[Passionate Battle of the Japanese League] On Sunday (28th), this reporter went to Kawasaki Striker's home ground and witnessed an exciting Japanese League matchup. Despite Kawasaki Frontale's unsatisfactory season performance, the atmosphere at the home stadium was very enthusiastic. With more than 20,000 fans cheering, Yui Kobayashi and captain Kenpei Nobori scored a goal each, and Kawasaki beat Kashiwa Reysol 2-0.
It takes about 20 minutes to walk from Musashi Kosugi Station to Kawasaki Striker's home stadium, Iseki Land Arena. Prior to the match, the team organized a grand carnival outside the venue, where former players such as Kenko Nakamura and Dae-Seung Jung made appearances and interacted with the fans. Kashiwa Reysol is located just an hour's drive from Kawasaki, so many visiting fans came to watch the match, adding to the atmosphere.
Kawasaki Frontale, who had lost three consecutive matches, fought for the win with the crowd cheering "Ka-Wa-Sa-Ki". Yui Kobayashi broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when he scored from inside the penalty area. Despite the enthusiasm of the Kashiwa Reysol fans, the hosts were able to increase their lead in the second half of stoppage time when Kenpei Nobori scored from inside the penalty area.
After the change of sides, Kawasaki Frontale attacked like a storm and the fans were screaming for more. Despite Kashiwa Reysol's late substitutions of strong attacking players such as Jaegermeister and Duglas, they still failed to break through. As the game wore on, the home team's fans became more and more emotional, holding up flags, chanting loudly, and even using blue light-up sticks to cheer for their team. In the end, Kawasaki Frontale ended their three-game losing streak with a narrow two-goal victory. After the match, the players even made a special trip to the audience to celebrate with the fans, which was warm and touching.
Kashiwa Reysol coach Masa Ihara has admitted that his team's mistakes in the first half led to the goal conceded and said that they will strengthen their attacking ability: "We played well in the second half, but our failure to score shows that our offense still needs to be improved. Next, we will try to improve every day." For Kobayashi, who is playing in the league for the first time, he hopes to get more chances to play through his hard work.
