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MATCH
Match Report
Last week, Verdy welcomed the opening match of the season by beating JEF United, fellow alumni of the original 10 J League teams, 2-1 at home. This week brought the season’s first away match and the first match for Verdy in six years against Ventforet Kofu.
The squad that took the pitch to begin the match was unchanged from last week, but Naoto Sawai was an addition on the substitute’s bench. While last week saw play unfold amidst chilly mid-winter weather, this week the sun beat down like early summer, with sweat clinging to the players’ bodies even when standing still.
Both teams kept a compact shape in the early stages and looked to take advantage of mis-matches out wide, leading to stiff competition for control. The first to break through the deadlock and create a chance in front of the opposition goal were Verdy. In the sixth minute, the Kofu goal keeper attempted to play it short from a goal kick, but his pass was read by Ryota Kajikawa, who intercepted and wasted no time in looking to get off a shot. However, the goal keeper made a desperate block with his legs, preventing the ball from finding the frame of the goal. In the fourteenth minute, Verdy made use of the full width of the pitch and found Tatsuya Uchida unmarked in front of goal, but this shot too was kept out by the keeper. Another clear-cut opportunity came in the 18th minute. This time, Verdy broke down the right side and floated a high cross into the box. Alan managed to head it down as Kanya Fujimoto used his body to shield the ball, allowing it to bounce to the right side of the area where Douglas let off a volley that was blocked by a defender. As Verdy gained increasing control of the momentum, they began to keep possession and build attacks in the opposition half, while Kofu were content to play on the counter. It was then that the match’s most decisive moment would occur. In the 29th minute, Douglas made a deep run past defenders in the penalty area before being brought down from behind with a late tackle. The referee, however, ruled play on. Immediately afterward, in the 32nd minute, Kofu created a mismatch out wide, leading to a cross which Hidetaka Kanazono met with a perfectly-timed header, only to see his shot go wide.
In order to take further advantage of their superior numbers in wide areas, the Verdy players went over the fine details of their build up at half time. However, the second half began largely a stale mate, as mistakes stood out for both teams, and neither was able to create chances from possession, relying instead on direct passes into their respective halves. In the 56th minute, Kofu made the first substitution and soon both teams would swap several players as they attempted to break the deadlock. The first to be substituted for Verdy was Fujimoto, who was brought off for Yuhei Sato. Sato quickly began making himself available for the ball, linking up the play and adding a new accent to the Verdy attack. He also produced precise passes in the crowded vital area, enabling the team to finally build momentum in front of goal. Kajikawa was taken off for Ryohei Hayashi, who slotted in at right wing and created danger for the opposition by getting on the end of crosses from the opposite side and carrying the ball in front of goal. In defense, Verdy were forced to deal with several international players in the Kofu attack who rely on individual skill, but through strong, fluid marking and good pressure on the ball, Verdy were able to limit their freedom. The last clear chance for either team would fall to Verdy. In the 86th minute, after rhythmic passing on the left side, a cross was played to the far side where it found its way to Douglas. The forward trapped the ball with his first touch and then launched a strong right footed volley, but found his effort blocked wide of goal after a desperate lunge by a Kofu defender.
The final minutes of the match were end-to-end and both teams tried to take advantage of tired legs and create chances. The Verdy players quickly recognized that they had entered a difficult period and regrouped in defense, cutting off space for the opposition attack and protecting their goal until the final whistle.
In a match where both team showed their strengths, it was Verdy who created more and greater quality chances, giving them a slight edge in the tactical outcome. As such, the players will sure regret the denied penalty shout in the first half and the failure to score from a clear-cut chance at the end of the second. Earning a point again a team that, until this year, had played for five straight seasons in J1 is certainly a positive, but given their lack of finishing and relatively bad luck, the Verdy players will feel more like they let two points slip away. Either way, the team have achieved a win and a draw from the opening two fixtures, earning them four points to start the season. To make sure that today’s point remains of value, the team will need vent their frustrations at home, next week, against Matsumoto Yamaga FC.
Post-match comments
Manager Miguel Ángel Lotina
Your thoughts on the match?
It was very competitive. I believe we fought well and played well. The pitch was not in the best condition, but things went largely according to plan. We weren’t able to get a goal, but in all other aspects, I think we played well. There were some clear opportunities for us to put the match away, but I think that just shows that luck wasn’t with us today.
Yohei Sato was able to change the momentum after entering in the second half. What tasks did you assign him?
All three substitutions were made for the purpose of winning. Compared to our other inside halves, Yohei is able to play in a deeper position and that allows him to be dangerous. That’s why I put him in.
In terms of ending the match with a draw, do you feel that you earned a point or gave up two points?
Of course, our intent was to win but I think we have to accept that they have a really good team. Kofu has been competing in J1 and they had the chance to stay up, even in the final weeks of last season. As for us, we still have largely the same members that we had two years ago and the only new players in our starting 11 were (Yuta) Narawa and Kanya (Fujimoto). For that team to earn a draw against an opponent like we played today, I think we have to be satisfied. We’ve proven that if we work hard, we can earn good results, but it’s also true that there are eight to ten other teams with a stronger squad.
Kanya Fujimoto, who coincidentally is from Yamanashi, has started the last two matches. Can you tell us your intentions and how you rated his performance today?
He is a player of tremendous talent and high quality. He still has a lot of maturing to do, but if he is given opportunities to play, that will sort itself out. I believe that within three to four years, he will be one of the most important players in the Japanese league. He’s still very young, but is already a valuable player for us. Still, Kanya is lacking in experience. I think that showed in his performance today. We will communicate with him about what he did well and what he needs to improve. At the same time, if he watches videos of other good players with the same style, I’m sure game will develop and he will grow as an overall player.
MF 33Kota Watanabe
Your thoughts on the match?
I feel like we needed to pass the ball just a little better. I had chances to put in crosses, myself, but they need to be of better quality. Unless we can produce a more precise final ball, we won’t be able to win.
You seemed like you were having trouble with the pitch condition in the first half.
After the opening whistle, I made a couple of bad passes, but fortunately, I didn’t let it bother me.
Once again, in today’s match, you and (Kanya) Fujimoto combined well and there were many times where you made deep runs on the right side.
It’s important that I find space for myself to receive passes, but since Kanya’s left-footed, it’s also important that I create space for him to move. Douglas can then fill in the space that he gives up. I’m glad that were able to incorporate that into our play today.
n the training exhibition against Tosu, you mentioned that players in J1 have stronger bodies. Was that true for Kofu today, as well?
I didn’t feel at a disadvantage, but I still need to improve my physique so that I can maintain my precision after running.
Can you tell us your honest feelings about coming away with a draw?
I feel it was a match where we could have gotten the three points, so it’s a bit hard to take.
MF 38Ryota Kajikawa
Your thoughts on the match?
We had plenty of chances and when I noticed that their keeper was trying to play goal kicks short, I was able to able to intercept one in a dangerous area. We’re not going to win unless we can get goals from those situations. That we didn’t score then, and from our other opportunities, is the reason we didn’t get the full points today. There were also many moments in the first half where we lost possession after playing long balls. If we had been more patient and moved the ball more, we might have been able to carry the match more at our own pace. Myself and the other players in the center of the pitch need to be more aware of how the match is proceeding and change the game plan when necessary. We made things pretty rough for ourselves in the first half, but if we play like we did in the second half, moving the ball between the gaps in their lines, we can control the match. The players have to take charge more.
How did the team’s build-up play feel from your perspective, as someone who is more often on the receiving end of passes?
In terms of receiving balls from the center backs, we could have made it more difficult for them to press us if we had simply tried to recycle possession, rather than force the ball through. I realized that, even watching from the front line. I wanted us to be in less of a hurry.
How do you feel about earning a draw?
Whether we’re at home or away, we have to win. If we don’t win these sorts of matches, we won’t be able to compete in J1. We have to be more aware of the challenges ahead.
MF 16Yuhei Sato
What instructions did you receive before you were subbed into the match?
The plan was for me to receive the ball in between the lines when play went out wide and to allow Tamu (Naoya Tamura) to maintain a high position. However, I wasn’t able to fully communicate that to him and it felt like I was receiving the ball in an area that was just a little too shallow. Their markers were pulling away to follow me, so if Tamu had stayed high up the pitch, it would have made for more of an effective attack. Once Ryohei (Hayashi) entered the match, I was able to move inside and assume my natural position, but I was still lacking in the quality of my final pass. That is something I have to work on.
Still, you were very active and it seemed like you brought some fluidity to the attacking play.
Nara (Yuta Narawa) took up high positions and Alan was also able to keep possession, so I focused on controlling the pace. I could tell that everyone was getting tired, so I wanted to thread passes as much as possible. I don’t know whether it’s because the distance between our inside halves was too big, but we weren’t combining well and we needed to make a decision whether to drop back further or try to put in more crosses from deep. That is something I hope we can work on more going forward. With that said, I felt we played better than last week, when we were too predictable, and we competed well against the full eleven of a team that has just dropped down from J1.
What was your approach to breaking them down after they switched from a back four to a back three?
Once they started playing with a five-man final line in defense, there was more space for us to receive the ball and we were able to carry it forward smoothly. Even so, because we had been moving the ball so haphazardly in the first half, we weren’t able to put together many good moves. In the second half, we were able to build from the back and opened up space to push up the pitch many times, but I’d like to see us do that from the first half on. If we can peel off even one of their markers by dropping deeper, it will allow us to build a better attacking formation. We just have to keep repeating that process. Today, we had too few passes to recycle possession and too many that took risks. Against a strong team like Kofu, we needed to be more patient and make the passes that would allow us to reset when a move wasn’t panning out. That will lead to greater confidence for the team and allow us to play with greater composure.
It seemed like there were a lot of long balls at the end of the match, leading to more counter attacking opportunities for the opponent.
We were being pushed back a bit and everyone was out of breath, so I think we shifted our mindset to play in defense and end the match at zero-zero. It was an away match and an important place for us to earn a point. They were still winless going into this week and we had won our opener, so it was important that we not let the result slip away. All in all, I don’t think we played badly today. Now, we need to work, week in and week out, to make sure we don’t give away any results and allow the point we earned today to be important at the end of the season.
FW 11Ryohei Hayashi
Whether it was the pitch condition or other factors, it seemed like the team couldn’t play the game you wanted to play.
The grass hadn’t been cut or watered. I don’t know whether that was done to make things difficult for us, but it certainly made it hard to move the ball.
The team seemed to be relying too much on long balls in the first half.
Intentional long balls are an important part of our normal game plan, but it’s true that our natural style is to pass the ball and we could have done that more today.
Do you feel you should have recycled possession more, in attack?
We could have passed it back to the keeper more and I think the message is that we have to find ways to push the ball forward while still maintaining possession.
How did it feel to be playing on the right wing?
It’s only been two matches, but it means a lot for me that I can be used in that position. I have to be ready to play there as an option going forward. I’m happy that the manager trusts me to play there at the moment.
It’s only been two matches, but it means a lot for me that I can be used in that position. I have to be ready to play there as an option going forward. I’m happy that the manager trusts me to play there at the moment.
Today’s match was an even affair and there were moments when things didn’t go as planned. For myself, I was able to get a lot of touches as soon as I came in and although we were pushed back in the final minutes, it didn’t feel like we were playing badly.
Defending on the wing requires a lot of hard work. How has it felt so far?
During training, I’m always thinking about other positions I might play and our play model is easy to understand, so it’s never felt that difficult to adjust.
Considering that you’ve had two matches against promotion rivals in the first two weeks, it feels like the results were positive.It meant a lot that we could win at home and following that by getting a point in an away match will be important, given the length of the season. I’d also like to think it’s a positive that we could get a point against a difficult opponent like Kofu, who just dropped down from J1.
MF 14Naoto Sawai
Your thoughts on the match?
First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the medical staff who helped me with my injury and all the people who supported me during rehabilitation. When I entered the match, our only thought was that we needed a goal to get the three points, so the instructions from the manager were mostly about attack. My strength is in making runs, so I wanted to do that. We also had a lot of big bodies in the middle, so I made it a point to play simple passes to them.
Right after you took the pitch, you created a chance after winning the ball from the opponent.
If I had the ability to finish there or play a pass to my teammates, I believe we could have got the three points today. That’s something I have to work on as a player.
How do you feel now, after making your first appearance for quite a while?
It’s been a little more than a year since my last official match and it definitely felt different from competing in a scrimmage. Of course, I had a lot of feelings going on inside me coming into the match, but once I was given an opportunity, I was simply happy to play.
What mental image did you have for your first return match?
There’s a lot of competition for places and I knew that I wouldn’t get too many chances. I was only on the pitch a short time today, but I wanted to demonstrate my strengths in those few minutes. I just wish we could have gotten the result as well.
How did you feel about the warm response from the supporters when you entered the match and after the final whistle?
The supporters are the ones to whom I owe my greatest gratitude. It’s because of people like that that I was able to return and the team has been very supportive too. We couldn’t manage more than a draw today, but I hope to pay the supporters back for their support by delivering them the full three points in our home match against Matsumoto.