Tama River Clasico, a match that will test their true worth

　League Sec. 13 will be held. As the 15th Tama River Clasico, Kawasaki Frontale will face off against home team Kawasaki Frontale at the home stadium. In the previous match against Nabisco Chiba, a fresh lineup was added and a victory was achieved, giving momentum for the future. At the same time, they were able to maintain a clean sheet for the third consecutive match, showing their defensive stability. In this match, the true value of what they have built up on both offense and defense will be tested against their rival Kawasaki in the Tama River Clasico. It will be a tough match as they only have 3 days of rest since the Chiba match, but during this time, Cabore, Kajiyama, Ishikawa, and Tokunaga have all fully recovered from their injuries and will be starting in the match.

Kawasaki, on the other hand, has 18 points at the end of the 12th section. The total score is 20 (second only to Hiroshima) and boasts a top-class attacking power in the league. However, in the ACL Ulsan match on the 19th (Tuesday), despite attacking, they lost 0-2 to Ulsan's physical defense. Tokyo has also been able to defend well with thorough competition and coverage in the DF line, and has been able to prevent opponents from playing freely in the midfield. We want to continue this without hesitation.

　In the attack, the key points are expected to be the development from the volante and the side attack. It will be important to suppress the attacks of Kawasaki MF Nakamura and Taniguchi, and to create our own time and break down the defense. Coach Jofuku said, "The big match to see if we can return to five stars in May. However, it is important to approach it with a calm mind and not to force it just because it's a 'Clasico'." The league match will enter a one-month interval after this round, but we want to win before the break and connect the momentum to the Nabisco again. The rain started to intensify just before the match at Ajinomoto Stadium. The match started with Kawasaki's kickoff at 2:05 pm.

Kono's first goal of the season gives us the lead! We take control of the game.

　Kawasaki dominated the ball in the beginning, and in the 14th minute, Tokyo gave a free kick to Kawasaki in their own territory. Kawasaki MF Nakamura sent a floating kick to the front line, and MF Taniguchi headed it in, but it was saved by an offside call. After that, they gradually took control of the game by connecting passes. Cabore, Hirayama, and Ishikawa initiated attacks, and in the 17th minute, Ishikawa brought the ball to the right area and passed it to Cabore near the goal. Cabore quickly passed it back to Hirayama behind him, but he was closed down by the defense and couldn't take a shot. From the rebound, Tokunaga sent a cross with a shooting opportunity to the front of the goal, but they couldn't convert and it became a Kawasaki ball.

　In the 21st minute, from the opponent's side, Hirayama pulled back and expanded to the right. Ishikawa dribbled up from the side and shot from the front of the area. The ball was controlled, but caught by the goalkeeper. In the 23rd minute, Yonemoto stuck with it and connected with Ishikawa on the right side. Ishikawa chose to cross this time. Cabore jumped perfectly for the ball to the far post, but couldn't find the target...

　At 27 minutes, Kajiyama, who had advanced from the midfield, passed to Cabore on the left front line. Although Cabore was unable to take a shot, the ball was cleared by the defense and resulted in a left corner kick. From this short corner, Ishikawa sent a cross to the center, but it was cut off and resulted in a right corner kick. At 28 minutes, from this corner by Ishikawa, Imakano's header hit the bar, but Imakano reacted to the rebound and scored with his left foot! With this set piece, Imakano scored his first goal of the season and gave the team the lead.

　Around 30 minutes, the weather cleared up and became hot and humid. However, after that, Kawasaki did not create any real chances. In the 36th minute, the ball was passed to Cabore and Ishikawa in the center, but they were unable to create a chance. In the 37th minute, Bruno headed the ball from Ishikawa's right corner kick, but it went over the line. In the 39th minute, Yonemoto and Cabore attempted a dribble shot, but it was saved by the goalkeeper. Despite this, they ended the first half with hopes of scoring more goals in the second half.

Despite expanding the lead to 2 points, we lost in a frustrating comeback after losing a player...

　Tokyo substituted Suzuki for Hanyu from the start of the second half. Kawasaki changed their position of SB Ito to center back and CB Igawa to side back. In the early stages, Kawasaki connected passes, but Tokyo quickly gained rhythm from a counter attack. In the 51st minute, Tokyo took the ball from Kawasaki and launched a quick attack. Midfielder Hirayama → forward Cabore turned his body and dropped the ball with a heel, passed it to Suzuki who had run out from left to right, and then shot from the right area near the goal with speed, but it went straight to the goalkeeper... In the 54th minute, Kawasaki substituted MF Tasaka for MF Vitor Junior.

　Immediately after, Tokunaga sends Kawasaki's goal kick to the front line, Cabore breaks through the front line as he switches with the opposing defender and crosses the ball. Although Nakayama did not touch the ball in the center, Ishikawa ran in from the far side and powerfully kicked the shot that was held, GOAL! They scored an additional point with a speedy attack and took a 2-point lead.

　However, in the 57th minute, Kawasaki FW JUNINHO sent a perfect through pass and FW Zheng was able to face forward. At this point, Bruno QUADROS pulled him from behind just before entering the area, causing FW Zheng to fall inside the area. This was judged as a prevention of a scoring opportunity, resulting in Bruno QUADROS being sent off. At the same time, Kawasaki was given a penalty kick and in the 58th minute, FW JUNINHO scored, allowing them to catch up by one point and making it impossible to stop Kawasaki's momentum while playing with 10 players for the remaining time.

　Substituted Shigeno for Ishikawa in the 59th minute and put Shigeno in CB. The 4-back did not break, and Hirayama faced the side formation, but in the 65th minute, Kajiyama, who received Tokyo's right throw-in, quickly restarted the game after being judged to have committed a foul just outside the area, giving a FK, and Kawasaki's MF Vitor Junior quickly restarted. FW Zheng connected and MF Taniguchi, who was free on the far side, scored, taking advantage of the restart. In the 68th minute, Kawasaki's left side DF Mori passed vertically to FW Zheng, then to MF Vitor Junior, and FW Juninho crossed to FW Renatinho on the far side, who jumped and volleyed with Nagatomo to score. They allowed a goal from a cross from the side and were reversed in 10 minutes...

　Still, without looking down, in the 75th minute, Nakamura was substituted for Hirayama. They connected passes from tough defense and launched a counterattack. In the 88th minute, Nagatomo entered the area from Inamoto's through pass and won a left corner kick. Suzuki's kick went through the crowded center and to the far side. Nakamura caught up and took a shot, but it missed the goal... In stoppage time, Tokunaga on the right side passed to Nakamura in the area, who skillfully sent a pass to the front of the goal for Yonemoto to run into. They created a great chance, but the slippery turf caused Yonemoto to miss. They had a chance, but couldn't equalize and suffered a heartbreaking comeback loss. As a result, the overall record for the Tama River Clasico is 5 wins, 5 draws, and 5 losses. In addition, they are now in 14th place in the league and will enter a break of about a month.

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"In games where I didn't play, the defensive balance was good, so as an attacking player, I wanted to create good attacking opportunities. In the first half, I think we were able to create good attacking opportunities from good defense. It was from a set piece, but we were able to score and that was good. (The goal was) Cabore sent it from the left side, Hirayama was in front and I had a feeling the ball would come. There was some distance, but I was able to put it in well. (With 6 goals, I have the most on the team) There are still chances and I am expected to contribute to the team's victory. Today, I couldn't contribute to the victory with my own goal, so I want to continue to score and get results. Even though I have a good feeling, there are still frustrating games. The league will be on break, but there is also a cup game, so I want to reflect and be in a good condition for the league restart."《Konno》"It's frustrating and regrettable that we couldn't win. We still have a lot to learn. With this loss, I strongly feel that we need to aim higher. (For the first goal) I always try to aim for it if there is a chance. However, today we created a lot of chances instead of scoring, so I want people to see that as well. Even when we were down to 10 players, we were able to connect well and create chances, so I didn't think it was a problem, but the red card changed the atmosphere of the whole stadium to Kawasaki's side. But we have to play soccer that can't be beaten by that. So it's a learning experience."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "I wanted to share the joy with many fans who came, but unfortunately it didn't lead to a result. However, I told the players to lift their heads up. I think the game was a proud performance. No matter what judgments are made, we have to continue playing soccer. Our job is to keep playing good soccer. In hindsight, we may be criticized for various things, but the content is not something to be pessimistic about, and I believe we should continue playing this soccer." (Evaluation of 2 goals and plan after being sent off?) "After being one man down, we tried to create a block with a 4-4-1 formation. We were able to do that, but the opponent stopped attacking and we had to chase after them. So we changed the system to a 4-3-2 from the middle to go and take the ball. As for the goals, you could say we "scored 2", but I think we should have scored 3 or 4, and it's important to keep creating those chances." (About trying in the future) "Of course, we have to reflect on the 3 goals we conceded today and there may be some reasons for how the game went. We will reflect on that, but even with 10 men, the players bravely connected the ball and played soccer that wasn't just about throwing it in. That is something to be proud of and it gives us strength. We want to continue playing this kind of soccer with the players and get results."

　[Kawasaki F. - Manager Sekizuka's Press Conference Summary] "We turned around a very difficult game. Thanks to the passionate support of our fans and the hard work of our players. I want to express my gratitude. FC Tokyo has been playing strong and solid defense, and we knew it would be a tough match. We wanted to score first, but our restarts didn't lead to goals. As the game settled down, we ended up conceding a goal from a restart. Especially FC Tokyo's two center backs had a high possession rate, and when we put pressure on them, it left space in the midfield. We conceded the first goal and it made things even more difficult. That was one of the key points, but we couldn't change the flow of the game in the first half. In the second half, we changed our system and early on, if FW Zheng Dasei had been a little quicker, FW Juninho could have had a chance to go one-on-one with the goalkeeper. We started to regain our breath from that point, but then in the first half, DF Ito made a similar mistake and DF Kikuchi bounced the ball back, leading to a goal. These basic mistakes are making it difficult for us to play our own rhythm and style of soccer. After that, we were able to turn the game around with a well-taken penalty and a red card, but we need to make some adjustments and finish strong as a team."