Win even away! ~14th Tama River Clasico held

　In the 25th round of the league, Kawasaki Frontale will face off against each other, and the 14th Tama River Clasico will be held. In the previous round against Omiya, they achieved a victory at home and continued their winning streak. In this round, even though they are playing away, coach Kashiwa has declared that they will "focus on winning". Riding on their momentum, they aim for their second consecutive three-game winning streak of the season. At the same time, this will be a crucial match as it will determine the outcome of the Clasico, which has been evenly matched so far (4 wins, 5 draws, 4 losses). In this round, Sasaki will return from his suspension, but Hayashi will be absent due to accumulated yellow cards. As a result, Inano, who played as a center back in the previous round, will return to the midfield for this match.

　Kawasaki, on the other hand, is currently in 5th place. They are 5 points behind Tokyo, but they boast the second highest total score of 42 in the league. This round, the main focus will be on how to contain their 3 top players, including FW Renatinho who joined midway through the season, and neutralize Kawasaki's strengths. As coach Jofuku analyzes, FW Juninho and MF Vitor Junior possess technique and speed, while FW Zheng and FW Kurotsu have both strength and speed. How to handle each of them will be crucial. In addition, it will be important to prevent MF Nakamura, who is the source of Kawasaki's passes, and MF Taniguchi, who creates scoring opportunities with sharp runs, from playing freely in order to secure a victory.

　Kawasaki's defense has been using a 4-back formation lately, so it may not be easy to get space on the sides. Therefore, the key will be how well they can take advantage of any openings and launch quick attacks. They will want to create chances with fast passing like they showed in the first half of their home game. However, Kawasaki is currently in great form with 5 wins and 3 draws since Sec. 17. Additionally, Tokyo has yet to win at the Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, so the numbers are not in their favor. It will be a tough battle, but the "Clasico" cannot be measured by data alone. Let's come together and chip away at Kawasaki's momentum for a victory!

　Todoroki, which has cleared up after a typhoon approached the Kanto region, still has some lingering humidity. The Tokyo kickoff started at 7:03 PM.

Red Mine takes the lead with 3 consecutive goals! However, there were multiple accidents afterwards...

　Kawasaki's fast-paced attack pushed Tokyo back in the beginning. In the 3rd minute, Kawasaki MF Nakamura's cross was chest-trapped by FW Juninho in the area, setting up for a shot. Tokyo DF blocked it and escaped with a corner kick. From this left corner kick by Kawasaki, FW Juninho headed the ball but it went wide. However, in the 5th minute, Tokyo won a left corner kick from the opponent's clearance after a throw-in. From this corner kick, Tokunaga's ball went through the center and fell to Akamine, who was waiting and kicked it into the goal with his left foot! Taking advantage of an early set piece opportunity, Akamine scored his third consecutive goal to take the lead.

　Despite this, Kawasaki continued to attack without feeling down, and in the 9th minute, FW Zheng's sharp shot grazed the bar. In a classic match, amidst intense fighting spirit, an accident occurred in the 15th minute when Akamine collided with an opponent and injured his right arm, resulting in him being substituted by Hirayama in the 16th minute. As the game passed the 20-minute mark, Kawasaki's momentum also decreased slightly, resulting in a back-and-forth battle.

　29 minutes, Kawasaki FW Zheng dribbles in from the left side, but Tokyo DF blocks. The ball that spilled to the right side is picked up and MF Vitor Junior heads it from MF Nakamura's cross. In the 34th minute, Kajiyama intercepts and sends a through pass to Emerson on the right area, but the opponent DF escapes with a throw-in one step ahead. In the 35th minute, Nakamura heads a free kick from the right side, but the GK catches it. In the 37th minute, Nagatomo → Hirayama on the right sends it directly to the center, and Nakamura shoots, but it narrowly misses the frame. In the 39th minute, Kawasaki FW Kurotsu sprints in from the right side with a dribble. He gets past Tokunaga and brings it into the area, and passes it to FW Zheng in the center. He avoids the Tokyo DF's approach and passes it to the left FW Juninho, but the Tokyo DF cuts it off.

　However, Tokyo also created chances and tried to get into rhythm, but in the 41st minute, Imakano received a red card for elbowing Kawasaki MF Nakamura in the opponent's territory. Tokyo was forced to play with 10 men for the remaining time.

Everyone focuses, withstands with desperate defense, and wins the intense battle!

　After maintaining a one-point lead in the second half, Kawasaki, who had been attacking with numbers from the beginning, created chances. However, everyone remained focused and stopped Kawasaki's attacks with quick closing down and strong defense. In the 48th minute, Kawasaki's DF Igawa also joined the attack, but they were able to escape with a corner kick. From this corner kick, Kawasaki's MF Taniguchi sent a minus pass to the front of the goal from the left area. The ball was cleared again and picked up by DF Yamagishi outside the area, who took a shot, but it was blocked with a strong defense. In the 57th minute, Kawasaki's FW Juninho entered the left area and MF Nakamura jumped in front of the goal to create a decisive opportunity, but Shioda made a diving save!

　59 minutes, Kawasaki MF Vitor Junior's right early cross was cleared by Sasaki, Kajiyama → Hirayama launched a counterattack, Nagatomo sprinted down the right side. The cross to Cabore, who had moved up the center, was just a step away from connecting for an additional goal. In the 60th minute, Kawasaki MF Nakamura passed behind Tokyo DF. FW Juninho broke through and tried to loop over Shioda, who had come out, but the shot just missed to the left... In the 61st minute, Suzuki Tatsu was substituted for Cabore, and they focused on defending from the front line to counter Kawasaki's attack. In the 62nd minute, Kawasaki also substituted FW Kurotsu for FW Renatinho.

　Still, Tokyo maintains its balance and looks for a chance to score an additional goal from a tough defense. In the 66th minute, Hirayama takes a powerful middle shot from the left side, and although the opponent's GK spills it once, no one is there to follow up. In the 67th minute, Kajiyama receives a foul and is taken down near the opponent's goal line on the right side, earning a free kick. Kajiyama himself takes the kick, and Hirayama jumps in with a header, but the timing is a bit off and he can't finish it.

　In the 76th minute, Futoyama was substituted for Emerson and entered the right side. In the midst of a development that never let up, in the 80th minute, Asari → Futoyama went up the center and passed to Hirayama in the front line. Hirayama boldly aimed for the goal from the right side of the area, but it went to the left. Kawasaki continued to launch fierce attacks, and in the 84th minute, FW Juninho broke through from their own half and developed greatly from the center → left. In the end, a cross was sent in from the left. In the 86th minute, FW Zheng headed from a right cross, but Shioda made a save. In the 87th minute, Kawasaki's left side MF Tasaka went around from the outside to the inside and sent a shot-like cross from near the left corner of the area. FW Juninho jumped in at the far post, but Tokyo showed their fighting spirit and desperately bounced back, fighting to the end, and the time was up!

　With the final whistle, Tokyo players collapsed on the pitch, running and fighting with all their might, and persevered to victory against Kawasaki. They achieved their second consecutive win this season and also secured 3 points for the first time in J-League history at the formidable Todoroki Stadium.

　【Player Comments】《Sahara》"We fought together without losing focus, and as a result, we were able to win. I think both myself and the team ran until the end. When we were down to 10 players, we were mentally prepared to accept an equalizer. However, everyone, including the players on the front line, fought with a high defensive awareness. Keeping a clean sheet with 10 players gives us a lot of confidence and I think it will be useful in future matches. There were special feelings playing against Kawasaki, but I tried not to focus on that too much. However, I understand their individual abilities and playing style. We were dominated, but I believed that if we could hold the center, we wouldn't be easily beaten."《Shioda》"We were under pressure in the beginning, but then Kawasaki's chasing weakened a bit and we were able to move forward. However, we became more focused on defending when we were down to 10 players. We had a shared understanding that even if we only scored one goal, it would be enough, and if we could score a second goal on the counter, it would be even better. Even when we were pushed back, everyone kept running until the end, closing off the spaces and not allowing the opponent to be free. Thanks to that, even when they took shots, they gradually missed the target. I am grateful to everyone. We wanted to win with beautiful soccer, but even with the accident, we were able to win with a strong performance according to our plan. We learned that we can grit our teeth and hold our ground against the opponent, and that gives us confidence. We had a bitter feeling at Todoroki, so I'm glad we were able to get a result today. However, if we lose the next game, this victory will lose its meaning. We will continue to work hard to keep winning."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "We are preparing for the game, anticipating various accidents, but soccer is a sport where unexpected things happen. Today, unexpected things happened, but the players continued to do what they needed to do until the end, whether it was for themselves or for the team. I think that's what led to the 3 points. We were down to 10 men, but at halftime, instead of just kicking and resting, we confirmed that we would take our time and rest while creating our own time. We were able to do some things, but we couldn't withstand Kawasaki's pressure with their dribbling, passing, and shooting, and there were times when we just kicked the ball. There were some mistakes in the midfield from the start, and there were times when we couldn't receive the ball because we were afraid. Ideally, we wanted to keep moving 2-3 meters and keep passing the ball, and that movement is the key to us moving the ball, but we couldn't do that. When it became our ball, we were a little out of breath, wondering whether to kick or receive, and where the space and time were to pass the ball. We were thinking about making adjustments at halftime, but then the accident of Nakanos' red card happened. After we were down to 10 men, we tried to create a solid block with a 4-4-1 formation. Originally, we were chasing with two players up front, so it wasn't a big change when one of them became one. Defensively, we were very focused until the end. We let Kawasaki play outside of our block, and although they were able to cut in from there, I don't think they were able to get into the most dangerous areas between our two central midfielders and two center backs. Of course, there were times when the opponent's crosses were pinpoint accurate, or when the four midfielders and four defenders were too far apart, and they were able to shoot from the outside, but considering that we were down to 10 men against Kawasaki, I think the players defended very well. It wasn't just the defenders, but everyone was focused. When the final whistle blew and the players collapsed on the field, it was proof that they had given it their all, and I want them to continue playing with this kind of mentality in future games."

　[Kawasaki-Takahata coach's press conference summary] "I was disappointed in the last Tama River Classic. Today, we wanted to give our supporters 3 points no matter what because we were playing at home. We conceded a goal from our own mistake at the beginning and it was a tough situation to chase after one point. However, I think we were able to show our attacking power and create a flavorful attack. In the first half, we were able to create good opportunities but we couldn't score and we started to get impatient. We were trying to challenge, but there were some scenes where we invited danger from our own mistakes, so we talked about avoiding that and continuing to break through until the end without getting impatient at halftime. Tokyo created a block with one less player, so we tried to break through from the sides without getting impatient. We wanted to effectively change sides and attack from the opposite side. Even if they created a block, we had the ideal of digging up the space next to the penalty area with one-two passes or the movement of the third player and taking it to the finish. However, the opponent was also desperate and we wanted to break through more. The result ended up like this, but I am truly grateful to the players who tried to win until the end and the supporters who supported us. We are now a little behind the top, but there is still a possibility in the remaining 9 games. We want to continue to fight in the upcoming consecutive games while looking forward."