League match resumes! Keep the momentum going and win at home

　The league match resumes. Sec. 29 is approaching, and we will face Kashiwa Reysol at home. In the Emperor's Cup, we had some challenges, but we achieved a great victory against Kamatamare Sanuki with a united effort. We will continue this momentum and carry it into the final stages of the season. Japan national team players Imano, Ishikawa, and Tokunaga have joined the team. They have mentally and physically prepared themselves, and their conditions are also good. On the other hand, Nagatomo injured his left knee, and Suzuki is suspended, so they will be absent for this match. Therefore, Murahara will play as the right full-back, Tokunaga on the left, and Hiraoka and Akamine will form the attacking duo.

　Kashiwa, on the other hand, is currently in 16th place with 27 points. They will desperately aim to escape the relegation zone, as they are 4 points behind Yamagata in 15th place. Although they narrowly won in the Emperor's Cup JEF Reserves (JFL) match through a penalty shootout, under the guidance of coach NELSINHO, who took over from the 19th round, they have recorded 2 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses in the league. They have been steadily accumulating points with their "unbeatable" style of football.

　Originally known for their strong defense and counterattacks, Coach Jofuku also said, "Even if the coach changes, the 'strength of Kashiwa' remains the same. With everyone's defensive awareness added to it, the team has become even more difficult to beat." This match will focus on how to break down this solid defense. Kashiwa's center-backs Yusuke Kobayashi and Kondo are both strong in one-on-one situations, so the attacking line will not be able to easily move forward. Ideally, we want to launch fast attacks before Kashiwa's defense is fully formed.

　Kashiwa will be without DF Park Dong-Hyuk and FW Otsu due to suspension. Additionally, FW Fransa will be absent due to injury. FW Popo will also start on the bench. If they win today, they will secure their place in J1 next season, but they cannot afford to lose in order to stay in the top positions until the final match. Furthermore, they have not won a home game against Kashiwa since 2004. This season, they hope to take advantage of their home field and secure 3 points. The match started at 13:04 at Ajinomoto Stadium under cloudy skies.

Redmine takes control of the ball and scores a valuable opening goal just before the end of the first half!

　Both teams showed a high level of physicality from the beginning, with quick transitions between offense and defense. Among them, Tokyo remained composed and controlled the ball. They connected passes, with players like Hirayama and Akamine as the starting points, and involved players like Hayashi and Ishikawa, trying to create scoring opportunities. In the 10th minute, Kajiyama made a big side change to the right side. Ishikawa ran there, evaded the opposing defender in a high position, and took a shot! It was a familiar situation for him, but the goalkeeper made a save. In the 12th minute, they created another opportunity from the left side, and Kajiyama followed up with a shot from the middle.

　In the 15th minute, Kashiwa's defensive midfielder Kurisawa passed to forward Suginuma in the left area. A cross was then sent to forward Kitajima in the right area. A decisive opportunity was created, but the shot was blocked by Tokyo's defenders and resulted in a corner kick. In the 19th minute, Hirayama advanced from the left side and played a through pass to the right area. Ishikawa managed to connect well and took a shot from just outside the right goal area, but it was saved by the goalkeeper... In the 27th minute, Kashiwa launched a counterattack and midfielder Tanaka crossed from the left. The space behind Tokyo's defenders in the right area was left open, and Yamazaki slipped in, but they couldn't connect in the final moment and the danger was averted.

　The time when a decisive finish could not be brought continued, but in the latter half of the first half, we continued to launch powerful attacks. In the 38th minute, Yonemoto sent a floating pass to the left area, and Ishikawa tenaciously won the one-on-one battle with the opponent's DF and crossed it short to the center. However, Akamine's header went up. In the 39th minute, Tokunaga went up from the left side → from Akamine's post, Hayashi ran into the area and took a shot from a direct play, but this also went wide of the goal.

　But in the added time, from a pass exchange on their own left side, Imakano → Kajiyama made a long pass into the opponent's territory, which Hanyu controlled with one touch and sent a ground ball in front of the goal. Akamine timed his run perfectly and shot it into the lower left corner, scoring a goal! They took the lead with a flowing development. There were also moments when they were countered by Kashiwa, but they ended the first half with a one-point lead.

Scored 4 goals and won with the intended style of soccer!

　In the second half, we continued to maintain our rhythm and aggressively attacked. In the 46th minute, Ishikawa aimed directly at the goal from a free kick near the opponent's goal on the right side, and his powerful shot fiercely attacked the goalkeeper, but it was punched away. In the 50th minute, Hayashi connected a side change from the right side at a high position on the left side, and Tokunaga tried to score a goal from just outside the left area corner, but it went wide. In the 53rd minute, Kajiyama → Ishikawa sprinted down the right side and sent a strong ground cross between the defenders and the goalkeeper in front of the goal, but Hirayama's sliding attempt to score was blocked by the Kashiwa defender just before.

　Then, in the 55th minute, Hirayama → Mokuhara, who overlapped, was unable to approach the goal line on the right side of the front line due to the defense, but he persisted and passed it to Akamine in the middle. Akamine was also marked by the defense, but he persistently made it his own ball and sent a minus pass in front of the goal. Hanyu, who ran here, kicked it in perfectly and scored the second goal! He connected the ball near the goal line without giving up and scored an additional point.

　After that, taking advantage of the defensive gaps in Kashiwa's attack, Hayashi repeatedly made dangerous through passes from Kajiyama's development. In the 62nd minute, Bruno QUADROS intercepted the opponent's pass, and Hayashi in the midfield hit Akamine in front of the goal, received the return pass, and made a through pass to the front line. In response to this, Hirayama dribbled forward while carrying the opponent's defender on his back, and spectacularly swung his left foot for the third goal after entering the area. It was a long-awaited goal for Hirayama himself, the first since the 18th round against Omiya in the league.

　In the 69th minute, Inamoto → Kajiyama to the left side of the opponent's field, Hanyu. Ishikawa ran to the dropping point of the floating ball sent by Hanyu into the area and scored with a loop with his right foot!! They took a massive 4 goals and pushed Kashiwa away, but Ishikawa collided with a defender in this play and injured his left knee... He was forced to be substituted with Tanabe. Although there are concerns about Ishikawa's injury, Kashiwa's counterattack was shut out. They achieved a league 3-game winning streak by winning at home with coordinated soccer.

　【Player Comment】《Hanyu》"Kashiwa comes with man-marking in the attacking third, so we have been practicing creating gaps and running into those gaps, and I think everyone's positioning led to goals. The first goal is a play that I can be satisfied with. It is the result of each individual firmly showing what they can do and making decisions for the team's outcome. I think it's a goal that we scored together. Even if it is by external force, we are fighting with the feeling that if we lose, we will not have anything left in order to gain something in the final match. Kashiwa also has high motivation, and there have been many games where we have missed opportunities against such opponents in the past. So I think it is worth evaluating that we were able to score 4 goals and win. There are parts that we can have confidence in and parts that we need to improve further, but I want to continue to make efforts to keep growing and move in a positive direction."

　《赤嶺》"The opening goal was a well-executed pass from player Daiki WATARI, who successfully bypassed the opponent's defender. It was just before the end of the first half, but we were able to take the lead and gain momentum as a team. In the second half, we were able to score a second goal in a good manner. By connecting without giving up and being able to control the ball, all that was left was to pass it to player Daiki WATARI. I think we were able to repay the favor of the opening goal."

　[Summary of Manager Jofuku's Press Conference] "I think it was a very good result considering the strength of Kashiwa and the current motivation, ending with a score of 4-0. As for the content, in the first half, both teams canceled each other's strengths, and I thought it would be a tight game, but we were able to score a good goal just before the end of the first half, which made us mentally relieved. In the second half, there was a little more space and we had more time to pass the ball, and the frequency of switching in the attacking third increased. We may have been able to score more goals if we were greedy, but I am satisfied with the result of 4-0 against Kashiwa."

　However, the bench members should have seen Ishikawa leaving the pitch in that situation. So, they sent in all the players from the second row as substitutes, but I am very dissatisfied with their attitude. If young players can only approach the game with such an attitude, this club will not become stronger. I have a great sense of crisis about that. If I don't instill in them the pride of wearing the blue and red and make them understand that, I cannot let them stand on the pitch in the future. I feel that level of anger. It is also my responsibility that I couldn't convey to them firmly what position I would be in if Ishikawa got injured and couldn't let them stand on the pitch. But to go further, to create a miracle in the final match, it is impossible with just the starting eleven. I want to once again instill the meaning of wearing the blue and red uniform and show the attitude.

　[Summary of Kashiwa NELSINHO's press conference] "During this week, we have prepared a game plan to play against Tokyo and have focused on countering their defense by attacking their blind spots. Kajiyama, Ishikawa, and Hirayama are the three key players in Tokyo's attack, so in the first half, our plan was to prevent these three from doing their job, and I think we defended well. However, near the end of the first half, we lost concentration and the ball was taken away from us, and they scored a beautiful goal in that momentary gap. In the end, I think the game collapsed with that goal. Even in the second half, we couldn't fully respond to Tokyo's individual quality movements, especially their diagonal runs, despite being aware of them in practice, and that's why we ended up with this result. (It was the most goals conceded since taking office) Today's four goals were not taken because regular players were absent due to suspension. I believe it is because Tokyo's players were clever and scored where they should have."