Home at Ajinomoto Stadium, league match opening

　The opening match of the J1 League this season, which was held at home at Ajinomoto Stadium. Tokyo, who couldn't quite ride the wave with no wins in the two matches of the Nabisco Cup, cannot afford to lose at home. They want to decorate the first match of the league with a clear victory, with the slogan "90 minutes of attacking soccer." GK Doi, who injured his back during the Gotemba camp, returns to the starting lineup. The field players have the same formation as the Nabisco Cup.

　Kashiwa Reysol, who faced them, seemed to be in a trial and error stage in the Levain Cup. There were many injured players, and it was difficult to predict today's starting lineup, but the formation was 4-4-2. Former Japan national team midfielder Akegami played as a right back, and the team had a young average age of 23.45 years. Despite the chilly spring weather, they kicked off the start of the 1st stage in Tokyo.

First goal of the league by Toda to take the lead!

　Tokyo shows a fighting spirit today, with Toda taking a daring middle shot in the first minute and diving into Ishikawa's cross in the second minute. On the other hand, Kashiwa brings the ball into the center from the left side of the penalty area with a shot by MF Ono in the fourth minute. However, afterwards, both teams often lose the ball under intense pressure, leading to an unsettled development.

　However, the chance came unexpectedly early. In the 10th minute, Kanazawa attacked from the left side with a dribble and made an early cross. The Kashiwa DF was waiting in the center, but couldn't clear it and the ball rolled behind him. Toda, who was there, fell down and took a shot! The ball shook the net, and Tokyo took the lead with Toda's first goal of the season in the league. It was a form of taking advantage of the opponent's mistake, but Kanazawa's low trajectory cross and Toda's constant aim for the back, showed a determined attitude that resulted in a precise goal.

　Tokyo, which gained momentum with this, uses the field freely and seizes the pace with aggressive movements. In the 18th minute, Abe boldly shoots from the right penalty area after a counterattack. In the 25th minute, Kelly and Abe connect from Miyazawa's interception, and Toda jumps into Ishikawa's cross and takes a shot, but it is blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's fine play. In the 39th minute, Kashiwa's forward Marcinho creates an opportunity from a left throw-in and passes the ball back, and Ohtani's middle shot hits, but Doi escapes with a nice save and a corner kick. In the end, Tokyo overwhelmed Kashiwa with 7 corner kicks and a total of 8 shots in the first half, but couldn't score an additional goal. They head into the second half.

Unable to take advantage of the opportunity, at an unfavorable time...

　In the Nabisco Cup, Tokyo often experiences a decrease in physicality in the second half, but today, in the 48th minute, Ishikawa cut back the defender on the right side after Kelly's side change and crossed the ball. In the 49th minute, Ishikawa broke free in the right penalty area and passed the ball towards the goal, but no one was able to connect with the final pass, missing the chance.

　However, it was in the 53rd minute. Kashiwa FW Yano entered the penalty area after receiving a through pass. Kanazawa's play to stop the breakthrough was judged as a foul, and they were given a penalty kick. Akira Myojin scored it perfectly, and the game returned to a tie. They couldn't score an additional goal, and an unpleasant atmosphere flowed as they were equalized early in the second half.

　However, Tokyo held on today, and in the 57th minute, Abe drilled a shot from the left side of the penalty area after Asari's pass was intercepted. It narrowly missed to the right, but Tokyo showed aggressive attacking. Kashiwa also regained their breath, unlike the first half, and in the 65th minute, Myojin picked up a clearance ball from Tokyo's defense and aimed for the goal, but missed the target and escaped unharmed.

Kelly's winning goal pushes them ahead as the feeling of a goal lingers in the air!

　In the 68th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Toda. In the 70th minute, Abe's cross from the right side was blocked by the defender and went to the far side, but it didn't reach Ishikawa who was closing in. Immediately after that, Kashiwa countered and defender Hirayama took a free shot. Marcio followed up on the rebound from Doi's fine save, but it went over the bar. It was a decisive moment, but they escaped the danger. In the 71st minute, this time Tokyo, Abe took a powerful shot from the right penalty area. In the 80th minute, Kelly received the ball with his back to the defender and brought it into the goal area, then took a powerful shot with his left foot. The game was intense, with a back and forth battle, but aggressive plays like Abe and Kelly's shots gave a sense of a goal approaching.

　Substitute Bamba for Ishikawa in the 81st minute. Immediately after that, in the 83rd minute, Abe, who had drifted to the right side, entered the center. Abe received a side change ball from Shigeki behind him and dribbled forward. He sent a pinpoint cross with a trajectory in front of the goal. Kelly met this ball with a header shot. The ball was sucked into the goal, scoring the winning goal!

　In the 86th minute, Abe took advantage of Kelly's through pass and ran alone towards the goal, but was stopped by a tackle from behind by a Kashiwa DF just as he was about to push it in after avoiding the GK. Abe, who had been performing well today with the mindset of "just need to score", was disappointed to miss this chance. Then, in the 87th minute, Miura was substituted for Miyazawa. In the final stages, it became an intense battle of offense and defense, but the team maintained their focus on defending and preventing Asari from being in danger, and the game ended. Each player fulfilled their role and decorated the league opening match with a delightful season's first victory. With this, FC Tokyo's record in opening matches is now an unbeaten streak of 4 wins since their promotion to J1. They also won their opening match in J2 in 1999, so it is a streak of 5 consecutive wins since the club's establishment.

【Player Comments】《Kelly》"Even without Amaral, Abe and Toda made an effort to deliver the ball to the side spaces to make the most of their strengths. I think our physicality and combination play will continue to improve even more in the future."《Toda》"It's not about my goal, but it's important that the team won. There were some dangerous situations in the second half, but it was crucial not to concede an additional goal there. I think we were able to play a game without giving up until the end."

[Summary of the press conference by former coach] "We couldn't quite win in the Nabisco Cup. FC Tokyo is happy to have earned 3 points, as we have never lost in the opening match before. We were able to fight well until after scoring the first goal, but I think things got strange after conceding a penalty kick in the second half. We held on well there. We were planning to play with speedy players in the front line, as Amaral, a pillar of the team, and Doi, who had been playing all last year, were both absent due to injuries until last week. We wanted to show the characteristic of FC Tokyo, which is "attacking soccer for 90 minutes," whether we attack at home or quickly counterattack even when defending. We were only thinking about playing our own soccer rather than considering the opponent. Suzuki and Baba have also been improving, and Miura and Amaral are showing signs of returning, so we want to continue to strengthen the team from now on."

[Summary of Kashiwa Aurelio's press conference] "It was a fierce battle with a balanced performance. Both FC Tokyo and Kashiwa created opportunities, but Tokyo capitalized on their chances and won. Both goals were scored from crosses into the penalty area. Our marking and positioning were weak. We struggled because Tokyo had players who could deliver good crosses. We have many injured players, so we are relying on converting players from other positions. Young players like Shimodaira and Myojin are leading the team. However, we are not playing them in matches just to give them experience, but because they have shown the ability to perform in games. They are standing on the pitch by surpassing other players and working hard. I believe that they will enhance their talent in the near future."