It was Verdy who controlled the opening exchanges. The team retained possession of the ball and spread passes around the full width of the pitch, stretching their opponents and carving avenues toward goal. The opposition responded by tightening their shape and cutting off the space in front of goal, hoping to prevent opportunities for the finish, but the Verdy players refused to confine themselves to the wide areas and found gaps in the center of the pitch, leading to shots on goal. In the 26th minute, the opposition found space on the counter but Naoto Kamifukumoto quickly closed the gap in front of the onrushing forward and prevented the shot. In the 29th minute, it was Verdy who would create a big chance. Watanabe got in behind the defense and bore down on goal, slipping the ball beneath the goal keeper toward the net. Unfortunately, the shot would drift just wide of the right post. After failing to capitalize on their opportunity, the team saw momentum shift to their opponents. In the 39th minute, the defense gave up a cheap foul near the penalty area, leading to a free kick from good position. Felipe would get his head to the resulting kick and grant Yamagata the lead. Verdy would push forward soon after, in hopes of reclaiming the momentum, and in the 42nd minute, Douglas breached the back line and pressured the keeper, but his shot was blocked by desperate efforts from the Yamagata defense.

Despite having given up the lead from a set piece, Verdy had controlled the play for much of the half and the players kept their cool, communicating with one another to prepare for the second half. In doing so, it would be easy to assume that they would pay particular attention to the opposition’s continuing threat from set pieces. However, just moments after the restart, another dead ball situation would pile the pressure on the team even more. It was the 47th minute and the team gave up a corner kick after blocking an opposition attack from out wide. The ball flew to the far post where it was met again by an unmarked Felipe for the second goal. Verdy now found themselves down two goals before they could even settle into the half. Manager Lotina moved quickly, in the 51st minute, bringing on Yuhei Sato for Ryota Kajikawa and Jin Izumisawa for Kanya Fujimoto. These changes would breathe new life into the match. Sato made himself available for the ball and helped build the Verdy attack in higher positions, pushing the opposition back into their own area. Izumisawa, meanwhile, was aggressive at running at the defense and pushed several times into the final third. In the 56th minute, the team recovered the second ball after a set piece and were able to keep numbers forward to pressure the goal. After another clearance fell in front of the area, Alan fought off his marker to get a touch and Izumisawa made a run behind him, finding himself in position to tap the ball into the right corner of the net first time. Having reclaimed a goal, Verdy would continue to attack. Again and again, the players won the second ball after a clearance and were able to patiently sustain the pressure, despite the opposition’s attempts at time wasting. In the 68th minute, Izumisawa and Yuta Narawa broke down the left side of the defense. Narawa put a cross in front of goal which was met by the head of Douglas, but his placed shot was kept out by a fine save from the keeper. The match gradually became more open and the opposition, too, were able to press forward, but the Verdy players remained patient and hit back several times on the counter. Each time they attacked, they would regain the ball in high positions and recycle their efforts. However, despite having the goal in their sights many times, the players were lacking in finishing on this day and failed to create decisive chances. Meanwhile, their opponents tightened up inside their area and erased any open spaces which the team hoped to utilize. Thus, time ended without Verdy claiming a second goal.

If one were to ask which team had dominated the match, the answer would definitely be Verdy. Despite that, the actual winners were Yamagata. It was they who took the few chances offered them from set pieces and then settled in to endure for the remainder. Though they had more than twice as many shots as their opponents, Verdy must also rue their lack of precise finishing. Viewing the match as a whole, the team will feel let down that they could not sustain the attacking impetus they had shown on their winning streak. Still, there is no time to stand still. Next up, the team return home and face Oita Trinita, a squad who are in excellent form and find themselves within range of automatic promotion. It is the perfect chance to close the gap between the two teams and everyone will be fired up. The team must remember their frustration from today’s match, while still shifting focus to prepare for the next.

Your thoughts on the match?
I think we deserved to get at least a point from this one. In the end, it came down to the fact that they got two goals and we could only get one. We created a number of chances in the first half, but they got a goal from a set piece and then a second just after the restart. After that, we played well and pulled one back and it felt like we would be able to overtake them, but there were a lot of pauses in the match which made it difficult for us to sustain our play. It was a difficult match for us.

You inserted Yuhei Sato at holding midfielder after the second goal in the second half.
Yuhei can play balls behind the defense and has a lot of quality. I wanted to take advantage of that.