A fierce battle between teams that pride themselves on solid defense and fast counterattacks

'Kashiwa Reysol' has achieved 99 victories since the '95 season in the J-League. If they win today, it will be their 100th victory overall. On the other hand, Tokyo has only 3 victories in J1, despite being in first place. This shows the difference in history between the top leagues. In order to narrow this gap even a little, they have no choice but to fight each match with all their might.

In today's game, Tokyo's attacking lineup, led by the in-form Amaral and TUTO, will face the formidable Kashiwa DF in the J-League. On the other hand, the defensive line will have to contain FW Kitajima, who has been in the spotlight as an Olympic representative. Both teams excel in solid defense and quick counterattacks, making it an exciting match to watch.

Even though they were chased, Amaral scored in three consecutive games!

In the first half, Tokyo, with the wind at their backs, aggressively attacked from the start. In the 9th minute, Fujiyama, who had made several attacking runs today, passed to TUTO, who ran behind the DF. He crossed it back, and Yukihiko dove in, but was contested by the DF and narrowly missed the goal. In the 10th minute, Sandro attempted a header from a corner kick, but this was ruled offside. Tokyo could not break through the well-read final line of Kashiwa. Kashiwa began to create opportunities by spreading the ball to the sides from interceptions in the final line and the defensive midfield, taking control around the 20th minute. Then, in the 24th minute, Kitajima headed in a cross from left midfielder Ohno for the opening goal, catching Tokyo off guard. After that, Kashiwa maintained a higher defensive awareness than Tokyo, quickly transitioning between offense and defense. Tokyo desperately wanted to move the ball quickly to the goal area on a counterattack, but Kashiwa's midfield pressure disrupted their attacks. However, in the 40th minute, Koike sent a ball into the left space, and Fujiyama ran in to cross it. Amaral's header, despite hitting the opposing DF, found its way into the bottom right corner of the goal! Despite being on the back foot, ace Amaral took his one chance and equalized the score.

Showed persistence! Yukihiko's equalizing goal!!

In the first half, Tokyo struggled with half-hearted passing mistakes and weak defensive clearances, lacking composure. The intensity of the offense and defense remained unchanged in the second half, with both teams becoming heated over each other's harsh fouls, leading to a tense period. Both teams wanted to shift the momentum, but it was Kashiwa that made the first move. In the 63rd minute, they substituted FW Kato and MF Sakai for FW Park and MF Hirayama. Just after that, in the 68th minute, Kashiwa earned a free kick on the left side of Tokyo's penalty area. The kicker was Hirayama, who was also selected for the Olympic team. The sharply struck ball induced a clearance mistake from Asari and headed towards the goal. Tokyo found themselves trailing by one goal again. However, gradually, Amaral began to become a focal point despite being tightly marked, showing a proactive awareness of getting behind the defense from both sides. In the 75th minute, after substituting Koike for Kinama, a ball from Kobayashi was headed down by Tsutto, and Amaral, slipping past the defensive mark, took a shot! The ball slipped through GK Minami's legs, and Yukihiko, who was following up, got it!! It was a powerful strike that brought them back to level terms, chasing after Kashiwa, who was trying to pull away. After that, a series of counterattacks continued, but neither side could capitalize on their chances, and Tokyo entered extra time for the second consecutive match.

The wall of Hong Myung-Bo stood firm

Both teams are increasingly engaged in a fierce battle. Tokyo aggressively attacks with high energy, but TUTO's finish does not hit the target. On the other hand, Kashiwa brought Hong Myung-bo up to the midfield to take a chance. "I told him to have only one defensive midfielder, Myojin, and to let Hong Myung-bo play just behind the forwards. I checked if he could handle it physically, and he said, 'I'm fine!'" said Coach Nishino, as Kashiwa energetically chased the ball and their defense pushed forward. Tokyo, which had left the midfield open over time, substituted Toda for Kobayashi in the second half of extra time. They actively tried to attack but couldn't get a shot off. In the 118th minute, which seemed like it would end in a draw, on the left side of Kashiwa, a cross from Hirayama found an unmarked Hong Myung-bo who jumped and trapped the ball! In the next moment, when everyone thought, 'Was that a handball?!', the ball, perfectly struck with his left foot volley, slipped past Doih's left hand and rolled into the goal...

Extension V goal of shock. The first defeat in J1 became bitter. But this is soccer. It was subtle, but coach Okuma calmly analyzed, "The problem is that we created opportunities to shoot." It would be that Hong Myung-Bo's determination was superior to anyone else's goal. And although we missed the "4 consecutive victories", there is no reason to look down after this defeat. In the current Tokyo, there is a toughness that never gives up even twice behind. By using each reflection for the next, let's aim for the "4th victory".

Coach's Comment

"Coach Nishino's comments"

"I predicted that it would be a tough game, but Tokyo didn't press as much as I expected and instead focused on counterattacks from a defensive position. Even when we were behind, our style didn't change and we didn't have the feeling of coming back to score (as a team). If we had been able to score by pushing up the defensive line, it would have been easier for us to aim for counterattacks. However, that simple attack made it difficult for us to fight back, and even though we had control of the game, we couldn't score additional points. We have to reflect on the fact that we couldn't fully execute our attacking plays, but in terms of midfield and defensive play, we defended well and were able to play the way we intended."

"Coach Okuma's comment"

"Hong Myung-Bo moved up to the midfield during extra time, but couldn't take care of it. The opponent came to win, so we wanted to first defend and then attack the back of the defense. However... (We were often attacked from the right side back of the first half, Naito) The through passes were intercepted and we made passing mistakes, which disrupted our rhythm. Also, because the accuracy of the feeds was low, we couldn't create a starting point in the front line and attack the back of the defense. We were defeated, but only four games have ended so far. We want to continue to fight each game carefully."