GAME RESULTGame Result

Sec. 14 2009/6/20 (Sat)
Audience 10,266 people 
Weather cloudy, weak temperature 23.6 degrees humidity 79% 
Referee: Ryuji SATO Assistant Referees: Masatoshi SHIBATA / Toshiaki FUTAMATA Fourth Official: Kazuya IKAGAWA

J1 Sec. 14

Kashiwa

HOME

Kashiwa Reysol

0-3

Match Finished

First Half0-2

Second half0-1

AWAY

FC Tokyo

Kashiwa Reysol FC Tokyo
Scorer 09' Naohiro ISHIKAWA
20' Cabore
45' Sota HIRAYAMA
51' Hideaki Kitajima → Franca
51' Keisuke Tsukada → Popo
60' Minoru Suganuma → Yuki Otsu
Player Substitution 68' Naotake HANYU → Sotan TANABE
71' Cabore → Shingo AKAMINE
79' Sota HIRAYAMA → Tatsuya SUZUKI
9 Shoot 15
6 CK 3
13 FK 14
Warning
Ejected
Kashiwa ReysolStarting Lineup
GK 33 Takanori SUGENO
DF 25 Yusuke MURAKAMI
DF 5 Shu KOGA
DF 13 Yuzo KOBAYASHI
DF 7 Hidekazu Otani
MF 14 Kiyoshi OTA
MF 28 Ryoichi KURISAWA
MF 19 Takashi ABE
FW 15 Suganuma Minoru
FW 20 Chun Son LEE
FW 9 Hideaki Kitajima
Kashiwa ReysolSubstitute
GK 21 Yuta MINAMI
DF 2 Kamata Jiro
DF 23 Yohei Tsurukawa
MF 34 Kota Sugiyama
MF 27 Yuki OTSU
FW 11 Popo
FW 10 France
FC Tokyo Starting Lineup
GK 20 Shuichi GONDA
DF 25 Yuhei TOKUNAGA
DF 4 Bruno QUADROS
DF 6 Yasuyuki KONNO
DF 5 Yuto NAGATOMO
MF 28 Takuji YONEMOTO
MF 10 Yohei KAJIYAMA
MF 18 Naohiro ISHIKAWA
MF 22 Naotake HANYU
FW 9 Cabore
FW 13 Sota HIRAYAMA
FC Tokyo Substitutes
GK 1 Hitoshi SHIOTA
DF 33 Kenta MUKUHARA
MF 17 Jo KANAZAWA
MF 27 Sotan TANABE
MF 40 Tatsuya SUZUKI
FW 24 Shingo AKAMINE
FW 32 Yusuke KONDO

【Player/Coach Comments】

Resume the league, aiming to make a comeback with the slogan "Summer of Counterattack"


 The league match resumes. Sec. 14 will be against Kashiwa Reysol, away. In the Nabisco Cup, there has been an emergence of fresh players, and we have seized a good momentum to advance to the finals tournament. In order to continue this momentum and connect it to the league match, this match is important. It is a crucial game where we want to make a good start and aim for a comeback from here.

 The members who have recovered from injuries, Hanyu and Hirayama, who have finished serving their suspension from the Nabisco Cup, will start. In addition, Nagatomo and Konno, who played in the World Cup qualifiers as members of the Japanese national team on the 17th (Wed), although their condition is not at its best, they will firmly switch and start as the starting lineup.

 Kashiwa, on the other hand, has only won one game in the league and is currently in 17th place. They have been struggling with games that they couldn't win, with a total of 27 goals conceded, which is the worst. However, in the Nabisco Cup in June, they have had 2 wins and 1 draw, remaining undefeated. They are trying to rebuild their game by running speedily and working hard, which is the essence of Kashiwa. For them, this match is absolutely crucial in order to carry that momentum into the league. Key players, such as FW Fransa and FW Popo, started on the bench. The formation they have adopted consists of FW Kitajima and Li as the front two, with MF Ota and Suganuma on the sides, and MF Kurisawa and Abe as the double pivot in midfield.

 Coach Shirofuku stated, "Shimizu, who is a symbol of zone defense, and Kashiwa, who emphasizes man-to-man marking. By challenging both of them and achieving results, we can gain confidence and have a reference for the future. We may not be able to finish with beautiful soccer, but we will fight with a strong determination for results." Kashiwa is a tough opponent who made us taste bitter defeat in last year's Emperor's Cup and in this season's 3/25 Nabisco Sec. 1. However, if we can withstand Kashiwa's fast pace and play calmly, we should be able to win in Tokyo's soccer. We will show our determination to aim for 3 points even as the away team and strive for victory. The match started at 19:04 with Tokyo's kickoff at the humid Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium.

Ishikawa scores the opening goal, Cabore scores his first league goal, and takes control


 Kashiwa, who launched a powerful attack from the start. In response, Tokyo also countered with their athleticism and speed. The early stages saw a fierce exchange of offense and defense, but in the 9th minute, they launched a quick attack from their own half. Ishikawa dribbled up the field from the starting point of Hayashi and passed to Bruno QUADROS, who had advanced to the front line. From there, Ishikawa received the return pass and unleashed a right-footed shot from inside the right area, stealing Kashiwa's thunder with a sharp counterattack. "In top form, Nao" scored a spectacular goal to take the lead.

 In the 10th minute, Kanda cleared a kick that left the goalmouth and passed to Kashiwa FW Li, who shot towards the unmanned goal but missed to the left. After avoiding the danger, they regained their composure and defended against Kashiwa's attacks with concentration. In the 20th minute, Tokunaga's early cross floated high, grazing the opponent's DF. However, Hirayama in front of the goal chested it down while competing with the opponent's DF, and Cabore, who ran in from the left, stabbed a jumping volley into the goal! Cabore scored his first goal in the league and got the second goal.

 After that, Hirayama continued to collect the ball well on the front line and became the starting point, creating many chances. In the 24th minute, Habu, Ishikawa, and Cabore were involved in a thick attack. However, Hirayama's shot from the left area narrowly missed the target. In the 26th minute, Hirayama, who received Ishikawa's through pass, immediately turned around and took a shot, but it curved to the right. In the 27th minute, Kashiwa had a right corner kick. It was connected from MF Kurisawa's kick, and FW Kitajima headed from the right area. The ball seemed to be sucked into the upper left corner of the goal, but Kanda scooped it out with his right hand! From that loose ball, a melee occurred in front of the goal, but the Tokyo defense held firm by putting their bodies on the line.

 At the 30th minute, Tokyo launched an attacking move with speed, and Kabore rushed into the area. He stole the ball that the opponent's defender cleared with a sliding tackle and, facing backward, shot with a heel but couldn't find the target. At the 37th minute, from a quick counterattack, Kajiyama passed to Hirayama who had moved up the center with speed, and he took a sharp shot after entering the area. He hit the target perfectly, but the goalkeeper made a great save in the upper right corner of the goal. At the 42nd minute, Hirayama again played a key role near the edge of the area on the right side, and passed through to the inside of the area. Ishikawa broke free from the center and faced the goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation. The shot was once again stopped by the goalkeeper's brave save, but Tokyo took control of the game and headed into the second half.

Hirayama also marked his first goal of the season! Focused and closed the game for a comfortable victory.


 In the beginning of the second half, Cabore connected with a heel pass from Tokunaga's throw-in, and Hirayama, who received the ball near the right area, took a precise shot. It beautifully went into the top left corner of the goal! Hirayama finally marked his first goal of the season and extended the lead to three points.

 However, Kashiwa made substitutions in the 51st minute, bringing in FW França and Popo. This led to Kashiwa's counterattack. In the 58th minute, Kashiwa's left MF Kanno broke through the area. The Tokyo DF blocked the shot and Popo picked up the loose ball, unleashing a powerful shot from the right area that hit the post... In the 65th minute, Kashiwa FW Lee made a breakthrough, but Kajiyama stopped him with a foul, giving Tokyo a free kick from almost the center of the field. However, FW Popo's direct shot went over the bar. The Tokyo defense remained focused, led by Gonda and Imamura, and did not allow Kashiwa's counterattack to gain momentum.

 In the 68th minute, Tanabe was substituted for by Hanyu, in the 71st minute Akamine was substituted for by Kabore, and in the 79th minute Suzuki was substituted for by Hirayama. While calmly connecting passes, Suzuki and Akamine accelerated when they saw an opportunity and approached the goal. In the 81st minute, from the right side, Yonemoto, Tanabe -> Suzuki made a move into the area, and Akamine in the center dropped the ball to Tanabe who ran inside to receive the return, but the timing was slightly off and he couldn't control it.

 In the 86th minute, Kajiyama, Ishikawa, and Bruno passed the ball, and as soon as they saw an opportunity, Suzuki switched on the speed. Long pass to Nagatomo, who overlapped fiercely, and Redmine jumped into the near post with his whole body, but the ball was blocked by the defender and went out of bounds. We couldn't score the fourth goal, but we played the game "our own time" from start to finish and the time was up. Despite being away, we won the first match after the restart.

 【Player Comments】《Hirayama》"(It's my first goal of the season) I had several chances from the first half, so I definitely wanted to score in the second half. I'm glad I was able to score early. I think it was the result of taking a bold shot. However, today the defense line and the holding midfielders connected well and brought the ball forward. With the reduced burden of build-up play, I felt I had to aim for the goal. I was finally able to score, and I believe it was the result of us playing our style of football." 《Cabore》"I had several chances to score before, but my accuracy wasn't enough, and I couldn't finish. I'm glad I was finally able to score today. (About the goal) Hirayama is strong and has good ball retention, and we had an agreement that when he received the ball, I would make a run to support him. Today's goal came from that connection. The partnership between the two forwards is improving day by day, but it's not just the two of us; the whole team is in a good situation. Everyone is fighting with the mindset to work hard for the team."

 【Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference】 "We are in a difficult position in the league, but we were able to advance through the qualifiers of the Nabisco Cup with a good flow. We struggled at the beginning of this season, but I felt that this was a labor of birth, and we are starting to shed our old skin and move to the next level. I didn't want to break that flow, and we have been working with the team's motto of wanting to overcome this difficult position and make it a 'summer of counterattack.' It was great to achieve results, and despite it being an away night game, many fans came and we were able to celebrate together. In terms of content, while keeping in mind Kashiwa's strong points, the key was how much we could play the 'soccer centered on ourselves' that we are aiming for this season. Kashiwa's tough defense is among the best in the league. I thought that how much we could break through that would be an indicator for our future. In that context, we were able to create chances that were about the goal difference. I think we could have scored more, but I am satisfied with the 3-0 score. Also, up until now, the way we finished games has been a challenge, and we often struggled at the end of the first half like today. While we had longer periods of controlling the midfield, the way we finished the game was a bit rough. However, today, I think we were able to spend time in the latter stages while extending our time and moving towards the goal when we had further chances. I believe this was the result of maintaining balance and being mindful of our defensive positioning, so I want to firmly engrave the way we finished this game in our minds and carry it forward to the next one."

 [Kashiwa Coach Takahashi's Press Conference Summary] "I feel sorry for the fans who expected a comeback after we couldn't deliver results. Today's game plan was to keep the first half scoreless and to use MF Suganuma and Ota to apply pressure on the opponent's defense. However, we conceded a goal from the counterattack that we were most wary of. Furthermore, we were effectively exploited by the two-top of Cabore and Hirayama, and we were caught off guard and conceded an additional goal. We started to create some attacking shapes gradually towards the end of the first half, but we conceded a goal right at the beginning of the second half. Just when I was considering when to bring in FW Franca and Popo... that third goal was very painful. FW Franca and Popo are not in condition to fight for 90 minutes yet, and I wanted to compete in a better state... However, there's no point in looking down after this defeat, and Reysol will not die. We want to continue with a strong mindset and be ready to fight in the next match against Iwata."