Fearlessly aim for victory away against the Brazil national team!

　Sec. 12 of the 1st stage is a match against Kashiwa Reysol in an away game. It will be the first game in about a week since the Sapporo match on July 28th, and we want to build momentum by winning here for the final stage.

　Kashiwa, who is currently in 11th place, has not won any matches in the league since the restart and is in a difficult situation today as they are missing MF Sampaiyo and Ohno due to accumulated warnings. However, FW Adilson, who was also selected for the Brazilian national team that won the World Cup this year, and who was with Kashiwa in 1996 and 1997, has joined the team and will make his first appearance today. It is fully expected that Kashiwa will launch a desperate counterattack with Adilson's participation as a trigger. However, without any fear, Tokyo's soccer team wants to aim for victory by coming together as one. Shigenobu starts as a right full-back for the first time and the kickoff is underway.

Who's Afraid Of Brazil?

The 12th game of the J-League first stage saw F.C.TOKYO make the short trip to Kashiwa for an away fixture against Reysol. TOKYO were hoping to build on the excellent first half performance in the previous week's victory over Consadole and win the remaining games in style.
Spurs' legend Steve Perryman's Reysol, currently lying 11th in the league and winless since the resumption of play following the World Cup, were without suspended midfielders Sampaio and Ono; however, they received a boost with the return of World Cup winner Edilson, a former Reysol player in 1996 and 1997, who donned the yellow of Reysol for the second time in this game. His speed on the break demanded caution from TOKYO but was certainly nothing to fear. Moniwa made his first appearance as right side back and the game kicked off in steamy conditions.

Leading with Amaral's header while dominating!

　1 minute into the game, Kashiwa MF Watanabe (Hikari) crosses the ball from the left side of Tokyo, and MF Sunagawa heads it. Both teams are skilled at attacking from the sides, so intense battles are expected. In the 4th minute, Adilson receives the ball in the midfield, turns around and passes Fujiyama on the left side. Sunagawa receives the ball and passes it to the central FW Kitajima, but Doi jumps out and clears the ball before he can control it. They won't easily allow a goal.

　At the start, Tokyo allowed chances for Kashiwa, but gradually increased ball possession with Kelly at the center. In the 11th minute, Toda broke through in front of the goal with a pass targeting behind the defense, but unfortunately it was offside. In the 19th minute, Ishikawa stole the ball in the opponent's territory and cut inside near the end line to deliver a cross, but it couldn't be converted in the center. In the 20th minute, Fujiyama invaded the goal area from a throw-in and attacked from the left side. However, Kashiwa counterattacked from here, and when the ball reached Edmilson, he carried it into the penalty area and took a shot. It was saved by Doi, avoiding a dangerous situation. In the 22nd minute, Ito was dispossessed by Edmilson at the defense line, allowing a shot. Jean's clearance reached Edmilson again, and Sandokan, who had moved up, received a pass and took a shot, but it went straight to Doi, escaping another close call.

　Tokyo, with Toda's movement to break through the back of the DF and Ishikawa effectively using speed and physicality as a starting point, takes control of the sides. However, Kashiwa is unable to break through as they are pushed back and the space disappears. In the midst of Tokyo dominating and Kashiwa creating chances on the counter, in the 37th minute, Tokyo launches a counterattack. A cross is sent up from the right side through a combination play between Ishikawa and Kelly, but the opponent's DF clears it. Immediately after, Shigeki Mogi, who had moved forward, sends a pass aiming for the gap between the DF and GK, but the GK catches it. However, in the 38th minute, a one-touch pass is connected from the DF line to Kelly on the right side of the midfield, and Kelly delivers a pinpoint pass to the front of the goal. Amaral then smashes it into the net with a season-best jump header that stays in the air for a long time! Tokyo takes the lead with a shooting technique that is like a textbook example of a header, and heads into the second half.

Amaral Heads TOKYO Ahead

Reysol took the initiative from the kick off with Sunakawa getting on the end of a cross from M. Watanabe. In the 4th. minute Edilson turned Fujiyama and found Sunakawa on the right; Kitajima pushed Sunakawa's low cross slightly too far and goalkeeper Doi hared out to smother the danger. Reysol had the better of the early exchanges but TOKYO, with the indefatigable Kelly working hard in midfield, gradually gained a foothold, and began to dictate play. A very close offside decision denied Toda in the 11th. minute but the game suddenly burst into life ten minutes later as Ishikawa scampered to the by-line but his cross evaded the TOKYO attack. TOKYO kept the pressure on from a throw in with Fujiyama bursting into the area on the left; the Reysol defence blocked the attempt and launched a lightening fast counter attack. Doi held his nerve as Edilson bore down on him and produced a fine block to deny the Brazilian's near post blast. Edilson nearly set up the opening goal two minutes later as he robbed Ito on the right and hit a low cross toward the far post. Jean lunged to intercept but succeeded only in returning the ball to Edilson, who looked up and picked out Sunakawa arriving at speed on the edge of the area; with most of the goal to aim at the Reysol man curled his shot straight into Doi's midriff. 
The game settled into a pattern of TOKYO pressing and Reysol looking to counter attack. From the 35th. minute TOKYO began to tighten the screw: an Ishikawa cross into the danger area was cleared, Moniwa's ball behind the defence was held by the keeper and then a minute later TOKYO took the lead. 
Neat one touch play from defence saw the ball reach Kelly whose sumptuous cross towards the penalty spot was met by Amaral at the peak of a prodigious leap between two defenders. The header was perfect: power, timing and direction left the Reysol keeper flailing and TOKYO were ahead. 

With Edilson's skillful assist, the game is brought to a tie...

　Tokyo continues to attack aggressively in the second half. In the 48th minute, Kelly catches up to a pass on the right side and receives a return pass from Ishikawa, then takes a shot. However, the looping shot is caught by the goalkeeper. But Kashima also launches a counterattack from a tough press. In the 49th minute, left side midfielder Hirayama shoots a ground ball from the left corner of the penalty area, and forward Kitajima tries to follow up in front of the goal, but narrowly misses. In the 50th minute, Adilson takes a mid-range shot, but it goes over the goal. In the 51st minute, Watanabe (Hikari) sends a sharp cross from the right side, but Shumith clears it with a high header.

　However, immediately after that, a floated pass was sent to Edmilson, who was waiting near the center of the goal and penalty area. Edmilson dropped the ball with his head in front of the goal, and it fell in front of Kitajima, who had run free behind the defenders. Kitajima neatly pushed the ball into the goal.

　Tokyo had been tough and stable in defense, not allowing Kitajima to work, but they were distracted by Adilson and were equalized in an instant by taking advantage of a momentary gap.

　However, Tokyo did not collapse here today. Kashiwa, who was in high spirits, shook the wide area left and right with Edmilson as the starting point, but the Tokyo defense concentrated and responded. In the 59th and 60th minutes, crosses were sent from the right side after a side change, but the central defender cleared it. In the 61st minute, Toda returned the cross from Shigeki to the back and Miyazawa aimed for a goal from the middle range. And in the 63rd minute, Ishikawa became one-on-one with the defender on the right side, cut back to the center with a fake, and sent a sharp cross with his left foot. Once again, Amalao ran in on a pinpoint pass similar to the first goal and scored a spectacular diving header! The ball, filled with soul, shook the goal net and Tokyo took the lead.

Edilson Shows His Class

TOKYO began the second half in aggressive fashion: Kelly overlapped down the right and played a sharp return pass to Ishikawa who advanced and let fly. 
The keeper held the ball well and launched a counter attack which ended with Kitajima inches away from connecting with a low cross. Edilson fired narrowly over in the 50th. minute and Moniwa made a vital headed clearance under pressure soon after, as the home side upped the tempo. A minute later a floated ball found Edilson lurking just outside the area and his cushioned header fell perfectly for Kitajima who finished with aplomb. Although pegged back and bombarded from left and right TOKYO refused to buckle and could have retaken the lead in the 61st. minute as Toda knocked a Moniwa cross back to Miyazawa, but his shot came to nothing. As it was they didn't have to wait long. In the 63rd. minute Ishikawa beat a defender on the right and launched a long left footed cross towards the far post where Amaral, gliding in behind the last defender, flung himself full length to power another textbook header low inside the post. 

King explodes! Sinking Kashiwa with a hat-trick

　"King of Tokyo" Amaral took his chance and Tokyo, who are on a roll, did not let up their attack. In the 69th minute, they substituted Miyanawa for Kina to go for an additional goal. Kashiwa also made a substitution in the 69th minute, replacing midfielder Nagai with the former World Cup Japan representative MF Myojin, in an attempt to turn things around.

　But in the 75th minute, Tokyo added another goal to thwart Kashiwa's comeback. Ishikawa passed the ball from the right side of the midfield to the front of the goal. Toda, who received the ball in the center of the goal, immediately passed a lobbed ball to the right side. Amaral received the pass and carried it into the penalty area near the right corner, then unleashed a right-footed shot that grazed the goalkeeper's hand and pierced into the left side of the goal like an arrow! With Amaral's outstanding finishing ability, he achieved his first hat-trick of the season and sank Kashiwa.

　Tokyo, which did not let up in their attacks, continued to press forward. The game was characterized by rapid exchanges between offense and defense, but despite their efforts, they were unable to score. In the 44th minute, Adilson managed to break through the defense, but the returning defender and Toi defended the goal with their bodies. In stoppage time, Watanabe (Hikaru) jumped in from the right side to shoot after a cross from the left rear, but it narrowly missed the left side of the goal. The game ended without any goals being conceded, and Tokyo achieved a resounding victory over Kashiwa.

　With this winning streak, we return to a draw with 5 wins, 5 losses, 2 draws, and a goal difference of 0, and we will face the Kyoto match at home in the best condition.

[Summary of Manager Hara's Press Conference] "I thought Adilson's condition wouldn't be 100 percent, and indeed he created a dangerous situation in the early stages of the game. Also, Kashiwa put more pressure on us than I expected from the first half, and the movement of the ball on the field was fast, so we couldn't fight in a good rhythm at first. We settled down after about 15 minutes and took advantage of the space behind the opponent's wing-backs, and I think our rhythm started to come out. However, today, Amalao was the best. The balls he received were good, and his condition was also good, scoring three goals in good positions for us. The best thing was that even when we were caught up in the second half, we didn't get discouraged and were able to play our own soccer. We were able to launch good counterattacks from there, not just defending. If I had to say, I wanted to score 1 or 2 more goals there, but we fought with good concentration until the end. I think the team is gradually growing."

[Summary of Kashiwa Perryman's press conference]

"We saw areas where we lacked confidence. After equalizing the score, we showed some confidence and the momentum was with Kashiwa. However, we conceded the second goal within that period and it was more disappointing than expected. Until we conceded the third goal, the outcome of the match was uncertain... We had our moments, but the game is decided in an instant. That's where Tokyo got the better of us. We didn't create many clear chances, but the opponent's shots were excellent."

Amaral Makes It Three!

With the " King of Tokyo " giving a masterclass in finishing TOKYO went in search of a third goal; the tireless Kina replaced Miyazawa after 69 minutes and at the same time Japan World Cup star Myojin replaced Nagai for Reysol. 
Five minutes later it was 3-1 to TOKYO. Ishikawa found Toda on the edge of the area and his first time chip fell perfectly for Amaral at the right corner of the box. Amaral looked up and lashed a fierce volley across the face of the goal and inside the far post. Three chances, three stunning goals, the first hat trick of the season for the TOKYO No. 11. 
Reysol flung themselves forward in a desperate attempt to salvage something from the game but apart from a last ditch save by Doi from Edilson in the final minute and an injury time shot from H. Watanabe that bobbled fractionally wide, the TOKYO defence held firm. 
The win improved TOKYO's record to W5 D2 L5 with a goal difference of 0 and boosted their confidence ahead of the next match, a home game against Kyoto Purple Sanga. 

TOKYO Manager Hara :
" Edilson wasn't at his best today but even so he caused us a lot of problems early on. Reysol pressured us more than I had expected, played some good football and prevented us from finding our rhythm. From about the 15th. minute we settled down and began to get behind their wing backs. But today was Amaral's day. The crosses were great and his condition was good but the finishing was superb. The most pleasing thing was the way we fought back after Reysol equalised and were able to play our game. The defence performed well and, little by little, the team is developing ".

Reysol manager Perryman:
"Our lack of confidence showed clearly today. Up until TOKYO took the lead and then after we equalized we played well. After
conceding the second goal we were more discouraged than I had expected but the result was in doubt until they scored their third...We didn't allow TOKYO many clear-cut chances but the few they had were taken very well."