Fearlessly challenge last season's champion, Kashima!

　In the 5th round of the league, we will face Kashima Antlers at home. In the previous round against Iwata, we defended Red Mine's valuable goal and took 3 points away. This season, we have not had a single goalless game, and every time we have kept the opponent's score at 0, we have won. In this round as well, we will endure Kashima's attacks and focus on how much we can create our own chances and score. It is a highly anticipated match for a home victory.

　This week, Shigetani will play as center back, with Konno and Hayashi forming a double pivot in midfield. Akamine will lead the attack, with Kajiyama playing as attacking midfielder and Cabore and Ishikawa on the wings. The team will face the match with a slightly different lineup and system from the previous week. Coach Jofuku said, "This will be a test to see if our style of play can lead us to become league champions. It's not just about winning or losing, but also about showing our determination for this season on the pitch."

　Kashima, on the other hand, is currently in second place with 3 wins and 1 loss. On the 7th (Tue), they had a great victory against Singapore Armed Forces FC in the ACL away game. They will face this game with only 4 days of rest, but they also have new players like FW Osako and DF Pak Chu-ho. The team has a deep roster and in the last 2 games, they have shown their strength by scoring winning goals in the final minutes. Not only the starting players, but also the substitutes have the power, so it will be a tough battle until the end. However, in last season's match at Ajinomoto Stadium in October, they fought evenly and achieved a dramatic victory. The current point difference is only 3 points, so if they win today, they will be tied. They will aim for victory by showing their individual strengths without hesitation.

　Under clear skies and a climate reminiscent of early summer, the match kicked off at 1:04 PM with Kashima's kickoff.

Despite conceding 2 goals, Akamine scored 2 consecutive goals from the side to make a comeback.

　Cabore steals the left CK from Nagatomo's attack just after the start. However, this CK is cleared and Kashima receives a counterattack. MF Aoki → FW Marquinhos on the left side brings it inside and takes a middle shot. The shot grazes the Tokyo DF and changes course, going into the upper left corner of the goal. Unlucky and overlapping, they conceded the first goal in just 1 minute. However, they did not let it get them down and continued to create opportunities on the sides, led by Ishikawa, and launched a counterattack.

　11 minutes into the game, Erik's shot from the middle grazed the GK's hand and hit the right post... The rebound was picked up by Ishikawa, but quickly cleared by the Kashima DF and resulted in a right corner kick. Following that, Inamoto headed Ishikawa's corner, but it lacked power and was caught by the GK. However, in the 15th minute, Kashima's left SB Pak Chu-ho intercepted Tokyo's clearance and launched a quick counter attack, passing to FW Osako in the left area. Although marked by Hayashi, he skillfully turned and evaded Saito's tackle, and scored a near shot, resulting in the second goal...

　Kashima, who took the lead by 2 points, calmly defended and then Tokyo took control of the ball. They frequently attacked from the sides, and in the 25th minute, Ishikawa broke through the area after receiving a long pass from Hayashi and won a left corner kick. Ishikawa's corner kick was initially cleared, but they persisted and connected in the midst of a scramble, and Sato attempted a shot but it didn't hit. In the 34th minute, Kajiyama's powerful attack created a chance for Akamine and a one-two, but the two collided just outside the area. They were slightly out of sync.

　Although they were able to grasp the rhythm, they couldn't finish it off. However, in the 40th minute, Ishikawa's initiative led to a throw-in. Here, Haneda received a throw from Tokunaga and advanced deep into the area. He sent a cross to the center, and Akamine jumped in perfectly with a powerful header! With Akamine's second consecutive goal, they closed the gap to one point. In the end, they frequently threatened Kashima's goal from set pieces, but were unable to equalize. They entered the second half with hopes of a comeback.

Grabbing the rhythm, they attacked the Kashima goal, but...

　Tokyo took control of the pace in the second half as well. Shortly after the start of the second half, Kajiyama took a strong shot from just outside the box, which was well saved by the opposing GK. The ball then fell to the right side where Ishikawa was able to create a great chance, but unfortunately couldn't convert... resulting in a corner kick. Tokyo continued to create chances from wide positions and in the 58th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Cabore, followed by Otake replacing Ishikawa in the 62nd minute, as they pushed forward with momentum. In the 63rd minute, Nagatomo made a powerful overlap and crossed the ball, which was deflected by the opposing GK and then taken by Tokunaga. Finally, Suzuki in the center sent a cross to the left side, but no one was able to connect.

　Substituted Hirayama for Akamine in the 74th minute. Kajiyama and Hanyu also changed positions fluidly and attacked the Kashima goal. In the 76th minute, the ball was passed to Hirayama on the left side, but there was no player to receive it in front of the goal. The cross was cleared by the Kashima defense. In the 81st minute, they approached the opponent's territory while connecting passes, and Inamoto took a shot from the center, but it lacked power and went wide to the right. In the 88th minute, Nagatomo on the left → Tokunaga on the right swung wide, and finally Kajiyama headed in Tokunaga's cross, but the timing was just slightly off.

　The time passes without being able to decide on a chance. In the stoppage time, Tokunaga → Suzuki, who ran through the middle, was fouled and they get a FK on the opponent's side, slightly to the right. Otake takes a direct shot, which goes through the wall and heads towards the goal, but the opponent GK makes a save at the bottom left corner...... CK. On this left CK, both Gonda and Shigeta go up, but the ball is cleared and they cannot take a shot. Towards the end, Kajiyama's floating pass to the front line is turned into a wedge by Hirayama, who falls down, and Otake jumps on the ball that falls in front! However, the quick-footed opponent GK blocks it......

　Against last season's league champions Kashima, we competed in the battle of the sides and showed a determined play without giving up. We showed a promising fight and created numerous decisive moments, but were unable to break through Kashima's strong defense. At the same time, the two goals conceded in the first half proved to be costly as we suffered a disappointing defeat...

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"I don't think our start was bad, but the opponent's pressure was faster than us. I felt a very unpleasant pressure that was really getting to me. Even in that situation, by opening up the opponent, we were able to create space in the middle even with fewer players. So, Hanyu, Kajiyama, and Akamine dropped back a bit and received the ball in a wedge shape, and I had an image of receiving the ball as the third player. I think we were able to create some good opportunities. We were playing good soccer, so we had plenty of chances to win. We need to reflect on our finishing and practice more."《Hanyu》"We were expecting the opponent to have bad condition, but Kashima scored in the first 15 minutes and then became a team that could defend. We conceded in that way and made it easy for the opponent. (On the goal scene) The opponent wasn't focused on my movement, so I ran a long distance and became free. I saw the middle, so I crossed it. We had a lot of time to pass and possess the ball today. We also had some big chances, but the result was only one point. We may have made Kashima suffer, but the most important thing is the result. We need to have confidence in the good things and push ourselves to get three points with a strong mentality."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "We are very disappointed that we were not able to produce results despite facing Kashima, the defending champion who has won two consecutive titles, and approaching the match with a strong determination. Of course, we take this result very seriously, but I do not think we should be pessimistic about the content. I believe this was the game where we were able to demonstrate our full potential the most in the league so far. However, it is true that the two goals were due to careless plays, and it became a very difficult situation. We must reflect on this strongly, but in terms of what we can do and what our team, as a collective of individuals, can do, this was the best game compared to the past four matches. This season, the team is taking on new challenges, but I felt that we may not have been able to bring out the maximum common denominator as a collective of individuals... That is why today, if we wanted to win on the side, we started by spreading out the opponent. We used the middle after spreading out the opponent, and in the end, we fought with our weapon, the outside. We had 9 corners, while the opponent only had 1, which means we were able to attack from the side. I think we can be proud of that. However, it is a fact that there are areas where we are lacking, and I am not completely satisfied, but we were able to find hope in terms of our weapon, the side attack. I do not think this was a game where the players should hang their heads. The 34 league matches are very honest, and that is why we finished 6th instead of 4th last year. If we continue to demonstrate our full potential like we did today, I believe the results will definitely come."

　[Kashima Oliveira coach's press conference summary] "(Evaluation of Osako player?) He is a player with high ability and was able to score a wonderful goal today. I think he is a player who is growing and needs to be treated well in the entire soccer world. I hope to continue to expect him in the future and I want him to continue to work with a humble attitude. (About the progress of the second half game?) I think we were able to show Kashima's wonderful iron wall defense. At Kashima's home, the opponent often shows such defense and we usually win the game, but today we were able to show our defensive ability. (About the game plan for the second half?) First of all, I think you only watched today's game, but I want you to think about what happened during that process. We went to Singapore on Tuesday and played a game in high temperature and humidity. There are also sensory things that cannot be expressed in words, and we had to play against a team that had been preparing for a week in just four days. In addition, last week the temperature was low, but when we came back it suddenly became high. Today, the temperature was also high and there was a certain amount of exhaustion. The opponent comes to the game after conserving their physical strength for a week, so we knew that there would be many times and situations where we would be pushed. We predicted that we would score two goals in the first half and then the pace would drop. We had to fight in the midst of exhaustion. Shouldn't we evaluate the fact that we were able to hold on?"