Aiming for victory by utilizing the advantage of home

　The league's 30th round, which will be held after a two-week interval due to the Emperor's Cup, will be a match between Kawasaki Frontale and their opponent. They will face off at home. In the Emperor's Cup on the 5th, they scored a massive 7 goals and won, and they are currently on a 3-game winning streak in official matches since the 28th round against G Osaka. The players all agreed that "it shouldn't be that easy in J1," but the team's condition is improving. We hope to see them achieve a league-winning streak of 3 games, which they haven't accomplished since 2002.

　Kawasaki, on the other hand, is currently in 3rd place. They are only 4 points behind the top team, keeping their chances of winning the championship alive. They apply pressure from the front and quickly launch counterattacks with the coordinated play of midfielders Nakamura, Taniguchi, and Maguinho. The scoring ability of forwards Juninho and Ganaha is also a threat, making them a formidable opponent without a doubt.

　In response to this, Tokyo will counter with a strategy of thoroughly targeting the opponent's defense line. In particular, they want to create opportunities by exploiting the space behind the 3-back defense line after Kawasaki's side midfielders Marcon and Mori move forward. In that sense, the midfield battle should be one of the highlights. They want to take control without being chased on defense, with Baba and Lucas also pushing forward from the sides and launching a strong attack.

　A match aiming for victory by taking advantage of the home advantage. The starting lineup includes players who did not have a chance to play in the Emperor's Cup Bandione Kobe match, namely Doi, Toda, and Ishikawa. The center-back positions are filled by Mashima and Inoha. Unfortunately, the match started at 15:04 with Kawasaki's kickoff in chilly weather due to rain since the morning.

During the counterattack, we allowed two goals due to a mistake.

　From the beginning, there was a fierce exchange of counterattacks, with intense offense and defense. As the game progressed at a fast pace, in the 7th minute, a free kick was awarded to Tokyo near the left sideline. Kawasaki MF Maginun kicked the ball in front of the goal, and Doi initially saved it with one hand, but the ball hit the post and Doi managed to clear it again, only for MF Taniguchi to score from the rebound.

　However, in the 13th minute, Imakano -> Lucas passes to the right side space in Tokyo. Tokunaga advances to the goal area and wins the right CK. In the 14th minute, Baba's kick was cleared by the Kawasaki DF once, but Baba connected again and crossed. In response to this, the opponent's GK jumped out and punched the floating ball, and Lucas headed it into the goal! They caught up with the tie early on and reset the game.

　However, afterwards, they ended up conceding goals due to their own mistakes. In the 17th minute, they lost concentration during Kawasaki's left throw-in, allowing MF Taniguchi to dribble deep into the left area. Then, a negative last pass was combined with FW Ganaha, who easily scored. Tokyo also attacked with a good tempo, but they were constantly countered by Kawasaki after losing the ball in the front line. Even after 30 minutes, the pace did not slow down and the fast-paced attack and defense continued.

　In the 42nd minute, Imakano intercepted and attacked, but was surrounded and lost the ball, and Kawasaki MF Maginun ran up the left side. Juninho, the FW who ran into the center, jumped and volleyed the ball in response to a fast cross. The powerful shot pierced the net... However, Tokyo had 10 shots compared to Kawasaki's 8 shots in the first half, but only scored one goal. The content of the game gives hope for a comeback, as they head into the second half.

Despite being down by 3 points, they triumphed in a dramatic and thrilling comeback

　In the 49th minute of the second half, Tokyo's corner kick ball was passed to the opponent's goalkeeper and a long pass was sent to the front line. This ball went over Inoha's head and reached MF Maginun who broke through to the front line. Fujiyama also chased after him, but was outrun by speed and the goal was scored in an instant. Even in this situation, the defensive weakness was exposed, allowing a three-point lead, but there was still time. In the 51st minute, we obtained a free kick from a deep position on the left side, and Baba immediately restarted and sent it to the front of the goal. Toda skillfully assisted and scored a goal! Toda's first goal of the season raises the flag of counterattack.

　Then, in the 53rd minute, Kawasaki FW JUNINHO received his second warning and was sent off. In response to this, Suzuki replaced Ishikawa in the 54th minute, Miyazawa replaced Kajiyama in the 62nd minute, and Hirayama replaced Toda in the 68th minute, one after another. They pushed forward with Tokunaga in front, and Fujiyama entered the lineup in the center of the 3-back formation to attack. They collected the ball to Hirayama from the side, and Imano, Baba, Suzuki, and others created chances by picking up the loose balls one after another. However, time passed without being able to score a goal against Kawasaki, who had become defensively compact in the center.

　It was in the 83rd minute when our perseverance paid off. The opponent's goalkeeper came out to clear the floating pass from Imakano to the front line. Suzuki connected the ball in the air with a header, and Hirayama pushed it in with a header! Closing the gap to one goal, the mood for a comeback intensified. In the 84th minute, Kawasaki MF Maginun was also sent off with a second warning. The match became chaotic, but Tokyo, without being shaken, launched a fierce attack against the nine-man Kawasaki.

　Although they completely grasped the flow, they entered into 6 minutes of injury time. However, they never gave up. In the 89th minute, Fujiyama's right cross was contested by Hirayama and the opposing defender in front of the goal. It fell inside the area and Suzuki on the left shot a cross with shooting intent in front of the goal. From this, Miyazawa from the far side headed it in, finally equalizing the score!

　And around the time when 5 minutes of injury time had passed, Imakano, who received a cross pass from Tokunaga, swung his right foot as soon as he saw that there was no opponent's press in front of the area! The ground ball slipped through the opponent's defense and went into the lower right corner of the goal!! Achieving a dramatic comeback, the game ended immediately after. They achieved a great comeback in a total team effort and won the fierce battle. As a result, with 3 consecutive wins in the league, they accumulated 39 points and secured their place in the J1 league.

　[Player Comments] {Konno} "I think the biggest reason for our victory today was that the opposing team had a player sent off. In the first half, it felt like we were asleep, and we were losing one-on-one battles with the opponent, which is frustrating in hindsight. The atmosphere at halftime wasn't good either. I believe Tokyo is not a team that easily loses, so I was also feeling frustrated. I was thinking we should go for the ball more aggressively. I hesitated to take a long shot, but since I had been practicing recently, I decided to try it, and it went in. Before that, I had taken a shot with my left foot, but it was blocked by a Kawasaki defender. The opponent probably thought we wouldn't shoot again this time... The stands were really hyped up, and the atmosphere was like 'A draw is not enough, we need to turn it around!' Right now, Tokyo is strong when they get on a roll. It's not about bullying the top teams; every match is a battle. Above all, we can't lose at home, and we fight for the pride of Tokyo." {Hirayama} "The goal came from a good ball, so I just had to connect with it. I was happy, but everyone was in the mood of 'Let's go for another goal!' so it wasn't the time to celebrate. I was told before the match, 'The ball will come in from the side, so do your job there.' When I was watching from the bench, it felt like we were being punished for our own mistakes, so I wasn't pessimistic. Everyone had a strong desire to help each other and win. I think scoring is the best way to make an impression, but I want to keep working hard to contribute to the team going forward."

　[Summary of Coach Kuramata's Press Conference] "Once again, I realized that if we don't give up until the end, we can play games like this. In the first half, we played soccer close to our aim, but we conceded 2 goals from set pieces and 1 from a quick counterattack. Kawasaki launched quick counterattacks, so we had to focus on not losing the ball easily, but we ended up losing the ball due to increased central attacks. In the second half, we aimed to maintain the flow of the first half and be cautious of the opponent's quick counterattacks. I instructed the team to thoroughly break down the sides, and if we could create a numerical advantage, we should be able to play our soccer. I think we managed to do that to some extent. It became a situation where we had to endure to some degree, but the opponent received a red card and was down to 10 men, allowing us to turn the game around in the end. (Regarding defense) I instructed Inoha to man-mark FW JUNINHO to prevent him from being effective. I think he did a good job sticking to him to some extent. I made sure to have Mashima focus on FW Ganaha, and then instructed Inoha to provide cover. Regardless of the cooperation between the two, we need to correct the fact that we conceded too many goals. In particular, we were slow in transition situations, and corrections are needed in scenarios like the second goal's throw-in."

　【Kawasaki-Kanzuka Coach Press Conference Summary】"(Regarding the refereeing?) I should refrain from speaking about it in this position. We are training based on the J-League's judgment criteria, but if it deviates too much, we cannot deal with it. The game made me really think about what I should be coaching. The players endured tough training and I think they did really well towards winning the title. All I could say to the players now is "Thank you for your hard work, let's go home quickly."