Tamagawa Clasico, a match that tests true value

　Sec. 13 of the league is held. As the 15th Tama River Clasico, Kawasaki Frontale will face off against at home Ajinomoto Stadium. In the previous match against Navi Sogo Chiba, fresh members joined and took a victory that will be a momentum for the future. At the same time, they achieved three consecutive games without conceding a goal and demonstrated defensive stability. In this match, it will be a test of whether what they have built up so far in both offense and defense will work against their rival Kawasaki in the Tama River Clasico. It will be a match where their true value is questioned. It will be a consecutive match in 3 days from the Chiba match, but during this time, Cabore, Kajiyama, Ishikawa, and Tokunaga have fully recovered from their injuries and will be included in the starting lineup.

Kawasaki, on the other hand, has 18 points at the end of the 12th section. They have a total of 20 goals (second only to Hiroshima) and boast a top-class attacking power. However, in the ACL Ulsan match on the 19th (Tue), Kawasaki lost 0-2 despite their attacking efforts being met with Ulsan's strong defense. Tokyo has also been functioning well defensively with thorough competition and coverage in the defensive line, and they have been able to prevent their opponents from freely playing in the midfield. Without hesitation, they want to continue this.

　In the attack, the key points are expected to be the development from the defensive midfielder and the side attacks. It is important to create our own opportunities while suppressing the attacks of Kawasaki MF Nakamura and Taniguchi, and to break down their defense. Coach Jofuku said, "It's a big match to see if we can return to a 50-50 record by May. However, it's important not to exert too much effort just because it's a 'Clasico', but to play with our usual strength," emphasizing the importance of approaching the match with a calm mind. After this round of league matches, there will be a break of about one month, but it is a crucial match that we want to win before the break and continue our momentum in the Nabisco Cup. Just before the match, the rain started to intensify at Ajinomoto Stadium. The match started with Kawasaki's kickoff at 2:05 PM.

Makoto IMANO's first goal of the season takes the lead! Seizing control of the game

　Kawasaki dominated the ball in the early stages and gave a free kick to Tokyo in the 14th minute. Kawasaki midfielder Nakamura sent a floating kick to the front line, and midfielder Taniguchi, who had jumped out, scored a header, but was saved by offside. After that, they gradually connected passes and took control of the game. Starting with Cabore, Hirayama, and Ishikawa, they made moves, and in the 17th minute, Ishikawa brought the ball to the right area and passed it to Cabore near the goal. Cabore quickly passed it back to Hirayama behind him, but he was closed down by the defenders and couldn't take a shot. From the loose ball, Tokunaga, who had advanced, sent a cross with shooting intent to the front of the goal, but couldn't connect and it became a Kawasaki ball.

　In the 21st minute, Ishikawa dribbled up from the side and took a shot from just outside the area, after receiving the ball from Hirayama who was slightly retreating in the opponent's half. The shot was well controlled, but the goalkeeper caught it. In the 23rd minute, Yonemoto persisted and passed to Ishikawa on the right side. This time, Ishikawa chose to cross the ball. Cabore perfectly timed his header towards the far post, but he couldn't find the target...

　In the 27th minute, Kajiyama, who advanced from the midfield, passed to Cabore on the left front line. Cabore couldn't take a shot, but it was cleared by the defender and resulted in a left corner kick. From this short corner, Ishikawa sent a cross to the center, but it was cut off, and this time they got a right corner kick. In the 28th minute, from this corner kick by Ishikawa, Makoto Imano made a header that hit the bar, but Imano reacted to the rebound. He stabbed the ball into the net with his left foot and scored a goal! They got the opening goal with Imano's first goal of the season from a set piece.

　By the time 30 minutes had passed, the weather had cleared up and become hot and humid. However, after that, Kawasaki did not create any real chances. In the 36th minute, the ball was passed to Hirayama on the left side, with Cabore and Ishikawa closing in the center. Hirayama started the play from the side, but the final pass was blocked by the Kawasaki defenders. In the 37th minute, Bruno headed the ball from Ishikawa's right corner kick, but it went over the line. In the 39th minute, Yonemoto and Cabore took a dribble shot, but it went straight to the goalkeeper. Still, they had hopes of scoring additional goals in the second half and ended the first half.

Expand the lead to 2 points, but lose in a frustrating comeback after becoming 10 men...

　From the start of the second half, Tokyo substituted Suzuki for Hanyu. Kawasaki changed the position of SB Ito to center back and CB Igawa to side back. In the early stages, Kawasaki connected passes, but Tokyo quickly gained rhythm from the counterattack. In the 51st minute, Tokyo intercepted Kawasaki's ball and launched a quick attack. Midfielder Hirayama dropped the ball with a heel pass while forward Cabore reversed his body, and the ball crossed from left to right to Suzuki, who had jumped out to the right area just in time. He then shot from near the right area with momentum, but it went straight to the goalkeeper... In the 54th minute, Kawasaki substituted MF Tasaka for MF Vitor JUNIOR.

　Immediately after that, Tokunaga sent Kawasaki's goal kick to the front line, and Cabore broke through to the front line as if exchanging places with the opponent's defender and crossed the ball. Although Nakayama did not touch this ball in the center, Ishikawa, who had run in from the far side, kicked the shot that he had controlled with great force and scored a goal! They stole an additional point with a speedy attack and took a 2-point lead.

　However, in the 57th minute, Kawasaki FW JUNINHO sent a perfect through pass and FW Zheng was able to face forward. Bruno QUADROS pulled him from behind just before the area, and FW Zheng fell inside the area. This was judged as a prevention of a scoring opportunity, and Bruno QUADROS was sent off. At the same time, Kawasaki was given a penalty kick and had to play with 10 players for the remaining time. In the 58th minute, FW JUNINHO scored this penalty kick, allowing them to catch up by one point, and we were unable to stop Kawasaki's momentum.

　In the 59th minute, Shigeki was replaced by Shigeki and entered the CB. The 4-back did not break, and Hirayama approached with a side formation, but in the 65th minute, Kajiyama, who received Tokyo's right throw-in, was judged to have committed a foul just outside the area and gave a FK, Kawasaki MF Vitor Junior quickly restarted. FW Zheng connected and MF Taniguchi, who became free in the far side, was decided, and a goal was scored by taking advantage of the restart gap. In the 68th minute, Moriyama, DF on the Kawasaki left side, made a vertical pass to FW Zheng → MF Vitor Junior → FW Juninho's cross, and FW Renatinho in the far side competed with Nagatomo, but jumped and volleyed to score a goal. We allowed a reverse in 10 minutes by deciding a cross from the side...

　Still, without looking down, in the 75th minute, Nakamura was substituted for Hirayama. He connected passes from a tough defense and launched a counterattack. In the 88th minute, Nagatomo entered the area from a through pass by Konno and won a left corner kick. Suzuki's kick went through the congested central area and reached the far side. Nakamura caught up and took a shot, but it missed the target... In injury time, Tokunaga on the right side passed skillfully to Nakamura in the area, who then sent a pass to the goalmouth. Yonemoto ran in freely, creating a great chance, but slipped on the turf and missed the ball. Although they had a chance to equalize, they suffered a heartbreaking comeback defeat. As a result, the overall record of the Tama River Clasico is 5 wins, 5 draws, and 5 losses. Furthermore, they finished 14th in the league and will enter a break period of about one month.

　【Player Comments】《Ishikawa》"In the games I didn't play, the defensive balance was good, so as an attacking player, I wanted to create good attacking opportunities. I think we had a good attacking shape from good defense in the first half. It was from a set piece, but it was good that we scored. (The goal) Cabore crossed from the left side, Hirayama collapsed in front, and I had a feeling that the ball would come. There was some distance, but I was able to guide it in well. (With 6 goals, it's the most in the team) There are still chances, and goals are needed to contribute to the team's victory. Today, I couldn't contribute to the victory with my own goal, so I want to continue getting results while scoring. Even though there is a sense of accomplishment, there are still frustrating games where results don't come. The league will be suspended, but there are cup matches as well, so I want to reflect on them properly and lead to a good restart of the league."《Imano》"It's frustrating and regrettable that we couldn't win. We still have a lot to learn. With this loss, I strongly felt that we need to aim higher. (Regarding the opening goal) I always try to aim for it whenever there is a chance. However, today, rather than scoring, we created a lot of chances, so I want you to see that aspect as well. Even after we were reduced to ten men, we were able to connect well and create chances, so I thought it was not a problem, but the atmosphere of the whole venue became Kawasaki's after the red card. However, we have to play soccer that can't be defeated by that. So it's a learning experience."

　[Summary of Coach Shirofuku's Press Conference] "I wanted to share the joy with many fans who came, but unfortunately it didn't lead to a result. However, I told the players to lift their heads. I think the game was a performance to be proud of. No matter what judgments are made, we have to continue playing soccer. Playing good soccer is our job. In hindsight, we may be criticized for various things, but the content is not something to be pessimistic about, and I think we should continue playing this soccer." (Evaluation of the two goals and plans after the red card?) After being one player down, we tried to create a block with a 4-4-1 formation. We were able to do that, but the opponent stopped attacking and we had to chase after them instead. Therefore, we changed the system to a 4-3-2 formation from the middle of the game to go and win the ball. Regarding the goals, you could say "we scored two," but I think we should have scored three or four goals and it's important to continue creating such chances. (Regarding future attempts) Of course, we have to reflect on conceding three goals today and there may be some reasons for how the game went. We will reflect on that, but even with ten players, the players bravely connected and played soccer that was not just about throwing the ball in. That is something to be proud of and reassuring. We want to continue playing this kind of soccer with the players and achieve results."

　[Kawasaki F. Sekizuka's press conference summary] "We turned around a very difficult game. Thanks to the passionate support of the fans and the players' hard work. I want to express my gratitude. Recently, FC Tokyo has been playing with a solid defense and powerful attacks, so I knew it would be a tough match. We wanted to take the lead, but our restarts didn't result in goals. In a calm moment of the game, we conceded a goal from the restart. Especially, FC Tokyo's possession rate of the two center backs was high, and putting pressure on them would create space in the midfield. We conceded the opening goal and further struggled. That was one of the key points, but we couldn't change the flow in the first half. In the second half, we changed our system, and at the start, if FW Zheng Daisei had been a bit faster, FW Juninho would have had a chance to face the goalkeeper one-on-one. From that point, we started to regain our breath a little, but just then, in the first half, DF Ito made a similar mistake, and DF Kikuchi bounced the ball backwards, leading to a goal. These fundamental aspects are causing difficulties in our defense and making it hard for us to play our own rhythm and style of soccer. After that, we were able to turn the game around by successfully converting a penalty kick and inducing a red card, but we need to make some adjustments in those areas and finish the team off properly."