First preseason match of Tokyo Daikuma

　With the league match just one week away, a preseason match was held against Zaspa Kusatsu. Under the guidance of Coach Ookuma, the team has adopted the slogan "TOKYO SPIRIT ~ Everything to Win ~" and continues to emphasize the goal of not just promoting to J1, but also becoming stronger and returning to J1. They have been running and practicing in Miyazaki and Kagoshima camps, and today's away match provided a great opportunity to test their progress so far.

　Tokyo will be fighting with injuries to players such as Gonda, Kajiyama, Pedro JUNIOR, and Ishikawa, but coach Okuma emphasizes that they will continue to fight with all 29 players. The lineup includes Abe and Tokunaga as left and right defenders, Habu partnering with Roberto CESAR in midfield, Taniyama as left midfielder, and Hirayama and Suzuki as the front two. This is also a good simulation for the opening match, as the coach says, "We will see how well we can showcase our strengths on the pitch."

　Kusatsu, who will face FC Tokyo, finished 12th in the J2 League last season. Scoring shortage was a challenge, but this season they have added Brazilian forward Rafinha and forward Mandai, who have performed well in Sendai and Tosu, and have achieved results in practice matches so far. Assistant coach Fukushima, who considers today's match important, said, "We want to play our own style offensively and defensively without being intimidated even against FC Tokyo, who are considered championship contenders." They want to actively attack without being passive in response to the opponent's high motivation.

　Sunny, the Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma that makes you feel the arrival of spring. It started with a kickoff in Tokyo at 2:05 pm.

Despite conceding the first goal, we equalized with Hirayama's header and ended the first half.

　Tokyo took control of the game from the beginning, holding onto the ball. They utilized Suzuki's movement and started plays with Hirayama. Both Tokunaga and Abe, the fullbacks, also pushed forward, trying to break down the Kashima defense. However, Kashima also had a quick start, but their coordination and accuracy in the attacking area were lacking, and they struggled to create clear-cut chances. In the 30th minute, Hayashi in the center passed to Suzuki on the right, who crossed the ball. Hirayama jumped for it, but couldn't connect properly and the ball went wide.

　In the 36th minute, Tokyo allowed Kashima MF Matsushita to advance on the left side and take a shot, but it missed and rolled in front of the goal. MF Kumabayashi jumped in and took a shot, but Shioda made a save. However, the ball spilled in front of MF Goto, who was positioned on the left front line, and it was kicked in for a goal. Kashima took advantage of their few chances and scored the opening goal.

　After that, Kusatsu started to actively move forward and took control of the pace. However, without panicking, they launched a counterattack. Just before the end of the first half, a pass from Hayu, who had entered the opponent's territory, went to Abe, who was trying to move up on the left. Abe cleverly exchanged positions with the opponent's defender and became free. He then crossed the ball, and Hirayama in the center scored a perfect header goal!! With a powerful header, they equalized the score and ended the first half.

Unable to break through the opponent's defense until the end, resulting in a draw

　In the second half, they increased their momentum and carried the ball to the front line. In the 52nd minute, Otake skillfully dribbled through two opposing defenders in the penalty area and made a breakthrough attempt, but was ultimately stopped by a defender and fell down, with no whistle. In the 59th minute, Suzuki broke through to the right front line and passed to Hirayama near the goal, and Hayu in front of the right area aimed for the goal. From the resulting corner kick, Morishige made a header shot, but it was blocked by the post.

　After that, as time passed, space began to open up in the midfield, and both sides gained an advantage from wide play. Player substitutions were also used, and various combinations were tried to attack the goal. In the 73rd minute, central midfielder Roberto played a long pass to the forward line. The ball reached substitute player Roberto CESAR in the right area, creating a 1-on-1 situation with the opponent's defender, but he was unable to finish. On the right side, substitute players Nakamura and Mukuhara made dribbles and repeatedly crossed the ball into the box.

　In the 82nd minute, Hanyu → Roberto CESAR in the center took a decisive shot from just outside the area, but the Kashima GK made a save. In the 85th minute, Roberto CESAR broke through into the area and shook the net with a shot, but it was offside... In the 3 minutes of stoppage time, Morishige jumped in with a header from Yuzawa's right FK. It was a decisive moment, but the goal did not break in front of the opponent GK's excellent save. In the end, they were unable to score an additional point and ended the preseason match with a 1-1 draw.

　【Player Comment】《Hirayama》"(Regarding the goal) Takumi has been giving me good balls during practice, and I have also discussed my aim to score. I think it worked out well. It is important to communicate my style to my teammates and I think I was able to demonstrate that a little by scoring today. As a point of reflection, the distance between players, including after competing for headers. I am not only aiming to drop the ball, but when such a ball comes, I need to be closer to my teammates. Finally, the season has started and I am feeling excited for what's to come, but I want to continue preparing well for another week and lead up to the start."

　"The scene of the goal conceded started from our loose ball after a rough clearance. We had to be careful against the second and third attacks and we want to thoroughly prepare and manage the opponent's counter. (What did you feel in the match against J2?) The opponent also created a solid block by pulling back their forwards. Our aim was to break through that, but even when the fullbacks pushed up, there was no space and it was difficult to connect directly considering the condition of the ground. It's not easy to break the block easily, so I felt that it was necessary to play with simplicity and pick up the second ball."

　(Towards the opening) Everyone's condition has improved and their mental preparation is also ready. The opening match is expected to be highly anticipated, and of course, it is desired to earn 3 points. However, the most important thing is to be in J1 after fighting through the season. I believe it is important to not become too rigid and to prepare with our feet on the ground."

　[Summary of Coach Okuma's Press Conference] "In the first half, we were not able to adapt to the field and the game was narrow, allowing the opponent to clearly target us. We need to start making movements to go wide from the first half. We must respect the opponent but not panic. The opponent took advantage of the time it took for us to make side changes. We need to make big plays starting from the small details. In addition, the opponent has pulled back their defense to some extent, so we can pass the ball horizontally but cannot break through. If Tatsuya and others can make more runs behind the defense, I think we would have done well from the first half."

　There were times when the front of the goal became thin due to the ball sticking horizontally when there was no space. Regarding the attack, I would like to make adjustments in that area. There were some scenes that could have been dangerous in defense, but this is soccer. It's not about the number of cards, so we have to continue attacking while adhering to this. If we panic, it can lead to a different development. I felt that we have to do it not only with the 11 players but also with the substitute members."

　[Summary of Kashima Vice-Island Coach's Press Conference] "It was a draw in the end, but how much of what we have prepared so far can we do against FC Tokyo? They are likely to be the team that will be the first to be promoted this season. We expected to be dominated for a long time, but we were able to score against such a team and defend well in the second half. We faced them with the best lineup at the moment, despite having injured players, but we still lost the ball after taking it many times and couldn't create the intended shape easily. That is the next challenge."

　Just center back injuries, but DF Arisawa and DF Tanaka contributed enough as defensive power when they played together. In that sense, I think we were able to improve the depth and thickness of our team. There are clear challenges, so I want to fix those in the next week and face them. (How did you feel about FC Tokyo's strength?) Of course, individually, but the speed of the team as a whole. I felt that there were various speeds that were very high. In such a situation, the technique was also accurate and they didn't let us get away with our mistakes. Such things also led to goals against us, so I think they are a talented team."