I want to continue the momentum of winning in the ACL and win two consecutive league games.

Sec. 6 of the league, facing Kashiwa Reysol away, just 3 days after the ACL Jiangsu Suning match. Following a comeback victory in the previous league match against Nagoya, the team also won a tough away match against Jiangsu. With two consecutive wins in official matches, the team aims to continue their good momentum and push for another victory.

This round, Morishige will be suspended and Yoshimoto, who will make his first appearance in the league this season, will be appointed as center back. In addition, the combination of the attacking line will be slightly changed from the Jiangsu match, with Maeda and Abe as the top two, and Kono and Higashi on both sides. Captain Yonemoto will lead the team, and Muriqui has made his first appearance in the team since joining.

Kashiwa has yet to win in the league with 3 draws and 2 losses, but in the Nabisco Yokohama FM match on the 6th (Wednesday), they changed their members and showed an aggressive attitude such as tough pressing from the front line and strength in ball battles. They grabbed their first victory in 8 official matches. DF Masushima, who scored 2 goals in this match and was the driving force for victory on both offense and defense, was selected as a starter. The front line consists of FW Diego OLIVEIRA in the center, FW Nakagawa and FW Taketomi on both sides, and MF Ibarata and MF Kobayashi as inside halves. MF Ohtani serves as the anchor in a 4-3-3 formation.

The Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium, which was surrounded by the spring warmth during the day, started to get colder as the night fell. The match started at 7:04 PM with Kashiwa's kickoff.

Kashiwa pushed in, creating a decisive chance, but...

1 minute: Tokyo has been holding the ball since the start. Starting from Kawano on the right side, they connect the ball and aim for the goal from the left side of the area with a precise drop from Maeda in the center.

14 minutes: After a fierce battle in the midfield, Ogawa makes a quick switch and launches an attack from the left side. Maeda, who has advanced into the area from the far side, receives a direct pass from Ogawa's cross, but is denied by a great save from the Kashiwa GK.
Kashiwa also showed strength in ball possession and quick switching. They launched sharp counterattacks and the game continued at a high pace, but Tokyo gradually pushed Kashiwa back.

25 minutes: The ball is taken away once inside the Kashiwa team, but Ha DAESUNG reacts to the pass from a low position by Kashiwa. He runs up to the right area, but slips and is unable to take the shot.
27 minutes: Ogawa overlaps to a high position and sends a cross. Kawano in the right area receives it and takes a well-aimed shot, but the opponent's DF blocks it. He skillfully controls the loose ball and immediately takes a volley, but it is touched sideways by the Kashiwa GK and escapes to a CK.

38 minutes: Kono and Yonemoto press fiercely after taking the ball on the left front line, and then Ha DAESUNG breaks through to the right area after exchanging passes with Maeda in the center. However, the final pass is cut off just before reaching Abe.

42 minutes: Kono breaks through on the right front line and sends a ground cross. Maeda in front of the goal was not able to get into a shooting position, but quickly switched to the left side and carefully connected. Ogawa, who received the ball, sent a floating ball to the front of the goal, but it was blocked by the opposing DF.
44 minutes: Abe makes a timely run into the area, appearing to create a great chance, but is blocked by Kashiwa GK's quick reaction and dive.

Both teams fought with their fighting spirit in the forefront, and the intense offense and defense continued, but Tokyo showed a high defensive awareness and did not show any weaknesses. From there, they quickly turned to the attack and created scoring opportunities. However, they were stopped by the opponent's GK's great save, and the first half ended scoreless.

Conceded from a PK. Muriqui made his J-League debut and launched a counterattack, but it did not bear fruit.

Tokyo's Kono was replaced by Hashimoto as right MF due to injury at the start of the second half.
48 minutes: From the right side, ABE Takumi skillfully turns around and sends a cross while carrying the opponent's mark. However, he misses the chance to score in front of the goal, and gradually loses his energy. As a result, Kashiwa took the lead as they started to attack and made mistakes.

63 minutes: As the scenes of attacking from both sides continue, East is replaced by Hanyu as the right MF in an attempt to regain control. Hashimoto moves to the left.
64 minutes: Kashiwa FW Diego OLIVEIRA tries to break through on the right area, but Yoshimoto responds tenaciously. They defended with concentration until the end.

71 minutes: Kashiwa substitutes MF Ibarada for FW Tanaka. Then, Tokyo substitutes Ha DAESUNG for Muriqui. Muriqui joins the two top players, while Hashimoto moves to the defensive midfielder position. Abe moves to the right side, and Hayashi moves to the left, forming a new formation.
73 minutes: Muriqui, on the left side of the area, fakes out the opposing DF and sends a strong and fast cross into the box. Abbe tries to control it with his chest, but loses control while being held by the opposing DF.
77 minutes: Connect to Muriqui on the left side of their own field. Muriqui used his speed to forcefully attack between two opposing DF players, but lost the ball while being surrounded.

81 minutes: They went on the offensive, but Muriqui received Maruyama's clearance and tried to turn it into an attack. However, Kashiwa's press was tough, and further attempts by Yonemoto and Maeda to connect were thwarted by a loose ball being taken by Kashiwa. FW Diego OLIVEIRA then charged into the area, but Hashimoto tried to block him with a sliding tackle and committed a foul, giving Kashiwa a penalty kick.
82 minutes: This PK was scored by Kashiwa FW Tanaka, and we conceded the first goal.

Still, they did not give up and launched a counterattack, pushing Kashiwa back in the latter half with set plays as the main focus.
90 minutes: From the flow of FK, Kashiwa launched a wave attack in front of the goal, and Ogawa in the center calmly connected to Muriqui on the left area with a loose ball. Muriqui aimed for a fast shot, shifting the timing of the opposing DF, but it was blocked and no goal was scored.
Unable to take advantage of opportunities throughout the 90 minutes, we ended up with no points and suffered a devastating defeat.

[Player Comments]
"《Muriqui》
"I am disappointed that I couldn't produce results. Personally, I think I was able to make good movements in the short playing time I had. However, I couldn't score. Still, I want to start from today and do my best. I want to work harder and grow, and I want to share the joy with everyone at the end of the season. Thank you for your continued support."

"Yoshimoto"
"I thought it was my role to contribute to the team and get results with the chance that came around today. However, we couldn't keep the goals to zero, which means we are still immature. Especially against Kashiwa's ball, I was conscious of challenging and covering, but in the second half, we couldn't go forward and take it back, and the whole team became sluggish. However, there should have been something I could have done in the scene where we gave away a penalty. I have regrets and reflections there."

[Summary of Manager Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference]
"I feel sorry and disappointed that we couldn't win even though we aimed for 3 points. If we had been able to play our attacking style without giving any openings to Kashiwa's ball possession, the result might have been different. We made a lot of mistakes because we couldn't get used to the slippery ground. We want to review today's performance and get closer to the type of soccer we aim for. We can't use fatigue from consecutive games as an excuse, the players fought well but lacked composure after gaining possession. We couldn't convert our decisive chances. Even if it's said that our substitution strategy didn't work, it's an inevitable result. However, we want to use today's experience as a hint for the future."

[Kashiwa · Takahiro SHIMOTAIRA Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"It was an aggressive game from the start. The flow was speedy and we couldn't settle into the game, but the players worked hard to be aggressive on both offense and defense. In that flow, we were able to find our rhythm in the second half and I think it was crucial to score first with a PK."