The 28th Tama River Clasico to be held away

In the previous match against Kashiwa, we lost 0-1 and suffered our second consecutive defeat. We couldn't break the difficult momentum at home. However, the players are looking forward, taking the current challenges seriously, and regaining their fighting spirit. They want to focus on the results, no matter what form they come in. However, the current situation of both teams is contrasting. Kawasaki, who stands at the top of the annual standings with 13 consecutive unbeaten matches, poses a challenge on how we can persistently confront them and exploit their weaknesses.

Muroya and Nakajima are absent for the Rio Olympics, so Ogawa is starting as the left back for this match. Tokunaga is the right back. Yonemoto and Hashimoto form a double pivot, with Kono on the right MF and Higashi on the left MF.

Kawasaki is without Olympic representative MF Oshima and MF Harakawa, but MF Nakamura returns from injury. MF Eduardo Neto and a defensive midfielder form the midfield, with FW Okubo leading the front line, MF Otsuka playing as an attacking midfielder, and FW Kobayashi and MF Hashimoto on the wings in a 4-2-3-1 system.

It was hot and humid during the day, but in the evening a breeze started blowing, making the weather in Todoroki comfortable. The match started with Kawasaki's kickoff at 18:33.

Without being shaken by accidents, Kaua demonstrates patience and launches a counterattack

I was pushed back by Kawasaki's fast passing and attacking with a large number of players from the beginning.
4 minutes: Kawasaki is shaken from left to right, and the last pass from the right side hits Ogawa, but he connects with this loose ball and MF Otsuka shoots from the right area. This ball passes through the front line and hits the left post. However, they do not become completely defensive and continue to launch counterattacks from resilient defense.

9 minutes: Left corner kick obtained. Yamamoto aims for a long shot from the loose ball after Ogawa's kick.
11 minutes: Nathan BURNS intercepted the ball and launched a quick attack, Muriqui was fouled and won a free kick.
15 minutes: MF Hashimoto received a pass from the right side of Kawasaki and turned around in the center. He unleashed a powerful shot, but it hit the crossbar and avoided conceding a goal.

21 minutes: In the midfield, Nathan Burns stole the ball and initiated an attack through Kono. Higashi, who circled around from the left to the center, delivered a powerful early cross to the front line. Hashimoto followed suit and tried to connect with a diving header, but narrowly missed... Despite Kawasaki taking control of the game afterwards, our defensive line remained organized and showed no weaknesses. On the other hand, when we won the ball, Nathan Burns and Mouri tried to switch gears and launch a counterattack. However, they couldn't keep up with the speed or outnumber the opponents in the front line, resulting in several instances where they couldn't finish.

33 minutes: Yonemoto injures his right knee and is forced to be substituted due to the accident. As a result, Takahashi comes in at 35 minutes. Despite that, he successfully defends against Kawasaki's strong attacks without being shaken, maintains concentration to prevent conceding, and ends the first half with a scoreless draw.

Conceding a goal from a set piece and suffering a bitter third consecutive defeat...

Kawasaki also maintained their attacking rhythm in the second half, while Tokyo continued to launch counterattacks from their resilient defense.
60 minutes: Kawasaki puts DF Eduardo as a center back. DF Taniguchi moves to defensive midfield, and midfielder Nakamura moves to attacking midfield, both moving up one line to change the formation and aim for a goal.

65 minutes: Taking advantage of the gap that was created by the forward movement, Hashimoto → Takahashi sends a vertical pass through the front line and the opponent's defense from the flow of the throw-in. The opponent's defense fails to cut it off, and Muriqui breaks free and faces the GK in a one-on-one situation. He takes a decisive shot, but it is blocked by the opponent's GK, and the ball that spilled out behind also narrowly misses the goal... It only results in a corner kick, and from Kono's left corner kick, Morishige's header is saved by the GK.

Although this scoring opportunity was not utilized, as time passed, both teams began to engage in counterattacks. Kawasaki further changed their formation afterwards. Left side defender Fuyaya and right fullback Elsinho also positioned themselves higher up the field, aiming to increase the pressure in their attacks.
74 minutes: Kawasaki FW Yu OKUBO entered the left area and took a decisive shot, but Akimoto made a good save. They escaped with a corner kick and defended. 78 minutes: As the exchange between offense and defense intensifies, they earned a free kick on the left side. They connected the ball wide from this flow, and finally, Hashimoto jumped out in front of the goal to trap the cross. He tried to aim for a goal, but was blocked by the Kawasaki DF.

81 minutes: Giving a FK to Kawasaki in their own penalty area. Kawasaki MF Nakamura takes it and MF Hashimoto lightly floats a shot, but it is blocked by the Tokyo DF wall. However, the clearance ball is picked up by Kawasaki MF Nakamura and played out, with left DF Kurumaya delivering a sharp left cross. FW Kobayashi jumps between Maruyama and Morishige to meet it and scores with a header... finally, the goal is broken. 0-1.
　
Still not giving up, we launched a counterattack, and in the final stages, Morishige bravely moved forward to the front line, aiming for a goal. In additional time, we tried to create a chance from a cross from the left front line, and Tanabe connected with the second ball, and Morishige in the center took a shot. Furthermore, the loose ball reached Hashimoto in the area, but Kawasaki also showed desperate defense, and in the end, we escaped with a corner kick as time ran out. We pursued the goal until the end with determination, but it ended with no goals and a defeat... It was a difficult three consecutive losses.

[Player Comments]
"Mori Shige"
"Throughout the game, it wasn't bad at all. We were able to demonstrate what we had prepared for and play the soccer we aimed for as a team. There was an accident with player Yonemoto, but I think everyone fought through the 90 minutes in good condition. I feel sorry for the fans and supporters in the situation of three consecutive losses, and it may become a pessimistic atmosphere, but the team situation is not bad."
Personally, my own play led to conceding goals. The feeling of wanting to contribute to the team's victory backfired, and it was frustrating and regrettable. However, I also think that in today's game, we were able to grasp our direction of fighting together as one.

《Ogawa》
"The organized defense worked from the first half. There were many scenes where Kawasaki took shots, but someone always closed in tightly, making it difficult for Kawasaki. It can be said with confidence that the preparation against Kawasaki, who is in first place and boasts overwhelming attacking power, worked. It is disappointing and frustrating to have three consecutive losses, but there is no time to look down or feel down. I want to switch gears and work hard to move forward even a little."

[Summary of Coach Hiroshi JOFUKU's Press Conference]
"The players had a strong mentality and approached the game as a united team. Even though it was tough today, we tried to showcase our strengths as a team and gave it our all until the end. While being cautious of Kawasaki's movements that could exploit our weaknesses, we aimed to counterattack by utilizing the speed of our front two. That was our strategy. Everyone fought with that awareness, persevered when necessary, and to some extent, we were able to execute our plan. The chances created against us were due to Kawasaki's high skill level. We were able to give our best effort, but unfortunately, it didn't translate into points. It's truly disappointing to have let down our fans and supporters. We wanted to share the joy with them after the match."

[Kawasaki - Coach Yahiro Kazama's Press Conference Summary]
"From the beginning, the ball was moving well, but in the first half, there were moments where it stopped a bit, and the opponent's defense couldn't keep up with the angles or enter the areas where we should have advanced. In the second half, we attacked those areas more, but we couldn't score easily, so it was a tough match. However, even in this kind of match, we managed to score at the end. There are always one or two tense moments in a match, but the defense, led by GK Sung Ryong JUNG, held firm. I think it was a meaningful and important match."