A crucial match that holds the key to advancing to the top

　In the previous round, Tokyo finished their match against Hiroshima with a draw, placing them in 6th position with 15 points. Kashima, their opponent in this round, is in 4th position with 17 points. If Tokyo can win this direct confrontation, they will surpass Kashima and aim for a higher position. Therefore, Tokyo is determined to accumulate 3 points at all costs. On the other hand, Kashima also needs to accumulate 3 points in this home game to remain in the championship race. It has become a crucial match where neither team can afford to lose.

　Tokyo made significant changes to their lineup from the previous match. In place of Lucas, who has adductor muscle pain, Bamba, who will make his first start of the season, was placed as the lone striker. Toda replaced Kajiyama, who injured his ankle in the previous match, as the left midfielder. Kanazawa, who returned after a five-game absence since Sec. 6, replaced Fujiyama as the left full-back. Kelly in the attacking midfield and Tokunaga as the right full-back started for the second consecutive match. In the midfield, Inokoshi and Asari, who have formed an unchanged partnership since Sec. 7, will start.

　Kashima, who will face them, has Nakata as a starting midfielder for the first time this season. Ogasawara, who has returned from suspension, will join as an attacking midfielder, completing the best lineup. Since they suffered their first home defeat against Tokyo in the Nabisco Cup on April 29, it is expected that they will approach the match with high motivation not only to remain in the championship race but also to seek revenge.

　Can Asari and Kanazawa both celebrate their 100th J1 appearance with a victory in this match? The key to advancing to the top is in this battle, which kicked off at 2:05 pm at the chilly Kashima Soccer Stadium with a temperature of 11.2℃ and a drizzle.

Overwhelming Kashima with attacking soccer

　"Kashima is expected to come out strong from the start at home. We need to compete firmly and quickly attack from the sides when we steal the ball, so as not to lose to them. The way we start the game is important," said Coach Hara, who gave a pep talk before kickoff. Tokyo Eleven, entrusted with that mission, overwhelmed Kashima with their fighting spirit from the start.

　The first shot was taken by Tokyo. It missed the target by a large margin, but in the first minute, Ishikawa's greeting shot sparked the momentum, and Tokyo began to show their energy. They gathered the ball to Kelly, and with the unique ball touch of the lone striker Baba, they created a base in the front line. From the right, Ishikawa and Tokunaga supplied high-quality crosses, while on the left, Toda made energetic movements to exploit space and disrupt the Kashima defense. In the 6th minute, Konno advanced on the left side and delivered a cross, which Toda reacted to, breaking free in front of the goal, but he was brought down by the Kashima defense and couldn't take a shot. In the 9th minute, Kelly broke through on the right side and delivered a cross that flew just past the near post, almost resulting in a goal, but the Kashima GK barely managed to stop it. In the following 11th minute, DF Moiniwa kicked a long feed, and Toda rushed in on the left side. Although the Kashima defense touched the ball first, he persisted and regained possession, sending a low cross to Kelly, who had run into the center. However, it was just out of reach, and the defense cleared it. From the resulting left corner kick, Kelly received the ball and attempted a looping shot aimed at the far side, but unfortunately hit the bar and did not result in a goal. Furthermore, the ball rolled to the right side, and after picking it up and swinging it back to the left, it connected from Ishikawa to Toda, who finally evaded the Kashima defense inside the penalty area and unleashed a powerful shot with his left foot, but it was caught right in front of the GK.

　In the 15th minute, a short pass was made from the right side to the center by Ishikawa, Baba, and Ishikawa, and then a pass was made to Toda, who was free on the left inside the penalty area. Toda calmly crossed the ball to the center, but the goalkeeper cleared it with a punch. Although it didn't result in a goal, they frequently created chances in the early stages with accurate crosses.

"Shoot!"

　Tokyo's dominance continued afterwards. In the 22nd minute, Ishikawa kicked a low and sharp ball from a free kick obtained on the right side, and Makoto Imano dived in with a header, but was blocked by the opponent's defender and resulted in a corner kick. Imano also took a header shot from this corner kick from the right, but it went well over the bar. In the following 25th minute, Kanazawa, Baba, and Kanazawa connected directly on the left side and sent the ball to Imano who had made a run into space. Imano made a deep cut and then delivered a low cross, but it was cleared and resulted in another corner kick. Despite repeatedly bewildering Kashima with brilliant passing plays, they were unable to convert the final touch into a goal.

　Kashima, who has been on the defensive, has Fabio JUNIOR playing as a lone striker and positioning himself near the post, but due to the tough checks from Shigetani and Jean, they are unable to settle the ball and are struggling to push forward as a team. Nakata is also far from his best form, with noticeable passing errors, and Ogasawara and Motoyama are unable to do their job due to the tough marking from Konno and Asari, making it difficult to create opportunities.

　Kashima created a chance in the 27th minute, with a forceful breakthrough by Fabio JUNIOR leading to a scramble in front of the goal. The ball rolled towards Motoyama, who was ready to finish, and he took a strong shot. However, Doi made a solid catch. In the 31st minute, there was a momentary gap in the previously flawless Tokyo defense line, and a cross from the right side found space on the far side. Ogasawara sprinted towards it at high speed. He was shot at close range with a header, but Ishikawa made a desperate return and blocked the ball from going into the net.

　Tokyo's biggest chance came in the 34th minute, when Kanazawa sent a low cross from the left into the goal area. Kelly kept the ball with his back to the goal. He then passed the ball to Baba, who was free in the right position inside the penalty area. Baba feinted with his right foot to dodge the Kashima DF and took a shot with his left foot!?! Just when I thought that, he didn't even take the shot and passed the ball again to Kelly, who was free in the center. However, Kelly also fell for that feint and missed the pass, failing to take a shot. He missed the biggest opportunity.

　Afterwards, in the 39th minute, Bamba dropped a long pass from Shigetoshi behind with his head, and Kelly, who had run in, shot from the front of the goal, but it went over the bar. Tokyo dominated Kashima but couldn't convert it into a goal, and the match was carried over to the second half.

Although the team's strength improved with stable defense and Kelly's recovery...

　"The content is not bad. Let's attack in a simple way in the second half, just like the start of the first half. Use Ishikawa and Tokunaga more on the right side and thoroughly put in fast balls from the side. Let's try to jump closer to the crosses. We can't win if we don't score points. At halftime, Coach Hara instructed us to take shots with determination," but it quickly materialized at the start of the second half. In the 50th minute, Asari made a big side change from the right side to the open space on the left side, and Kanazawa rushed in for a left-footed shot. Unfortunately, it was a close scene but was blocked by the Kashima DF's tackle."

　Kashima, who had no attacking players, made substitutions in the 52nd minute, bringing in Narahashi as a right full-back and Nozawa as an attacking midfielder, and rearranged Arai on the left side. They set up a more attacking formation and went for the win to secure 3 points.

　Tokyo, on the other hand, saw their two defensive midfielders shine even more brightly. Asari formed a strong defense alongside Shigenobu, Jean, and others, while Makoto Imano aggressively stole the ball from high positions in the front line and immediately joined the attack. In the 67th minute, Imano broke through two defenders on the left side and was tackled by a third, but he quickly got back up and continued his charge. He was fouled again and won a free kick, but Tokyo's team was inspired by Imano's spirited play.

　The back-and-forth battle intensified. In the 68th minute, Suzuki was brought on to replace Toda. In the 69th minute, Kelly stole the ball on the left side, dribbled, passed to Baba up front, received a return pass, and made a brilliant through ball to Baba, who was running behind the defense, but unfortunately was offside. In the 71st minute, a pass from Ishikawa on the right found Kelly in the center, and then passed to Konno, who had moved up on the left side. Konno took a powerful shot with his left foot, but it narrowly missed to the left of the goal. In the 72nd minute, Wu was brought on to replace Baba. Suzuki was placed as a lone striker, and Wu moved into the left midfield position. In the 75th minute, Kelly brought the ball in from the left side, evaded two Kashima defenders, and took a shot that went well over the bar. In the 76th minute, Kelly dribbled forward and passed to Ishikawa, who entered the open space in the center from the right side, and while competing with a Kashima defender, took a shot with his left foot. Conversely, in the 78th minute, Fabio JUNIOR kept the ball on the right side of the penalty area, turned, and sent in a low cross in front of the goal, but FERNANDEZ just missed it. In the 79th minute, Konno intercepted a pass in midfield and moved forward, passing to Suzuki on the left side. Suzuki took a bold shot from mid-range, but the ball went wide of the target. It was a disappointing scene as the attack from the counter left Ishikawa and Kelly free on the right side.

　Kashima substituted FW Hirase as the last card in the 80th minute instead of Motoyama. In the 83rd minute, Hirase passed the ball to Fabio JUNIOR inside the penalty area from the right side, and then dropped it to Narahashi who came up attacking after creating a pause. The ball went well over the bar, but it was a dangerous situation as it was a favorite form for Kashima. Towards the end of the game, Fabio JUNIOR once again kept the ball inside the penalty area and dropped it, and Ogasawara shot with all his might from the front, but Kanazawa blocked it by diving with his body. In the end, although Tokyo had the advantage with a shot count of 13:9, they cried over the lack of finishing power as in the previous match and ended up with a scoreless draw, accumulating only 1 point.

【Player Comments】《Yuta BABA》"It's been a while since I played for a long time, but I was able to play well. However, one of the challenges was that when I was isolated as a lone striker, there were times when I held onto the ball too much and got it stolen. It was easy to play with Kelly. It's a shame that we couldn't score the final finish in a game we could have won."《Jo KANAZAWA》"(Today was my 100th game) For me, it was just a regular game like any other. It's not about it being my 100th game, but because if we won, we could have gone above Kashima, so I really wanted to win. It was a long time since I played a game, but I didn't feel rusty and was able to fit in without any discomfort."

[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "We changed the lineup from the last match, but Lucas and Kajiyama were not fully fit due to injuries, so we decided to use Baba as a lone striker and brought in Toda, who rested last week on the left. Both did well. Before the match, we discussed that Antlers would come at us aggressively from the start, so we should play simply and, once we regained possession, use Ishikawa on the right and Toda on the left to attack from the sides. We created good opportunities, but not being able to score is currently our issue. In the first half, Baba's cutback and Kelly's miss were crucial moments, and we need to convert those chances. Our defense has improved and we were working hard. In the second half, Antlers made substitutions and attacked, but we held up well. Konno and Asari's dedicated defense was effective, and Kanazawa's return brought stability. Right now, Konno winning the ball and moving forward is creating the most chances. Even when matched up against players like Ogasawara and Nakata, Konno outperformed them in terms of work rate and involvement in chances. There may be times when Olympic representatives and the Japan national team players are unavailable, but I want to utilize energetic players to maintain our team strength."

[Summary of Kashima Toninho CEREZO's press conference] "First of all, in the first 10 minutes, there was a difference in the momentum and enthusiasm of FC Tokyo. We had many simple plays and lacked organized plays. Considering the quality of the four midfielders as technical players, it is unimaginable to have 25 missed passes in the first half. Some players also performed poorly in the second half. Although I didn't count the number of missed passes... It has been a trend in recent years that the matches before the national team announcement and joining are not good in terms of content. Today was the same. However, Tokyo's defense was good today. They only allowed us to have the ball in the center back position. The opponents were mentally ahead of us from the first half, and we were always on the back foot. We were losing from the beginning. We tried to improve at halftime, but the opponents were still better in the second half. Today's match ended up being regrettable."