Welcoming the 23rd Tama River Clasico

Sec. 4 of the league, which will be played 3 days after the Nabisco Cup. Kawasaki Frontale will face off against Thales in the 23rd Tama River Clasico.
In the Nabisco Kashima game, we used players who had fewer opportunities to play in the league matches and achieved a resounding victory. Coach Massimo also said, "The league matches were not bad in terms of performance, but in Nabisco, new players seized their chances and produced results. As a result, the options for player selection have increased."

The combination of the attacking unit also worked well with a two-top formation. The coach said, "It's one of several strategies, but we want to continue assessing the situation of both the opponents and ourselves in the future." In this match as well, they adopted a two-top formation. Tokunaga, Takahashi, Edu, Higashi, and Gonda, along with Kaga and Yonemoto, who missed the Nabisco Kashima match, were all named as starters. They will face the match with a formation of Watanabe and Edu as the two-top, and Mita as the attacking midfielder.

Kawasaki, on the other hand, is currently in 16th place with 1 draw and 2 losses. This season, new additions include MF PAULINHO and FW Morishima. Under the third-year guidance of coach Kazama, they have made solid reinforcements and are aiming for the league title. However, just like Tokyo, they have yet to win in the league. Despite showcasing their attacking power with FW Okubo and Renato leading the way, they have been unable to secure victories due to conceding goals in the final moments.

On the other hand, Coach Massimo said, "Regardless of the opponent, the important thing is for us to play well. It is still early in the season and Kawasaki is also facing difficulties in building the team. So we don't want to give Kawasaki momentum. Our future is at stake, so we will stick to our style and aim to surpass Kawasaki in this match."

Ajinomoto Stadium, which gradually became colder in the evening, started the game with Kawasaki's kickoff at 19:04.

Conceded the second goal due to a mistake...

From the start, both teams pressed and fought for the ball, launching speedy attacks. In the 5th minute, Takahashi sent a through pass aiming for the opponent's backline, but Edu's timing was slightly off and he was caught offside. The transition between offense and defense was intense, and as the game progressed at a high pace, in the 11th minute, Watanabe and Kawasaki's defender collided in the front line, causing defender Ikawa to cut his head and temporarily leave the pitch. Taking advantage of Kawasaki being temporarily reduced to 10 players, in the 14th minute, Mita delivered a left cross. Watanabe cleared the loose ball inside the box and took a close-range shot, but... it was blocked by the goalkeeper's body.

In the 18th minute, Watanabe sent a through pass to Edu who broke through the defense, but he was slightly offside. On the other hand, in the 19th minute, Kawasaki MF Nakamura's pinpoint pass shook the net by FW Okubo, but this was also offside. Both teams launched attacks from intense pressing, but as time passed, Kawasaki gradually gained control of the ball. However, Tokyo did not drop their defensive line and countered with a compact formation. They did not give any openings.

However, in the 31st minute, Tokyo's back pass from the right side of their own half was intercepted by Kawasaki FW Yu OKUBO, who dribbled forward. He then perfectly timed a pass to FW Yu KOBAYASHI on the left. KOBAYASHI took a shot from the left area, and the ball rolled into the net on the opposite side with a narrow margin... Tokyo conceded the first goal due to a mistake. After this, Tokyo also changed their formation to counter Kawasaki's 4-4-2 setup. They attempted to launch a counterattack with a double pivot of Takahashi and Yonemoto in central midfield, Mita on the right wing, and Higashi on the left wing.

However, in the additional time of the first half, Tokyo had a chance with a left corner kick. Ota passed to Higashi with a short pass, and Mita tried to turn the opponent around, but was pressed by Kawasaki FW Okubo, resulting in a counterattack. Kawasaki MF Renato passed to central MF Kobayashi, and left fullback Taniguchi made consecutive runs. Taniguchi evaded the Tokyo DF in the left area and crossed. From there, FW Okubo scored a spectacular diving header... We conceded the second goal and ended the first half.

Unable to recover in the second half, suffered a complete defeat with no goals

Tokyo introduced Hirayama and Kawano from the second half. Hirayama took a position as one of the two top players, while Kawano played as an attacking midfielder, aiming to score the first goal again with a formation of 4-3-1-2. In the 49th minute, Tokyo launched a strong attack in front of Kawasaki's goal, connecting with Watanabe on the right area, but failed to complete the reversal. In the 58th minute, Kawano entered the right area. He cut inside the opponent's defender and took a shot, but it hit the defender and floated, reaching the goalkeeper. Unable to break through the defense, on the contrary, in the 59th minute, Ota to Takahashi on the side line in the midfield failed to connect, and Kawasaki's midfielder Renato passed to forward Kobayashi in one go towards the front line. Even Morishige, who stretched his leg, couldn't reach it. Tokyo lost the third goal as Okubo from Kawasaki broke free...

In the 68th minute, Takahashi crossed from the left side following a free kick, and Hirayama headed the ball but it was saved by the goalkeeper. In the 70th minute, Morishige headed the ball from a left corner kick but it went over the bar. After that, Tokyo struggled with the precision of their attacks against Kawasaki's quick start, and their side attacks were repeatedly repelled. In the 75th minute, Hayu was substituted in an attempt to regain balance, but in the 80th minute, they gave Kawasaki a left corner kick. This corner kick went to the far side, where Mita tried to bring it out from their own left side but collided with Kawasaki defender Jessy. The ball was taken away and a right cross was delivered, and Kawasaki forward Kobayashi scored a powerful header...

After conceding 4 goals, Kaga suffered an injury to his neck after receiving a foul from the opponent and was unable to return to the pitch. Despite this, Higashi tried to launch a counterattack by covering the defensive line, but they were unable to stop Kawasaki's speed and momentum in both attack and defense. They conceded goals due to mistakes and ended up with a disappointing defeat.

【Player Comment】
《Tokunaga》
"The reason for the loss lies with ourselves, along with the quality of Kawasaki. We were unable to unify our pressing and as a result, the midfield was left open and the ball was circulated. Although the goals were conceded due to mistakes, the quality of the opponent's passing and positioning in the midfield was also high. We need to firmly accept that fact. Nevertheless, we need to defend where we should defend. We must continue to improve our defense."

"Hanyu"
"Even if it becomes 0-3 or 0-4, there is something that we must show as professionals. We exist because there are people who pay to come and watch us. First, I wanted to show my professional attitude. Once again, I want everyone to reexamine what they should do, work hard before considering movement and tactics, not lose to the opponent in front of us, and demonstrate a fighting spirit."

[Summary of Coach Massimo FICCADENTI's Press Conference]
"We started aggressively and created 3-4 chances right from the beginning. However, we gifted a goal to the opponent. Even after that, we fought as a team, but once we conceded the second goal, the game became different. It became a difficult situation. In the second half, we ran hard and did our best, but when we gift goals to opponents like Kawasaki who have high quality in the front line, it becomes really difficult. I feel sorry for the fans and supporters. However, the players can only grow from such experiences and their attachment to the club will become stronger. I believe that the players will show a strong determination from here on."

[Kawasaki Kamata Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"Before the game, I told the players to focus on their own play, and they did very well. We talked about how we would break down the opponent's approach and how we had been caught off guard by few pinches in previous games, so we wanted to bounce back from those pinches, and they fought very well. Each individual was able to clearly organize what they should do now. There were some unintentional pass mistakes in the attack, but other than that, I think there were hardly any loose mistakes. I hope they continue to do this as normal from now on."