Seeking only victory, facing the last away game

Facing Kashiwa Reysol away in the 16th match of the 2nd stage.
Defeated by Urawa in the previous round, the possibility of finishing first in the 2nd stage and overall points for the year has been eliminated. The overall ranking has also dropped to 4th place. Morishige expresses further determination, saying, "We have a responsibility to continue fighting for victory, believing in the possibilities until the end." With only 2 more matches left in the league this season, this round will be the last away game, but our mindset is to fight through with the sole pursuit of victory.

Kashiwa, on the other hand, is currently in 9th place in terms of annual points. In the 2nd stage, they have had two consecutive wins and have risen to 6th place. Coach Massimo describes Kashiwa as a team with a high combination in the front line and a technical team style, although they may not have achieved the best results. In particular, FW Otsu has been in good form and has scored a total of 8 goals in the last 3 matches from the combination starting with FW Kudo. We want to first win the midfield battle against MF Cristiano, MF Taketomi, MF Otani, who demonstrate coordination, and prevent the opponent from gaining rhythm by cutting off passes to FW Kudo.

To qualify for the championship, we were pushed into a situation where not even a draw was allowed, but Coach Massimo said, "Right now, the team has the 'right' tension. We want to convert pressure and tension into positive energy" and put in effort to seal off Kashiwa's fast-paced passing game and move towards victory in our own rhythm.

This time, Hashimoto is appointed as an inside half. Maeda and Higashi are in the front line, and Kono is in the attacking midfield, facing the game with this formation. Kashiwa has Kudo as the center forward, Otsu as the left forward, and Cristiano as the right midfielder. Taketomi and Otani are in the shadow. Akino is the anchor midfielder, and in place of the suspended defender Wako, Fujita is the left fullback.

Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Field with calm weather. Many fans and supporters gathered in the away stands and the game started with a kick-off in Tokyo at 14:03.

Take the lead with a sense of unity, without letting the flow go to Kashiwa, and score with a penalty kick

He displayed an aggressive attitude in both offense and defense right from the start. In the 1st minute, a loose ball in the front was picked up by Kono on the left side, who then sent a through pass to Higashi, who had broken through the center and behind the opponent, but he was offside at that point. In the 8th minute, Ota made a vertical run and sent a cross, and Higashi, who had positioned himself in the area, headed the ball almost freely, but was blocked by the goalkeeper just before the goal. In the 9th minute, Takahashi created an opportunity on the right side and passed it back inside, where Higashi took a ground shot. It seemed like the Kashima goalkeeper's hand slightly touched the ball, but it went wide and resulted in a Kashima goal kick.

Even if Kashiwa had possession of the ball, they were able to steal the second ball from the coordinated press and launch a quick counterattack. In the 12th minute, Kashiwa FW Kudo broke through on the right side, but Maruyama showed his strength. He tenaciously stole the ball. In the 14th minute, Maeda skillfully played in the left area and calmly evaded the opponent's DF to earn a corner kick. Ota's left corner kick was contested in the center, but the loose ball went to Hashimoto just before the right area. Hashimoto synchronized his step and entered the area. He tried to turn the opponent from a volley position, but at this point, Kashiwa's DF tripped him and a penalty kick was awarded. In the 16th minute, Morishige calmly and powerfully struck this penalty kick into the ceiling near the center of the goal, taking the lead in a calm and spectacular kick!

From a quick restart in the midfield in the 18th minute, Hashimoto advanced one step towards the center-right and boldly took a shot. In the 19th minute, Ota obtained a free kick slightly to the right in the opponent's half, and played a long kick to the front line. Yamamoto in the center and then Hashimoto on the left followed up on the clearance and took consecutive shots. Although all of them were blocked, they did not let the momentum shift to Kashiwa and eagerly sought to score additional points.

After 30 minutes, Kashiwa sent a long ball to the front line and tried to develop from there. In the 33rd minute, crosses were sent in from both sides of Kashiwa and they were pushed into the goal area, but in the end, Takahashi cut off the right cross. Then, from Kashiwa's right corner kick, it was dropped to Eduardo, the defender in the left area, and reacted in the center, flying to Kudo, the forward, just past the right post. In the 42nd minute, Higashi on the left side passed through to Maeda in the center of the front line. It was initially cut off, but Maeda tenaciously took the loose ball and turned forward. He then connected with Hashimoto, who entered the left area with momentum. Hashimoto fell down due to excessive momentum, but there was no foul by Kashiwa here. They couldn't score an additional goal, but they continued to show unity and determination, maintaining a one-goal lead and ending the first half.

Displaying the essence of Tokyo, resurfacing to third place with 3 points per year!

Substitute Nakajima for Kono in the 60th minute. Maeda and Nakajima as the two top players. Hashimoto and Higashi as side halves. Formation with a double defensive midfielder. In the 65th minute, Cristiano from Kashiwa attempted a quick attack by picking up a loose ball in the midfield, but Yonemoto displayed strength. He successfully took the ball and launched a counterattack. Yonemoto -> Higashi entered the left area. Higashi timed his pass to the center. It didn't connect with Nakajima near the goal, Maeda far from the goal, or Yonemoto who moved up the center, but Hashimoto provided support from the right and took a shot. However, it didn't hit properly and was blocked. In the 68th minute, they launched another counterattack with depth, and Hashimoto aimed from the right area with speed, but it went slightly to the left.

Kashiwa also counterattacked without giving up, and in the 63rd minute, they demonstrated their characteristic passing play, connecting a direct pass in the center, but Yamamoto was stopped by Cristiano with a foul. A free kick was awarded just before the penalty arc. This free kick was aimed directly at Kashiwa's midfielder, Akihino, but it went over the bar. Immediately after that, in the 76th minute, Takahashi stole the opponent's ball at the right corner of their own half and connected it to Maeda, who was moving up on the left side, initiating a splendid counterattack. Maeda then sent the ball further to the right front line, and Takahashi carried it to the right area and made a final pass to Higashi in the left area. It seemed like the ball that Kashiwa's defender slid for just before that shook the net, but it was ruled offside...

In the 78th minute, Mita replaced Higashi. Kashiwa also made two substitutions and launched a power play. Pressed by their intensity, in the 81st minute, Kashiwa's powerful free kick was caught by Avramov, but he collided with an opponent player. Both players were hurt, but they quickly returned to the game. However, in the final minutes, Kashiwa pushed forward. In the 5 minutes of additional time, Kashiwa's substitute forward Ederson took a right cross from a right throw-in. It narrowly missed Kudo, who jumped in near the left post... and the danger was avoided. In the end, Maeda and Mita persistently kept the corner kick, and the time was up! They defended Mori's saved penalty kick with all their might and secured the victory.
As a result, we accumulated 62 points and once again rose to 3rd place in the annual points standings.

[Player Comments]
《Mori Shige》
"Recently, we have been conceding a lot of goals, so our first priority was to keep a clean sheet. By preventing goals, we believed that we would also increase our chances of counterattacks, and that's exactly what happened. It would have been even better if we could have scored more goals, but I think it was a successful outcome as planned. As for the penalty kick, I just focused on kicking the ball."

"Hashimoto"
"Today, everyone on the team naturally had a lot of fighting spirit. We were able to start the game well and earn a penalty kick to take the lead. I think we were able to take the lead at a good time in order to play the game in our own rhythm. In the corner kick situation that led to the penalty kick, we were instructed that the ball would definitely come loose, and the ball flowed just as instructed. I tried to shoot it as it was, but I got caught when I tried to turn around because the opponent was in front of me. There were also moments when we were pushed back by Kashiwa, but everyone fought with all their hearts and we were able to create chances from counterattacks. If I had better accuracy in my shots, I could have scored another two goals. That's something I need to work on and improve, so that I can score in the next game."

[Summary of Massimo FICCADENTI's press conference]
"The way we entered the game was good, creating dangerous situations besides the goal scenes. However, we couldn't score additional points and were troubled by Kashiwa. We anticipated such periods of time, but we ended up enduring for a long time. As for the scene that was not counted as a goal due to an offside decision, I haven't had a chance to review it yet, so I can't say anything about it. Today, only victory was expected, and we were able to achieve that. After the defeat in the previous match, we immediately united and were able to have a good game today. Our players are truly amazing. We still have a chance to achieve the goal of winning the championship on our own, and I am proud of our players, and that feeling will continue until the very end. I would also like to express my gratitude for the fact that so many fans and supporters came to the away game. Lastly, I would like to praise the quality of Kashiwa."

[Kashiwa・Tatsuma YOSHIDA Coach's Press Conference Summary]
"In the first half, we gave space in the midfield and created numerically disadvantaged scenes, but overall it was a game where both our build-up and Tokyo's high-quality press and counter-attack were demonstrated. During the time period before and after conceding the goal, we gave the opponent a corner kick at a point where we should have simply cleared the ball. It was an unnecessary goal to concede, but they capitalized on that opportunity. Tokyo solidly defended the period of time when we were pushing forward. There were scenes where we were so close to scoring, but ultimately we couldn't find the back of the net. It may have seemed like we had control of the game, but maybe it was different. However, the attitude in the second half was very intense. Many supporters cheered for us to score and win, and despite it not being a game with a title at stake, our players showed the attitude of fighting for victory as Kashiwa players. I felt their increased motivation through their communication on the pitch. We lost, so there is nothing for me or the players to celebrate, but I think playing with that attitude will enrich their careers as players. In the remaining few weeks, I want to improve the team's quality by controlling the flow of the game and staying composed in front of the goal. I want to work on improving so that we can hold on to the lead when we have it, just like today."