Facing Kashima, who has yet to win in the league, at home

　League Sec. 6 is held, facing off against Kashima Antlers at home. In the previous match, despite being at a numerical disadvantage, the team fought tenaciously, and Morishige brilliantly capitalized on a set-piece opportunity to secure 3 points. After about a week-long interval, this match aims to be an aggressive battle at home, striving for consecutive victories with a performance that surpasses the opponent. However, Hasegawa, who was sent off in the last match, will be suspended for the second time this season. Kajiyama has not yet returned, and the formation will see Yonemoto starting as a defensive midfielder.

　Kashima, on the other hand, is still winless in the league this season and sits at the bottom of the table. Their total goals are limited to just 1, scored by forward Koroki in the previous match against Urawa. However, they have achieved 2 victories in the Nabisco Cup, so they should not be underestimated. Above all, they are a team with a rich tradition. Coach Ranko POPOVIC warns, "Although we are not getting results right now, we are playing good football. We still have players with experience in winning titles, and they have not forgotten how to play football."

　Kashima's new signing FW JUNINHO and MF Dutra seem to still be struggling to fit in, but they have the potential to change the game when they come on as substitutes. Additionally, FW Kuroki and Osako are players who have caused us trouble in the past. We want to prevent them from showcasing their strength up front.

　In Tokyo's attack, as usual, they aim for the goal by enhancing the precision of each play from fluid positioning. Above all, since it is a home game, they want to surpass Kashima with their determination to win and experience joy at Ajinomoto. The coldness is such that it feels like anything but April, with cold rain pouring down at Ajinomoto once again, and the match started at 13:04 with Kashima's kickoff.

Taking control and not losing focus even after Gonda's injury incident

　From the start, Tokyo dominated possession of the ball. In the 11th minute, Takahashi took a shot from Lucas's drop, and after a blocked rebound, Yonemoto displayed a determined wave attack. In the 17th minute, Tokunaga advanced and pushed forward, sending a precise cross from Ishikawa. In the 22nd minute, after a vertical pass from Yonemoto and a connection with Ishikawa, Yonemoto advanced again to the front of the goal.

　Although they did not create a decisive chance, they took control and progressed the match. However, in the 23rd minute, Kashima launched a speedy attack, and forward Kōriki broke into the area. In response, Gonda made a quick advance to block the shot, but he collided with Kōriki during the play. This resulted in an accident where he hit his knee hard and was unable to continue playing.

　Therefore, he was substituted for Shiota in the 31st minute. Immediately after, due to a mistake by Tokyo, Kashima launched a counterattack. From a through pass by MF Endo, FW Kuroki broke free and took a decisive shot from inside the area, but Shiota made a sharp save! The rebound fell to Kashima FW Osako, who attempted a shot, but it was blocked and resulted in a corner kick, and the defense held strong.

　In the latter part of the first half, Kashima connected passes and both teams moved the ball to look for opportunities. However, including 8 minutes of stoppage time, neither team created gaps in defense, and the first half ended scoreless.

Tanabe equalized with his first J1 goal, but allowed a late winner.

　The match intensified in the second half. In the early stages, in the 46th minute, Ishikawa passed to Lucas for a shot. Then, in the 47th minute, Morishige moved forward to intercept, and from a well-judged pass, sent a long ball to Hanyu on the right flank, leading to another shot from Ishikawa, putting them on the offensive. However, although they initially connected well and advanced the ball, scenes began to increase where mistakes allowed Kashima to seize the rhythm.

　In the 56th minute, from a pass by Kashima DF Arai, FW Osako broke through at just the right moment and took a shot while free, but the ball went well wide of the goal. In the 59th minute, it seemed that Takahashi's attempt to clear the ball grazed an opponent, but it was ruled that Shiota caught the ball with his hands from a back pass to his own goal, awarding Kashima an indirect free kick from just outside the goal area. It became a tense situation, but they concentrated and successfully blocked the free kick to defend.

　However, in the 66th minute, targeting the side where Hanyu passed to Ota, a pass mistake led to a counterattack from Kashima. Unable to stop MF Endo's dribble, it connected to FW Osako on the right front line, and from there, the last pass sent to FW Kuroki was perfectly matched, allowing the first goal. In the 69th minute, Tanabe was brought in to replace Ota, directly as the left side back. Kashima brought in FW JUNINHO. Following that, Tokyo substituted Ota for Ota. They played their third card.

　Tokyo regained their rhythm once again. In the 71st minute, from Yonemoto's vertical pass, Lucas had his pass cleared by the Kashima defense. When Kashima's goalkeeper Sogahata caught it, Tokyo earned an indirect free kick just in front of the goal area. Amidst the fierce battle in front of the goal, in the 84th minute, Ishikawa's kick to Lucas was blocked, but Lucas shot the rebound. Tanabe reacted to the ball that spilled into the right area and pierced it with a left-footed volley for the GOAL!! Tanabe scored his first goal in J1, leveling the match.

　With this, Tokyo gained momentum, and in the 88th minute, they made a dynamic attack. Ohtake passed to Hayu on the right flank, who took a step inside and boldly aimed with his left foot, but it went over the bar. As the mood for taking the lead intensified, they pressed forward, but during the 5 minutes of stoppage time, they tried to intercept the ball from Kashima but couldn't take it away. Kashima's left-side MF Yamamura passed to FW JUNINHO, who slipped behind Tokunaga. Unable to stop this, he dribbled into the area. The shot was saved by Shiota, but the rebound was pounced on by far-side MF Endo... In the dying moments, they allowed Kashima to take the lead and suffered a painful defeat.

　[Player Comments] {Tanabe} "The goal came, so I reacted instinctively. I don't even remember where it went in. However, I have a strong feeling that we lost a point. We should have at least gotten '1'. Of course, it would have been great to turn it around, but we all, including myself, got too aggressive and conceded a goal. We aimed too much for '3 points' and ended up with zero. Since it's a league match, we needed to be a bit calmer and work together to secure points in matches like this. I want to carry that fighting style into the next match and make adjustments."

　Shioda: "I am very sorry that we could not deliver results. It was my first time coming on as a substitute, and I was a bit nervous, but everyone on the bench supported me strongly, and the players on the pitch created an atmosphere that made it easy for me to get involved, so I think I was able to enter the match properly. I have the impression that both goals we conceded were due to poor defending. There were many opportunities to pass the ball, but especially towards the end, when it became a counterattack exchange, it was necessary to unify the team's awareness. I want to make corrections regarding our defensive play on the flanks and behind. The matches against Beijing Guoan in the ACL and Sendai are important matches. I want to properly accept today's defeat and make sure it leads to our next steps."

　[Summary of Coach Ranko POPOVIC's Press Conference] "Before the match, I felt a bit anxious myself. It's not that our team is weaker than Kashima, but considering Kashima's strength, their current ranking is unrealistic, and it's strange that we haven't won in the league so far when looking at the match content. I think our naivety showed today. It's unfortunate that we couldn't earn points, but the performance itself wasn't bad. The naivety showed in how we finished the match. We control the line high, so we always take risks. Throughout that, we focused on how to dominate the game, and for the most part, we were able to do that."

　However, it is a fact that we conceded a goal by being exploited in the space behind us. There are things we need to learn from that, and there were parts where we assisted the opponent ourselves. Throughout the match, we were able to take control and dominate. We can also evaluate that we created chances from good build-ups, and what I always say is, 'We aim to win every match in front of us.' I emphasize being aggressive to score more goals than the opponent. However, even after equalizing today, we became overly aggressive. Considering the flow of the match, the weather conditions, and the remaining time, I think our inability to manage risks and aim to finish the match at worst with a 1-1 draw showed the team's youth and naivety. We might say that we couldn't fight as wisely as Kashima.

　【Kashima - Coach Ayrton's Press Conference Summary】 "(Did we have a different game plan because the opponent is FC Tokyo?) We must secure points. In previous matches, we often moved forward even when it wasn't necessary, giving the opponent space to exploit. Today, we aimed to solidly defend as a team first. We have been able to create chances, so if we defend well and avoid conceding, we should be able to win. That's how we started. We aimed to do what we need to do from scratch, rather than focusing on the opponent. If we do that, we will naturally retain possession of the ball. Tokyo often has both holding midfielders pushing up flat, and their defensive line maintains a high position, which gives us a lot of space. If we can quickly transition from defense to attack, our speed will emerge there."