GAME RESULTMatch Results

Sec. 7 2018/4/11 (Wed)
Audience 17,260 people 
Weather: Cloudy, high temperature of 19.3 degrees Celsius, humidity 61% 
Referee: Yuichi NISHIMURA Assistant Referee: Akane YAGI / Hiroki KATSUMATA Fourth Official: Koji MORIKAWA

J1 Sec. 7

Ajinomoto

HOME

FC Tokyo

2-1

Match ended

First half1-1

Second half1-0

AWAY

Kashima Antlers

FC Tokyo Kashima Antlers
39' Own Goal
55' Sei MUROYA
Scorer 29' Mu KANAZAKI
69' Kensuke NAGAI → Cayman TOGASHI
80' Yojiro TAKAHAGI → Takuji YONEMOTO
86' Kotaro OMORI → Ryoichi MAEDA
Player substitution 06' Shuto YAMAMOTO → Daigo NISHI
60' Leandro → Keisuke OGASAWARA
79' Shun ITO → Takeshi KANAMORI
7 Shoot 7
5 CK 7
13 FK 17
Warning
Expulsion
FC Tokyo Starting
GK 33 Akihiro HAYASHI
DF 2 Sei MUROYA
DF 48 Hyun Soo JANG
DF 5 Yuichi MARUYAMA
DF 25 Ryoya OGAWA
MF 39 Kotaro OMORI
MF 18 Kento Hashimoto
MF 8 Yojiro TAKAHAGI
MF 38 Keigo HIGASHI
FW 9 Diego OLIVEIRA
FW 11 Kensuke NAGAI
FC Tokyo Substitute
GK 1 Takuo OKUBO
DF 4 Kazunori YOSHIMOTO
DF 6 Kosuke OTA
MF 7 Takuji YONEMOTO
FW 15 Takefusa KUBO
FW 17 Cayman TOGASHI
FW 20 Ryoichi MAEDA
Kashima Antlers starting lineup
GK 1 Sun Tae KWOUN
DF 24 Ito Yukitoshi
DF 5 Naomichi UEDA
DF 39 Tomoya INUKAI
DF 16 Shuto YAMAMOTO
MF 20 Kenji Mitsukuri
MF 6 Ryota NAGAKI
MF 8 Shoma DOI
MF 11 Leandro
FW 10 Mu KANAZAKI
FW 9 Yuma SUZUKI
Kashima Antlers substitute
GK 21 Sogahata Jun
DF 3 Gen SHOJI
DF 22 Daigo NISHI
MF 13 Atsutaka NAKAMURA
MF 40 Mitsuo OGASAWARA
FW 14 Takeshi KANAMORI
FW 19 Kazuma YAMAGUCHI

[Highlight Video]

[Player and Coach Comments]

"Sei MUROYA"

"(About the goal)
Kensuke-san had been creating opportunities from the side space, so I was thinking of going up from the middle. That worked even in the goal scene. I just wanted to score a goal, so I only focused on swinging (my right foot) strongly."
Until now, I had never scored in a league match, so I always had a desire to score quickly. But today, during warm-up, Hirokazu-san said to me, "Nari will score, won't he?" It turned out to be true as he predicted (laughs). I was extremely happy when I scored and it felt great.
(Regarding the cross that led to an own goal. Before that, I managed to bypass two players, but?)
It's just a feeling (bitter smile).
The first player was able to dodge the opponent's attack by timing it.
The arrival of the second player was also anticipated.
I saw Kensuke running on the near side, so I tried to put a strong ball into space. It was a bit too high though...

The start of the game was troubled by Kashima MF Leandro.
It was difficult to keep up when receiving and being cut in, especially in the middle. It would have been better if we could have defended more systematically...
However, I think it was easier to take a high position during the attack.
I was initially trying to go up without taking any risks and thinking about the timing.
I was thinking that even if I had to take some risks after allowing the first goal, I wanted to break through on my own.

(There was also a time on the bench?)
Even when being taken off the team, I never lost faith in my abilities and didn't become overly negative.
However, at the beginning of the season, we focused on defense, but the coach asked us to "play more aggressively". So, we said, "If that's the case, let's attack like crazy" (laughs).

Above all, the team is in good condition no matter who participates.
Today, we were dominated by Kashima for a long time, but we worked hard together and were able to fight compactly. I feel that this victory is the result of that.

(There should be fatigue from consecutive battles, right?)
Because stamina is also one of my strengths.
Moreover, the team is winning and able to enjoy the fight.

(Is it okay to aim for the World Cup... do you think so?)
Right now, I am only thinking about the team winning.
I would be happy if I could also contribute and be selected for the national team, but I want the team to continue winning as well."

"Kensuke NAGAI player"

"(Assist to Sei Muroya?)
I could see Sei coming up and I also knew that there was no one covering him on the other team."
I intuitively felt confident in my running ability, so I sent it into space. However, I was worried about my own body because I sent it with an awkward posture (laughs).

(Nagasaki match, Takahagi player got a penalty kick from Nagai player's heel pass. It's his second consecutive assist in two matches, but?)
I've got it (laughs)!
I am happy to be able to decorate the 200th J1 match with a victory and achieve the first 4 consecutive wins in Tokyo.

"Summary of Tokyo Hasegawa Kenta's Press Conference"

"The players did their best until the end in a tight schedule of two consecutive days, and the passionate support from the fans and supporters pushed us forward. We are truly grateful."

Kashima took the lead, but it finally felt like our bodies started moving from there. Until then, we had been respecting Kashima a little too much, resulting in many long balls. However, after that, we started connecting passes and gradually picked up the tempo. In the midst of that, Muroya did a great job breaking through the right side, causing an own goal and scoring a goal, which I think was a fantastic performance.
He also played three consecutive games, including Levain Cup, and showed such a play, so I once again realized that he is a player with endless stamina.
We will travel to C Osaka away in 2 days, but C Osaka is also in very good form now and they have a talented team in the front line, so we want to switch gears and prepare for the next match.

《Q&A》
Q=Is it the result of training that the entire team can run in the game?
"The players are very serious about their preparations. The physical staff is also doing their job properly, so I can trust them. The players are also working hard in response to that. I really wanted to replace Lucas, but he is an irreplaceable player. Despite being really tired, he worked hard until the end."
I think the result of fighting together with all the players led to today's victory."

Q=What is the current team's response?
"It has changed that we have become able to score. At the beginning of the season, we couldn't find a way to the goal, but they have grasped how to reach the goal in their own way, which I think is very significant."

"Summary of Kashima and Go Oiwa's press conference"

"We made the first goal and tried to make it our game, but I think the team's momentum disappeared."
"We talked about playing with a higher gear in the second half, but we ended up losing to the opponent's momentum."

Q=Are the teams feeling tired from consecutive matches such as the ACL?
"This is not only us, but other teams are also in the same situation. So, I tell the players that they cannot make excuses about the condition, but if we lose, it ends up like this."
I think I can only say that I need to prepare my condition for the next game because there will be a game in the league soon.