Late Konno Goal Scant Consolation As Tokyo Suffer Defeat In Kawasaki
06/04/2010
Late Konno Goal Scant Consolation As Tokyo Suffer Defeat In Kawasaki
J.League Division 1 5th.Game
Sunday, April 4th. 2010
Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium ( Away )
Attendance 22,199
F.C.Tokyo 1 Kawasaki Frontale 2
21 Chong ( Kawasaki ), 61 Chong ( Kawasaki ), 90+2 Konno ( Tokyo ).
F.C.Tokyo:
Gonda, Mukuhara, Morishige, Konno, Nagatomo, Hanyu ( Otake 68 ), Tokunaga, Ishikawa, Nakamura ( Kim 59 ), Suzuki ( Shigematsu 63 ), Hirayama.
Subs not used: Shiota, Hiramatsu, Matsushita, Akamine.
Kawasaki Frontale:
Kawashima, Mori, Igawa, Terada, Komiyama, Inamoto, Taniguchi ( Yokoyama 90+3 ), Tasaka ( Kimura 73 ), Renatinho, Kurotsu ( Vitor Junior 85 ), Chong.
Subs not used: Sugiyama, Ito, Kusukami, Noborizato.
Tokyo Aim To Dispel Bad Memories in 17th. Tamagawa Classico
For the 5th. game of the season F.C.Tokyo hopped over the Tama River to take on Kawasaki Frontale in the 17th. Tamagawa Classico. Tokyo had conceded twice in the midweek Nabisco Cup draw with Nagoya Grampus, prompting manager Hiroshi Jofuku to comment, "The current issues facing the team are basic ones: extending our time in control, the way we lose possession, the play leading up to us losing possession and so on. Last year our record against the top sides was W2 L6, including two defeats to today's opponents. We want to get a result whatever it takes and the players are fiercely determined. We feel it's important to use that disappointment and what we've learned together until now".
Kawasaki Frontale had bolstered their squad with the vastly experienced midfielder Inamoto and defender Komiyama but were without injured midfielders Nakamura and Kikuchi and forward Juninho. The side had an identical W2 D1 L1 record as Tokyo after 4 games. There were doubts about their condition following an ACL away game in Australia on the previous Wednesday night. However, the front three of Chong, Kurotsu and Renatinho possessed great individual ability and the side's attacking threat was undiminished. Tokyo would need to deny Kawasaki time and space while switching from systematic defence to attack.
Regarding the Tamagawa Classico, "Both Tokyo and Kawasaki are latecomers to the J.League. How far can they make their presence felt and given that both are from the capital area what can they do to help the J.League flourish? They must be full of such thoughts".
The key to the game for Tokyo would be a calm, measured approach that sought to extend their time in control of the ball and tenacious defence in the face of the expected onslaught from the Frontale front line. Nagatomo returned after missing the Nagoya match while Morishige was also included in the starting eleven.
Tokyo kicked off shortly after 4pm. on a drizzly, grey afternoon.
Tokyo Create But Fall Behind
Tokyo stood firm in the face of intense early pressure and attempted to play the ball around with Tokunaga pulling the strings in midfield. Ishikawa was given offside as he attempted to dart through the Frontale defence in the 3rd.minute and a minute later Hirayama tried his luck from middle range following Konno's long ball out of defence. Kawasaki counter attacked rapidly and the game shifted from end to end at a dizzying pace. On one such burst in the 11th.minute Kawasaki full back Mori crossed to midfielder Taniguchi inside the Tokyo area; Taniguchi controlled the ball on his chest but was penalised for handball.
In the 18th.minute Tokyo launched an attack down the right with Suzuki finding Ishikawa. Ishikawa cut inside and shot but his effort struck a defender and spun away to the left of the penalty area where Nakamura ran onto the ball and shot first time, narrowly wide of the right post. The home side had barely registered an attempt on the Tokyo goal but that changed at a stroke in the 21st.minute. Kurotsu raced down the left to the byline and hoisted a cross into the Tokyo area that Morishige headed clear. The ball fell to Chong on the edge of the penalty area and he had time to neatly control it and hammer a powerful shot into the back of the net.
Tokyo refused to crumble and were inches away from restoring parity just three minutes later as Hanyu cracked a shot against the left post following a cross from Nagatomo. Hirayama pounced on the rebound to poke the ball home but the goal was disallowed for offside. In the 28th.minute Hanyu stole the ball in midfield and found Ishikawa on the right. Ishikawa cut the ball back to Hirayama but the forward was unable to fashion a coherent shot. Hirayama came closer in the 32nd.minute as Mukuhara overlapped and hoisted a cross into the box; Hirayama made a firm connection but headed against the bar. Nakamura completely missed his kick as he attempted to smash the rebound goalward and the opening came to nothing.
Nakamura dribbled forward after receiving the ball from Hanyu in the 37th.minute but his final pass, aimed towards Hirayama, lacked accuracy and Kawashima claimed it easily. Tokyo were unable to summon accuracy with the final passes or link effectively and the first half finished 0-1.
Late Konno Goal Reward For Tenacity
In the 47th.minute Ishikawa latched onto Hirayama's pass and raced behind the Kawasaki defence into the penalty area on the right but overhit his cross and the ball evaded both Suzuki and Nakamura in the centre. Following that missed chance Kawasaki began to hit long balls towards Chong and threaten the Tokyo goal. To counter the increased danger Kim replaced Nakamura in the 59th.minute and moved into a centre back position, with Konno moving forward into defensive midfield. Hanyu took Nakamura's place on the left of midfield and Tokyo attempted to launch a fightback.
However, in the 61st.minute Kawasaki won a free kick just outside the area on the left following a foul on Chong. Chong took the kick himself, smashing a low drive under the leaping Tokyo wall that Gonda reached but was unable to prevent finding the net. Tokyo had conceded a second goal from a set play. The visitors then replaced Suzuki with Shigematsu and Hanyu with Otake. Tokyo attempted to pass the ball around and move it forward. In the 71st.minute Otake found a pocket of space between the Kawasaki defence and midfield and floated a ball forward towards Shigematsu but once again tight marking prevented Tokyo ending the move with a shot on goal. As Tokyo pushed forward they conspicuously lost possession and allowed Kawasaki to threaten on the counter attack.
Unable to land a decisive blow it seemed that Tokyo would fail to find the net and the game had entered four minutes of added time when they finally made the breakthrough. Gonda launched a massive kick downfield, Hirayama headed the ball on and Ishikawa raced into the Kawasaki penalty area, earning a throw in. Mukuhara took the throw in, received the ball back from Ishikawa and crossed. Shigematsu struck from point blank range but Kawashima blocked his effort and Konno was perfectly positioned to ram the rebound home. Tokyo's tenacity had earned the goal but time was against them and the final whistle blew on a 2-1 defeat.
Players' comments
Tokunaga
"We managed to play our own game at times but we were also pushed back for long periods. We made many mistakes and have a lot to reflect on. Of course we had to score but conceding the first goal make things very difficult for us. With them having the lead we had to come out more and that left us open to the counter attack. It's going to be difficult to deal with the issues quickly but we have to extend the amount of time we are in possession".
Morishige
"Perhaps we became a little impatient after we conceded the second goal. We made substitutions and changed the formation but we couldn't alter the flow of the game. In defence we really wanted to limit them to a single goal. I was stretching for the cross that led to their first goal but I just wanted to get something on it. As the games mount up I want to show more strength".
F.C.Tokyo manager Hiroshi Jofuku
"Last year at Todoroki we lost the lead and the game right at the death. After that we won the Nabisco Cup but we forgot that completely when we came here. Not just us but the supporters as well, and we remembered the disappointment of losing that day last season as we looked forward to today's game. The fans were fantastic again today, they never stopped even after we conceded the second goal and it's thanks to them we were able to score at the end. It's very disappointing that we were unable to get a result to dispel the frustration of last year.
Looking at the performance, we had too many men spare at the back and that cost us the first goal. It's something we have to look at closely. After that we responded strongly and showed great desire to get the equaliser. We certainly created enough chances, I believe. In the first half our performance wasn't bad at all and we really wanted to score before half time, to be honest. In the second half Kawasaki stepped up their pressing again and we failed to overcome it. We have to look at the way we started the second half, as well. After we made the changes we were unable to recapture the pace we played at in the final 30 minutes of the first half and we have to reflect on the substitutions we made. Our next game has become very important now".
Kawasaki Frontale manager Tsutomu Takahata
"Today was the final game in a five-game run and came just three days after the long round trip to Melbourne. There were some worries over conditioning but we told the players to help each other and use the fans' support, then sent them out onto the field. We started well and played our usual aggressive game, concentrating for the whole 90 minutes. It was a tough game but the support from the stands was terrific as usual and I want to thank the players for their solid performance today".
< Other results >
Cerezo 3 Kyoto Sanga 1
F Marinos 1 S-Pulse 2
Albirex 0 Ardija 0
Montedio 1 Sanfrecce 0
Grampus 2 Vissel 0
Reds 2 Bellmare 1
Vegalta 2 Antlers 1
Jubilo 4 Gamba 3
< Standings >
S-Pulse 11, Antlers 10, Vegalta 10, Reds 10, Frontale 10, Grampus 9, F Marinos 7, Sanfrecce 7, F.C.Tokyo 7, Kyoto Sanga 7, Cerezo 5, Montedio 5, Ardija 4, Vissel 4, Jubilo 4, Bellmare 4, Gamba 3, Albirex 3.
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