Express strong feelings in play and challenge Kashima!

In Sec. 6 of the league, we face Kashima Antlers at home. In the previous match against Kawasaki, although we created chances during our time, we conceded two goals and suffered a frustrating defeat. After that, due to Japan national team activities, Tokunaga, Nagatomo, and Ishikawa left the team, and all players were together for only two days. During that period, training was held behind closed doors. Coach Jofuku explained, "We wanted to take another look at our football and stimulate the team. Considering our current results, the opponent, and the overall situation, we decided that the benefits of closed training outweighed the drawbacks." We prepared with a focus on ourselves while keeping Kashima countermeasures in mind.On the other hand, Kashima currently stands 2nd with 3 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. Although they narrowly lost to Sendai in the previous match, they are, needless to say, last season's J.League champions and a dominant team aiming for a 4th consecutive title. This week, FW Marquinhos is suspended, so FW Osako starts. Still, Coach Jofuku says, "Kashima has a deep squad, and even with a fixed lineup, fresh players have emerged to strengthen the team. Their defensive style, attacking power, quick transitions, and precise counterattacks remain unchanged."For Tokyo, the focus is on how to exploit Kashima's gaps while extending our own time on the ball. Ideally, we want to press high and launch quick attacks before the opponent's formation is set to increase our chances. However, it is also necessary to read the flow of the game, remain calm even during defensive phases, and fight tenaciously. Since the start of the season, Coach Jofuku has highlighted Sec. 23 as a symbolic match from last year, emphasizing the strong desire and challenge as a team to "defeat Kashima."That said, there are no trick plays. The players all say, "We want to break Kashima's wall with our own football," and face Kashima without hesitation. Shigematsu makes his first start. Kim Young-gun plays left side back, Nagatomo moves to the right, and in midfield, Matsushita and Konno, whose injury was a concern, are also in the starting lineup. At Ajinomoto, as the spring evening approaches, the match kicked off at 19:04 with Kashima starting.

Hayama scores first with a penalty! Always taking the initiative and gaining rhythm, but...

　From the start, they ran aggressively on both offense and defense, outpacing Kashima in their initial movements. At 3 minutes, Hirayama won a corner kick, and Matsushita took the right corner kick. Although it was initially cleared by Kashima's DF, a foul by Kashima's DF inside the area resulted in a penalty kick. At 4 minutes, Hirayama calmly converted it, scoring an early lead. At 8 minutes, Kashima MF Endo crossed, FW Koroki laid it off, and FW Osako took a shot from the right area, but Tokyo's DF blocked it, resulting in a corner kick. From there, they conceded four consecutive corner kicks but defended with concentration. At 13 minutes, while connecting passes in the opponent's half and pushing up the whole team, Kim Young-gun unleashed a powerful long-range shot. Afterwards, trying to find rhythm, they evaded Kashima's press and quickly moved the ball forward. At 23 minutes, Shigematsu up front created a chance, Hanyu made a run and switched the play to the left. Matsushita crossed... forming an attacking shape, but the cross drifted to the far post. At 31 minutes, they earned a free kick from the right side, and Hirayama changed the direction with a header in the right area to connect with Matsushita's kick, but it went off target. At 33 minutes, Kashima's left side back Araiba advanced to the sideline and sent a strong and fast cross to FW Koroki in the right area. However, after FW Koroki's trap, a handball foul was called, and Tokyo regained possession. As time passed, both teams launched intense counterattacks. At 38 minutes, Ishikawa dribbled up the center and passed to Shigematsu near the right area, but the pass was slightly long and the opponent's DF recovered quickly, so the chance was not realized. At 39 minutes, from Kashima's left side back Araiba's advance, MF Ogasawara unleashed a precise long-range shot. Gonda saved it, but FW Koroki reacted quickly to the rebound and scored... The equalizer was conceded. Immediately after, Ishikawa broke through the right side and crossed. Matsushita at the far post headed it down, and the ball reached Hirayama in the left area. However, the shot was missed, and the good opportunity was wasted. The first half ended tied at 1-1.

The exciting back-and-forth continues, but unable to capitalize on chances, it ends in a draw.

　In the second half, they aggressively took the ball and launched attacks, creating scoring chances early on. In the 54th minute, they won the ball in their own half, and Hanyu in midfield played a direct pass into the space on the right flank. Ishikawa ran into this space and delivered a low cross in front of the goal. The Kashima goalkeeper deflected it, and it didn’t reach Hirayama behind, but the loose ball fell to Shigematsu in the left area. Shigematsu took a well-controlled half-volley shot, but it went wide to the left of the goal, missing a great chance. At the 60th minute, from an interception by Young Gwon KIM, they launched an attack, connecting passes from Hanyu to Shigematsu on the left. From a loose ball created by Shigematsu’s dribble in the area, Young Gwon KIM surged forward and took a powerful shot. In the 67th minute, Ishikawa received a pass from Shigematsu who had drifted to the right side, broke through between Kashima’s defenders, and took a shot. However, none of these attempts resulted in a goal. Immediately after, Ricardinho was brought on for Shigematsu. In the 74th minute, Ricardinho, who had moved to the left side, passed to Nagatomo who overlapped and ran outside. Nagatomo sent a backward pass into the right area from a high position near the goal line, but it was blocked by the opposing defenders and did not reach Ishikawa. Although they prevented Kashima from launching coordinated attacks, there were also moments when they were threatened by sudden counterattacks and set pieces. Centered on Gonda’s saves, the defense held firm, and the game was a back-and-forth battle. Still, when Tokyo advanced into the opponent’s territory, they focused on connecting passes to break down the defense and create chances. In the 82nd minute, Mukuhara was brought on as right back. Nagatomo was pushed up to midfield aiming for a goal, but in the 83rd minute, Hirayama’s header from Ricardinho’s cross was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 87th minute, from a Kashima corner, the ball was passed around inside the area to DF Lee Jongsu, DF Iwamasa, and MF Nakata, creating a dangerous situation, but they concentrated and defended well. Hanyu sent a long ball forward to launch a counterattack. Ricardinho chased after it but had no support; he ran alongside the opposing defender and took a shot, but it flew straight to the goalkeeper, and no goal was scored. Although they did not concede an additional goal to Kashima, the second half ended goalless, and the match finished in a 1-1 draw. 【Player Comments】《Hanyu》“We ended with 1 point, but I don’t think there’s anything to be pessimistic about. To compete for the championship, not losing is also important. Of course, there were chances to win, but it was a match we controlled ourselves. That is a positive takeaway and growth. In previous matches lost to Kashima, they started with long balls and scored early. So today, for the first 20 minutes, we avoided risks and aimed for a careful start. Even then, when we pressed the opponent, we thought about connecting passes and breaking them down. Since it was a home game, we had to win, but everyone worked hard for 90 minutes. Building on this, if we can show this against any team, we feel confident we can accumulate points.” 《Hirayama》“I said I wanted to take the penalty myself. We entered the game in a good way, and the flow was ideal. However, I regret not scoring during the run of play and also feel the frustration of the draw.” 【Coach Jofuku’s Press Conference Summary】“From the start of the year, we clearly aimed to overcome the Kashima barrier. Today was a home game, and we approached it with the attitude of wanting to take all 3 points, so it’s disappointing to finish with just 1 point. I think we had plenty of chances to get 3 points. Last year, we lost twice to Kashima, both times conceding early goals. So today, we wanted to control the pace in the first 20 minutes at all costs. I told the players this was the key, and they fought with that mindset. Our approach to the game’s start might have been different from usual. Normally, we have longer possession, but today we thought aggressively that it was okay to lose the ball. The pace slows in the second half, so we wanted to create our own time then. When tired, how to improve quality and create our own time is important. To put it bluntly, resting during our time and bringing the accumulated energy to the front. If we improve that quality, I believe we can definitely achieve results in the J.League. Raising quality with this spirit is the challenge. There is definitely a reason we ended with 1 point here, so we will analyze it and build up to get 3 points next time. I told the players today’s game must become our standard. (Regarding starting Young Gwon KIM and Shigematsu) It was a decision based on building the team around them. Prioritizing countermeasures against the opponent might have made their selection risky. We are experimenting with what is necessary to raise the team’s quality. It’s frustrating not to celebrate victory with the fans today, but it’s not a time to be down. It’s important to use this experience going forward and not fall behind the top teams. Also, some players have played 5 matches in 13 days, and including the Nabisco Cup on Wednesday and the league next week, they will play 7 matches in 20 days. We will consider how to pursue points in the next two matches while considering player condition.” 【Kashima Coach Oliveira’s Press Conference Summary】“(Was the first half not going well?) Soccer has many elements. In every match, the opponent learns and analyzes us. Kashima fights the previous team, finds good points, analyzes again, and does similar things next time. From the start, they clearly tried to stop our attacks by fouling. That is one reason it became difficult. Another is Tokyo’s tactics today were clear from the start. They pushed both side halves high, and the moment a back pass was made, one of their forwards cut off the opposite side center back and applied pressure. Pressing means pushing up the midfield and defensive line, creating space behind the last line. We aimed for counters there, but battles for interceptions occurred in midfield. When we tried to attack after winning the ball, the opponent forcibly stopped us. Sometimes refereeing stopped us even when we wanted fouls to be called. I think it is the referee’s role to preemptively respond to the opponent’s tactics, but this year, the opponents have challenged us more strictly than in the past three years. However, I want to aim for consecutive championships despite the pressure. (About today’s result) I felt FC Tokyo intended to exploit our weaknesses. FC Tokyo has capable attackers and forwards, always conscious of scoring, and their organization and plans were excellent. However, the imbalance in refereeing decisions affects players’ mental state. This is not new but always present. It also affects players’ health, so I hope everyone considers this.”