Sec. 24 Tama River Classico, showing growth and seeking revenge in the first half of the season

Sec. 24 of the league will face Kawasaki Frontale away as the 24th Tama River Clasico. In the previous round, they ended in a draw and remained undefeated in the league for 11 matches, but they have not been able to win in the last 3 matches. In this situation, facing Kawasaki is a crucial match, and Coach Massimo emphasizes, "In the Tama River Clasico, we want to give our all and make it a great game. And we want to win." It is also a match where they want to show their growth and seek revenge, as they suffered a heavy defeat of 0-4 in the 4th round of the first half of the league.

Kawasaki, on the other hand, is currently in 2nd place with 43 points. Under the leadership of coach Kazama, they are entering their 3rd season and the team has been maturing. Currently, they are 4 points behind Urawa, who is in 1st place, but they are trying to close the gap and challenge for the top spot. However, in this match, FW Okubo and DF Jess are suspended. MF Oshima, who is part of the U-21 Japan national team, is also absent. Nevertheless, in the previous match, FW Yasu filled the void left by their absence and led the team to a big victory over Tokushima. Their attacking power remains strong. FW Kobayashi and Renato not only have the ability to break through individually, but also have unique passing plays and the attacking runs of both fullbacks. Above all, they need to pay close attention to the plays orchestrated by MF Nakamura.

In this round, the focus will be on Tokyo's defensive power against Kawasaki's attacking power. The key will be how to break their coordination and connect it to our own attacks. However, U-21 Japan national team midfielders Nozawa and Nakajima are absent following the previous round. Muto, who injured his neck during this week's practice, is not seriously injured and will start in the lineup, facing the same lineup as the previous round. In addition, U-18 midfielder Sasaki, who has been registered as a top player, made his first appearance on the bench.

Autumn has arrived, and the Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, where you can also feel the chill in the air, the match started with Kawasaki's kickoff at 19:04.

Gradually allowed Kawasaki's dominance, but maintained the quickness of switching

In the early stages, both teams launched quick attacks and the game was back and forth. In the 11th minute, Edu was fouled after entering the opponent's half, and Takahashi quickly restarted the game with the free kick obtained from this. Muto on the right side aimed for a ground shot. In the 16th minute, Kawasaki made a speedy pass and attacked, resulting in a free kick from the right area just before the handball. MF Nakamura sent a kick to the front line, which was headed away by FW Kobayashi near the goal, and DF Tanaka from the far side made a heading shot. In the 18th minute, Kawasaki FW Renato took a powerful shot from the left side, but Gonda made a save.

Tokyo also had a chance in the 20th minute when Hayashi on the right side played a pass to Yonehara in the center, but Takahashi's sharp shot was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper in the upper right corner. After that, Kawasaki gradually gained control of the ball and continued to create attacking opportunities through speedy passing. However, Tokyo had a high defensive awareness and tried to launch quick counterattacks after winning the ball. However, they lost the ball frequently in the forward line and were unable to create clear-cut chances.

In the 37th minute, Muto broke through the left area from Morishige's feed. After observing the opponent well from the shooting motion, he cut inside and tried to send a last pass in front of the goal, but Kawasaki cut it off. Yonehara, who was following, regained possession, but his subsequent touch was disrupted and he couldn't take a shot. Then, they attacked from the left throw-in and Edu in the far area tried to head the cross from Hanyu, but his posture collapsed and he couldn't strike it.

In the final stage, both teams were actively attacking each other. In the 44th minute, Kawasaki FW Renato made a powerful dribble and broke through to the left area. He forcefully broke through between Yoshimoto and Hanyu and took a shot, but it was saved by Gonda, resulting in a corner kick. Throughout the game, we calmly dealt with Kawasaki's speedy attacks, maintained quick transitions, and tried to go on the offensive. Although we couldn't create any decisive opportunities, the match continued with exciting attacks and defenses, and the first half ended with a scoreless draw.

The intense offense and defense did not result in a decision, resulting in a scoreless draw for the first time since 2005.

In the 46th minute of the second half, Habu reacted to the second ball and ran into the goal, receiving a foul from Kawasaki MF Paulinho and earning a free kick from the center. Although there was distance, Morishige aimed directly at it but it was blocked. In the 47th minute, Tokunaga and Kawasaki FW Renato rushed in from here and fell with Renato's arm on Tokunaga's chest, temporarily stopping the game. Both players quickly returned to the game, showing their fighting spirit and intensifying the match.

In the 51st minute, Takahashi persistently connected a loose ball in his own half and moved it to the left front line. Muto received the ball and dribbled forward. His shot from just outside the box was blocked, but the loose ball fell in front of Edu, who was free in the right area. It was a decisive moment, but Edu's trap failed and was saved by the goalkeeper... From here, Kawasaki launched a counterattack, connecting from the right side to the center, and Nakamura broke free in front of the goal. However, Tokyo managed to hold them off, and neither team was able to capitalize on the chance.

In the 57th minute, Kawasaki DF Torisato moved to the left full-back position. After this, Kawasaki continued to push and dominate the game. In the 58th minute, FW Yasu was released into the area from MF Nakamura's final pass, but the shot was saved by Gonda. Immediately after, Kawasaki MF Nakamura delivered a sharp ground cross. The loose ball from this block reached FW Renato in the left area, who took a shot, but Yoshimoto, Morishige, and others threw themselves again to block it!! They successfully averted the danger.

While displaying perseverance and concentration in the face of Kawasaki's powerful attack, they tried to exploit their opponent's weaknesses. In the midst of a counterattack battle, in the 74th minute, Kajiyama was substituted for Hayu. Forming a double pivot with Takahashi, with Yonemoto and Muto on both sides, and Edu and Kono in the front line. Kawasaki also made player substitutions, and both teams continued to fiercely battle, chasing after "one goal". In the 78th minute, from a through pass by MF Nakamura on the left side of Kawasaki, FW Kobayashi, who had slipped behind the defense, shook the net, but it was ruled offside. In the 80th minute, Tokyo's Muto dropped a cross from Tokunaga, and in the center of the area, Edu unleashed a left-footed volley, but... it went over the bar.

In the 88th minute, Mita replaced Kono. In additional time, the Kawasaki goalkeeper came out and Muto and the opposing defender collided with the ball that flowed forward. Mita rushed here but was fouled and knocked down, earning a free kick from the left edge of the penalty arc. However, Ota's aimed kick was blocked by the wall... They couldn't take advantage of the chance, but they held on to a clean sheet centered around Kanda's repeated good saves until the end of the game. As the Tama River Clasico, it ended in a scoreless draw for the first time since July 6, 2005, the 7th edition, and resulted in sharing 1 point.

[Player Comments]
"Yoshimoto"
"It was good that we were able to keep a clean sheet, but we went for the 3 points and wanted a victory. Personally, I feel more frustrated when I see everyone's expressions after the game. Rather than being undefeated in the last 12 league matches, the feeling of not being able to win in the last 4 matches is stronger. We have another game coming up soon, but I want to make good preparations for a victory."

"Takahashi"
"Everything was because we couldn't win. Until about 20 minutes into the first half, we were able to take the ball in a good shape, but Kawasaki MF Nakamura player dropped a little and MF Paulinho, Taniguchi player came forward in a replacement form. It was difficult to catch who would see it and catch it. In the second half, we were pushed overall and it became a tough battle, and personally, I don't feel any response. Still, everyone held their own situations individually. I think it's because we studied the opponent and prepared well."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"We fought well against each other. We gave it our all. Although we have had a series of draws for a long time, today we had more decisive chances and the players have been playing well. It is most important to continue this momentum. Kawasaki has been a team consistently competing at the top for the past few years, and they are currently in good form, so I think our performance today is valuable. We balanced ourselves, organized well, and fought hard. We have nothing to say to the players as they gave everything they had."

[Kawasaki - Coach Yahiro Kazama's Press Conference Summary]
"The game that we couldn't finish. That's the word that sums it up. I don't have the expression 'we could have brought it to a draw' within me. Of course, it was a game we could have won and we had plenty of chances, so we wanted to finish it. However, even with the change in members, we were able to express our style firmly and create so many chances. It was a game where it would have been good if we had finished it. In that sense, it's a disappointing result, but I think you can feel that individual abilities are improving and team strength is increasing."