2018 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE 25th Sec - Tokyo Verdy vs Albirex Niigata

Match Report

With the Mid-Summer period of multiple fixtures now in full swing, Verdy returned with a point from their last match, at the conclusion of a hard-fought battle with Avispa Fukuoka that ended 0-0. Just three days later, the team were back at home to face Albirex Niigata, an important match that could imbue the previous point with a whole new meaning.

Having thoroughly researched their opponents, Verdy lined up to start the match with several changes in their shape. Yuta Narawa slotted in at right back with Naoya Tamura at left, both playing on the opposite side from their normal position. At inside half, Ryota Kajikawa and Kouta Watanabe also switched sides. On the front line, Douglas occupied the center forward position, surrounded back Yohei Sato on the right and Jin Izumisawa, making his second straight start, on the left.

The match got off to a fast start. In the fourth minute, the team earned a corner kick on the left and elected to take it short. Kajikawa and Sato played a one-two to shed the opposition press, after which Sato put in a cross in front of goal. The cross then hit a defender standing at the near post and was deflected into the net for an own goal. Verdy thus found themselves suddenly in the lead, having exerted little effort. A second chance would come almost immediately afterward. In the 6th minute, Yuta Narawa broke down the right side and played a sharp cross in front of goal. Douglas made an unmarked run into the box and met the ball, but his shot flew over the crossbar. From that point, the momentum would swing to the opposition. Despite being on the back foot, however, the Verdy defense kept their shape and were able to endure the pressure. They also got forward on the counter, with Douglas nearly drawing the opponents into a red card offense, and remained threatening by taking advantage of any momentary lapses in concentration. Just as it seemed like the team were about to reclaim the pace, the match would be turned on its head. In the 37th minute, Verdy would commit a foul in the penalty area and give up their first penalty kick of the Lotina era. The spot kick was duly put away by Yasuda to bring the teams level and in the 42nd minute, Tanaka latched onto a loose ball, after a free kick, and fired home to put Verdy behind as the teams entered the break.

Verdy’s efforts to reclaim the match would begin early in the second half. Having just recovered from injury, Kanya Fujimoto was brought on for Izumisawa and in play, both teams failed to maintain the high lines that they had sustained in the first half, with their shapes gradually growing stretched, leading to a more open game. As the ball was played dizzyingly from end to end, Verdy probed the opposition gaps out wide. Tamura, who had switched to right back after the first half, received the ball in a deep position and played a cross for Douglas to run onto, earning a foul from his defender and a penalty kick in the process. Douglas himself stepped up to take the spot kick and put it away to equalize. Verdy now hoped to push the momentum all the way to reclaiming the lead, but Niigata began building their attack high up the pitch through Yano. Soon, the team found themselves on the defensive once again. With the opposition firmly in control, Verdy would concede a free kick in the 67th minute. The kick was played to the far side for Hirose to tap home and restore Niigata’s advantage. The mood around the stadium now seemed poised to take a dark turn, but the Verdy supporters were quick to make their voices heard and the players got the message to move forward once again. The team also brought on Leandro as a substitute and his presence would prove a catalyst for change. In the 76th minute, Alan took control of the ball on the touch line after a high ball had dropped to the left of the penalty area. Alan quickly played a reverse ball back into the area and Leandro made the run, deflecting the ball into the path of goal with his first touch. Though the effort was initially cleared off the line by a defender, the ball drifted to the feet of Douglas on the far side and his first-time effort flew unstoppably into the back of the net, bringing Verdy even once more. There was now little time left and both teams would give their everything to try and secure the win. In the 84th minute, the Verdy defense allowed a mid-range shot to slip through but Naoto Kamifukumoto came to the rescue with a fine save. The final twist in the plot would wait until additional time. In the 92nd minute, Douglas initiated a counter attack and laid the ball off to Leandro, who played an inch-perfect pass into space for the running Alan. Continuing his run, Alan dribbled past the initial defender and cut inside, aiming a low show at the right corner of the goal. The curving effort beat the keeper and found the net, giving Verdy the lead and sending the fans at Aji no Moto Stadium into raptures.

As Manager Lotina was quick to point out at the post-match conference, the Verdy defense cannot continue to concede multiple goals in the manner they did today. Greater than that, however, the way the players refused to let their heads down after giving up three goals and the toughness they showed to regroup and claim four goals back is surely a sign of growth. There can be now doubt that the back and forth game has helped to deepen the team’s confidence. However, the packed schedule of matches continues. There is no time to be satisfied and progress must continue. In just three days, the players will travel to Kyoto with a chance to build on their confidence even further, before returning to Tokyo again.

Manager Miguel Ángel Lotina

Your thoughts on the match.
We started well. Our play was solid and we maintained it after claiming the first goal. We even had chances to get two more. After that, our opponents reacted well. They are an excellent team and were able to push near our penalty area and begin creating chances. They equalized from a penalty and then took the lead from a free kick. In the second half, we began by focusing on the equalizer and managed to get one. However, we then gave up a goal from a corner kick and the score was 2-3, making the game even more difficult. From that point, our players showed confidence and reacted well enough to equalize again before Alan finally gave us the lead at the end. Thus, we were able to come back against a very strong team. Our reaction when the score went to 1-2 and 2-3 was excellent. We showed the confidence needed to address the situation we were in. There are some areas we have to improve, defensively, but the opposition had good players who can attack with high quality. For that reason, I feel that we made more mistakes than in other recent matches.

Tell us what you expected from Leandro, after inserting him as a substitute in the second half.
I think everyone is aware of the quality he has. He will contribute a lot to the team. He’s only recently recovered from injury, so I plan to work him in slowly.

Please tell us what specifically has to be worked on, defensively.
The problems in defense are things that we will always have to deal with, but particularly, today, they built their play through number 19 (Yano) and attacked us very effectively. I’ve heard that number 19 once played for the senior Japanese national team and he is still in good form. They used him to hold up the play while the players in the second line would make runs into space and I think that was difficult for us to stop. We will always have to address problems after each match, but with regard to today, I would like to compliment our opponents on the strength of their attack.

FW 7Alan Pinheiro

Tell us about your goal.
It was an excellent ball from Leandro and it came right into my path. I’m glad that I was able to put it away. Beyond that, though, the most important thing was that the goal led to a win for the team and I really think it was the way that everyone on the pitch refused to give up and kept running, kept seeking the win, that enabled that result. I want to congratulate everyone.

It was your first goal in a while and it led to a win for the team.
I hadn’t been scoring lately, but I’ve been conscious of putting forward my best effort in training and trying to improve. The refusal to give up enabled me to do the job today and I’m just very happy that I could contribute to a win in the end.

FW 9Douglas Vieira

It was a difficult match where both teams traded the momentum.
They’re a very good team and we knew it would be a challenging match. However, I think we played a good game ourselves and given the end to end nature and the number of goals, I think it’s great that we were able to come from behind and get the win.

You grabbed two goals today and helped the team earn a win.
I’m very happy to have contributed. Of course, I’m happy that I had two goals go in, but I’m even more happy that those goals led to victory for the team.

Tell us your ambitions for the match against Kyoto.
The first thing we have to do is simply rest our bodies and prepare for the next match. We played a very difficult game today, both in terms of content and result, and I think we’re all very tired. With that said, I think it’s equally important that we begin preparations to play Kyoto and that we play an intelligent game. I think now is the time for all of us come together and work as a team to earn the three points.

FW 10Leandro

Tell us what you were mindful of as you entered the match.
It was our first time to play with this shape, but I was positioned in front of the holding midfielder, in my own half-line, behind Douglas. It was a lot like playing in the number 10 position. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, I did well in the role and I’m glad that the team could get the win today.

You kept it simple and seemed to propel the team forward, today.
Sometimes, that sort of play is necessary. Rather than take a lot of touches and dribble, it’s important that I get rid of the ball quickly and raise the tempo at which the team plays so that we can approach the goal in a better state. I’m glad that we could do that today.

MF 23Naoya Tamura

All of your crosses ended up leading to goals in some fashion, today.
Doug is good at receiving the ball at his feet, so I just continued to believe that if I played the ball there, he could make something happen. I also gave up a penalty today, so I had to make up for that. All three of the balls I played led to a goal somehow and I am happy with how things turned out.

At the start of the day, the wide players had their positions completely switched.
Jin (Izumisawa) joined us last week and we did things normally, but then as well, Jin and Nara(wa) changed sides in the second half. I think we started with the same image, today. I think the formation was selected to get the most out of each player. In terms of not being confined to one position, I think it fits with our plan. It’s not completely down to Jin joining the team, but I do think it helped him take advantage of his ability to make runs behind.

In terms of defense, was it different for you from being on the right?
It did feel different from normal, but I can’t use that as an excuse and the penalty came at a time when I should have been more patient, so I regret that. I’m glad that we won, today, but I want to examine what went wrong there and utilize those lessons next time.

You did concede goals, today, but in terms of the flow of play, it didn’t seem like the team was playing badly.
The flow of play wasn’t bad at all. Not only were Kaji(hara) and Kota (Watanabe) able to connect their passes to Doug(las), Jin (Izumisawa) was able to dribble at the defense. It didn’t feel like we had the wrong plan. With that said, the goals we conceded besides the penalty were both poor and we have to take a look at that. Giving up those goals hurt our momentum, but we were still able to accomplish what we wanted in the second half. They scored against us, but I did not feel much stress about our approach.

You played on your more familiar left side, today.
It was an easy position for me in the formation, but during the game, I allowed myself to be pushed into a more defensive position, almost like a wingback. That was a bit wasteful.

Tell us what areas of your play you were concerned with.
The area where I’m asked to stand on the pitch is set and I am conscious of that. However, I was too conscious of trying to fit in with the team and I don’t think I showed what I can do, individually.

How are you adapting to the manager’s positional play philosophy?
In terms of where I start the match, it’s similar to where I used to play for Omiya, a long time ago, and it doesn’t feel that strange. However, in defense, I have to track back and that part is difficult.

Tell us what you think needs to change for you to be able to express yourself, individually.
When we’re switching the play, if I can break behind the back line as I receive the ball from the opposite side, I think that will help me make the most of my abilities.

MF 35Kanya Fujimoto

After entering the match, you resumed position on your normal side. How did it feel?
The score was 1-2 when I came on and we were doing things a bit differently, but in the second half, we reverted to our normal positions and I was mindful of trying to play as we have been throughout the season. There wasn’t a lot that was difficult and it was business as usual. My only objective at that time was for us to equalize.

The system changed again after Leandro came on.
We hadn’t practiced that a lot and it was my first time to try it, but the five front players were able to play with an attacking mindset and I think that I helped us claim the fourth goal. Honestly, it didn’t feel like we were doing it for the first time. The distance between the players was a little too big but we moved the ball well. In the end, I’m glad we got a goal.

Did the presence of Leandro on the pitch have an impact?
He’s good at receiving the ball in those areas and his play after he receives the ball is also excellent. On the contrary, I think we other players need to make better and better use of him. We can lay the ball off to him without worry and that means we can do more running off the ball. I think that will improve our attack.

You were chasing the lead for large parts of the match, today, but things didn’t look that stagnant in attack.
I think Douglas and Alan were giving their defense a lot of problems. That allowed myself, Leandro, and Kaji(hara) to make late runs and get on the ball. From that, I think we were able to push them back at the very least.

The new signings have made the competition for spots on the front line even more fierce.
Of course, the first thing for me is to win a spot and get time on the pitch, but I think results and what I can do when I get there are equally important. Since we have two new signings, I want to better my communication with them.

Given the packed schedule, you’re likely to see some action in the match against Kyoto as well.
If I’m given a chance to play, I want to do the same as today and contribute in a way that will help the team win.

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