Kashima, who has not won a league game, will face off against the home team.

　The 6th round of the league will be held, and we will welcome Kashima Antlers at home. In the previous round, despite being at a numerical disadvantage, we fought tenaciously and Morishige successfully took advantage of a set piece opportunity to secure 3 points. Now, after a one-week interval, we will face this round with an aggressive approach at home, aiming for back-to-back wins with a superior performance over our opponents. However, Hasegawa, who was sent off in the previous round, will be suspended for the second time this season. Kajiyama is still unable to return, and Yonemoto will start as a defensive midfielder.

　Kashima, on the other hand, is still winless and at the bottom of the league this season. Their total score is also only 1 goal, scored by FW Kojiro Okazaki in the previous match against Urawa. However, they have won 2 games in the Nabisco Cup and cannot be underestimated. They are a team with a long history. Coach Ranko POPOVIC warns, "We may not have the results yet, but we are playing good football. We still have players with experience winning titles and they have not forgotten how to play football."

　Kashima's new addition FW JUNINHO and MF Dutra still seem to be struggling to fit in, but they have the ability to change the flow of the game as substitutes. Additionally, FW Koroki and Osako have been players who have tasted bitter defeat many times in the past. We want to prevent them from showing their strength on the front line.

　In Tokyo's attack, they aim for the goal with high precision from a fluid position as usual. Above all, they want to surpass Kashima with their determination to win, and taste the joy at Ajinomoto, their home stadium. The match started at 13:04 with Kashima's kickoff, in the cold and rainy Ajinomoto that doesn't feel like April.

Taking the lead, and not losing focus even when Kanda is injured

　Tokyo dominated the ball from the start. In the 11th minute, Takahashi took a shot from Lucas' pass, but it was blocked. Yamamoto then followed up with a strong wave attack. In the 17th minute, Tokunaga pushed forward and Ishikawa sent a precise cross. In the 22nd minute, Yamamoto and Ishikawa combined again from a vertical pass, with Yamamoto making another attack towards the goal.

　Although he did not have any decisive opportunities, he took the lead and progressed the game. However, in the 23rd minute, Kashima made a speedy attack and FW Kojiro was sent flying into the area. In response, Gonda made a quick dive to block the shot, but collided with Kojiro in the process. This resulted in a knee injury that prevented him from continuing to play.

　Substituted for Shioda in the 31st minute. Immediately after, Kashima launched a counterattack from a mistake by Tokyo, and FW Okazaki was released from a through pass by MF Endo, but Shioda made a sharp save from the free shot in the area! This rebound was passed to Kashima FW Osako, who took a shot, but it was blocked and cleared for a corner kick. Tokyo defended with concentration and held on.

　In the latter half of the first half, Kashima also connected passes and both teams moved the ball to create chances. However, neither team created any holes in defense, and the first half ended scoreless, including 8 minutes of stoppage time.

Tabei's first J1 goal equalizes, but... allows a winning goal at the end

　The game became intense in the second half. In the 46th minute of the first half, Ishikawa → Lucas took a shot. Then in the 47th minute, Morishige came forward and stole the ball, sending a long pass to Hayabusa on the right front line, and Ishikawa took a shot, launching an attack. However, although they carefully connected and moved forward in the beginning, they gradually began to make mistakes and Kashima started to gain momentum.

　56 minutes, from Kashima DF Arai's pass, FW Osako broke through behind at just the right timing and took a shot, but the ball went well wide. In the 59th minute, Takahashi's attempt to clear the ball seemed to graze the opponent, but the ball flew into their own goal and Shioda was judged to have caught the back pass with his hand, giving Kashima an indirect free kick from the goal area. It was a tense moment, but they concentrated and blocked the free kick to defend their goal.

　However, in the 66th minute, they were targeted on the side by Hanyu → Ota, and they were hit by Kashima's counterattack. MF Endo couldn't stop the dribble and was connected to FW Osako on the right front line, and from there, a last pass was sent to FW Kojiro, who was able to score the first goal. In the 69th minute, Tanabe was substituted for Ota and left as a left back. Kashima brought in FW JUNINHO. Then, Tokyo brought in Otake instead of Tanihara. They played their third card.

　Tokyo regained their rhythm with this. In the 71st minute, from Yonemoto's vertical pass, Lucas dropped the ball and Kashima DF cleared it. Kashima GK Sogahata caught it, and this time Tokyo earned an indirect free kick just outside the goal area. Amidst intense attacks and defenses in front of the goal, in the 84th minute, Ishikawa → Lucas's kick was blocked, but Lucas shot again from the rebound. Tanabe reacted to the ball that fell in the right area and stabbed it in with a left-footed volley, GOAL!! Tanabe's first J1 goal brought the score level.

　With this, Tokyo gained momentum and in the 88th minute, they made a dynamic move as Otake passed to the right side where Hayashi took a step forward and tried to aim with his left foot... but it hit the top bar. As the mood for a comeback grew, they continued to attack but in the 5 minutes of added time, they tried to intercept Kashima's ball but couldn't take it away. Kashima's left side MF Yamamura passed to FW Juninho who broke through behind Tokunaga. They couldn't stop this and the ball was dribbled into the area. The shot was saved by Shiota but the rebound was picked up by far side MF Endo... In the final moments, they allowed Kashima to take the lead and suffered a painful defeat.

　【Player Comments】《Tanabe》"I reacted instinctively when the ball came to me for the goal. I don't even remember where it went. But the feeling of losing 1 point is strong. We should have at least gotten '1'. Of course, it would have been great to turn the game around, but we were too aggressive and ended up conceding. We were too focused on getting '3 points' and ended up with zero. In a league game, it's important to stay calm and take the points in games like this. We need to learn from this and make adjustments for the next game."

　"Shioda" "I am very sorry that I could not produce results. It was my first time coming on as a substitute, so I was a little nervous, but the bench gave me a lot of support and the players on the pitch created an easy atmosphere for me to enter the game. I think I was able to contribute to the game. Both goals we conceded were poorly taken. There were many opportunities to pass, but especially towards the end, when it became a back-and-forth counterattack, it was necessary to unify the team's consciousness. I want to make adjustments to our defense on the back and sides. The ACL Beijing Guoan match and the Sendai match are both important games. I want to accept today's defeat and use it to move forward."

　[Summary of Coach Popovich's Press Conference] "Before the game, I myself was a little worried. It's not that our team is weaker than Kashima, but given Kashima's strength, our current ranking is unrealistic, and it's strange that we haven't won in the league so far when you look at the game content. I think our naivety showed today. It's a shame that we couldn't get any points, but the content itself wasn't bad. That's where our naivety showed when it came to how we would finish the game. We always take risks because we control the line high. In the midst of that, we were able to dominate the game for the most part, focusing on how to control it."

　However, it is a fact that we conceded a goal by being caught in the space behind. There are things we need to learn from that, and there were also moments where we assisted the opponent ourselves. Throughout the game, we were able to take control and dominate. We were able to create chances from good build-up play, and as I always say, "We go to win every single game in front of us." We are attacking in order to score more goals than the opponent. However, even after equalizing, we became too aggressive and pushed forward. Considering the flow of the game, the weather conditions, and the remaining time, we were not able to manage the risk and end the game at 1-1 at worst. I think this shows the youth and naivety of our team, as we were not able to play as smartly as Kashima did.

　[Kashima・Ailton Coach's Press Conference Summary] "(Did you have a different game plan because the opponent was FC Tokyo?) We have to secure the points. In the previous games, we have often gone forward even when we didn't need to, giving the opponent space to attack. Today, our first priority was to defend together. We have been creating chances, so if we defend well and don't concede, we can win. We wanted to start by doing what we need to do, and if we do that, we can also keep possession of the ball. Tokyo often has both central midfielders pushing forward and their back line staying high, so they give us a lot of space. If we can quickly transition from defense to attack, our speed can be effective."