2019 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE 7th Sec - Tokyo Verdy vs Mito Hollyhock

Match Report

Last week, Verdy earned a 2-0 victory against upper-table opponents in Kashiwa Reysol. The match marked the beginning of a period of three consecutive matches with only three days of rest between each. The second of those matches saw the players take the pitch at Aji no Moto Field Nishigaoka for the first time this season as they faced unbeaten Mito Hollyhock, another team currently sitting near the top of the J2 table. Despite the short interval between matches, Verdy began with the same line up and shape from the previous week, as well as the same reserves.

In the early minutes, both teams showed intent to battle for the ball and grasp control of the play, but it was Mito who were more effective at switching quickly to the front line after winning the ball and they gradually pinned Verdy back. However, Verdy maintained tight spacing in front of goal and did not allow their opponents to easily break them down in the final third. The first real opportunity for either team came in the 27^th minute when Mito pushed down the right side of the pitch and drilled a sharp cross into the space between the goal keeper and back line. Kurokawa responded quickly and burst into the space in front of goal, getting a touch to the ball before the attempted sliding clearance by Naoya Kondo, but his shot was saved by an agile response from Naoto Kamifukumoto. Following that play, the game reached a stalemate as both teams cancelled each other out repeatedly in midfield. While Verdy struggled to create avenues for attack, they remained determined and at the close of the first half, a move in the wide areas led to an early cross that reached the box before the defense could regroup. Unfortunately, the cross failed to find any teammates and the opportunity passed. When the whistle sounded, Verdy were seeing an increasing amount of time in possession but were unable to express that superiority in the opponents’ final third.

After half time, Verdy took the pitch hoping to address the easy mistakes that had led them to lose the ball and upset their rhythm. In the opening minutes, however, the same mistakes prevented them from retaining possession again. Although the back line was able to move the ball and evade Mito’s energetic front press, the players continued to lose out in midfield, leading to a cycle in which attacks broke down and led to counter attacks for the opposition. The manager attempted to change the flow with substitutions, bringing on Ryota Kajikawa and Nemanja Kojic, both of whom enabled the team to take a more direct approach and increase their forays in front of goal. In the end, however, Verdy never presented a potent thread and the match drew to a close.

Verdy began the day hoping to maintain the mood from their victory in the previous match, but against an upper-table opponent who pushed them back, their mistakes prevented them from controlling the pace over the 90 minutes. The chance to dwell on those mistakes and make improvements will come in only three days. Once again, it will be against an upper-table opponent, Montedio Yamagata, and a difficult match on the road. It is for that reason that the players must switch gears and prepare as best they can with the limited time available.

Manager Gary John WHITE

Your thoughts on the match?
In the first half, we lost the ball a bit too easily and made too many easy mistakes. In the second half, the players began to connect their passes and I think everyone worked hard. That hard work came in the midst of a very difficult schedule. If we had made something of the chances we had, I think we could have gotten a better result.

Can you tell us the motivation behind the two substitutions you made in the second half, as well as the reason that you didn’t use a third substitution as the match was losing steam?
Hanato was a bit tired. I also thought it would be better to have a player of size up front. I told Kojic to take up position closer to Ryohei (Hayashi). For Yuhei (Sato), too, I thought he looked a bit tired and I expected that the opposition were going to try to use long throw-ins as a weapon and that’s one of the reasons I went with Kaji(kawa). Kaji is good in attack and defense, so I hoped he would add some variety to the attack. On top of that, Sato is who usually takes our set pieces and I knew that Kaji was also capable of doing that. The game was really up for grabs at that point and I was worried about whether a third sub could adjust to the intensity with only five or six minutes left. That’s why I didn’t use my last substitution.

The players have shown a strong commitment to playing your style.
More importantly, I think I’ve been able to see the character of each individual and in terms of the way they continued playing until the last minute, I think you’re right. Part of it is because we’ve had two straight matches against wonderful opponents, but I think the players have performed well. The best thing, though, is that all 27 players in the squad – actually 26, because we still have one injury – but every player has showed strong desire to get onto the pitch.

MF 6Shion Inoue

Your thoughts on the match?
Their stamina dropped in the second half and they weren’t able to put the same kind of pressure on us, but when teams do press us from the front like they did in the first half, we end up simply booting the ball away and make things difficult for ourselves by conceding possession. If we retain the ball a bit more, I think we can cause more problems for the opposition.

Even after connecting your passes, you weren’t able to create chances in front of goal.
I think the whole team struggled to build good moves in attack, today. Even when we had control of the play, it was difficult to imagine us scoring. For the viewer, too, I’m sure there didn’t seem to be many times when we were bearing down on goal and it was probably a rather boring match to watch.

As a holding midfielder, you had to manage risks, but as the player who initiates the attack, you sometimes needed to break the shape in order to create opportunities for your teammates to pass it to you. Was there some conflict between those duties?
In evaluating our priorities as the match wound down, it felt like not conceding was more important than trying to get a goal. Even so, I wanted us to push to score. I think it’s important that we each show individual judgment and occasionally put more numbers up front, even if it means taking on more risks.

Despite the busy schedule, today ended up being a pretty exhausting match.
The game was more open in the second half and both teams were playing end to end, trying to hit the other on the counter. We should have been more intelligent and tried to calm things down or at least increase the time we spent in attack.

You were often sandwiched by their defense. What improvements do you think you can make?
When we’re playing at that speed and I get the ball under that kind of pressure, we need to improve our spacing. At the very least, getting support from the other players is important. I think we were too spread out today and when that happens, I need to raise my voice and communicate that to the others.

Your opponents played very well, defensively, in the first half. Is it your opinion that to be a top team, you need to find ways to break down that kind of defense with better passing or try a different approach?
Even if we can’t make many passes, there’s still a lot of work we can do on not losing the ball or on the way we defend. I’d like us to develop a way to play where we don’t give the ball up right away after winning it and make things a little easier for ourselves.。

So, the way you lost the ball or were forced to keep more numbers than necessary in defense also impacted your attack?
We allow our opponents to control the pace and make things tougher overall. We have to be more efficient and use our heads a bit more.

MF 19Junki Koike

Your thoughts on the match?
As expected for a team in their table position, they were very organized as a unit and understood thoroughly what they needed to do. To some degree, we knew that they would come at us from the front and I think they made a very good start to the match, but it speaks well of us that we didn’t concede.

You struggled a lot during the buildup.
I felt that they were aiming to cut out passes to feet that were made to our side backs and we discussed that we needed to boot the ball forward at those times, but we were never able to develop from there. Whether it’s the amount of time we spent moving the ball or the time we had to get forward, we weren’t creating enough opportunities for a shot. As an attacking player, I wanted us to do that more.

What did you discuss at half time?
We made too many easy mistakes in the first half and the first order of business was to cut down on those. The other thing was that we needed to be aggressive.

You seemed to make a good start to the half.
I think we created a fair number of chances and if we had converted those, I think the match would have developed differently.

You seemed fairly tired at the end of the match.
I was exhausted at the end. There were several times when the goalkeeper caught our crosses and started the counter, so it was tough. However, I knew that would be important in a match like this, so I remained conscious of it.

You had to expend more energy in defense than attack, today, didn’t you?
That had happened a number of times since the first half. We found ourselves unable to build good opportunities from the wide areas. For myself, as well, if I’m going to express my strengths as a player, that’s something we need to do more of.

The game opened up in the second half and you absorbed the brunt of that. I believe you had other tactics to choose from, in terms of approach?
If we can get out on the counter right away, that’s always a good thing. With that said, if we had done it better, I think we had the potential to win 1-0 today. Retaining the ball and recycling possession is one way to attack and trying to hit them with a single punch on the counter is another. We have to be better at both.

Both teams struggled when they were on the ball, so I imagine you felt there was more potential on the counter, today?
I think we were both concentrating a lot on defense. For Verdy, this is the second straight match where we’ve kept a clean sheet and I think that shows we’ve made progress in the way we defend. Mito are unbeaten this season, almost never concede, and have played consistently well, so I think there was an effort by both teams to cancel one another out.

Collectively, the team has shown more determination to be tough in defense over the past two matches.
Everyone has the sense that we have to begin from our defensive duties and then build from there. We’re all concentrating more on shifting from side to side and tracking back.

You only have three days rest before your next match against Yamagata.
When you have consecutive matches, your table position can change quickly. Looking at our record over this streak, we have one win and one draw, so I think our result in the last match will affect the impression we’re left with. We’ll be traveling for the next match, so I think we need to focus and bring back a point at least.

MF 9Yuhei Sato

Your thoughts on the match?
They were growing tired in the second half and we started seeing more gaps open up in their shape, which gave me the feeling that we would create chances. My self and Nara(wa) were combining well. However, the opposition were also aware that we look to build from that side of the pitch, so they marked us man to man. I felt like their timing was starting to slow, so I was a bit frustrated to get taken off. If I had been on the pitch a little longer, I feel like I could have made a difference. With that said, we have a packed schedule and I think the manager is looking out for us in a lot of different ways.

What was your perspective on the match after being substituted?
Kaji(kawa) is similar to me in style, so I thought he could help the team get up the pitch, but I don’t think he got enough service from the two holding midfielders. When I was on the pitch, as well, I was getting the ball from Taira and Nara(wa) most of the time, so the only times we could get forward were on the counter after we won the ball in a good position. I think that may be one of the reasons that our attack has lacked momentum, lately.

It seemed like you didn’t have many opportunities to receive the ball between the lines.
It was tough, today. Actually, it’s been the case for the last few matches that I can’t get the ball, even when I wait between the lines. The manager has told me not to drop too far back to receive the ball, but if I don’t drop back, it means the team can’t carry the ball forward. It’s a bit of a problem we have right now.

MF 38Ryota Kajikawa

What instructions did you receive upon entering the match?
I was told to assist Narawa in defense and try to receive the ball between the lines.

What was your perspective on the play, watching from the bench?
I thought that with a bit more movement on our part, the space between the lines would open up. For that reason, when I came on, I was determined to run at them more with the ball. I knew that if I could carry off a marker by dribbling, that would free up someone else, so I wanted to demand the ball and play on the move. However, it turned out that everyone was a bit more tired than I thought. In the end, I decided to concentrate on dribbling, myself.

You played on the left wing.
Shion (Inoue) and I were in communication so that when one of us dropped back, the other would go forward, so there wasn’t a lot of stress. Our opponents were tired, as well, so we had a clear idea of how we would pull away markers. If I had been on their end, I probably would have prioritized limiting our passing lanes and given up on trying to stop us from running with the ball, so I knew that if I made like I was going to pass, they would respond to that and back off. In that way, I tried to provide the team with some energy.

In defense, you seemed to help stabilize the team with your flexible play.
Last year or the year before, I would get an earful from the manager if I let Narawa get isolated one v one, but this time I tried to support Narawa by letting him concentrate on dealing with runs up and down and ensuring that we didn’t let any seams open up in our lines. In addition, I also tried to make sure that they didn’t break the line between myself and Shion (Inoue). We were in constant communication and I think we handled it well.

Collectively, the team has shown more determination to be tough in defense over the past two matches.
That’s something the players have talked about amongst ourselves and compared to the beginning of the season, I think it’s become clearer what each player needs to do. With that said, they’re also things that should be a minimum for a professional, so it’s a little troubling that we weren’t doing those things before now and all we can say is that we’ve become able to meet that bare minimum, so I think it’s important that we continue to build from there.

You only have three days rest before the match against Yamagata.
Everyone has heard that they will have a chance to play and while there were no changes to the starting lineup today, everyone is hungry to get their opportunity. Without that sort of competition, the regular starters will also start to grow complacent, so I hope that those who haven’t gotten play time so far can give everyone a kick in the butt to spur us on.

Share The Match!

SCHEDULE