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MATCH

2018 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE 9th Sec - Roasso Kumamoto vs Tokyo Verdy

Match Report

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After earning a 4-0 victory away against Tokushima Vortis, Verdy returned home last week where their match against FC Gifu ended a scoreless draw. While the team has extended their unbeaten run to eight games since the start of the season, there remain concerns about their ruthlessness in attack, which they hoped to address this week in an away match against Roasso Kumamoto. The biggest change in the squad was the return of Tomohiro Taira, who had picked up an injury in pre-season and was making his first appearance since resuming full training.

It was Verdy who dominated possession in the early moments. With Shion Inoue pulling the strings of the passing game, the players used the full width of the pitch to search for openings in the opposition defense. Despite this, Kumamoto built a strong block in front of goal and Verdy were unable to play good passes into the vital area. When Verdy did lose possession, the opposition were quick to play simple long balls to their two large center forwards and threaten on the counter. However, Akira Ibayashi, Shinnosuke Hatanaka, and Taira showed good team work at the back and refused to grant the front two freedom, stifling any chances. While Tokushima did manage to secure the ball high up the pitch on several occasions, Hatanaka, in particular, used his strength and composure to win the ball and set Verdy off on the counter. The team then endured an an extended spell of opposition possession, but Verdy, too, were quick to switch from attack to defense and their ball-side pressure was able to keep their opponents from getting off a shot. In the end, both teams would finish the half without creating clear chances and momentum seemed to be swinging Verdy’s way.

In the second half, Verdy made adjustments to deal with the opposition counter and strengthen their own efforts in attack. From the locker room, Manager Lotina stressed that the first five minutes of the half would be key. The players would take heed, creating a clear chance on goal as early as the 46th minute. Yuta Narawa drew defenders after receiving the ball deep on the left side and played a pass through the center. Inoue latched onto the ball and, taking advantage of a late reaction from his marker, managed a strong right footed shot that went just wide of the post. From this point, Verdy would be in control for the near remainder of the match. However, even when they were able to push high up the pitch, they were outnumbered by the defense and couldn’t quite find a way through. Avoiding too many risks, the players elected to recycle possession and tried to switch the play from side to side. As the half progressed, Verdy began to pile on the pressure. Ryota Kajikawa entered the game, and his forward runs added an element of speed and dynamism to the attack. In the 72nd minute, Kota Watanabe ran with the ball on the counter from Verdy territory. Kajikawa made a supporting run into the space on the left side and, after receiving the ball, whipped a cross in front of goal. Having begun the move, Kouta Watanabe continued his run as the cross made its way into a gap in the defense. However, his header was off target. In the closing minutes, Ryohei Hayashi was brought on, enabling Verdy to press from the front as they fought for a goal. Hayashi would get his head to a Tamura cross in front of goal in the 94th minute, bending forward to make contact, but the shot went wide of the left post. In the end, Verdy showed plenty of ambition, but the goal never came and the team were left with a second consecutive draw.

After nine matches, this was Verdy’s sixth draw of the season and their fifth scoreless result, a stat line that will leave no one satisfied. With that said, the progress the team has made in defense cannot be ignored. The three goals they have conceded this season are few enough to place them in line with table leaders Fagiano Okayama. And with FC Machida Zelvia having suffered a loss during the week, Verdy are now the league’s only undefeated side. The foundation built in defense last season has fully matured into a team strength and now, the players must overcome their stagnation in attack, without upsetting the team balance, by moving forward in numbers when the opportunity arises to unlock the opposition goal. That mission begins tomorrow, as they prepare next week to build a green wave amidst the electric atmosphere at Nishigaoka.

Post-match comments

Manager Miguel Ángel Lotina

Your thoughts on the match?
I felt it was a very even game. Each team’s defense played better than the other team’s attack. But I also feel like we were the more dominant side. In the second half, especially, we created chances and were trying to win. We defended well and our build up play was solid. We were able to approach their penalty area. From there, however, we didn’t generate enough clear chances. We had some crosses in the box, but none created a clear opportunity. Of course, that comes down to the strength of their defense as well. I must also say that this was a special match for us, today. Last season, we lost 4-0 to this opponent at their stadium. We had some bad memories, but I’m highly satisfied with the concentration the players showed today and the positive attitude they displayed.

Hatanaka gave a performance of high concentration in a particularly difficult match. How did you rate his play today?
Hatanaka is playing at a high level. That is no cause for surprise. The real good news for us is that another high-level player, Taira, has returned to the team.

Was there any relation between Watanabe playing as a shadow striker on the right and Taira’s return to the squad?
Taira’s return is not the reason for that. I simply judged that this would be the best system for today’s match. We played with three center backs, as our opponents are effective with short passing or at playing long balls to their front two, who are strong in the air. I felt we needed three at the back to deal with that.

How about the decision to play with two holding midfielders?
I made that judgment after analyzing the way they play. Based on our research, we can play with different systems, including 4-3-3 and others. I choose from that variation, based on what we need to attack and defend well in each particular match.

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Post-match comments

DF 5Tomohiro Taira

You were injured just after starting work with the team this season, but you’ve now returned to match appearances fairly quickly, after some time in training matches. How does it feel to be back?
I had a reasonable idea of how the team played by watching from the outside and I believe it wasn’t that different today, even with me joining the side.

You did seem to have an impact on the team’s defensive play, though.
Well, the defense has been good in the previous matches as well. I was able to watch each game without getting nervous. With that said, everyone realizes that we need to improve in attack and we didn’t accomplish that today.

Well, in terms of initiating the attack, you were able to play some good balls behind the defense.
Whenever Narawa gott high up the pitch, I figured the players on my side would have more space to attack, so when he made a run behind, I would just play him a simple ball. I also tried to play simple balls to Carlos whenever he would drop deep.

How is your condition after playing the full 90 minutes?
I can’t say that it felt good, but I was able to hide the pain and make it through.

Next week, you return home to Nishigaoka.
We know that we have to win at home and we’ve had nothing but draws there lately, so we’ll do our best to get the full three points at Nishigaoka.

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DF 4Shinnosuke Hatanaka

How did you deal with the opposition’s front two?
They were very physically strong, which made things hard, but there was never that big of a threat. In fact, it was the midfielders making dribbling runs at us that felt more dangerous.

Was there no threat from the long balls they played?
Myself and Iba (Akira Ibayashi) cared for things there. They were able to start the counter from there a couple of times, but other than that, I think we managed things well.

In the second half, you played with a higher line and the back three were able to play long balls behind their defense.
We haven’t been scoring a lot of goals and we had numbers forward in the second half, but there weren’t enough players making runs into the vital area. Of course, some of that was due to the timing of our crosses, but we just couldn’t find anyone to make contact and it stood out how much we had to recycle possession at the back. We had Doug (Douglas) and, toward the end, Ryohei Hayashi in the box, both of whom are good in the air, so I think we should have played more simple crosses and let them fight for it.

You sometimes bypassed the midfield with your forward balls.
I would love to hit them with one killer pass and with the ball I played to Doug (Douglas) in the second half, the opposition were also trying to get forward on the counter, so they didn’t have enough numbers at the back and I thought there would be a chance. In the end, though, we’re a team that tries to keep possession of the ball, so it’s inevitable that our opponents will try to build a wall in front of goal. We need a strategy to get past that.

The team doesn’t seem to have any difficulty in shifting their defensive shape from side to side.
There’s still the chance of the opposition hitting us one-time with an unexpected move. For us, as defenders, we hope that we can become a team that is sure to win when they do score. If we can just get a goal, that will give us even greater motivation to defend and so I’d like to prepare to do that in the next match.

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MF 33Kota Watanabe

Your thoughts on the full 90 minutes?
We wanted to neutralize their strong points and still get a goal ourselves. We had our chances, but we couldn’t finish. That is the reason the match ended in a draw.

It felt like you did a good job getting back quickly on defense. And it’s your fourth straight match with a clean sheet.
I think we can have confidence in our defense, but we’re not getting enough goals from our attack and we have to improve there. For me, individually, I was able to get off some shots but they were lacking in precision and things will be difficult if I don’t raise my level there.

What do you think the team needs to do to make those improvements?
When we have the proper spacing and connect our passes, we build an effective attack, so we have to be conscious of how we line up as a team.

Do you have any message to the supporters before next week?
We’ll be back home next week. I hope we can score a lot of goals and get the win.

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