alex Mineiro was absent, but FW Yanagisawa and Fukai, whoever comes out, "have skill and speed. We need to be careful of their movements without the ball," said manager Kuramata, paying attention to Kashima's FWs. He also warned, "They will aggressively attack from the sides, with MF Fernando providing passes as the starting point."

 Tokyo will deploy Akamine, who has been in good form this week, as the top striker, with Kajiyama playing as the attacking midfielder. Lucas, who was doubtful due to a knee injury, will be on the bench. In addition, Asari will be in the defensive midfield, forming a partnership with Imakawa. It will be crucial for Tokyo to contain Kashima's midfielders Fernando and Nozawa, who are skilled in the game. As Kashima is known for their ability to score first, Tokyo will need to play a composed game and fight tenaciously, making sure to convert their chances into goals.

 In the first half of the league, the home game (Matsumoto) was a match where we were able to surpass the momentum, but we were defeated by Kashima's decisiveness. Also, in this away game at Kashima Soccer Stadium, we have only won once in the cup matches so far, and in terms of past records, it can be said that the odds are against us. However, in order to take revenge, we want to create chances from quick attacks that are typical of Tokyo, and take home points. The match started at 3:04pm with Kashima's kickoff in the slightly chilly wind.

Allowing the opponent to take advantage of a momentary gap and score first.


 Tokyo aggressively goes forward to take the ball and seize opportunities. In the 3rd minute, Akamine passes to Ishikawa in the middle, but the GK catches the middle shot. In the 8th minute, Imakawa attacks the left side and takes a CK. The left CK by Ishikawa is directly caught by the GK. In the 12th minute, Imakawa takes the ball in the midfield and passes it to Ishikawa. He dribbles through the right side and takes a right CK. Jean heads it, but misses the target. Kashima also attacks from the space where FW Yanagisawa moves. In the 15th minute, MF Masuda receives a pass on the right side and crosses it early. FW Yanagisawa heads it, but it doesn't go towards the goal. In the 16th minute, FW Yanagisawa breaks through and takes a daring shot from the middle range. It is saved by Tsuchi and goes out for a CK.

 18 minutes, a through pass from Inakano on the right front line, dribbling and cutting inside for a shot, but it goes over the bar. In the 19th minute, a big side change from Akamine to Ishikawa on the right. A daring middle shot from the dribble, but it goes outside the frame. In the 24th minute, Inakano breaks through on Jean's long pass and heads it in from the right side of the area, but it doesn't hit. The game was starting to tilt in our favor, but we were caught off guard and conceded the first goal. In the 28th minute, a direct pass connects on the left side and MF Fernandez receives the ball in the center, free to take a middle shot. The wind carries it into the bottom left corner of the goal.

 Tokyo wanted to counterattack, but Kashima did not force an attack and instead passed the ball between their defenders and midfielders. Tokyo could not find their rhythm as Kashima took advantage of their opportunities and took shots. In the 39th minute, Akamine kept the ball on the right side and passed a high ball to Kawaguchi who was making a run on the opposite side, but the cross was unsuccessful. In the 43rd minute, Jean headed a corner kick from Ishikawa, but it went over. The first half ended without any clear chances. Tokyo will start the second half one goal behind.

Kajiyama and Konno's goals sparked a comeback, but fell just short.


 Tokyo substituted Lucas for Kawaguchi and formed a 2-top with Akamine. They wanted to make a comeback with momentum from the start of the second half, but in the 47th minute, MF Nozawa scored a header from MF Fernando's left CK, allowing an additional point and ruining their plans. It became a difficult situation with a score of 0-2, but they continued to attack without giving up. In the 53rd minute, Imakawa picked up the ball in the midfield and passed it to Akamine on the right side. Ishikawa, who had run up from behind, received the ball and entered the area. He took a shot, but it was blocked by a defender and resulted in a right CK. In the second CK, Kajiyama perfectly headed Ishikawa's kick, but it narrowly missed the top of the bar.

 At 55 minutes, Kashima's CK ball was caught by Doi. He started a counterattack, but Lucas missed a middle shot by a large margin. Even if they managed to take the ball from a less active Kashima, their disjointed attacks often resulted in losing the ball and being countered, making it difficult to attack as they wanted. And at 67 minutes, from Kashima's left CK, DF Aoki was evened by Nia, and MF Fernando jumped in with his head to score the third goal.

 Tokyo, who wants to counterattack, made substitutions in the 68th minute, with Asari and Akamine being replaced by Miyazawa and Baba. Then in the 72nd minute, a FK from just outside the left area. Miyazawa took a direct shot but the GK caught it. In the 75th minute, Miyazawa quickly restarted and switched sides to Ishikawa. He then sent a long pass into the middle, where Miyazawa received it again. He took a middle shot, but the ball went straight to the opposing GK. As the pressure from Kashima's midfield gradually decreased, they were able to create good opportunities by quickly getting the ball into the side.

 83 minutes, from Inonami's throw-in, Miyazawa → Kajiyama. He brings it into the middle and takes a daring shot from outside the box, deflecting off the opponent's GK's hand and into the goal. Regaining their momentum completely, in the 89th minute, a cross comes in from the left side from Inonami, Miyazawa keeps it and drops it to Imakawa who has come up, and he takes a direct shot. This also deflects off the opponent's GK's hand but goes into the goal. Finally, the gap is reduced to one point. In stoppage time, Ishikawa puts in a well-timed cross and Lucas jumps in, but is unable to connect. In the end, the game ends like this. Despite trying to make a comeback without giving up towards the end, they ultimately suffer a defeat.

 【Player Comments】《Imano》"It's just frustrating. We scored too late. If we had connected as a team and attacked, we could have scored earlier. Our aim wasn't clear. For example, if the defensive midfielder had moved to the side, the front line could have moved and picked up the second ball... We've been conceding a lot of goals from set pieces lately, so we were careful, but it was painful to give up the second and third goals from a corner kick. In the first half, we were focused on not letting Kashima score. We conceded the first goal and our plan fell apart. In the second half, we were able to keep possession, but even when we passed the ball around in the defensive line, the opponent wasn't afraid. We need to play in a way that makes them uncomfortable. The goal was set up by Miya-san. I thought about passing it inside, but there wasn't enough time, so I decided to shoot. It wasn't a powerful shot, but it deflected off the opponent and went in. I realized that something can happen if I take a shot. We've lost five games in a row and it's mentally tough. We're trying to play with our hearts, but there's still some anxiety. But I believe we have the ability to turn this situation around and compete for the championship. I see this as a challenge that we need to overcome."《Miyazawa》"(The pass to Kajiyama) There was no one in the middle, and Yohei was free, so I thought he could do something if I passed it to him while facing forward. (The pass to Imano) I felt like I could take the shot myself, but there was a defender nearby and it looked like it would hit him, so I passed it. Personally, I think it was good that I was able to enter the box. I haven't been able to make those kinds of plays before, but today, with Kon-chan behind me, I wanted to keep pushing forward. I tried to chase after the ball. I only played for about 10 minutes, but I want to keep practicing and preparing to start in the future."

 [Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "It was a 2-3 game, but we conceded 2 goals from set pieces today as well. In the first half, we were conscious of not leaving Kashima's MF Fernando free, but unfortunately Ishikawa was too focused on marking left back Arai and left MF Fernando free. We had instructed to watch out for MF Fernando's long shots, but it was unclear who was supposed to mark him and we ended up conceding a goal in the first half. After we won the ball, we wanted to attack more from the sides, but we couldn't quite do it. In the second half, we started attacking from the sides, but we conceded 2 goals from set pieces. We managed to score 2 goals towards the end, but that was as far as we could go."

 [Kashima - Paulo AUTUORI press conference summary] "MF FERNANDO recovered from injury and gradually got used to it through consecutive games, resulting in 3 goals. Today, Fernando may have stood out, but I didn't say anything special to him and didn't give him any specific role. What I emphasized today was to show the spirit of "For the team" and the game was a manifestation of that. It was a tough game physically and mentally, with only 3 days between the Nabisco Cup and the game, but it was good to be able to play such a game. We were able to recover well in a tough situation and play the aggressive soccer that we are aiming for from the start. Another thing I can say is that the conditioning is excellent and the physical strengthening is also progressing, which is a testament to that. One negative aspect, which can be said for Japanese soccer as a whole, is that we couldn't connect the ball well even though we were leading by 3 points and we conceded a goal at the end, which is something we need to fix. Finally, I usually refrain from making personal comments, but DF Aoki has been very good in the last few games. I want to show respect for his understanding of tactics and his execution. I would also like to thank not only the players, but also the supporters who always support us. Also, I want to congratulate MF FERNANDO. It's rare for a player in the back of the midfield to score 3 goals."