Impressive Tokyo Held By Kashima
12/04/2010
Impressive Tokyo Held By Kashima
J.League Division 1 6th.Game
Saturday, April 10th. 2010
Ajinomoto Stadium ( Home )
Attendance 30,672
F.C.Tokyo 1 Kashima Antlers 1
4 Hirayama ( Tokyo ), 39 Koroki ( Antlers ).
F.C.Tokyo:
Gonda, Nagatomo, Morishige, Konno, Kim, Tokunaga, Hanyu, Ishikawa ( Mukuhara 82 ), Matsushita, Hirayama, Shigematsu ( Ricardinho 67 ).
Subs not used: Shiota, Hiramatsu, Nakamura, Akamine, Suzuki.
Kashima Antlers:
Sogahata, Uchida, Iwamasa, Lee, Araiba, Ogasawara, Tanaka, Nozawa ( Aoki 82 ), Endo ( Fellype Gabriel 61 ), Osako ( Sasaki 79 ), Koroki.
Subs not used: Sugiyama, Oiwa, Toma, Koyano.
Tokyo Ready To Take The Fight To Kashima
Kashima Antlers were the visitors to Ajinomoto Stadium for the 6th.game of the season. In their previous outing Tokyo had enjoyed periods of domination and created chances but conceded twice in a disappointing loss to Kawasaki Frontale. Following that defeat Nagatomo, Konno and Tokunaga joined up with the Japan National Team for international duty meaning that the full squad had only two days together to prepare for the visit of Kashima. Those two days' training had been closed to the public, a decision taken by manager Hiroshi Jofuku. "Once again we're focusing hard on refining our game and I wanted to motivate the players further. Considering our present condition, our results so far and the opponents I took the decision to train in private". Tokyo spent the sessions working on their own game and measures to deal with Kashima.
The visitors, the three-time defending champions, lay in second place at kick off with a W3 D1 L1 record. They had suffered a first defeat of the season to Vegalta Sendai in their previous game and had lost Marquinhos to a red card. Osako took his place in attack. Even so, as Hiroshi Jofuku commented, "They have a deep squad and can introduce fresh players around the core regulars yet still maintain a very high standard. Their defensive system, the power in attack, the speed with which they switch between the two and the accuracy on the counter attack are all top class: nothing has changed in my impression of the team".
To deal with that threat Tokyo would need to control the ball while probing for openings in the Kashima formation. Pressing hard from the front and moving the ball at pace to deny the Antlers time to regroup would be vital, as would defending with a cool head when under pressure. At the start of the season Hiroshi Jofuku had cited the 3-1 home loss to Kashima in the 23rd.game of the 2009 campaign as symbolic and the Tokyo players' determination to land a knockout blow on the visitors was extremely strong; "We want to tear down their wall with our football," was the comment. Shigematsu made his first appearance in the starting eleven, Kim played at left back with Nagatomo moving to the right and Matsushita started in midfield. Despite some concerns over an injury Konno was fit enough to partner Morishige in defence.
Spring twilight was enveloping Ajinomoto Stadium as Kashima Antlers kicked off shortly after 7pm on a warm evening.
Hirayama Penalty Gives Tokyo Early Lead But....
Tokyo began brightly with some aggressive running right across the field. In the 3rd.minute Hirayama won a corner and Matsushita drove the ball into the box from the right. The Kashima defence cleared the initial danger but then conceded a penalty with a foul on the edge of the area. Hirayama stepped up and calmly sent Sogahata the wrong way to give Tokyo an early lead. In the 8th.minute Kashima midfielder Endo crossed, forward Koroki knocked the ball down and striker Osako fired on goal but a lunging defensive block sent the ball out for a corner. The visitors then won four consecutive corners but the Tokyo defence held firm and maintained their concentration. In the 13th.minute Tokyo pushed forward, moving the ball around neatly deep inside the Antlers half before Kim lashed a middle-range shot on target.
Tokyo continued to frustrate Kashima's attempts to impose themselves on the game by moving the ball around at a high tempo. In the 23rd.minute Shigematsu started a move that saw Hanyu burst down the left and create a crossing opportunity for Matsushita; it was a fine move but Matsushita's final ball ran through the Kashima area and the threat dissipated. Tokyo won a free kick on the right in the 31st.minute and although Hirayama was first to the ball he was unable to divert it inside the post with a flicked back-header.
In the 33rd.minute Kashima left back Araiba took the ball to the Tokyo byline and whipped a cross into the centre that Koroki controlled with his hand. The game developed into a fierce counter attacking battle. In the 38th.minute Ishikawa dribbled straight up the middle before laying the ball off to Shigematsu on the edge of the Kashima area; the final ball was slightly heavy which allowed the visitors' defence to snuff out the danger.
Then, in the 39th.minute Antlers left back Araiba drove forward and slipped the ball inside to Ogasawara who unleashed a venomous shot from long distance. Gonda flung himself to parry the goal-bound effort but Koroki pounced on the rebound to slot it home and tie the score. Immediately following the goal Ishikawa raced down the right and crossed deeply beyond the far post to Matsushita; Matsushita nodded the ball down to Hirayama on the corner of the six-yard area but the forward failed to make a clean connection and the chance came to nothing. The first period finished 1-1.
Impressive Display Earns Draw
Tokyo began the second half as they had the first, attacking the ball aggressively and creating chances. In the 54th.minute Ishikawa raced down the right, latched on to Hanyu's first-time pass and drove a low, teasing cross into the goalmouth. Sogahata bundled the ball away, behind the on-rushing Hirayama but straight to Shigematsu on the left of the area; Shigematsu showed fine technique to strike the bounding ball cleanly but directed his shot narrowly wide of the post.
In the 60th.minute Kim intercepted a pass and found Hanyu, who moved the ball on to Shigematsu. Shigematsu dribbled into the Kashima area but the ball ran free to Kim, who had followed the move forward, and the defender thundered a shot over the bar. In the 67th.minute Ishikawa received the ball from Shigematsu and darted through the Kashima defence but was again unable to beat Sogahata. Shigematsu made way for Ricardinho and the young Brazilian threaded the ball through to Nagatomo as he overlapped down the left in the 74th.minute. Nagatomo took the ball to the Kashima byline and attempted to cut it back to Ishikawa but the Kashima defence smothered the danger.
Tokyo prevented Kashima from gaining any fluency with their passing but the visitors still threatened on the counter attack and from set plays. Gonda's saves were key as the game ebbed and flowed, the outcome still uncertain. The home side continued to play the ball around in an attempt to open up the Kashima defence. Mukuhara replaced Ishikawa in the 82nd.minute and played at right back with Nagatomo moving forward into midfield. In the 83rd.minute Hirayama connected with Ricardinho's cross but Sogahata held his effort.
In the 87th.minute Kashima won a corner and Lee, Iwamasa and midfielder Tanaka moved the ball around inside the Tokyo area but the defence maintained its concentration, denying them a clear sight of goal before Hanyu was able to clear and launch a counter attack. Ricardinho raced towards the Kashima goal with a defender in close attendance and managed to shoot but Sogahata saved comfortably. Tokyo denied Kashima a second goal but failed to add to their own tally and the game finished 1-1.
< Players' comments >
Hanyu
"I don't think we should be pessimistic about only taking a point from the game. Not losing is important for the title chase. Of course, we had chances to win a game that we largely controlled. Still, that's something we can take from the match, a sign of our growth. In the games we lost to Kashima previously they hit us with long balls and we conceded early so today we were determined not to take any unnecessary risks in the first 20 minutes and make a careful start. Even when we were under pressure we wanted to pass the ball around to open them up. We have to win our home games but everyone worked very hard for the whole 90 minutes. With that kind of base I think we showed we can take points off any team."
Hirayama
"I said that I wanted to take the penalty myself. We began the game very well and got an ideal start. However, I'm disappointed that I couldn't score from open play and that we only managed a draw".
F.C.Tokyo manager Hiroshi Jofuku
"Beating Kashima was one of our aims for the year and considering that we were at home and were highly motivated it's disappointing that we couldn't manage it. I felt we had plenty of chances to win the match. Last year we lost twice to Kashima, conceding early goals in both games so today we felt the key would be controlling the pace of the game for the first 20 minutes. We explained this to the players and they took it on board as we saw from the performance. Also, our priorities were slightly different than usual in our approach to the game. We usually keep the ball for longer but today we felt that it was acceptable to lose possession of the ball, given the way we were intending to play. Both sides dropped the pace in the second half and that was where we had wanted to take control of the game. It was a question of whether we could raise the quality of our play as we were getting tired, whether we could husband our reserves when we were on top and then apply them in front of goal. If we can improve in that regard then we can definitely make a mark in the J.League. There is a reason we could take only one point from today's game; we have to identify that and then move forward to the next game, using what we have learned.
We made the decision to start with Kim and Shigematsu as part of the process of adding method to the team. It may have been risky given the opponents but it's part of the trial and error process of finding what it is we need to improve the quality of the side. It's disappointing that we couldn't share the joy of winning with the fans but there was nothing to be downcast about in the performance. What's important is making the best use of the experience in the next game. And we also wanted to stay in touch with the leaders. Some of the players have played 5 games in 13 days and including next Wednesday's Nabisco Cup game and the league game next Saturday that will be 7 games in 20 days. We have to think about what we want from those two games next week and take the players' condition into account".
Kashima Antlers manager Oswaldo Oliveira
"Why couldn't we put any moves together in the first half? There are many factors in football. We study our opponents before every game and they analyse us as well. They look for the way teams had success against us in the past and try to copy that. They clearly tried to stop our attack in the first half by fouling us. That's one reason why things were difficult. There was another reason and it was clear from the start. The two Tokyo side halves were pushed up very high and when the ball was played backwards their forwards would press on the centre back on the opposite side. Their defensive line was quite high which left space for us to counter attack into and the midfield became an interception battlefield. We won the ball and were about to move into the attack when our opponents forcibly stopped us. Sometimes we wanted the referee to let us play on but he stopped the game. The first person who has to react to our opponents tactics is the referee, I believe, and I think that this year out of the last three years has seen the hardest challenges to us from our opponents. Despite all the pressure placed on us we are aiming to win consecutive titles, though.
I felt that Tokyo were trying to exploit our weak points. They have players with ability in attack and good forwards, they played systematically and had a great plan. However, the unbalance in the decisions affects the players' mentality. This didn't start today, it happens constantly. This also affects the players' health as well and I'd like everyone to take it into account".
< Other results >
Bellmare 0 Jubilo 0
Kyoto Sanga 0 Grampus 2
Ardija 1 Gamba 3
Sanfrecce 0 Frontale 3
F Marinos 0 Cerezo 0
Albirex 0 Reds 2
S-Pulse 5 Vegalta 1
Vissel 0 Montedio 2
< Standings >
S-Pulse 14, Reds 13, Frontale 13, Grampus 12, Antlers 11, Vegalta 10, F Marinos 8, F.C.Tokyo 8, Montedio 8, Sanfrecce 7, Kyoto Sanga 7, Gamba 6, Cerezo 6, Jubilo 5, Bellmare 5, Ardija 4, Vissel 4, Albirex 3.
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