Sec. 21 Tama River Clasico, an intense match that blows away the cold

Entering the 8th section of the league, we will play against Kawasaki Frontale at home as the 21st Tama River Clasico. The previous Nabisco section was a frustrating battle, but we value the accumulation as a team and aim to advance little by little without stagnation, aiming for consecutive victories in the league. It became an evening event with a cold climate, but Coach Popovic also expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "I want to show intensity and strength in the ball and play a game that touches the hearts of the spectators."

Kawasaki, on the other hand, is currently in 14th place with 6 points. They were winless until the 6th round, but due to injuries to MF Nakamura and others, they changed their formation from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2. In the 7th round against Sendai, they scored multiple goals from speedy attacks and secured their first victory in the league. They continued their winning streak with a 3-1 victory against Nagoya in the Nabisco Kofu match. It can be said that they are truly on a roll. At the same time, Tokyo has been on a losing streak in the Tama River Clasico at home since 2009.

Takahashi reflects on last season's battle at Ajinomoto Stadium, saying, "We overwhelmed Kawasaki but ended up losing due to mistakes and set plays." That's what makes the "Clasico" unpredictable. To achieve victory, we need to play the entire 90 minutes without giving the opponent any openings, and instead, take advantage of their weaknesses. Both teams aim to break down the opponent by connecting passes, so Tokyo wants to increase ball possession and continue challenging in various attacking aspects to score goals.

Tokyo welcomes back Ota and approaches the match with the same starting lineup as the previous league match. Kawasaki, on the other hand, is missing MF Nakamura and Renato, but starts DF Jesse and Ito as center-backs. DF Mitto is on the right side, and DF Tanaka is on the left. MF Inamoto and Yamamoto form the midfield, with MF Kobayashi and Oshima on both sides. The formation consists of FW Yajima and Okubo as the two forwards. The match started with Kawasaki's kickoff at 19:04.

Leading with a calm game play, Lucas scores the first goal!

In the 6th minute of the start, Lucas -> Tokunaga was trying to return to Lucas, but was stolen and countered. In the 10th minute, they tried to attack from their own territory, but were stolen and almost in danger, but Takahashi covered the defensive line and did not allow Kawasaki to create a chance. Tokyo possessed the ball in the first half. They calmly passed the ball, but couldn't break through Kawasaki, who maintained a high line and created blocks, and the time continued without being able to break through.

Still, in the 22nd minute, while Yonemoto was injured in a contest with the opponent, Takahashi kept the ball in his own half. When Yonemoto returned, they connected passes, with Tokunaga on the right side passing to Watanabe on the right, who then cut inside and passed to Higashio in the center. Higashio sent a vertical pass, and Hasegawa in the center of the area quickly passed it to Lucas on the left. Lucas received the ball and immediately kicked a sharp shot into the goal. This was Tokyo's first shot of the day, but through their combination play, Lucas scored his second consecutive goal in the league matches and took the lead.

After that, there were moments when Kawasaki launched strong attacks, but Tokyo's concentrated defense prevented any additional scoring opportunities. In the 42nd minute towards the end of the first half, Tokyo suffered a counterattack from a corner kick, and Kawasaki forward Yu OKUBO took a shot, but it went wide. In the 45th minute, Kawasaki forward Yajima entered the left area. Despite competing with Tokyo defenders, he managed to take a shot, but goalkeeper Konda made a save in front of the goal, preventing it from being scored. Tokyo maintained a one-goal lead as they entered the second half.

Dynamic performance in offense and defense, Higashi marks his first goal in the league after transferring, securing victory with a clean sheet

In the second half, Tokyo aggressively attacked from the fast defensive start and took control. In the 51st minute, from the left side, the ball was passed through the center to Hasegawa and Higashi, then shifted to the right. Lucas, who entered the right area, couldn't finish the shot, but returned to the center. They launched a strong attack, but Hasegawa's shot in the end couldn't find the target as it grazed past Higashi. Immediately after, from Kawasaki's goalkeeper's throw, right midfielder Kobayashi broke through the right front line and sent a last pass from the area's edge, but Kaga cut it with his left foot. This momentarily caused a scare towards the goal, but it missed the target and resulted in a corner kick.

In the 57th minute, Higashi crossed from the left. Then, Yonemoto made a big side change to the right front line. They tried to attack repeatedly from the side, aiming to exploit the space behind Kawasaki's high line. In the 62nd minute, Watanabe intercepted the pass from Kawasaki's goalkeeper near the left corner of the area. He immediately took a shot, but it was blocked by the defender and they couldn't score an additional goal. Then, in the 65th minute, Yonemoto showed his strength in a deep position on the right side of their own half. He successfully took the ball from Kawasaki and Lucas in the front passed it to Watanabe in the center, who dribbled up and launched a counterattack.

At the left, Hasegawa passed the ball and initially slowed down, but he calmly ran into the left area and made a long through pass to Higashi. Higashi skillfully went around the goalkeeper and calmly shot the ball through his legs to score a goal. It was his first goal since transferring to the league, and it was an important additional point.

70 minutes, Kawasaki changed their formation. In the one-box midfield, Inamoto, and the forward Yajima and midfielder Kobayashi formed a two-top, with Okubo as the attacking midfielder, they increased their numbers in the attack. With this opportunity, they gained momentum and attacked Tokyo's defense. However, Tokyo also made a player substitution and in the 89th minute, Hyun Soo JANG was brought in as a defensive midfielder. With Yonemoto and Takahashi pushing forward, they shut down Kawasaki's counterattack. They maintained their focus until the end, kept a clean sheet, and secured a victory in the Tama River Clasico, achieving their second consecutive win in the league.


[Player Comments]
"Lucas" "I'm happy to score! It was even better to be able to score in a game like the Tama River Clasico where everyone gets excited. From here, I want to continue winning and aim for the top. The important thing is not to lose the ball in a strange way, but today I was able to regain it after losing it, which led to chances and was able to make the most of them. The part that is lacking is the accuracy of the final pass, including myself. I think if that improves, it will lead to even better attacks and goals."

"I always want to win, of course, but I also want to score. I've had many chances before, but today I was able to hit calmly. I gained confidence that it will go in if I stay calm. Above all, I think it was easier because we were able to take the lead today. It was fun to keep showing aggressiveness from the first half, and the defense was also stable. And we were quick to switch. We were able to regain the ball when it was taken away, and when we had the ball, we were able to create good opportunities calmly. Kawasaki also has good players and is a team that likes to possess the ball. We may have surpassed them in both taking and leading."


[Coach's Press Conference Summary]
《Coach Popovic》"It was a very high-quality game. We played smartly and tenaciously, adapting to the flow and situation of the match, and at times, we were able to play aggressively. In the first half, we conceded a counter-attack goal due to our own mistake, but we want to correct that."

We aim to move the ball and progress the game at a high pace throughout the 90 minutes. However, there are times when we cannot do that. Today, we were able to endure and not let the opponent take advantage when things didn't go well, when we couldn't connect or carry the ball well. We also organized our defense, rested our bodies, and efficiently played by moving forward after winning the ball. Even during difficult periods when we couldn't possess the ball, we were able to clearly unify as a team."


"Kawasaki Kazama Coach: "The start wasn't that bad. However, we fell behind due to a positional error. I think the team's tempo dropped a bit from there. We changed the system midway and gradually started to face forward, and we had a good rhythm for a few minutes. However, I felt that we should have pulled the ball out in the midfield from the beginning and played soccer in our own rhythm, and the players are capable of doing that. We want to improve on that going forward."