Entering the second half! We want to decorate with a victory to turn the tide

　Sec. 18 of the league will be an away match against Kashima Antlers. After finishing Sec. 17 of the first half with 6 wins, 2 draws, and 9 losses, the team is facing a difficult situation with only 20 points. In the previous match against G Osaka, despite taking a 2-goal lead, they suffered a heavy defeat with 6 goals conceded. Although they started the first half as planned, they couldn't stop the negative momentum caused by mistakes and ended up with a frustrating battle. In this match, they aim to regroup defensively and secure 3 points to turn the tide in the second half, hoping to enter the break period on a positive note.

　Kashima, on the other hand, is currently in 3rd place with 30 points. Although they don't have an explosive attacking power like G Osaka, they have been winning consistently with solid game management. They have been on a nine-game unbeaten streak since their match against Tokyo on May 3rd and have been gaining momentum. The players to watch out for are the forward Marquinhos with his finishing ability and the attacking midfielder Nozawa. Coach Hara warns, "We need to send long balls to Marquinhos, Nozawa, and left midfielder Motoyama, and then launch speedy attacks from there." Tokyo needs to stay focused and not allow them to play easily. Additionally, they need to be cautious of Nozawa's accurate set plays.

　Tokyo has changed its lineup since the previous match against G Osaka. In this game, the battle on the sides will be a major point, so we want to put Norio Suzuki, a right midfielder, and Rychely, a left midfielder with speed, and exploit the space behind Kashima's side backs who have moved up, and create chances from there. Due to participation in the Japan national team training camp, Imano and Inoha have concerns about their condition, but in this match, Akamine will be on the bench, and we hope he can create chances with his quick movements against the tall Kashima center-backs when we need goals.

　In the past, Kashima Soccer Stadium has never won a league match. It is a tough opponent, but Tokyo's soccer style is to press from the front and launch quick attacks after winning the ball. By continuously attacking Kashima's sides and never giving up until the end, we want to find a way out. The match started with Kashima's kickoff at 16:00.

Unable to create an attacking rhythm, they go into halftime trailing by one point

　Kashima starts attacking from the beginning of the match. In the 4th minute, FW Tashiro drops the throw-in and FW Marcinhos shoots from the crowded area. In the 5th minute, MF Aoki shoots a middle shot but it goes to the left. Tokyo also seizes the chance from the right side. In the 7th minute, Suzuki Nori forcefully cuts into the right area while dragging the opponent's DF and shoots, but there is no angle and it hits the side net. In the 9th minute, Lucas who made a breakthrough on the right side outside the area is fouled and earns a free kick. Suzuki Nori's kick is cleared by the DF and goes to the left corner kick. Kajiyama's corner kick is caught by the opponent's GK and Kashima counterattacks. In the end, MF Motoyama shoots a middle shot but it goes to the right.

　Gradually, Tokyo dominates the ball and launches attacks. In the 13th minute, Rychely on the left, Fukunishi, and Kajiyama pass the ball, and if the pass reaches Suzuki Nori who is free on the right side, it would have been a big chance, but Kajiyama's final pass is intercepted. In the 14th minute, Lucas persists after Kanazawa's throw-in, and Kajiyama picks up the loose ball from outside the box and takes a shot. It is caught by the opponent's goalkeeper. Kashima, who cannot find their rhythm, throws a long ball towards FW Tashiro in the front line and turns it into an attack. Then, in the 21st minute, Inomoto fails to deal with the loose ball kicked behind the defense line, and Kashima FW Marcinho breaks through and takes a shot. Although Doi makes a good save, the ball falls to FW Marcinho again. He scores it reliably and allows a goal.

　Tokyo wanted to attack, but they were not used to the deep grass, so they often struggled to regain possession of the ball and their attacking speed did not increase. Meanwhile, Kashima organized their defense and Tokyo's players with the ball were either surrounded and dispossessed or countered due to passing errors, creating a vicious cycle. In the 30th minute, a quick restart led to a cross from the right by Tokunaga. Fukunishi, who had made a run into the box, stretched his leg but missed the ball. On the contrary, in the 31st minute, Kashima's midfielder Nakago broke free on the left side from a pass by midfielder Motoyama, and faced off against Doi in a one-on-one situation, but Doi made a great save and it resulted in a corner kick.

　From around 35 minutes into the game, Tokyo swapped positions between Rychely and Norio Suzuki. Gradually, the attack on the side started to develop smoothly, but they couldn't create any decisive chances. Towards the end of the first half, Kashima Antlers' forward, Tashiro, was released into the box and had a free shot, but once again, the shot was saved by Doi, avoiding a dangerous situation. The first half ended with a score of 0-1. Doi made several great saves, keeping the score at just one goal against, and leaving enough chances for a comeback in the second half.

Lucas and Norio Suzuki scored goals from set plays to secure a come-from-behind victory!

　Tokyo vigorously aims for a goal from the start of the second half. In the first minute of the second half, Tokunaga advances and crosses from the right. Lucas lets it go through, and Fukunishi, who was waiting behind, shoots from a close distance, but it hits the post. Lucas also tries to score from the rebound, but it narrowly goes to the left. In the second minute of the second half, Kashima DF clears Lucas' cross, and Kajiyama cuts inside the penalty area from the loose ball, winning a right corner kick. Tokunaga heads back Kajiyama's corner, and Lucas volleys it directly. It pierces the goal net, equalizing in the early stages of the second half.

　As instructed by Coach Hara during halftime, when you have the ball, quickly expand to the side to start the rhythm of the attack. In the 52nd minute, Suzuki Nori passed to Lucas on the left side, and Inonami, who had moved up, aimed for a shot from mid-range but it went wide to the right. In the 55th minute, after Kajiyama intercepted a pass, Lucas made a perfect through pass to Rychely who had made a run forward, resulting in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, but it was saved and resulted in a left corner kick. From there, we continuously won corner kicks. Then in the 56th minute, Kajiyama's right corner kick was headed down by Imano, and Lucas attempted to score but was blocked by the Kashima defenders. This time, Suzuki Nori, who had run in from behind, kicked a powerful shot into the goal to turn the game around.

　Tokyo continues to attack without letting up. In the 60th minute, Kajiyama steals the ball and passes it to Rychely. He dribbles up the right side but fails to cross. This time, Lucas intercepts the pass and crosses from the right side, and Inonami heads the ball straight at the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 64th minute, Kashima tries to change the flow of the game by substituting two players, but Tokyo also substitutes Baba for Rychely in the 69th minute, and the back-and-forth battle continues. In the 71st minute, Suzuki Nori aims directly for the center free kick but misses the target. In the 73rd minute, Lucas runs up to the front line and challenges the opponent's DF in the right area. Baba connects with the last pass, but is surrounded by Kashima's DF and fails to finish.

　76 minutes, Kashima's MF Masuda receives a pass from the left and shoots with speed near the area, but it curves to the left. However, Lucas, who went to block this shot, injures his left leg and is replaced by Akamine. Then, in the 78th minute, Kashima substitutes DF Arai for FW Sasaki and launches a counterattack by increasing the number of players in the front line. The time spent keeping the ball in the Tokyo area increases, and Kashima is pushed back, with consecutive threats on goal from set pieces.

　In the 83rd minute, Shigetoshi Mogi was substituted for Fukunishi. They tried to hold on to the lead by strengthening their defense, but an accident occurred near the end of the match. Mogi was fouled in the penalty area, even though he had no involvement with the ball, due to Kashima's right cross. However, the penalty kick taken by Kashima's midfielder Nozawa hit the post and did not result in a goal. It was thanks to the composure and calm reaction of veteran player Doi that they were saved from this desperate situation. The match ended like this. In their 8th year, they achieved their first victory in a league match at Kashima Soccer Stadium.

　【Player Comments】《Lucas》"I approached the game with the reflection from the G Osaka match. I'm glad that we were able to achieve results. In the next Nabisco Cup, we have two matches, home and away, so I want to play aggressively throughout the 180 minutes."《Norio Suzuki》"I had an image that the goal would come loose before kicking, so I focused on shooting. However, I have been missing a lot lately, so I tried to control the ball. It also became easier for me to play on the left side from the middle of the first half. However, I think it's a good thing that the width of play expands on the right side as well. In the first half, I was able to create opportunities to break through 2-3 times, so I want to be able to score in those situations."

　[Summary of Coach Hara's Press Conference] "After a heavy defeat to G Osaka in the last match, we took a week to sort out our feelings and entered today's match in good shape. Despite that, we conceded a goal. In the first half, Kashima assigned tall players to Fujiyama and opted for a simple approach of playing the ball forward rather than connecting through the midfield, picking up loose balls. We were careful not to lose those battles for the ball. The first goal conceded was not due to being broken down; it was a situation where a ball was thrown in, and there was a slight judgment error from Konno, which led to the goal. In attack, I believed that using the flanks would create chances, but we were a beat slow, and on the resilient grass, we were slow to connect the balls that came to our feet. At halftime, I said, 'If we keep passing and moving out, we can create chances.' In the second half, there were scenes like Fukunishi hitting the post, and we started to create shapes. It was significant that we began to form those shapes. We were cautious of Kashima's restarts, but conversely, we managed to score from a quick restart early on, which restored confidence in the players. G Osaka in the last match was indeed strong, but it felt more like we self-destructed. Moreover, it was difficult to shake off the six goals conceded. However, I told the players, 'We are scoring goals, and we are creating good shapes.' We also organized our defense for corners and free kicks. The youth of Kajiwara and Inoha, which showed in the G Osaka match—good at times but cutting out at bad times—was evident at the start today, but in the second half, Kajiwara's work rate and dynamism came through. Inoha's defense in the center was solid as well. When those two are performing well, the team does well. Also, Norio Suzuki's left-footed strike is valuable for us. We have never won in the league at this stadium. I have watched many Kashima matches, and they are skilled at counterattacks and restarts, being clever in matches. Therefore, I said we should concentrate and be careful with set pieces. Today, conversely, we scored two goals from corners. Winning here for the first time in the league feels like a good wind is blowing for the team. Today was a tough game, and we were fortunate that the opponent missed a penalty, but I want to cherish this precious victory and prepare well for next week's Nabisco Cup and the resuming league matches.

　(What is the summary of the first half of the league?) Returning to FC Tokyo, I thought about how to utilize and incorporate big players like Wanchope, Evaldo, and Fukunishi. Evaldo has been unable to practice much due to injury, and Shigeno has also been injured. Therefore, we experimented with moving Tokunaga to center back and Inoha to the right. Additionally, players like Hirayama, Inoha, and Kajiwara returned from the Olympic team but struggled with their condition and adapting back to the team. We tried various ways to make the most of Wanchope's strengths, but that led to losing some of FC Tokyo's own strengths. We also experimented with Fukunishi's positioning, trying him as a defensive midfielder and further up the field. Recently, we have finally started to see FC Tokyo's characteristic side attacks and speed-based offense. There were certainly tough times, but the players and staff have persevered without complaining. With the Nabisco Cup coming up, I want to enhance our precision while maintaining FC Tokyo's identity. The key point is the center backs. I didn't expect to use Fujiyama and Konno as center backs this much. I want to express my gratitude to the two who have held on this far. Ideally, I would like to let Konno play in midfield, but for that to happen, Shigeno's condition needs to improve. If we can't hold our ground as center backs, it will become difficult. I also want to thank the supporters for continuing to cheer us on despite the tough situation. F. Marinos is strong, but I want to advance further in the Nabisco Cup.

　[Summary of Coach Oliveira's Press Conference] "(Was there confusion in the first 20 minutes of the second half due to the players' complacency and mental aspects?) There was no such aspect. The opponent kept coming forward, so we were talking about staying focused, but we lacked attention. Regarding set plays, we had been able to handle them well until now, but we were not focused when we conceded the goal. After that, we tried to adjust our balance and counterattack, but it didn't work well. (What caused the loss of balance in the second half?) I think the loss of balance was due to the mental aspect of conceding goals in quick succession. After that, we tried various methods to regain balance, but we couldn't finish at the crucial moment. That's disappointing. (How did the sides perform with DF Arai replacing the absent DF Uchida?) Certainly, DF Uchida functioned well in the previous match, and his ability is outstanding. However, his absence was not the reason for the defeat. The reason for the defeat was that we couldn't maintain the focus we usually have during set plays today. We need to reflect and correct the fact that we were caught in the center. In soccer, if you correct one thing, the opposite side tends to break down, and it's a cycle. This time it ended in a disappointing way, but there are more matches ahead, so I believe the players will do their best. (What is your summary of the first half of the league?) At the beginning of the season, there were times when we were unlucky, and the players felt pressure due to not getting results, which caused some parts not to function well. However, as time passed, it gradually permeated. We were able to deepen our mutual understanding and have various discussions to work towards solutions. In particular, I think the players' desire and awareness to change something and their own actions led to their confidence. I wanted to end today with a win and maintain the upward momentum. However, the league is only halfway through. We have not reached a conclusion yet. There are still many challenges, and I want us to work together to tackle them."