With the arrival of spring, we aim for consecutive victories at our home opening match!

The 2nd round of the league will be held. Kashiwa Reysol will face off against Ajinomoto as their home opener at Ajinomoto Stadium. In the previous round against Oita, although they conceded the first goal, they showed their Tokyo style throughout the game and managed to secure a comeback victory with goals from Watanabe and Hasegawa. Coach Popovich said, "We had a good start to the season and a good start is important, but what's more important is how we can accumulate points with good performances throughout the season." With a long season in mind, they will give their all in every game to aim for victory.

Kashiwa, who won the Emperor's Cup final on New Year's Day this year, showed their strength and also welcomed new players such as FW Cleo, DF Suzuki, and MF Karino this season. Under the guidance of coach NELSINHO, the team has been strengthened with the addition of players for the ACL, and they are creating a solid team. In addition, they have already started with the Xerox Super Cup and ACL before the start of the league. Although they were unable to achieve results in the cup matches, they showed their ability to make adjustments and had a great victory in the previous match against Kawasaki with the performance of new FW Cleo. This shows the good condition of the team.

The key to victory in this match against Kashiwa lies in how well we can surpass them with Tokyo's style. We can expect quality movements from Watanabe, using the posts and Lucas as a starting point, as well as precise passing from Higashi and the Hasegawa brothers, as shown in the Oita match.

Tokyo will be without Kaga, who injured his back in the Oita match. Chang Hyun Soo will start in his place. Nemanja VUCICEVIC also makes the bench, with an attacking lineup in store. Kashiwa will be without MF Jorge Wagner. In the second row, MF Karino, FW Kudo, and MF Leandro Domingues will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The temperature has risen since the Oita match, and the Ajinomoto Stadium has a spring-like atmosphere. The match kicked off at 2:04 PM with Kashiwa's kickoff.

Watanabe scores 2 goals! Perfect game strategy.

From the start, both teams attacked and fought for the ball in a close match. In the 6th minute, Tokyo pushed into the opponent's half and Yonemoto, who had stolen the ball from Kashiwa's DF, sent a pass behind the DF. Watanabe timed his run perfectly, caught up to the ball, and took a well-aimed shot from just left of the penalty arc. The ball passed through the goalkeeper's legs and into the goal. Watanabe, who had been saying "the first goal will be the key" before the match, scored his second consecutive goal in two matches and gave Tokyo an early lead.

In the 14th minute, Kashiwa's FW Kudo skillfully dribbled through two Tokyo DF players and took a shot from the right area, but Gonda made a save. Although Kashiwa had possession of the ball for some time, Tokyo's aggressive defense, led by Yonemoto, quickly regained possession and launched a counterattack.

22 minutes, East breaks through the right area from a quick pass work and passes to Takahashi in front of the central area. They showed good cooperation, but Takahashi's shot missed the frame. However, in the 28th minute, Takahashi → Hasegawa connected and Ota, who went up the left side, crossed. This was cleared by Kashiwa, but Ota persistently connected it to East in the left area. From here, East's ball in front of the goal seemed to have been missed, but it was sent to the front of the goal and Watanabe, who reacted sharply, scored with his left foot directly! They decisively converted the chance and expanded their lead.

In the latter half of the first half, Kashiwa's defense was tough and it was not easy to move forward, but Tokyo quickly responded to second balls and pressed Kashiwa, ending the first half with second and third attacks.

Masaru HASEGAWA marks his second consecutive goal in 2 games. He is active on both offense and defense, leading to a great victory!

Kashiwa made two substitutions in the second half and tried to turn things around. In the 49th minute, a shot was taken by Kashiwa's right CK and blocked by MF Kano in the right area, resulting in an offside. While possession was almost equal, Tokyo took control in defense and created chances through speedy attacks.

In the 58th minute, Takahashi advanced on the right side. Hasegawa brought the ball inside and sent a last pass to East near the goal. However, East's shot from close range was saved by the GK... East chased after the rebound and took another shot, but it was blocked by the GK's strong defense. In the 69th minute, Lee came in for Watanabe. In the 74th minute, Lee brought the ball into the area from the left side and took a daring shot, but it grazed the hands of the Kashiwa GK and hit the crossbar...

In the 75th minute, Kashiwa launched a counterattack and FW Cleo took a shot with speed, but Kanda caught it. Tokyo calmly connected from defense to attack, and in the 78th minute, Lee connected with a vertical pass from Tokunaga, and Hasegawa on the left side brought the ball into the center of the area and controlled it with his right foot! This shot went into the upper left corner, securing the third goal and leaving Kashiwa behind.

In the 82nd minute, Ota sent a left cross and Lee tried to hit it in front of the goal, but the shot didn't hit properly... After that, they made player substitutions, bringing in Ishikawa in the 83rd minute and Kono in the 87th minute. Tokyo launched sharp counterattacks from a calm defense. They couldn't score a fourth goal, but they were active in both offense and defense. They closed the game as planned, securing 3 points in their home opener and achieving a consecutive win.

[Player Comments]
《Yonehara》"It gives me confidence to have kept a team with a high attacking power like Kashiwa scoreless. With Takahashi, either one of us can go forward and I feel secure knowing that he will cover for me when I go forward. I think we were able to show that movement today. The coach always tells us to 'extend the attack after winning the ball', and maybe we were able to do that today by being conscious of it in our daily practices."

"Takahashi" "This season, we have been using a combination of pressing from the front and retreating to defend, depending on the situation. I think it worked well today. As a team, we are trying to switch quickly from defense to offense and vice versa. I feel like we are faster in our counterattacks compared to last season, and I think we were able to execute what we have been trying to do."

[Coach Popovich's Press Conference Summary]
"No matter what kind of game it is, a 3-0 result is always pleasing. It wasn't easy, but especially since our opponent today was Kashiwa, it's even more so. Today, we were tough and each player played with a sense of responsibility and a strong attitude. Throughout the game, we didn't give our opponents space or time, and we didn't let highly skilled MF Leandro Domingues and FW Cleo play freely. We were able to play a game like today against a team with such talented players, and we want to continue that and we can. We can't let our guard down for even one game."

I think it's important to approach every game as usual, but many fans and supporters came to the stadium for the home opener. We were able to show a solid performance and get a good result. I believe that by sticking to our style of soccer and aiming for victory, we can fill Ajinomoto Stadium. I think it was good to be able to show that attitude today."

[Kashiwa NELSINHO Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"Today, the opponent was more prepared and had a higher quality in terms of mentality, skills, and organization than us. I think they were a team deserving of victory. We were not our usual selves, like we always are in the J-League. We were defeated by the opponent's organization and determination."