To show the grown-up figure of Kashima, the last national event of this season

League Sec. 28 will be held. Kashima Antlers will face off against the home team at National Stadium. They are entering this round with 4 consecutive wins. However, coach Popovich emphasized, as always, that "past wins are in the past. Even if we continue to lose, our attitude towards the next game must remain the same, and our motivation to fight must not change," and that they must focus on each game and aim for victory regardless of the opponent or situation. They see this round as just one game out of 34, but it is also a fact that they do not want to break their momentum and good flow so far.

In particular, if we win against 4th place Kashima this round, our ranking will be reversed. In the league away game in May, we were leading by 2 points but ended up losing, so we are determined to fight and win in order to show our growth.

Kashima, who they will face, currently has 47 points. This season, fresh members such as DF Yamamura and MF Doi have emerged through their continuous battles. Although DF Nishi will be suspended for this match, they have always maintained their position at the top by rotating their members and fighting. In addition, they had a streak of 7 away game losses until the 25th round (September 14th), but they were able to stop that record in the 26th round against Iwata and have not lost a single game this season. This is what makes Kashima strong. On the other hand, it is important to avoid rushing and being too hasty. This will be a match where both aggressiveness and composure are required.

Tokyo's Hyun Soo JANG is out of the lineup due to injury. Kaga will be used as a center back. Kashima's FW Davi will start, forming a 2-top with FW Osako. In place of suspended DF Nishi, league debutant DF Ito will play as right SB in a 4-4-2 formation. Despite not feeling too cold, the game started at 7:04 PM with Kashima's kickoff in the midst of a light drizzle.

Repeatedly conceding goals at the start, just as Kashima had planned.

5 minutes into the game, Lucas on the left side passed to Ota who overlapped on the outside and crossed. Watanabe in the near post headed the ball but it went wide. The game started to pick up pace after that. In the 6th minute, Kashima's left throw-in was skillfully kept by central FW Davi, who then passed it to FW Juninho on the right side, who then connected with MF Endo in front of the right area. Endo took a well-aimed shot from the right area, which curved past Gonda and into the far net, giving the opposing team the lead.

After 3 minutes, FW Osako, who had been positioned defensively, had his pass in the midfield cut off by Kashima. He then dribbled forward through the center. A through pass was sent to FW Davi, who was trying to break through the defense. Kaga attempted to block, but was overpowered by Davi's strength and the ball was picked up, leading to a certain goal from the area and the team conceding their second goal in quick succession.

Kashima, who led by two points, took control of the pace and then got caught in Kashima's defensive net, aiming for passes to the front line. And from there, they were brought into sharp counters. In the 32nd minute, Tokyo also launched a quick attack, with Hasegawa running up the left front line. Nakawaki received a pass inside, controlled it once and took a shot, but it was blocked. In the 34th minute, they got a left corner kick from Ota's cross, and Morishige from the far side jumped in, but it went outside the frame.

In the 43rd minute, the biggest chance of the first half was created. Hasegawa, who received a vertical pass from behind in the center of the opponent's territory, immediately turned around and made a through pass. However, East was unable to score against the GK of Kashima and the shot was saved. They were unable to close the gap and ended the first half.

Despite making a final stand, Hirayama's counterattack was not enough to turn the tide...

Tokyo made a substitution, bringing in Hirayama for Kaga in the second half. Takahashi dropped back to center back and Hasegawa dropped back to defensive midfielder, forming a 2-top attack with Hirayama and Watanabe. They were able to control the ball and gradually find their rhythm, pressing Kashima by winning second balls. In the 58th minute, Yonemoto passed to Tokunaga who made a run down the right side and sent a low cross into the box, but it was saved by the goalkeeper.

In the 64th minute, Tokyo advanced to the left area from a pass behind Hasegawa. Far player Hirayama headed the cross, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. Tokyo is pushing up as a whole, trying to create chances by passing the ball around, but they are unable to break through the solid defense of Kashima DF who are sitting back.

In the 65th minute, Nemanja VUCICEVIC was brought on and tried to launch a more aggressive attack, but in the 67th minute, Tokyo's defense was caught off guard by a Kashima throw-in, and Kashima MF Ogasawara dribbled forward towards the center. Tokyo DF also faced him, but ended up dropping back, leaving the right area open for a shot. The powerful shot pierced through the far side and resulted in the third goal being conceded.

In the 73rd minute, Mita came in. In the 74th minute, they got a free kick, followed by a right corner kick, and from this flow, Ota sent an early cross to the front line, and Hirayama headed the shot. In the 76th minute, Hirayama cut off the opponent's clearance ball in front of the left area, and dribbled past the defender to take a shot. Then, Mita made a run from the right side and passed to Hirayama on the outside. Hirayama sent a final pass to the goal, but Lucas was blocked near the goal and the ball was saved by the goalkeeper.

At 80 minutes, Vucicevic tries to break through the back and Yamamoto sends a lob pass, earning a right corner kick. From here, Ota crosses and Hirayama jumps in, but can't finish. On the contrary, they receive a counterattack from Kashima. In the 81st minute, MF Shibasaki → MF Juninho dribbles up and passes to FW Osako who runs behind the DF. FW Osako skillfully avoids Gonda who jumped out and easily scores a goal...

Despite their never-give-up attitude, Tokyo continued to push towards the Kashima goal. In the 83rd minute, Ota's cross led to a header attempt by Hirayama, resulting in a right corner kick. In the midst of a battle between Takahashi and the opposing defender for the corner kick, the ball fell to Hasegawa who was positioned in front of the GK. With persistence, Hasegawa connected the ball and passed it to Hirayama on the right side, who then scored with his right foot. Although they were able to score one goal, Tokyo's counterattack was not enough. As the final whistle blew, they suffered a complete defeat against Kashima, who had successfully executed their game plan. As a result, Tokyo dropped to 6th place (provisional). However, due to the results of other matches, it was confirmed that Tokyo will continue to compete in J1 next season.


[Player Comments]
《MoriShige》
"We conceded two goals in the beginning, but we still had the desire to turn the game around. In the second half, we were able to keep possession of the ball and had a few shots on goal. However, the goal seemed far away. But the support from the stands could be heard until the end, showing us the determination to move forward. We have to respond to that."

《Hirayama》
"I am very disappointed because I was focused on the result. (About scoring) Right now, my teammates are assisting me and passing me the ball. That's why I am able to score. Even after conceding 2 goals, we had chances. If we had scored those chances, we might have been able to turn the game around. I regret and reflect on that."


[Coach Popovich's Press Conference Summary]
"If we start the game in a negative way, it won't be easy even against weaker opponents, let alone against the strong Kashima. That's clear from the result. In soccer, there's no "if only" and we can't say "if we had played like this...". We're not satisfied with the result. But we won't be pessimistic. We need to reflect on the missed opportunities, but we can also appreciate the many chances we created. Continuing to show an attacking attitude until the end and not giving up will lead to something in the future."

Regarding the third goal, it was our own mistake in judgment. The intentions of the referee and assistant referee were different, and the players were drawn into it, allowing Kashima to enter the shooting zone and score. It wasn't a matter of showing any gaps, but it was an important part in deciding the game. We need to make adjustments to prevent that kind of goal from happening again. However, we must not let today's game affect us and instead show improvement in the next game, and demonstrate our team's strength. We want to continue to focus on both results and performance. We want to keep moving the ball and creating chances, and we were able to maintain our never-give-up attitude until the end of the game. We also want to thank all the fans and supporters for their continuous support and we want to repay that support."


[Kashima - Toninho CEREZO Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"(Two consecutive wins at a difficult away game, but what changed?) I think it's just the players' mindset. Also, we had more time to adjust this time, as the schedule was tight before. We were able to recover properly and thoroughly focus on what the team needs to do. As you can see, we are a team that has to fight with limited resources. Other teams can use up to four foreign players, but we are not in that position. Today, even DF Nakata is overcoming the situation with just his mindset, but the transfer window is closed so the players are fighting with determination."

Before the match, we were thinking that the game against Tokyo would be open. This is because both teams are fighting for the goal, so it wouldn't be strange for either team to win. However, we were able to continue paying attention to the small details. We were able to score and also had counter attacks. There were also fewer passing mistakes in our attacks, and I think we were able to pick up more important second balls than the opponent.

There are promising young players with speed in Tokyo, and we were able to handle them. Especially in Tokyo, the side half on the opposite side often comes inside instead of staying on the ball side, but we were able to see that clearly and the two center backs also didn't lose focus. The opponent had diagonal movements from the side and knew how to move the ball, but we were able to handle that as well. Normally, Lucas has space and a wide range of activities, but today we were able to shorten the time to think and hold the ball, and reduce the frequency of activities."