Resume the league! Enhance maturity

J1 League resumes after about 2 months. Finally, we will restart from here. During the break, we have reviewed our way of fighting and also started to expand the tactical variations. We have achieved further penetration through the camp.

Coach Massimo also expressed his determination for the future, saying, "From here on, we want to further enhance our maturity in order to take the next step." He pledged to continue growing. In addition, in the 2nd round of the Emperor's Cup held on July 12th, the team scored a record-breaking 8 goals and achieved victory. We also want to use this as momentum for the league matches.

Kashima, on the other hand, is currently in 4th place in the league. In the 2nd round of the Emperor's Cup, they suffered an unexpected defeat against JFL Sony Sendai, but the players are increasingly cautious, saying that they will come back and fight with even more determination. The attacking power of FW Davi and MF Caio is outstanding, and MF Endo has both fluidity and decisiveness. Above all, it can be said that MF Ogasawara's ability to judge the flow of the game and his play as the starting point of both offense and defense are among the best in the J-League.

In response to this, Tokyo wants to grasp the rhythm from good defense first. If they can take the lead with a quick build-up from there, it should be possible to reproduce the victory in the Emperor's Cup (3-1 on March 19). Tokyo will face the Akita match in the Emperor's Cup with the same starting lineup. Hee Ju KWAK will also be on the bench.

Ajinomoto Stadium, where a light rain began to fall. The match started with a kickoff in Tokyo at 18:34.

Transitioning from a strong defense to an attack, but unable to capitalize on the opportunities

Maintaining concentration from the beginning, we stole the ball with organized defense and launched quick counterattacks. In the 12th minute, Kono broke through the right side and sent a cross. Yonemoto had made a run into the left area, but the ball was slightly too long and he couldn't reach it with his extended leg. In the 17th minute, Mita passed to Muto on the right, and finally Yonemoto in the center took a shot. It deflected off a defender and changed direction, but the goalkeeper made the save.

After taking the ball, there was a period of time when we suffered from Kashima's counterattack due to mistakes, but gradually we gained rhythm by demonstrating coordination in both defense and attack. However, there were scenes where we couldn't finish due to Kashima's intense pressure. In the 23rd minute, Mita made an early cross from the right area. Yamamoto jumped in from the far side to meet it. In the 32nd minute, Edu dropped Ota's feed with his chest in the front line, and Muto ran in and took a shot, but it went wide.

In the 34th minute, they had a scoring opportunity. Kawano and Muto connected directly from Yonemoto's feed, and then Kawano passed to Edu who had broken free in the center. Edu took a decisive shot with his left foot, but he missed the target... They couldn't make the most of the chance and the first half ended with no goals. However, they defended persistently, mainly led by Morishige, against Kashima's attacks initiated by Davi, and entered the second half with a scoreless draw.

Mita scores in two consecutive official matches to take the lead! However, they faced a fierce comeback from Kashima in the final stages...

In the second half, both teams aim to score the first goal and actively engage in attacking each other. In the 50th minute, Mutoh competes with the opponent's defender and breaks through to the left area with a powerful dribble. Yamamoto runs into the area to meet the negative pass directly, but fails to hit the target. Kashima also launches quick counterattacks and amidst intense back-and-forth exchanges, in the 56th minute, Higashito is substituted in as an attacking midfielder in place of Kono.

After that, in the 60th minute, Edu dribbled on the right side. The last pass he sent into the area was intercepted by the opponent's defender, but Muto aggressively closed in and cleared the ball to Mita near the right corner of the area. Mita took a step inside and confidently swung his left foot, shooting the ball without spin. The shot flew over the outstretched hand of the goalkeeper and hit the crossbar, just barely going in! GOAL!! Mita achieved the opening goal with a splendid shot!

However, from here Kashima launched a fierce counterattack. Therefore, we changed our formation back to 4-4-2 to counter. Both teams continued to fiercely attack and defend without losing focus. In the 78th minute, Higashi carried the ball up the center and made a through pass to the left area. Muto started running here and broke free from the opponent's defenders to take a decisive shot, but... the diving goalkeeper made a save. On the other hand, in the 80th minute, MF Ogasawara made a long feed to the front line. In response to this, substitute FW Toyokawa jumped out and competed with Tokunaga, but still managed to take a shot. The ball floated gently and shook the net, but just before that, there was a handball foul, and Tokyo got the ball.

Despite that, there continued to be a period of time where Kashima was being pushed back, and in the 86th minute, Kashima's left cross was dropped by FW Davi, and FW Toyokawa positioned himself for a shot in the center. Although Mori Shige blocked it, the ball spilled to the right, where right-back Nishi crossed it. The ball cleared by the area's Yonemoto with a header as he was returning, ended up with Kashima's FW Toyokawa in the left area, who then scored a direct volley with his left foot... and finally conceded a goal.

In additional time, Tokyo's FK scene saw Kashima MF Luis Alberto sent off. Tokyo did not give up and aimed for a comeback, and even after 5 minutes, both teams launched counterattacks against each other. In the end, substitute player Habu dribbled up the left side, cut back against the opposing DF, and sent a pass between Muto in the center and Ota on the far side... but the opposing GK also came out and the DF defended with all their might, and the time was up. Both teams showed their fighting spirit and attacked each other, but the intense battle resulted in a shared 1 point.

[Player Comments]
"Mita"
"There were chances to score additional points. However, we couldn't take advantage of them and ended up being caught up, resulting in a frustrating draw. I wanted to score a goal, and I have been practicing shots like that. It was good to be able to showcase it in an official match. I want to continue producing results and ride on this momentum. I hope to contribute to a victory in the next match and do my best."

"After taking the lead, we had the consciousness of defending firmly. We didn't want to drop back if possible, but we ended up in a situation where we had no choice but to drop back. However, it is the job of our defense to defend in the final moments. It is truly frustrating that we couldn't do that. It is regrettable that we couldn't win, but there are also parts where we can feel the sense of progress and growth. We want to continue to improve and grow from here, so that we can be in the best state of growth in the final match, by coming together as one."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"It was the first game after the break, but I think the performance was good. We knew Kashima would come with high motivation because they lost an important match last week. I clearly told the players that in this kind of game, we shouldn't just finish the match with a 1-0 score, but we need to score a second goal. It is impossible to not give the opponent any chances from a 1-0 situation until the end of the game. So it is important to score a second goal and seal the match. Not being able to score in the chances we had is our current challenge."

[Kashima Toninho CEREZO Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"I think it was a great game. Every game against Tokyo becomes a good game. The opponent played with a 4-3-3 formation and showed thorough coaching. In particular, their inside half players aggressively suppressed our midfield build-up. We compacted our defense and were able to attack effectively through side changes. From there, we increased the speed and penetrated into the area, but the quality of crosses in the first half was low. We were able to create more shape in the second half."
Although we were behind due to the opponent's skilled shot, there was still plenty of time, so I thought about calming the team down. I think the second half was quite exhausting for both teams. In such a situation, we were able to create chances by exploiting the gaps in the midfield. It could have easily been a 2-1 game, but I want to commend the players who showed that they will keep going no matter what the situation. The same goes for the Tokyo players, and I believe that the spectacle we showed each other should be recognized."