Challenging the strong Kashiwa with a challenger spirit

　In Sec. 4 of the league, we will challenge Kashiwa Reysol away. Currently, the league record is 1 win and 2 losses. We have not achieved victory in the Nabisco Cup either, and this is a match where we must produce results at all costs. However, in the first half of this week, Wanchope missed practice due to a cold. Evaldo temporarily left due to family circumstances. Additionally, Hirayama, Inoha, and Kajiyama joined the team after competing in the Olympic qualifying match on the 28th (Wednesday).

　The period during which the players practiced together was short, but Coach Hara commented on the three Olympic representatives, saying, "The time away from the team was shorter than before. There were domestic matches, and above all, they won three times in the second qualifying round, which must have given them confidence. You can feel their enthusiasm of 'Next is with the team!'" Hirayama himself maintained good form by scoring in three consecutive Olympic representative matches. He started alongside Inoha. Kajiyama started on the bench. Additionally, Doi returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Sec. 3, and Kurizawa returned to the starting lineup after two matches. The team lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Hirayama and Lucas as the two forwards, Ishikawa on the right midfield, and Kurizawa on the left.

　Kashiwa is currently in 4th place with 2 wins and 1 draw, performing well. They apply pressure from the front line, and when the top FW Franca receives the ball, the surrounding players burst forward. At the same time, the back line is resilient, having conceded only 1 goal in the league matches. In the Nabisco Cup, they have been trying various things by changing the lineup, but the team has established a 'shape', and that momentum is something to be wary of. Particularly, containing FW Franca will be the most important point.

　Coach Hara stated, "We are challengers. As our foundation, we will focus on good defense, maintaining compactness and applying pressure, to see who can run more and recover the ball." Without being overwhelmed by Kashiwa's momentum, we will quickly transition between offense and defense, take the initiative, and aim for victory. The match started at 19:04 with a kickoff in Tokyo at Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium, the first league match there since 2003.

We fought against Kashiwa's momentum, but we conceded the opening goal...

　The rain started pouring down suddenly before the match, making the pitch slippery and leading to a fast-paced development from the beginning. Shortly after the start, the ball was taken in midfield, and Kashiwa FW França spread it to the right. MF Tatsuya SUZUKI connected the play, and right back Kurakawa advanced to take a shot. In the 5th minute, Konno passed to Ishikawa, who sprinted into space for a cross. Hirayama was in the center, and Kurizawa jumped in at the far post, but they just missed connecting. In the 12th minute, Lucas's long-range shot hit an opponent's defender, leading to a counterattack. Left MF Suganuma from Kashiwa delivered a through pass, and MF Tatsuya SUZUKI, who had circled in from the right into the area, took a shot, but Doih was brave in coming out to make the save! Both teams displayed an attacking posture, and the back-and-forth battle continued.

　However, gradually Kashiwa took the lead with their strength in duels and quick starts, and Tokyo struggled against attacks initiated by FW Franca. In the 17th minute, Kashiwa's quick passing led them to threaten the goal, with FW Franca getting into shooting position. After a loose ball was picked up, FW Franca attempted a header shot again. In the 25th minute, Tokyo's Hirayama was fouled just outside the area on the left, earning a free kick. Lucas aimed directly at the goal. In the 29th minute, after a setup from Inoha to Hirayama, Lucas took a shot, but both attempts missed the target. In the 30th minute, losing a duel in midfield, Kashiwa's FW Franca spread the play into space. MF Suganuma's quick cross was saved by Doi with one hand. Up to this point, although Kashiwa had the initiative, Tokyo defended tenaciously and launched counterattacks.

　However, in the 34th minute, they were caught off guard, allowing Kashiwa MF Tatsuya SUZUKI to take the ball and attack freely. This drew the Tokyo DF out, leading to a long cross to the far side. MF Suganuma, who ran in, was not caught up by Ishikawa, who dashed back. The cross was perfectly met, and a goal was conceded. In the 36th minute, Hirayama passed to the advancing Konno, who took a sharp shot, but the opposing GK caught it. The attack ended up being a single attempt, failing to create any real chances. They went into the second half trailing by one goal.

Unable to mount a counterattack in a total war, losing without scoring

　The rain has completely stopped, but a strong wind blows in the second half. Tokyo, wanting to change the flow, substituted Kajiwara for Ishikawa in the defensive midfield. They moved Fukunishi up to the attacking midfield to aim for the equalizer. However, in the 48th minute, a direct connection in front of the goal led to a shot from Kashiwa's midfielder Suganuma, resulting in a left corner kick. From the scramble for this corner kick, the ball was kicked in by defender Koga, resulting in the loss of the second goal.

　Still trying to score a goal, in the 52nd minute, Kajiyama evaded Fukunishi with a one-two and entered the area, but was blocked by the Kashiwa defender. In the 53rd minute, a pass from Noriyuki Suzuki reached Fukunishi, who broke into the area, but his shot went over the bar. After missing this chance, they often lost the ball to the fast-paced Kashiwa and could not create opportunities. In the 66th minute, Wanchope and Kawaguchi were brought in to replace Hirayama and Kurizawa. They launched a full-scale counterattack. Immediately after, in the 67th minute, a ball spilled from Wanchope in the area, but Norio Suzuki on the left side of the area could not shoot and passed to the center. From there, Kajiyama rushed in again for the spilled ball, but he was out of sync and could not shoot.

　In the 75th minute, Suzuki Noriyuki caught up with Fujiyama's pass to the left front line and delivered a fast cross. The ball spilled from the DF and rolled in front of Wanchope, but he couldn't take a shot. Still, after some persistence, Fukunishi ran in and took a shot, but it went over the bar. In the final stages, Tokunaga and Inoha switched positions, with Tokunaga attacking from the right. In the 89th minute, they connected from a left throw-in, and Tokunaga's shot earned a right corner kick. However, Kajiyama's right corner was cleared by the DF. They attempted to counterattack, but the goal was far away. In the end, they were dominated by Kashiwa, who maintained a fast pace throughout the match, and lost without conceding a goal.

　【Player Comments】《Kurizawa》"We conceded a goal in the worst possible way. This led to anxiety, resulting in more floating passes and often giving the ball away to the opponent due to mistakes. The pitch was slippery, so if we had connected more on the ground, we could have found our rhythm. However, even when we regained possession, there was little movement from those around us. Our work rate was insufficient, and we lacked the composure to connect our plays. We practice this, and it's not that we can't run. Everyone needs to think about the next actions they should take, whether to support or make runs behind the defense. We can't continue like this for the sake of the fans who supported us desperately in the rain." 《Tokunaga》"I don't feel like we were completely broken down, but we keep conceding from set pieces. We made many mistakes, and there were few shots in attack. We weren't able to create good opportunities. If the game continues in this negative flow, the opponent gains momentum. We can only practice to show our style. For that, we need better communication. We understand what we want to do as a team, but we aren't showcasing our individual strengths. We need to think as a team about how to bring that out."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "Kashiwa has been in good form since the opening and is a team with momentum. I expected them to defend compactly and come forward with speed. We had a stretched game against Oita in the Nabisco Cup, so today we approached the match with the intention of taking the initiative and not losing momentum to Kashiwa. However, we often lost battles for the ball and were dispossessed. In the first half, while the ball was settled at Hirayama's feet, the movement afterward was not sharp. We managed to circulate the ball somewhat, but we couldn't exploit the opponent's weak points. When we tried to move forward, we were dispossessed and faced counterattacks. In the second half, Ishikawa was substituted due to a back injury. We brought in Kajiyama to move the ball simply, but we quickly conceded a goal from a corner kick, which shook our confidence. At that point, we brought in Kawaguchi to exploit space and hoped for Wanchope to contribute in front of the goal. In the end, even though we were in a losing situation, we started to move the ball forward, but we missed opportunities to shoot in finishing situations, so we couldn't score. Despite having so many supporters cheering for us, the team feels like it is not fitting together well during matches. We need to regroup properly. It's not that Hirayama is playing poorly, but things are not clicking. We need to think about how to utilize him better."

　[Summary of Coach Ishizaki's Press Conference] "Today marks the change of President Onodera and the public relations officer, so it was an important match to send them off. Winning 2-0, I am glad we were able to send them off in a good way. In the first half, we moved the ball simply, and the switches in the midfield worked well. However, there are still many easy mistakes and we are unable to break through decisively. In the second half, Tokyo changed their members and system, and there were moments when we were pushed back, but the defense line and the defensive midfielders did well. We were able to win the ball in a good way, but when we went on the attack, if we could have transitioned more smoothly from forwards Franca and Sugano, and Tatsuya SUZUKI, we could have had more chances to finish. If we improve that, I believe we could play a more interesting football with more shots. Given the content of today's match, we should have had around 20 shots. The balance of defense was not broken, but in the second half, the defense line dropped back, and the position to win the ball became lower. If that's the case, even if we win the ball, we can't go on the attack. I want to improve these aspects and prepare for the next match."