98th Emperor's Cup Round of 16 - Urawa Reds vs Tokyo Verdy

Match Report

【Match Report】

Hoping to build momentum to progress in their league campaign, Verdy took part in the fourth round of the Emperor’s Cup. Their opponents in this effort, for the first time in two years, were a J1 club, Urawa Reds, who were also facing Verdy for the first time in any competition since 2011. Manager Lotina had spoken during the build-up to the match of rotating his squad and as expected, the starting lineup was greatly changed from the league match four days previous. Takahiro Shibasaki was chosen as goalkeeper, while the back line was composed of Shogo Hayashi, Masashi Wakasa, and Mitsuru Nagata, along with Yuki Kagawa, who made his first start since joining the team. Hideo Hashimoto and Shion Inoue were paired at central midfield, joining Shunsuke Mori on the right wing and Yong-jik Ri on the left. Finally, the lineup was rounded out by Ryohei Hayashi and Alan as a front two.

The match began with Urawa on the attack and Verdy forced to defend in their own area for long periods. Gradually, however, the Verdy players began to win their physical battles and retain the ball, passing around the opposition’s simple pressing and grabbing the momentum. From the mid-point of the first half, Verdy were in complete control and camped themselves in the opposition half, moving the ball across the full width of the pitch and attacking ceaselessly. The first real chance came in the 24th minute, when Shion Inoue spotted a lapse in the opposition’s pressing and ran forward with the ball, pulling away defenders and passing into space on the left side. The subsequent placed shot from Ri seemed bound for the right corner but the goalkeeper got a finger-tip to the ball, deflecting it onto the right post and over the touchline. From that point, Verdy began to probe the gaps while maintaining possession. In the 27th minute, Hashimoto and Mori combined to break down the back line and play a pass to Alan, who had broken free of his marker. However, Alan’s fierce right-footed shot flew over the bar. In the 29th minute, Mori latched on to a looping pass over the back line and found himself in on goal, but there was little angle for a shot and his powerful right-footed effort grazed the side of the post. The biggest chance of the half was still to come, in the 39th minute, when Kagawa and Ri combined to send the former breaking down the flank with enough space to cross from the by-line. Ryohei Hayashi made the run into the box and met the ball first time, but once again the shot would go inches wide.

At half-time, the players confirmed their intention to remain patient as they pushed their opponents back and it would be Verdy who once again dominated after the break. The team continued to evade Urawa with their build-up and retained the ball, keeping an eye open for opportunities to speed up the play and attack. When they did lose the ball, Verdy were quick to press, winning it back to create opportunities on the short corner and continually trouble the Urawa defense. However, a team will only get so many chances before their luck turns. After the tempo of Verdy’s passing slowed, Urawa claimed the ball and began to push Verdy back. In the 64th minute, the opposition used the full width of the pitch, switching the play from left to right. The Verdy defense were lulled into ball-watching and before long, Fabrizio would receive the ball unmarked and place it into the back of the net. Verdy now seemed completely on the back foot, but the manager had warned the players at half time that “no matter who takes the lead first, our approach will not change. Keep the ball and push them back.” Heeding these words, the team maintained their poise and immediately resumed their build-up play. In the 76th minute, the substitute Douglas combined with Ryohei Hayashi to create space for a run. Douglas then found the angle for a shot, despite having defenders in front of him; however, the effort flew just over the bar once again. From that point, Uruwa were content to camp in their own area and the Verdy players were unable to find space, despite a number of forays into the final third. In the closing minutes, the manager threw on Koki Morita, a player registered for both the youth and senior squads, but the J1 team’s defense would give no further ground before the final whistle.

This was a match with a truly disappointing result – such was the content of the team’s play. Just as with the last two league matches, the maturity of Verdy’s football was on clear display and yet, they were somehow unable to express that growth with full precision on the pitch. That failure made the two clear-cut chances missed in the first half taste especially bitter. Regardless, it’s also true that despite making changes to the entire squad, the quality of play was almost unchanged from that of the league. Now, however, the team have only two days of training before the next official match and quality play alone won’t be enough – a result is required. The match in Kumagaya has given them the confidence to do just that but they will have to prove the point in just three days, as the team travel to Fukuda Denshi Arena.

Manager Miguel Ángel Lotina

Your thoughts on the match?
First off, I would like to congratulate Urawa on their win. I think we played well, overall. Of course, it’s never a good thing to lose, but I’m satisfied with the content of the match. In the first half, we had possession of the ball, attacked well, and concentrated well in defense. In the second half, it was a more even match. Both teams had the ball and showed attacking intent. We couldn’t create the same number of chances as in the first half, but we still played well. We had the chance to use a number of players who hadn’t gotten a full 90 minutes lately and still competed against a strong opponent.

After using mostly substitutes throughout your Emperor’s Cup campaign, how do you feel about the team’s growth?
Well, first off, we wanted to win. The players who didn’t take the pitch during Sunday’s match (against Oita) had practiced well, never letting their attitudes drop during training, and I wanted to show respect for that. It was also an opportunity for them to show that they are capable players. They have regularly shown a wonderful attitude and I am satisfied with their play today.

Please tell us what your strategy was for playing with so many players unused until now.
We always develop a plan to help us play our best, without thinking about things only in terms of attack or defense. Our game plan will always be adjusted in response to our opponents and the players we field. Once we have determined how we want to play, then we decide on the system. We don’t think only about defense, or only about attack, but about how both of those things relate. Then we set the system to accomplish that.

Why do you think there was such a great discrepancy between how many chances were created in the first half and second half?
I think there are many elements. One is that we were tired. Many of the players hadn’t played a full 90 minutes, recently. There’s also the fact that our opponents analyzed their performance in the first half and decided to increase their pressure, defensively.

How will playing so well against a team like Urawa Reds affect your future plans for the league?
For the next match, the players who took the pitch today will need some time to recover, so I think it will be difficult for them to play from the start. Of course, I still have to consider what our game plan will be, so things may change, but in general, I think the players who took part in the last league match will likely play again. I don’t think tiredness will have an effect on the next match. In mental terms, I think having so many players who haven’t appeared in the league play well in a match like this and train well regularly will definitely be a plus for the team. It’s also a big relief for us staff members. It shows us that the players who have not had regular time still possess an understanding of what we’re trying to do and are capable of playing when called upon.

The subs played well today, but do you think they can be a catalyst for the final round of league games?
We must continue with one set of training methods, while also competing in matches. We create a menu from among those methods based on how we want to play. What that means is that not only does the condition of the players who appear in matches improve but that all the players, through training, gain an understanding of how we play as a team. That understanding is comprehensive, covering how to respond to every situation in attack, defense, and switching between the two. Okay, everyone, my interpreter seems to have grown a bit tired, so let’s end here and call it a day (laugh).

DF 4Yuki Kagawa

Your thoughts on the match?
This was my first match for Verdy, so I was worried about how it would turn out. However, I had made up my mind to not hold back, so I was going at full bore from the first half on.

So how was it to put on the green uniform for the first time?
Tokyo Verdy is a club with a lot of history and on the path to J1. I’m very happy to be a part of that.

What did the manager tell you to be most aware of as you took the pitch?
I still haven’t been with the club for very long, so the first thing was to just get adjusted to what we do here. He also told me to take advantage of my own individual strengths, namely making overlapping runs or using my left foot. I think I did that, to some degree, especially in the first half.

This must have been a tough environment to play your first competitive match in a while.
It was my first match in a while, so I’m a bit relieved that I was able to run as hard as I did. With more match time, I think my physical condition will only improve, so that was a positive.

Has it been difficult to adjust to Verdy’s style of play?
I had watched Verdy’s style of passing play as an opponent and I, myself, am familiar with passing football, so I was able to adjust faster than I thought. In terms of combining with the others, I had a bit of trouble since it was my first match, but I think I can improve in that area with more communication.

MF 20Shion Inoue

Your thoughts on the match?
When the final whistle sounded, I couldn’t believe it. It was a very hard result to take. With that said, we accomplished a lot of what we set out to do. It was only in the finer points, precision in front of goal, strength in one v ones, that I felt they were a little better. I hope that we can work on overcoming them in those areas in the future.

You seemed to be doing well in the physical matchups and defense during the first half, though.
We concentrate on defense a lot in practice and I think that showed today.

How do you feel about your play, overall?
My work rate decreased a lot in the second half and I regret that I wasn’t able to continue at that pace for the full 90 minutes. I think my failure to do that was the reason I was substituted.

The team played with two holding midfielders today. What were you conscious of in doing that?
As a team, we wanted to have a lot of the ball today. I concentrated on not drifting too far forward and supporting the team from the back. Part of that was being aware of the threat from the opposition on the counter and we wanted to move the ball without pushing too far up. In that sense, I think I performed my role.

DF 19Mitsuru Nagata

Your thoughts on the match?
The fact that we had a chance to win, but in the end allowed them to get the victory, just shows that we were lacking. I think they were just that little better than us.

Urawa were playing with a near full-strength lineup and yet you still gave them a good fight. Does this give you confidence?
If I don’t make an appeal in matches like these, the manager won’t see fit to use me in the future. We had a lot of young players make appearances today and personally, I felt like they all worked very hard. I’m sure some of them came away with the feeling that they could compete against the Reds.

You played against your old team today. Do you think you made some enemies of your old friends?
Shinzo (Koroki) was as calm as ever in front of goal. I thought he was going to take the shot himself, but he changed his mind and played the ball back across goal. I think his ability to make the right decision in that short amount of time is really impressive.

MF 27Hideo Hashimoto

Your thoughts on the match?
They were playing consecutive matches, so I had the feeling they were conserving their energy. They were trying to compete based on the difference in quality alone, so we were able to retain possession of the ball. In doing so, we were able to create clear opportunities, but we just couldn’t score. The second half started the same way, but we grew tired and as a result, we began making mistakes. Once that happened, they used their quality to score from a single chance. After scoring, they began to relax and were content to sit in front of goal. They knew the way we play and so it became difficult for us to break them down.

Your efforts in defense really stood out.
It wasn’t that I was playing well, but more that the forwards, Alan and Ryohei Hayashi, worked even harder in defense than usual. I ‘m sure that playing against their central midfielders, especially a player as skilled as Yosuke Kashiwagi, was not easy. In order to control the match, he will want to move closer to our position in midfield, but I think we made it hard for him. In that sense, I think the forward players did an effective job of defending from the front. Shion (Inoue) also did a good job of putting pressure on them. I think that’s what enabled us to win the ball so often in the first half. They weren’t able to adjust to that and so, in the second half, they changed their style a bit. I wanted to receive the ball in a bit more forward position, but they changed the way they put pressure on us and I couldn’t receive passes in good areas. This forced us to pass the ball from deeper positions.

You managed to play well with a squad of players who haven’t had regular match time.
A big part of that is that the manager and other coaches gave us very clear instructions. I think we were able to express what we have shared as a team. It’s not like they were going with the strategy of a Yokozuna sumo wrestler, and simply absorbing all our pressure to show how strong they are, but it is true that their strategy enabled us to show our best characteristics. That became more difficult at the end of the second half, so I think the next step for us is to to respond with adjustments of our own. In particular, we should have taken advantage of Douglas’s strengths more once he entered the match. We tried to allow him to hold up the ball, but the timing of everyone’s initial pass was off. I think that comes down to the fact that earlier in the second half, a lot of the balls we played to Alan and Ryohei Hayashi were intercepted and we became hesitant about making that pass.

It was a tough match but do you think it was one you could have won?
The result is all that matters. If we talk about ifs, then yes, there is a chance that we could have won, but I think the other side was also prepared for the possibility of a draw or extra time. The ability to get a goal is the difference in that sort of match. Even though we missed many of our chances in the first half, I do believe that we could have scored if we continued creating opportunities in the second half. However, I think we had very few clear chances after half time.

Was it difficult for the Verdy squad to deal with their switching of the play from side to side?
In the second half, they began playing the ball wide to Iwanami’s side more and it ended up stretching our shape wider than we would have liked. It became more difficult for us to cover for each other. In the end, it was a cross from Iwanami to Koroki that once again pulled us wide and we weren’t able to close the space quickly enough. We thought that Koroki was going to shoot, but then he decided to play the ball back across goal and once again, we couldn’t react quickly enough to close the space. That’s what led to us conceding the goal. I don’t think it was any one person’s fault, but more that when we were spread out, each of us needed to made revisions individually. We just weren’t up to the task.

Do you feel like you played into your opponents’ strategy?
Not really. If that were the case, I don’t think we would have been able to create as many clear chances as we did. In that sense, I think we were truly in control of the match, but we just weren’t able to deal with the gap in quality.

MF 36Koki Morita

What instructions were you given upon entering the match?
I was told to make sure I got on the ball a lot. Other than that, there weren’t many instructions.

This was your first match with the first team. How did it feel to be out on the pitch?
I wasn’t as nervous as I thought would be. When I got on the ball, I felt confident that I could play.

I imagine you didn’t think you would make an appearance in such a difficult match.
I had been watching from the sidelines, so I was okay. I had a vision for how I could get involved in creating a goal or other aspects.

Did you have any trouble adjusting to the tactics of the first team?
I hadn’t had much involvement with the first team, but with the few chances there were, I had participated in meetings and made an effort to learn.

How did you envision playing if you did get the chance?
If I played, I thought it would be at holding midfielder. I envisioned getting on the ball a lot and creating chances by threading passes. I wanted to play it forward and then maybe gain the chance to express my qualities by dribbling or putting in a shot. I didn’t have much time, but even so, I don’t feel I got on the ball as much as I needed to.

Expectations are growing now for you to make your official league debut.
Right now, I’m the captain of the youth team, so I have to concentrate on winning league and cup matches as a member of that team. In doing so, I hope to have chances to work with the first team again.

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