Aiming for victory in the difficult away match against Kashima

The second match of the Nabisco Cup qualifying league was played away against Kashima Antlers. The previous match against Tosu ended in a goalless draw, but the defense showed no weaknesses and earned 1 point. This match will be a crucial battle to see how we can convert chances into goals and secure a victory. Due to an injury, Tokyo will have rookie Nozawa and Hasegawa as the double defensive midfielders. Lucas and Li will be the left and right midfielders, with Kono as the attacking midfielder and Watanabe as the striker.

Kashima, on the other hand, currently has 1 win and 2 draws in the league. There was no game in the Nabisco Cup last round, so this round will be the start. Kashima, who was the reigning champion of the Nabisco Cup last season, has Toninho CEREZO returning as the coach this season. In addition, FW Davi, MF Nakamura, and DF Ueda have joined the team. MF Nozawa has also returned, and with the emergence of young players alongside experienced players, it can be said that the team boasts depth. Although the lineup has changed significantly from the league matches this round, FW Davi and Osako have the ability to decide the game in one shot, so sufficient attention is necessary.

Coach Popovic expressed his respect for the team, saying, "They win titles every year, have great experience in the league, and have a good balance between veterans and young players. However, this is a great opportunity for us to prove our own strength. No matter who the opponent is, we want to prioritize our own style of play." We want to win the match and secure 3 points by overcoming our past struggles in away games. The match started with Kashima's kickoff at 16:00 at Kashima Soccer Stadium.

They allowed the first goal and struggled, but equalized with Watanabe's goal.

In the first half, Kashima was pushed back by a strong attack. In particular, FW Davi and Osako smoothly circulated the ball from their strong ball control and launched side attacks. In the 9th minute, Kashima's right MF Endo's shot was caught by Shioda. Furthermore, in the 10th minute, SB Maeno, who ran up the left side from Kashima DF Shoji's long pass, took a powerful shot. Shioda saved it and it resulted in a corner kick. From this left corner kick, FW Davi headed the ball but it went wide to the right.

Still, MoriShige and the final line concentrated on defense and gradually began to grasp the rhythm. In the 21st minute, Maruyama joined the attack from Watanabe's post. He rushed into the left area, but couldn't shoot here. Connecting the ball that spilled to the far side, Nozawa tried to aim for the goal, but his posture collapsed and he couldn't hit it either. However, in the 28th minute, Maruyama was robbed of the ball in his own half, and FW Davi -> FW Osako from the right front line shot a fast shot from the outside of the right area, piercing the far goal and allowing a goal to be scored.

After that, due to Kashima's intense press, the coordination did not come together and they were unable to connect the ball forward. In the 39th minute, Maruyama -> Lucas in the area took a shot that hit the lower left post. Li, who reacted to the rebound, was unable to push it in. Then, in the 45th minute, Hasegawa sent a ball from the left side FK, which was cleared by the opposing DF who competed with Morishige. From this loose ball, Tokunaga from outside the right area took a shot, which was then deflected by Watanabe inside, and the ball went into the left side net. They managed to equalize somehow and head into the second half.

Starting with Lucas' comeback goal, we steadily capitalized on opportunities and scored four points to secure victory.

In the second half, Tokyo substituted Higashino for Kono on the right side. Li played as the forward, and Watanabe played slightly behind the forward. In the 50th minute, Watanabe created a decisive opportunity from a through pass, but Li's shot was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. Then, in the 57th minute, Higashino advanced from the right to the center and passed to Lucas, who had circled around the area from the left. Lucas trapped the ball, evaded the defender, and took a shot before the opponent's goal. The shot pierced the net, resulting in a successful comeback. However, after that, Kashima intensified their offensive and launched speedy attacks. Despite Davi, the forward, creating scoring opportunities with his individual skills, Shibata made a series of excellent saves and successfully defended the goal.

Tokyo, who wants to change the flow, substitutes Mita for Nozawa in the 62nd minute. In the 68th minute, Ota is brought in to replace Maruyama. Then, in the 77th minute, Watanabe steals the opponent's DF's pass and exchanges passes with Li, expanding to the left. Ota, who overlapped, sends an early cross between the GK and DF, and Li jumps in with a header to score the first goal. However, just one minute later, Davi, the central FW, receives a pass from Kashima's left-leaning MF Nozawa. While carrying Tokyo's DF, FW Davi skillfully turns around and shoots. This results in another one-goal difference.

Kashima, who is on a roll, continues to shoot middle shots one after another, but Shioda catches them. The period of being pushed in continues, but in the 81st minute, Li in the central area of the right area of the east side of Kashima's field attracts the defenders while directly returning to the center. East, who ran into this, calmly scores an additional goal with his left foot. Tokyo was unable to dominate throughout the 90 minutes, but they displayed concentration in defense and showed strength in crucial moments. In the Nabisco Cup, they seize a victory at Kashima Soccer Stadium for the first time since 2004.

[Player Comments]
《Lucas》"Keigo has just joined this season, but he has brought good teamwork to both me personally and the team. The match against C Osaka ended in disappointment, but he and I shook the net with our collaboration. And in that situation today, Watanabe ran for me when I received the pass, creating two options for me: dribble or pass to him. I think that led to the goal."

High-quality players are gathered, and even if the positioning is slightly off, it leads to the fluidity of the team. It gives me confidence to be able to score 4 goals against a big team like Kashima, and I want to continue getting these results. I think that the probability of the team winning increases when I score goals, so I will do my best to score more goals. It's still early in the season, but I think it's really important for us to win against the next Marinos in order to aim for the title and consistently compete at the top. I definitely want to win."

"My first goal was a big deal for me (laughs). It's my characteristic to jump into the goal area, and if I lose that, I won't be myself. Even when I couldn't score, I believed in myself and trusted my teammates, and I thought it was important to keep going. It took longer than I expected, but I aim for one goal per game, and what's important is the 'next'. I think I can finally catch the wave when I score in the next game. I have to grab that wave myself."

(Did you appeal your number?) For Tokyo, number 11 is definitely Amaral. I didn't want to overshadow his greatness as the ace number. (You ran to the goal end and seemed very happy?) Scoring a goal and winning, there's no way I wouldn't be happy. I think it's okay to express joy when you're happy, and that's also the fun of soccer. But I really think the next Marinos game is important. I want to win against strong opponents and continue to stay at the top, and I think everyone can face the league matches with good motivation. I definitely want to win."

[Coach's Press Conference Summary]
《Coach Popovich》"I think it was an interesting game. It was a game where both teams showed their strengths throughout. However, we were inferior to the opponent in the first half. It was like playing with two fewer players. It was tough to play against Kashima, a team that wins titles every year, with two fewer players and our strengths didn't come out. In the second half, I think we showed what we are aiming for and what we have been doing for the most part. However, we need to reflect on our performance in the first half as a team. We shouldn't play like this."

Although we returned one point from Tokunaga's shot, it might have been a different outcome without that. Today, a new player named Riku NOZAWA made his debut, and I think he played as I expected. I believe he will grow to become a player who carries the future of Tokyo. I don't like to mention and praise a player's name in this kind of situation, but I think he showed a solid performance in his first official match."

"Kashima Toninho CEREZO coach" "(What was the harvest of using young players?) There are only 18 players who can fight together. Among them, I was able to give opportunities to play as a goalkeeper, center back, left fullback, and both defensive midfielders this time. After all, the ability of players can only be understood in official matches. Practice is just a guide. You can determine your current strength in a real battle. I wanted to see that. From there, I think we can make corrections and develop properly. However, in the first half, we were able to score goals with a wonderful performance. However, as a bad part, we couldn't close the game properly at the end of the first half. In the future, we need to improve the team's awareness at the end of the game and at the beginning of the game."

Unfortunately, forward Rui OSAKO got injured in the second half. Although we have forward Davi, he is more of a striker who scores goals. He was unable to control the ball, so we gradually started to retreat as a team. Especially when the opponent started to dictate the pace, our young players seemed surprised or scared, and they started to drop back. It's regrettable that we gave the opponent space to attack. However, this is something that comes with youth. As we continue to play more games, we will learn that we shouldn't do this, we shouldn't be afraid, and we must continue to fight bravely. I think today's game was a good experience for our young players."