<Match Review>
A match where they must show their grit. Tokyo, on the rise with 6 wins and 1 loss in recent official matches, faced the second-placed Kashima Antlers at home. In the away game held in March, despite creating many chances, they repeatedly missed decisive opportunities and lost. Since that defeat became a turning point leading to a difficult period, they now want to demonstrate their fighting spirit, prove their true strength, and use this as a chance to rise further.
With just three days since the Round of 16 match in the Emperor's Cup held on Wednesday, Tokyo made seven changes to the starting lineup. The goalkeeper was Kim Seung-gyu, and the back four from right to left were Yuto Nagatomo, Alexander Scholz, Teppei Oka, and Naruki Muroya. The defensive midfielders were Takahiro KO and Kento HASHIMOTO, while the attackers were Keiin Sato on the right and Kota TAWARATSUMIDA on the left. Marcelo and Motoki NAGAKURA formed the two forwards. Additionally, rookie Taiyo YAMAGUCHI, a product of the academy, was named to the bench for the first time, and Ewerton GAUDINO was included in the squad for the first time since the J1 League Round 25 match against Yokohama F. Marinos on June 25.
On the opposing side, the Kashima Antlers started with Ogawa and Araki, both former Tokyo players, while Tagawa was on the bench. During the pre-match player introductions, the three players received a big round of applause from the stadium.
1st HALF—A first half focused on both offense and defense. The match remained scoreless going into the second half.
The red and blue eleven, welcomed by the fireworks and light show of the 'FIREWORKS NIGHT supported by Paidy,' immediately launched an attack on the Kashima goal.
At 2 minutes into the game, Julian broke away on a counterattack, carried the ball forward vertically, and took a shot. It hit an opposing defender and struck the right post. Then, at 4 minutes, from a left cross by Muroya, Julian chest-trapped the ball and fiercely swung his left foot inside the penalty area, but this too was stopped by the sharp reaction of the opposing goalkeeper, preventing the ball from hitting the net.
Tokyo continued to take control of the match with aggressive play. In the 15th minute of the first half, from Ogawa's left cross, Leo CEARA connected in the center, but goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu showed an outstanding reaction to the close-range header. Then, in the 18th minute, he also made a flying save to block a powerful long shot, with the defense firmly supporting the team.
Both teams created chances and the tense moments continued, but the next big chance was created by Tokyo. In the 25th minute of the first half, Nagatomo broke through on the right side, marked by two defenders, and delivered a pinpoint cross to the near side. Nagakura connected with the inside of his right foot, but once again, the opposing goalkeeper's excellent reaction prevented the ball from hitting the net.
Tokyo launched a well-rounded attack from the sides and the center. In the 39th minute of the first half, following a cutback from Tawara Tsukida, both Nagakura and Sato rushed into the area, but their timing was just slightly off.
In the first half, all 11 players on the pitch showed focused play, surpassing their opponents in battles for the ball, quick anticipation, and transitions between offense and defense, but even during the two minutes of additional time, neither side could change the score. The tightly contested, evenly matched game was carried over into the second half.
2nd HALF—Counterattack Attempted but Revenge from Previous Match Not Achieved
With the lessons learned from the away game five months ago in mind, Tokyo aimed to firmly convert their chances. They entered the second half without any substitutions at halftime. On the other hand, Kashima had switched their system from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1 during the first half, but at the start of the second half, they made two player changes to reinforce the team and reverted back to 4-4-2 to take the fight to their opponents.
Tokyo wanted to take the initiative, but an accident struck early in the second half. Muroya, who passed the ball on the left side, injured his leg and sat down, forcing a substitution with Kashif BANGNAGANDE in the 8th minute of the second half.
Both teams were looking for attacking opportunities, and Tokyo created a chance by utilizing Lukian's speed. In the 14th minute of the second half, Sato quickly turned and made a through pass from the right side. Lukian broke free, dribbled forward, and aimed with his right foot, but the opposing goalkeeper saved it, preventing a goal. Then, in the 21st minute, after Tawara Tsukida's shot hit an opponent and the ball spilled loose, Sato attempted a direct half-volley, but it narrowly missed to the right of the goal.
In the 33rd minute of the second half, wanting to meet the expectations of the Blue-Red family who continued to cheer passionately despite the heavy rain, Coach Rikizo MATSUHASHI made a move. He brought on Teruhito NAKAGAWA and Leon NOZAWA in place of Julian and Tawara Tsukida. Sending fresh attackers to the front line, he entrusted them with breaking through the situation. Then, immediately in the 34th minute, after Nagatomo’s right cross was cleared and the loose ball flowed to the far side, Leon NOZAWA took a direct shot as the ball dropped. He showed an aggressive attack right away.
However, the failure to convert chances once again led to a difficult situation, just like in the away game. In the 36th minute of the second half, a momentary lapse was exploited as the left side of their own defense was broken through, and from a grounded cross, Tagawa was pinpointed at the near post and scored. Entering the final stages of the match trailing by one goal.
The final substitution came in the 44th minute of the second half, with Ewerton and Keigo HIGASHI entering the pitch in place of Sato and Hashimoto.
During the six minutes of added time displayed in the second half, despite the heavy rain, the energy behind the goal continued to rise. Fueled by the loud cheers of "Today is a day we cannot lose," the blue-red eleven, chasing a goal, launched attacks on Kashima’s goal through counters and set plays.
However, the counterattack fell short. Despite showing a passionate fight, the fierce battle in the rain unfortunately ended in a 0-1 defeat.
MATCH DETAILS
<FC TOKYO>
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Kim Seung-gyu
DF Naruki Muroya (8th minute second half: Kashif BANGNAGANDE)/Yuto NAGATOMO/Alexander Scholz/Teppei Oka
MF Ko Woo-young/Kei Sato (44th minute second half: Ewerton GAUDINO)/Kento HASHIMOTO (44th minute second half: Keigo Azuma)/Kota TAWARATSUMIDA (33rd minute second half: Leon NOZAWA)
FW Marcelo Jean (33rd minute second half: Teruhito NAKAGAWA)/Motoki NAGAKURA
SUBS
GK Masataka KOBAYASHI
DF Henrique Trevisan
MF Kei KOIZUMI
FW Taiyo YAMAGUCHI
MANAGER
Rikizo MATSUHASHI
GOAL
―
<Kashima Antlers>
STARTING Ⅺ
GK Tomoki HAYAKAWA
DF Ryuta KOIKE/Naomichi UEDA/Kim Tae-hyun/Ryoya OGAWA
MF Yu FUNABASHI (2nd half 0 min: Kei CHINEN)/Kento MISAO (2nd half 34 min: Shuhei MIZOGUCHI)/Ryotaro ARAKI (2nd half 0 min: Yuta MATSUMURA)/Chavrich (2nd half 16 min: Kyosuke TAGAWA)
FW Leo Ceara (2nd half 30 min: Yuta HIGUCHI)/Yuma SUZUKI
SUBS
GK Yuji KAJIKAWA
DF Keisuke TSUKUI/Kaito CHIDA
MF Gaku SHIBASAKI
MANAGER
Toru ONIKI
GOAL
36th minute of the second half: Kyosuke TAGAWA
[Interview with Coach Rikizo MATSUHASHI]
Q, please give us an overview of today's match.
A, It is extremely frustrating to have been defeated by the Kashima Antlers, who truly demonstrated remarkable strength. It’s not about the content of the game, but we have no choice but to accept the result. There are still many things we need to build up and internalize. It’s the accumulation of small things. Unless those start to show more, it will be difficult to beat teams like this or to move up higher. Despite the fact that so many fans and supporters gathered today even in such weather, it is very disappointing that we could not deliver a victory.
Q, I think the result is frustrating, but I believe the content was very good. How do you evaluate that aspect?
A, regarding the content, I think we were able to create chances while properly responding to various situations both offensively and defensively. However, in defense, everyone could somewhat sense the danger in the first phase, which is of course important, but in the second and third phases—such as when the opponent picks up second balls or when we carelessly lose possession ourselves—the sensitivity to the sense of crisis or the moments when it’s truly dangerous was unfortunately not very high. Of course, there were times when it was high, but in terms of how we were beaten, I have to say that’s the case.
Once such issues arise, no matter how good the game is, no matter how favorable the flow of the match, even if it seems like a game we could probably win, conceding goals like that makes it difficult to receive a positive evaluation. We must approach this with that level of seriousness. It’s not just about acknowledging this one aspect; I believe the reasons we couldn’t secure the three points lie in both offense and defense. We need to properly address those areas and thoroughly refine the content of our play.
Q, the timing of the substitutions seemed to be a bit delayed. Could you tell us the intention behind that?
A, regarding the substitutions, there were still moments when it didn’t look like the players’ legs had stopped, so we aimed to push it as far as possible before making multiple substitutions at once to boost our power. However, some players were gradually showing signs of fatigue, and the rain also had an impact, so the substitutions under those circumstances may have appeared delayed. Our intention was to overwhelm the opposition towards the end by making grouped substitutions, but unfortunately, we couldn’t achieve that today. During that period, we prioritized playing the ball backwards and lacked challenges. I believe we were unable to perform well in receiving the ball in the most dangerous areas.
Q, after a match where the content was good but the result did not come through, what kind of words did you say to the players?
A, I spoke to the players about what I am discussing here now. However, even before entering this game, recently there have been more opportunities to accumulate victories, and precisely because of that, I think it is important to have the feeling that you can do something and to have confidence, but I also told them that it is not good to let those feelings become too inflated. At such times, you can be caught off guard. It is essential to pay close attention to the small things, to thoroughly carry out the basics, and to focus on how much you can repeat those actions. Suddenly stopping what you have been doing is not acceptable, and just like human growth, it is not good to become too big too quickly. That is what I believe, so I conveyed this while approaching this game, but if you cannot do that, this kind of game results. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. But now, we have no choice but to wake everyone up once again and take another hard look at ourselves. It’s not that we haven’t been doing it, but there is still much more to do.
Also, we must engage in repetition to further heighten our own sensitivity. While discussing with the coaches, we need to see how much we can repeat and instill this during training. Unless it stimulates the players’ sensibilities and essence, I feel there are parts where their performance and their inherent abilities cannot be fully drawn out. This is not solely their responsibility; I believe such elements exist in everyday life as well, so I want to take another look at that and work on it again.
[Player Interview]
<Takahiro KO>
Q, please review the game.
A, we managed the game well from the first half and created many chances, but failing to finish them off allowed the opponent to exploit a brief lapse, making it a very frustrating match.
Q, while the team showed its strengths, the match ended with a gap at the crucial moments.
A, we were able to create chances from the first half, and we communicated on the pitch and during halftime to make sure we finished those chances, continued to keep targeting the opponent’s goal, and maintained focus including risk management. It’s truly frustrating.
Q, finishing ability was a major factor that influenced the result of the match.
A, the opposing goalkeeper Hayakawa is also an excellent keeper, and he saved some big chances. While we were able to create many opportunities from the sides, there were many moments where I thought we could have connected better with the crosses. We want the entire team to strive for that final “quality.”
<Player Kei Sato>
Q. In the first half, from the very start, we created decisive chances and progressed the match on our terms. How did it feel on the pitch?
A. Not only at the start but throughout the match, there were moments when we held the initiative, and because we played our own style without adapting to the opponent, we failed to finish and instead conceded from the few chances they had. Their mental toughness was superior, and I think that was really the difference. I felt there was absolutely no difference in ability, and on the contrary, I can confidently say we were stronger, which is why losing like this is incredibly frustrating.
Q: Until about 30 minutes into the first half, we kept pressing the opponent so much that it was almost like a half-court game. What do you think was the reason we were able to take control ourselves?
A: The biggest reason was that, including myself, we took positions that the opponent disliked, putting their full-backs in difficult spots, and the relationships on the sides were good, overwhelming the opponent. Conversely, good vertical passes were made through the center, with movements involved in those plays, so we were able to dominate both the sides and the center. Because of that, we drew the opponent in and were able to recover their forced clearances, creating a good cycle, I believe.
If we had kept that up for the full 90 minutes, I think we would have scored. Because there were so many good scenes in the first half, not being able to finish gradually shifted the momentum to the opponent, and although it wasn’t like the previous Kashima match, even when playing good football, we ended up conceding and losing. In terms of the game content, Tokyo really played better football, and that’s why it’s so frustrating.
Q. We also felt that Keito Sato’s own performance was in good form.
A. Today, I was able to play with quite a bit of composure, I could see what was around me, and the relationships on the sides were also good. Not only positioning, but if I can produce plays that threaten the opponent’s goal more and plays that the opponent dislikes, it will add depth to the attack, expand the range of my own play, and I think it will lead to goals, so I believe that’s the only thing left.
Q. Even if we continue to outperform in terms of content, there may be matches where the outcome changes by a narrow margin. What do you think makes the difference?
A. As Coach Matsuhashi also said, it is precisely at such times that we need to focus on the small details and win each phase of the game. By doing so, we will naturally win matches and score goals. We want to make sure not to neglect those aspects. Our defense has also improved, and I believe we just need to keep it up. Things are gradually getting better, so we will quickly switch our mindset and move forward without looking down, focusing on the next challenge.
