The first chess moves of the day came before the opening whistle, as Naoya Kondo was dropped from the back line for the first time since returning from injury and replaced by Lee Yong Jick. In midfield, Kanya Fujimoto made his first start since the second match of the season, slotting in on the right wing. Finally, the lone striker was Jin Hanato, who saved a point for the team in the previous match with his first goal since joining the club.

 

Verdy were the first to grasp hold of the possession. In recent weeks, the players had suffered on the counter after making easy mistakes, but on this day, the entire squad, including the back line, took part in the build up and moved the ball across the full width of the pitch, stretching the defense and creating chances for quick forward balls to the front line. The first chance for the team came in the 10^th minute when Narawa received the ball in a high position on the left side and feigned to run at the defense before laying the ball off to Hanato. After observing that his marker had no intention of closing him down, Hanato turned and fired a mid-range shot on goal. The ball failed to find the target, but it was early evidence that Verdy’s strategy of maintaining possession, looking for chances to play the ball forward and speeding up their attack would create opportunities for the finish. In the 11^th minute, the team found themselves in danger on the counter, but the shot from the opposition went just wide of the goal and they were able to escape. From that point, Verdy were in complete control. The midfielders moved the ball with one and two-touch passing, evading the press and bringing numbers involved to exploit the space. In the 24^th minute, Shion Inoue received a lateral pass from Narawa, after the latter made a direct run at the defense, and the midfielder bypassed the packed center of the pitch with a looped through pass that sat perfectly for Hanato. The forward fired on the volley after a 180 degree turn and though the shot flew over the bar, the team had succeeded in playing to their strengths by moving the ball short and finding pockets of space in midfield from which to strike with perfect timing and slice through the opposition defense like a well-sharpened katana. Verdy also proved effective with their forward press and created further shots on goal by allowing both side backs to get forward. As a result, the team spent more than half of the 45 minutes in the opposition half. This positive cycle would eventually result in a goal. In the 38^th minute, Lee played a mid-range pass from the back line and found Junki Koike in space. After interplay with Hanato and Fujimoto, Koike again received the ball on the wide right and sent it back to Fujimoto in the center. Fujimoto pulled away several markers with his first touch and played a final ball to Narawa as he charged down the wing. Narawa then took a first-time shot was then good enough to find the top right corner of the net. It was a move that saw Verdy make six passes of varying degrees of range, beginning with Lee and involving five different players before finding the net. All in all, the goal captured the true essence of the style Verdy seek to achieve.

 

Even more important for Verdy, however, would be how they approached the second half. Throughout the season, the team had consistently shown different sides of itself on the end of either half and the next 45 minutes would be a test of whether they had overcome their difficulties once and for all.　While they were pushed back by Okayama at the start of the half, Verdy were eventually able to build tempo in their passing and win promising opportunities from set pieces. In the 61^st minute, Yuhei Sato took a free kick from a shallow position on the right and sent the ball to the far side for Lee to head back across goal. Standing in a packed penalty era, Hanato fought to get a touch and set up Wakasa for a jumping volley. However, his shot too was off target. Just minutes later, a major talking point would emerge. It was the 62^nd minute and the opposition were slow to track back after losing the ball, allowing space for Sato to cut through the left side of the defense with a sharp through ball. Koike made the run into space to receive the ball just left of goal and pulled markers away before sending a reverse pass into the box. Fujimoto met the pass with a powerful one-touch effort that was blocked by the hand of a defender, leading to a penalty and a prime opportunity for Verdy to extend their lead. Hanato stepped up to take the kick. He sent the bell toward the right, but the keeper was able to bat it away. Kota Watanabe was then first to react and played the loose ball back across goal where the charging Inoue met it unmarked, only to see his shot go wide. With the chance gone, the opposition would soon equalize from a corner kick in the 75^th minute. Naoto Kamifukumoto appeared to have been obstructed, but the referee ruled otherwise and the goal was allowed to stand. Just as they had two matches previous, Verdy had spurned the chance to extend their lead from the penalty spot and then saw their lead disappear once and for all. At the close of the match, the team seemed to grow nervous over the referee’s decision making and both sides were on the verge of losing concentration as the play developed end to end. However, Verdy were still able to carry the ball in front of goal and create chances for Watanabe and substitute Leandro, among others, to finish. In the end, however, Verdy were unable to reclaim their lead and ended the match with their third straight draw.

 

The lack of result is unescapable. Even so, the way the players seemed to collapse at the final whistle was indicative of the constant aggression they had played with from the opening whistle and the way they had imposed their will on the match. The turning point, as it was against Ryukyu, was perhaps the missed penalty. However, the team had other chances as well. Had any of those opportunities been converted with precision, the match may have unfolded in a completely different way. At the very least, Verdy’s compact shape and coordinated pressing from the front showed clear improvement on this day, preventing them from dropping deep and enduring threats on the counter. It is precisely because the squad is increasingly gelling as a team, in both attack and defense, that they must now satisfy everyone involved with the club by improving their precision and securing wins. It is still too early to hang heads. There is still life in the eyes of the green warriors. From here, they must continue to mature in style and do everything in their power to make what improvements they can.

Your thoughts on the match?
I don’t think it was a positive one for us. We weren’t able to maintain control at the most important point of the match. I am very disappointed in that regard and I think that was the likely turning point. Perhaps it’s a match that is difficult to pass judgment on., but we just weren’t able to defend until the end. However, I do think the players demonstrated today that they have what it takes.

What was the reason for bringing Leandro on at the close of the match?
I wanted to put the game away and so, I made changes to the front line.

By put the game away, do you mean that you wanted to defend for the remainder or that you wanted to try for another goal?
For matches where we’re in control, we’ve gone through scenarios in training where we maintain enough numbers at the back but also put two players on the front line so that everyone has someone ahead of them to pass to when they’re in attack. In doing that, I’ve tried to send the message that we shouldn’t rely too much on defense. However, I think it may have been difficult for the players to judge in the flow of the match.

You gave Fujimoto a start for the first time since the second match of the season. He’s played on the wide right before, but did you give him a different role, today?
I wanted us to score and by placing him on the right, I told him to concentrate on cutting inside with his left foot. Of course, a player’s duties in attack and defense will always be different, so I had to give him the same volume of instructions as others who play on the right. With that said, I know he combines well with Kota Watanabe and I told him to do that as much as possible. To accomplish that, I think he took up positions nearby Watanabe for the most part. On top of that, I know he’s good at making runs into the middle from wide positions so I told him that would give us more chances to move the ball from the outside to the inside.

Why did you drop Kondo, today?
Squad rotation. I believe we have to take particular care of the veteran players who have a lot of matches under their belt. As part of that rotation, I decided to give him a rest. I believe it’s our job to make sure that he is in fresh conditioning for as long as possible. He began the season by missing several matches with injury and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.