Aiming for victory by utilizing the advantage of home

　The league's 30th round, which will be held after a two-week interval due to the Emperor's Cup, will be a match between Kawasaki Frontale and their opponent. They will face off at home. In the Emperor's Cup on the 5th, they scored a massive 7 goals and won, and they are currently on a 3-game winning streak in official matches since the 28th round against G Osaka. The players all agreed that "it shouldn't be that easy in J1," but the team's condition is improving. We hope to see them achieve a league-winning streak of 3 games, which they haven't accomplished since 2002.

　Kawasaki, on the other hand, is currently in 3rd place. They are only 4 points behind the top team, keeping their chances of winning the championship alive. They apply pressure from the front and quickly launch counterattacks with the coordinated play of midfielders Nakamura, Taniguchi, and Maguinho. The scoring ability of forwards Juninho and Ganaha is also a threat, making them a formidable opponent without a doubt.

　In response to this, Tokyo will counter with a strategy of thoroughly targeting the opponent's defense line. In particular, they want to create opportunities by exploiting the space behind the 3-back defense line after Kawasaki's side midfielders Marcon and Mori move forward. In that sense, the midfield battle should be one of the highlights. They want to take control without being chased on defense, with Baba and Lucas also pushing forward from the sides and launching a strong attack.

　A match aiming for victory by taking advantage of the home advantage. The starting lineup includes players who did not have a chance to play in the Emperor's Cup Bandione Kobe match, namely Doi, Toda, and Ishikawa. The center-back positions are filled by Mashima and Inoha. Unfortunately, the match started at 15:04 with Kawasaki's kickoff in chilly weather due to rain since the morning.

During the exchange of counters, they allow a 2-point lead from a mistake

　From the beginning, there was a fierce exchange of counterattacks, with intense offense and defense. As the game progressed at a fast pace, in the 7th minute, a free kick was awarded to Tokyo near the left sideline. Kawasaki MF Maginun kicked the ball in front of the goal, and Doi initially saved it with one hand, but the ball hit the post and Doi managed to clear it again, only for MF Taniguchi to score from the rebound.

　However, in the 13th minute, Imakano -> Lucas passes to the right side space in Tokyo. Tokunaga advances to the goal area and wins the right CK. In the 14th minute, Baba's kick was cleared by the Kawasaki DF once, but Baba connected again and crossed. In response to this, the opponent's GK jumped out and punched the floating ball, and Lucas headed it into the goal! They caught up with the tie early on and reset the game.

　However, afterwards, they ended up conceding goals due to their own mistakes. In the 17th minute, they lost concentration during Kawasaki's left throw-in, allowing MF Taniguchi to dribble deep into the left area. Then, a negative last pass was combined with FW Ganaha, who easily scored. Tokyo also attacked with a good tempo, but they were constantly countered by Kawasaki after losing the ball in the front line. Even after 30 minutes, the pace did not slow down and the fast-paced attack and defense continued.

　In the 42nd minute, Imakano intercepted and attacked, but was surrounded and lost the ball, and Kawasaki MF Maginun ran up the left side. Juninho, the FW who ran into the center, jumped and volleyed the ball in response to a fast cross. The powerful shot pierced the net... However, Tokyo had 10 shots compared to Kawasaki's 8 shots in the first half, but only scored one goal. The content of the game gives hope for a comeback, as they head into the second half.

Despite falling behind by 3 points, they triumphed in a dramatic comeback victory

　In the 49th minute of the second half, Tokyo's corner kick ball was passed to the opponent's goalkeeper and a long pass was sent to the front line. This ball went over Inoha's head and reached MF Maginun who broke through to the front line. Fujiyama also chased after him, but was outrun by speed and the goal was scored in an instant. Even in this situation, the defensive weakness was exposed, allowing a three-point lead, but there was still time. In the 51st minute, we obtained a free kick from a deep position on the left side, and Baba immediately restarted and sent it to the front of the goal. Toda skillfully assisted and scored a goal! Toda's first goal of the season raises the flag of counterattack.

　Then, in the 53rd minute, Kawasaki FW JUNINHO received his second warning and was sent off. In response to this, Suzuki replaced Ishikawa in the 54th minute, Miyazawa replaced Kajiyama in the 62nd minute, and Hirayama replaced Toda in the 68th minute, one after another. They pushed forward with Tokunaga in front, and Fujiyama entered the lineup in the center of the 3-back formation to attack. They collected the ball to Hirayama from the side, and Imano, Baba, Suzuki, and others created chances by picking up the loose balls one after another. However, time passed without being able to score a goal against Kawasaki, who had become defensively compact in the center.

　It was in the 83rd minute when our perseverance paid off. The opponent's goalkeeper came out to clear the floating pass from Imakano to the front line. Suzuki connected the ball in the air with a header, and Hirayama pushed it in with a header! Closing the gap to one goal, the mood for a comeback intensified. In the 84th minute, Kawasaki MF Maginun was also sent off with a second warning. The match became chaotic, but Tokyo, without being shaken, launched a fierce attack against the nine-man Kawasaki.

　Although they completely grasped the flow, they entered into 6 minutes of injury time. However, they never gave up. In the 89th minute, Fujiyama's right cross was contested by Hirayama and the opposing defender in front of the goal. It fell inside the area and Suzuki on the left shot a cross with shooting intent in front of the goal. From this, Miyazawa from the far side headed it in, finally equalizing the score!

　And around the time when 5 minutes of injury time had passed, Imakano, who received a cross pass from Tokunaga, swung his right foot as soon as he saw that there was no opponent's press in front of the area! The ground ball slipped through the opponent's defense and went into the lower right corner of the goal!! Achieving a dramatic comeback, the game ended immediately after. They achieved a great comeback in a total team effort and won the fierce battle. As a result, with 3 consecutive wins in the league, they accumulated 39 points and secured their place in the J1 league.

　【Player Comments】《Imano》"I think the biggest reason for today's victory was that the opposing team had a player sent off. In the first half, I felt like we were sleeping, losing even in one-on-one situations with the opponent, and looking back, it was frustrating. The halftime atmosphere wasn't good either. I don't think Tokyo is a team that easily loses, so I was also frustrated. I was thinking of being more aggressive with the ball. I was hesitant about whether to take a middle shot, but I tried it because I had been practicing it recently and it went in. Before that, I had taken a shot with my left foot, but it was blocked by the Kawasaki DF. The opponent probably thought I wouldn't shoot again... The stands were so lively and the atmosphere was like 'We can't settle for a draw, let's turn it around!' Tokyo is strong when they get carried away. It's not about bullying the top teams, but each match is a battle. Above all, we can't afford to lose at home and we fight for Tokyo's pride."《Hirayama》"The goal was just a matter of connecting with a good ball. I was happy, but everyone was in an atmosphere of 'Let's go for another goal!' and it wasn't a time to be happy. When I was told to 'do my job when the ball comes in from the side' before entering the field, I saw that we were being beaten by our own mistakes, so I wasn't pessimistic. We had a strong desire to help each other and win. I think scoring goals is the best way to make an impression, but I want to continue to contribute to the team."

　[Summary of Manager Kuramata's Press Conference] "I realized that if we don't give up until the end, we can play this kind of game. In the first half, we played soccer that was close to our goal, but we conceded two goals from set plays and one goal from a quick attack. Kawasaki was launching quick attacks, so we made it a point not to easily lose the ball, but our central attack increased and we ended up losing the ball. In the second half, we approached the game with the intention of maintaining the flow of the first half and being cautious of the opponent's quick attacks. We thoroughly broke down the sides in the second half and instructed the players to create a numerical advantage, believing that we could play our own soccer. I think we were able to do that to some extent. It became a situation where we had to endure to some extent, but the opponent received a red card and we were able to turn the game around in the end. (Regarding defense) I instructed Inoha to man-mark forward Juninho and not let him do his job. He did a good job sticking to him to some extent. I instructed Mashima to be aware of forward Ganaha and gave Inoha instructions to provide cover. Regardless of the coordination between the two, we need to make corrections for conceding too many goals. Especially in situations where we need to switch quickly, we need to make corrections, such as the second goal from a throw-in."

　【Kawasaki-Kanzuka Coach Press Conference Summary】"(Regarding the refereeing?) I should refrain from speaking about it in this position. We are training based on the J-League's judgment criteria, but if it deviates too much, we cannot deal with it. The game made me really think about what I should be coaching. The players endured tough training and I think they did really well towards winning the title. All I could say to the players now is "Thank you for your hard work, let's go home quickly."