No shortage for the opponent! "Samba Night" showdown with the top-ranked Kashima!!

　After 5 consecutive victories, Tokyo has been lacking energy with 4 consecutive losses. In the 10th section, they will face the current league leaders, Kashima Antlers. In the past 3 matches, Kashima has not been in excellent form with 2 draws and 1 loss. However, with Olympic candidates such as Yanagisawa, Hirase, Motoyama, Nakata, and Sogahata, along with the cooperation of veteran players, they have taken the leading role in the 2nd stage.

　Before the Olympics, the J1 League enters a break period of about two months starting today, and expectations are high for the performance of these Olympic candidate players. Moreover, this strong team has a record of 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 losses in the past six matches. They haven't won since the Emperor's Cup in 1994, and in the 1st stage, which was the first match between J1 teams, they suffered a bitter defeat with a score of 1-2 despite taking the lead. ---- They are not an easy opponent to beat. However, today is Samba Night. ZICO, as well as Toninho CEREZO, the coach, and Kashima, with a strong Brazilian presence, are "not lacking for the opponent". They want to show resilient soccer that is typical of Tokyo and make a comeback.

　Center back Yamao made his first start. Coach Ookuma said, "In the past few games, we have lost the consciousness of attacking with a balanced defense. I expect not only in the defensive aspect but also in the accuracy of passes and reading the game situation. That's why I decided to use him now." And Amaral, who has recovered from injury, showed his energetic appearance, and the kick-off took place in the hot rhythm of Brazil carved by the top Japanese Samba team (affiliated with Asakusa Escola de Samba Association).

The first goal is by Kashima. However, Naito's passionate goal brings the score level!

　Kashima dominated the game. Bismarck and Ogasawara in the midfield connected passes, while Hiraishi and Yanagisawa were involved in Tokyo's goal with their abundant movement up front. Soma and Narahashi aggressively pushed forward on both sides, resulting in Tokyo losing three consecutive corner kicks early in the game. Tokyo wants to quickly pick up loose balls and launch a counterattack, but their pass accuracy is poor and they fail to bring the ball to Kashima's goal. In the 6th minute, Amaral started a quick attack from a throw-in and passed to Yukihiko on the right side. Yukihiko made a vertical breakthrough and crossed the ball, but it was cleared by Kashima's defense and Koike took a shot, which was saved by goalkeeper Takakuwa. On the other hand, in the 10th minute, Soma made a powerful shot after a one-two with Yanagisawa, penetrating into the penalty area. However, Tsuchi showed a fine save. However, in the immediate 12th minute, Kashima connected the ball from a corner kick and took advantage of Tokyo's weak clearance, allowing Soma to take a shot from a distance of 23-4m. The clean shot found the top right corner of the goal, conceding the opening goal.

　However, Tokyo gradually got used to Kashima's pace and showed composure, turning to attack. In the 21st minute, Fujiyama, TUTO, Amaral, and Masamitsu KOBAYASHI connected quickly, and Yukihiko finished. In the 24th minute, Uchida and Yamao attacked and Sandro scored a header from a corner kick. In the 26th minute, Yukihiko shot from Amaral's aggressive central breakthrough. This hit the Kashima DF and resulted in a corner kick. In the 27th minute, Sandro competed for this corner kick with a header and it fell loose, where Uchida threw himself out in a sliding manner and shot! With Uchida's determined goal, Tokyo equalized.

　Until then, Kashima had shown composure in their game play, but the intensity of the game increases from here. At times, they build attacks from the defensive line, dominate the midfield, and show a solid attacking formation with Yanagisawa and Hirase as the starting points. However, Tokyo also defends with great effort, not allowing shots on goal. In the 43rd minute, Amaral was fouled and earned a free kick, which TUTO took a ground shot. The shot was powerful and deflected off goalkeeper Takakuwa's hand, but it did not go into the goal. The first half ended.

Both sides refuse to give in, heading into overtime

　In the second half, Kashima showed an aggressive attack from the start. In the 49th minute, Tokyo DF cleared the pass from midfielder Nakata to the front line. Hiraishi ran freely and took a shot, but it missed the goal. Kashima attacked from the right side with Mabashi overlapping and delivering a fast cross. However, their final pass couldn't get through Tokyo's concentrated defense. In the 59th minute, they substituted Ogasawara with dribbler Motoyama.

　As time passed in Tokyo, Amaral demonstrated his ball control skills. In the 60th minute, Amaral persistently fought for the ball that Kashima had no choice but to clear with a throw-in. From that ball, TUTO dragged three defenders and took a shot. Unfortunately, it narrowly missed the goal.

　However, Tokyo is being pushed back as Kashima's Motoyama shows off his versatile dribbling using space. In the 70th minute, Yanozawa takes Motoyama's last pass and earns a corner kick. Nakata's header shot narrowly misses the goal. Tokyo's position for winning the ball is low, and they must assemble a long distance play. The period of being pushed continues. Therefore, in the 73rd minute, Kanno is substituted for Kobayashi in an attempt to break through this situation.

　In the 78th minute, Kamiya, Yukihiro, and TUTO broke through the defense, and TUTO took a free shot. In the 85th minute, Motoyama sent another decisive pass to Yanagisawa, but Doi reacted quickly and caught it. In the 86th minute, Tokyo's TUTO and in the 88th minute, Kashima's Motoyama, both rushed into the opponent's penalty area at high speed, and were brought down by the defenders who couldn't resist, almost resulting in a penalty kick, but their dives were anticipated and both missed the chance. In the 89th minute, a pinpoint cross was sent into the goal area from a set play, and Kamiya headed the ball for a shot. In injury time, this time Kashima's Kumagai took a free shot from a free kick, but neither team was able to score a goal. The match went into extra time.

A valuable draw against champion Kashima

　The extra time became a fierce battle of offense and defense. Tokyo, who was being controlled by Motoyama in the midfield, substituted Koike for Komine in the 99th minute. The aim was to take good care of Motoyama in the right space of their own half.

　In the 100th minute immediately after, TUTO's FK from the left of the goal hit the corner of the post, and Yukihiko SATO shot the rebound. However, it was blocked by the Kashima DF and they couldn't break the goal. Naito moved up to the midfield, and Tokyo attacked with Fujiyama, Sandro, and Yamao in a 3-back formation. In the 108th minute, Asari attacked up the left side of the penalty area and sent a perfect cross, but Kanno's shot hit the goalkeeper's face.

　In the 111th minute, Kashima's Hirase made a pinpoint header from a cross from the right, but Toi caught it. Immediately after that, Toda, who came on for the injured TUTO, quickly broke through the defense line and had a big chance, but couldn't shoot as goalkeeper Takakuwa came out. Amaral connected with the loose ball and Yukihiko swung his leg, but unfortunately the ball went outside the goal...

　In the end, neither side had the decisive factor, and the 120-minute battle finally came to an end.

　After the one-on-one, neither team was able to create a goal-scoring opportunity. However, it was a game filled with a strong sense of determination to win and a sustained tension.

　Tokyo, which had its first draw in J1, escaped from a losing streak. It can be said that they took a valuable point from the strong team Kashima in front of a large crowd of 33,892 people (the highest attendance this stage) who visited the stadium on this day.

"Comment from Toninho CEREZO, the coach"

"Despite thinking it was a game we could win, there were basic mistakes. I can't accept conceding goals from set pieces. We are trying to correct these mistakes through a week of training, but they still happen during the actual game. In terms of content, I think we had more possession and were able to keep the ball and create chances. However, it didn't result in goals. We lacked the power when approaching the opponent's goal within 5-10 meters. It would have been good to have the determination to score, even to throw the ball into the goal along with the opponent's defenders. I think that was the cause of not achieving victory."

"Coach Okuma's comment"

"It was tough both physically and mentally to not be able to produce results in such a grueling schedule, but before the break, even though it didn't lead to a victory, I think we gave a very good performance by giving our all. The season is still ongoing, but compared to the fact that we completely lost momentum in the 1st stage, I think it's a big boost for the team both emotionally and mentally to be able to bounce back here. We stopped the losing streak, but in football, both the content and the results are important. We will adjust with the mindset towards the next Júbilo match and do our best to have a good game after the break."