Repay the debt of the 1st stage and escape from the losing streak!

On April 1st this year, Tokyo, who had momentum with three consecutive opening wins until the previous match, faced Kashiwa Reysol at the Kashiwa-no-ha Stadium. If they won the match held that day, they would achieve a new J-League record for promoted teams (four consecutive opening wins). Despite a tough match where they fell behind twice, they managed to equalize each time and fought hard even in extra time, but ultimately lost after conceding a golden goal just before the end. This match became a source of confidence for Tokyo, as they were able to challenge a strong contender that has steadily built its achievements under Coach Nishino, including winning the Nabisco Cup for the first time last year, and they were able to compete on equal terms until the end. Although they have only won once in seven matches against this strong opponent (August 1993, Edogawa, score 2-1), if they play the kind of football that reflects their never-give-up spirit as shown in the 1st stage, they have a good chance of winning. Currently, Tokyo is in a difficult situation with five consecutive wins followed by two losses in the 2nd stage, making it crucial for them to win today's match to break this bad streak.

Conceded a goal right away, taking advantage of the absence of key players

The venue for today's match is Ishikawa Athletics Stadium in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, which is the third away game of the season in Tokyo. Before the match, goalkeeper Doi, who achieved his 100th appearance in the J-League, was presented with a bouquet. Is there some kind of fate that the opponent is Kashiwa Reysol, who he used to belong to until last year?

Tokyo faced the game with a difficult lineup, missing Amaral, their ace, due to injury, in addition to Asari and Kina, the double defensive midfielders. Although it was expected that the absence of Amaral would be covered sufficiently by the in-form Kamiya, who has a different playing style, the absence of Asari, who maintains the defensive balance, and Kina, who also handles game-making, cannot be easily covered and became a source of concern.

The match started with Kashiwa's pace. Kashiwa showed their momentum by targeting the excellent post-play and scoring ability of Kitajima, and by delivering crosses from both sides at an early timing. In the midfield, they tried to grasp the rhythm with a variety of passing plays centered around the genius MF Ono. As Coach Okuma mentioned before the match, "How to neutralize Ono, the game maker of Kashiwa, will determine the outcome." It was immediately understood that passes from Ono were a key point to be cautious of. Ono did not hold onto the ball for a long time, but he distributed sharp passes with exquisite timing and trajectory to the left side technician Hirayama, Kato who came out to the back with abundant athleticism and speed, and Kitajima who stuck to the goal front.

Tokyo has been assigning midfielder Hashimoto to mark the source of this Kashiwa pass, but they have been unable to catch him and ultimately ended up being broken down from here. In the 18th minute, this "player to watch out for" Ohno made a dribble and in response, Kitajima shook off his marker and rushed towards the goal. Just then, Ohno quickly passed a perfect through ball and Kitajima, even though he fell down in an awkward position, managed to take a shot and score a goal. We ended up conceding the opening goal from the most dangerous pattern that we needed to be cautious of, including the timing of Ohno's through pass and Kitajima's running path and finishing ability.

Start counterattack using the space on the left side

This one goal woke up Tokyo. It seemed that which team could gain an advantage on the sides would be a key point in this match, but after conceding a goal, Tokyo began their counterattack from this "side attack." Kashiwa adopted a three-back system, and when the side half shifted to attack, space naturally opened up. Coach Okuma pointed this out in the pre-match meeting, and from the 20th minute of the first half, when the players began to grasp Kashiwa's speed and attacking patterns, they started to exploit this space. Especially on the left side, Seigo Kobayashi intentionally burst into that space, creating chances through combinations with left back Fujiyama and large switches from the right by Yukihiko. In the 27th minute, a pass went from left Seigo Kobayashi to central TUTO, and then to Naito, who advanced on the right side. Naito took a powerful shot, but unfortunately, the ball went just wide of the left goal post. In the following 28th minute, this time Fujiyama dribbled up the left side and passed to the top player Kamino. Kamino managed to shake off the defender with a one-touch and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his shot unfortunately went wide. Furthermore, in the 29th minute, once again Seigo Kobayashi broke through on the left side, sending a fast ground ball to the center. Kamino pretended to shoot but let it go through, and from behind, Yukihiko unleashed a powerful left-footed shot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. In the 35th minute, Fujiyama broke through on the left side and passed to Seigo Kobayashi in the center. Seigo Kobayashi took a dribble and unleashed a left-footed shot, which seemed destined to shake the net as it headed straight for the Kashiwa goal, but it hit the right post. In the 43rd minute, Kamino dropped a ball that hit the post, and Seigo Kobayashi charged in with a dribble. He was brought down in the penalty area, but it did not result in a penalty kick.

On the other hand, after the 18th minute goal, Kashiwa, who had been pushed back by Tokyo, also had a chance in the 30th minute when Ohno dribbled up and passed to Kato on the left side. Kato received the pass and took a powerful left-footed shot from the dribble, but the ball hit the post and did not go in. In the 44th minute, Kato again took a free shot after breaking through the right side and crossing to the opposite side, but it was cleared without hitting the target.

In the first half, Tokyo conceded one goal, but the number of shots was equal at 8-8, and Tokyo clearly outperformed in terms of content. The outcome of the match was completely unpredictable as the second half began.

Sinking with a regrettable red card...

Tokyo continued to attack from the sides in the second half. Yukihiko created chances from the right, while Seigo created opportunities from the left with decisive movements. On the other hand, Kashiwa also fiercely fought back. In the 2nd minute, Hirayama took a powerful shot from a free kick, but Dohi made a fine save. In the 10th minute, another strong shot was taken from the front of the goal, but Dohi caught it firmly. The intense battle filled with tension indicated that both teams understood well that the next goal would greatly influence the outcome.

However, what determined the game was an unexpected situation. In the 22nd minute, Masuda, who had replaced Yukihiko in the second half, fell into Kashiwa's provocation and was sent off with a red card. Tokyo was tied, in a position to turn the game around, in a very good state at a crucial time, but faced the worst situation. It was self-destruction caused by an "act that should not have been done" not only as an individual player but also as a team. After this, Tokyo was pushed into a very difficult situation where they had to fight with 10 players while being one point behind.

The decisive second goal came 9 minutes later. Despite being one player down, Tokyo had to go on the attack. From a counter, they were caught off guard by the "player to watch out for," Ohno, who took a shot from the center after the midfield had thinned out. Despite Doi's desperate saving attempt, the shot went past him and Tokyo conceded the second goal without any resistance.

Even so, Tokyo never gave up until the end. And they fought until the end. In the 37th minute, Kamino broke through from a through pass by Seigo KOBAYASHI and found himself one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper, but was thwarted by a fine play from the opponent's GK. Just after that, in the 38th minute, TUTO broke through on the left side and sent the ball to the center, where Seigo KOBAYASHI unleashed a powerful shot that threatened the Kashiwa goal. In the 40th minute, from a set piece, Sandro's header came close, and in stoppage time, TUTO dribbled past two defenders on the left side and unleashed a fierce shot that astonished the Kashiwa defense, but it also hit the opponent and did not result in a goal. And, mercilessly, time was up here. Tokyo's fierce attack ended here. This marked Tokyo's first three consecutive losses of the season. The continuous injuries and the resulting decline in team strength were undeniable. All the players fought well, but the lack of midfield structure and the absence of effective passes to the front line forced TUTO, who should have been competing in the forward position, to drop back. TUTO was often seen relying on individual skills, but on the other hand, he displayed his consistently high ability to break through defenses. Seigo KOBAYASHI and Fujiyama also had technical aspects that surpassed Kashiwa, and the efforts of the defense, including the goalkeeper, felt strong. Although the result of 'victory' was not achieved, there were many chances, and they were definitely not heading in the wrong direction. This is the critical moment. If the team can unite once more and aim for the same goal, results will surely follow.