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MATCH
Match Report
Last week, Verdy ended their losing streak and defeated one of the league’s top teams, playing away against Ventforet Kofu. This week they faced second place Omiya Ardjia at home and with only three matches left before the mid-season break, the timing was right to build momentum for a rise up the table. There were no major changes to the starting lineup, with the exception of Takuya Nagata, who was called in to take the place of the injured Yuta Narawa at left wide midfielder, his first start since joining the club.
The match began with Verdy in control. The forwards, second line of attack, holding midfielders, and the wide midfielders all combined well to maintain a compact shape and press from the front. Omiya, on the other hand, chose largely to play it safe, sending long balls toward Juanma, who was marked tightly by the back three of Lee Yong Jick, Masashi Wakasa, and Tomohiro Taira, effectively shutting out the Omiya ace from entering the match. Verdy’s tight spacing in defense also enabled them to break quickly on the counter, creating a positive cycle that saw them attack the Omiya goal with force. The first chance came in the 7th minute, when Junki Koike ran at the defense down the right. After shedding his marker, Koike then drilled a low cross that was cleared ineffectively at the low post and fell for Nagata on the far side to fire first time. However, his shot sailed over the bar. In the 11th minute, a counter attack saw Yuhei Sato received the ball from Ryohei Hayashi and hammer a thunderous right-footed effort. The shot was on target to find the right corner of the net but was ultimately kept out by a fine save from the goal keeper. From that point, Omiya gradually began to emerge from their shell and increase their time on the ball. However, Verdy continued to defend with tight spacing that kept the opposition from penetrating deep into the final third. In the 22nd minute, Hayashi rounded the keeper and found himself free on goal. With little angle for a shot and no teammates in support, the Verdy forward swung with full power, only to see his shot blocked by a desperate challenge from a retreating defender. In the 33rd minute, an early cross from Taira sailed over the head of Hayashi and found its way to Ryota Kajikawa, who was standing unmarked. Kajikawa took a touch to compose himself and then tried a placed shot that ultimately went wide left of the post.
Although Verdy had failed to score, they hoped to maintain their positive momentum in the second half and came out of the locker room with largely the same game plan.
However, the opposition showed why they are one of the league’s top teams by making immediate adjustments to counter Verdy’s style. The team continued to press effectively from the front, but Omiya put more players forward to support Juanma and began securing the ball high up the pitch. When Verdy did have possession, they moved the ball quickly and used the full width of the pitch, hoping to build an attacking rhythm. However, compared to the first half, there were more mistakes that led to losing possession and the players gradually found themselves being hit on the counter more and more. In the 62nd minute, a counter attack ended with the opposition playing a cross from the right wing that was met unmarked, but Naoto Kamifukumoto showed sharp reflexes to dive and catch the ball at his midsection. Verdy were under threat again in the 78th and 83rd minutes, but were lucky that the opposition lacked precision in their finishing. Ultimately, the match ended with Omiya having perhaps the better of the play in the second half, but neither team able to get a goal, leaving the result a scoreless draw.
Regardless of Omiya’s position in the table, Verdy were obligated to play with full force today and try to earn three points at home. At the same time, the team proved a point by imposing their style against a strong opponent. The result could be seen as either picking up a point against one of the league’s top rivals or a missed opportunity. Either way, the fact that Verdy have now gone two straight matches against teams in the upper third of the table without giving up a goal is a tremendous step forward. There are now only two matches left in the season’s first leg. Hopefully these two matches against strong opponents has enabled the team to further evolve their style and given the impetus necessary to make a move after the mid-season break.
Post-match comments
Manager Gary John WHITE
Your thoughts on the match?
I think both teams competed well. I also think our players showed the will to fight and the desire to win. With that said, I think both teams lacked quality at the end of their moves. Still, in terms of competitiveness, I think it was a good match. Tactically, Omiya started with a 3-5-2 and the strategy we’ve developed over the past week was effective. Up to and including the moment when they switched to a 3-4-3, everything went as planned. We expected they might change formations at some point. In that sense, I felt we played with good rhythm in the first half.
Toward s the end of the second half, the opposition were able to out-pass your defense more. What do you think was the cause of that?
One thing is that they had a giant player in Šimović who stands at over two meters tall. Once he was on the pitch, they would immediately look for him after winning possession and play the long ball forward. When you have that big a difference in height, it’s always going to be hard to win the aerial battle. So yes, they did have more of the ball as the match wore on, but we didn’t see a dramatic reduction in our own chances and I don’t think the momentum was that much against us.
Over the last two matches, the defense has looked much more stable, but today, the attack couldn’t quite produce any clear chances. Tell us your thoughts on the team’s attack.
Omiya have a lot of players who are skilled individually and overall, they are one of the deepest squads in all of J2. Against that sort of opponent, no matter how few chances we are able to create, we have to score when we have the opportunity. In addition, we were also missing Kota Watanabe, who always adds an accent to our attack, and I think that was another contributing element. Shion (Inoue) was excellent today and I think that is a positive sign for the team. I think his ability to play direct passes, defend, and split the defense with through balls is a major plus for us.
In attack, do you feel the lack of opportunities to finish and the small number of forays into the penalty are a concern?
As you said, we didn’t get into the penalty area enough. However, I think one major reason for that was lack of judgment at the end of moves. I think we have to improve our decision making in terms of whether to shoot, combine with teammates, or try to play a final ball.
MF 6Shion Inoue
As in the match against Kofu, you were impressive in defense, today. How do you rate your own performance?
Everyone was getting forward in attack. Even from holding midfield, Kanya (Fujimoto) or Rihito (Yamamoto) were making a lot of runs, so I tried to sit back by myself and guard against the counter. My role is to be the first defender whenever we lose the ball, so I stayed mindful of that.
In attack, you made a lot of good direct passes and carried the team up the pitch.
Before the match began, I told myself to not only pass from side to side or play it back to the defense, but also try to get my head up and put in tentative balls that would keep the defense on their toes. With that said, whenever I do make that sort of pass, if the other players don’t get involved or I don’t receive a return pass, it’s not going to bother the opposition that much, so I thought we needed to be just a bit more elaborate.
The team struggled to break them down in the attacking third, today.
Whenever I played a direct ball and then got forward myself, they didn’t seem to be marking me very tightly and I felt like I could receive the ball facing forward, so I should have called for the return pass or tried to do more in forward positions, or at least in positions a bit higher up the pitch. The match ended without a goal and if we don’t win games like these, we won’t compete for promotion or reach the upper third of the table. I want us to become a team that can win this sort of match.
What else do you think could have been done to invigorate the attack in the second half?
I think we could have kept the ball a bit more. Today, whenever they put pressure on us, we had a tendency to boot it to forward and try to get behind them. I think we should have kept possession more. To do that, myself and the other holding midfielder need to call for the ball more and make sure that we’re the ones building the game, rather than the center backs.
Why do you think you were pushed back at the end of the second half?
We were losing the ball in bad places or not finishing off our attacks well from the first half on. If we do that, it’s natural that the momentum will shift to the other side. We have to think more about how to end our moves and correct any simple mistakes.
GK 21Naoto Kamifukumoto
You made a big save at the end of the second half.
I just got lucky that the shot was made pretty close to my body. There was also a defender, I think Taira, who put a body on the ball holder at the last minute. They still got the shot off, but he had done enough to cut off the angle for the shot so that it came close to me and I was able to save. It wasn’t just me, but the result of the entire team concentrating individually on what they had to do.
Two clean sheets in a row ought to make you confident.
We’ve got the basics down now and thanks to the system change, the three center backs combine well to make sure someone is always tight to their players who have a back to goal and are looking for a pass. That’s been important. We can’t let things be too easy for our opponents in those areas and teams like the one we played today have players like Juanma who they’re looking to build through. I think the fact that we prevented him from impacting the match was a major factor. We won the ball a lot and even when we didn’t, we put ourselves in positions to do so. It’s because we’re defending in a way that prevents counter attacks and cuts off their momentum that even when the back line is struggling, we’re able to keep our opponents from getting into the final third.
DF 2Masashi Wakasa
Your thoughts on the match?
I think the back three and the forward players combined well in defense. So, on that end of the pitch, I think everyone performed well.
You were flexible enough to respond when they made changes to their system or personnel.
We just stayed in communication with one another and adjusted our response when they changed their approach. That was a positive.
You did an impressive job of keeping their key man, Juanma, out of the match.
We’re really organized as a back three right now, in terms of who challenges and who covers, so I think was good.
On one hand, you’ve kept two straight clean sheets and on the other, you’ve lacked momentum in attack.
Myself included, we made a lot of mistakes once we were past the halfway line. I think we need to take better care of the ball, cut down on our mistakes, and give ourselves a greater number of opportunities to attack.
You gave some defensive instructions to Sato in the first half.
I wanted him to close down the center of the pitch. They had too much space in the middle and players were getting isolated, so I told him to make sure he slides into those areas. It’s import that we communicate like that and that’s something we’re doing well, right now.
DF 17Lee Yong Jick
Did Omiya play largely as you expected?
I think Barada’s absence was big for us. They didn’t have a player on the front line who could make a difference on the front line and that made things simple. Just like last week, we built an early advantage with our build up play and then they changed their formation, which made things a mirror game. That was actually easier for us.
You worked hard in your matchup against Juanma.
He was too strong for me and there were also some questionable calls by the officials, so I wasn’t always able to close him down. In that sense, I think I could have done more.
How did you deal with Šimović when he came on?
It actually made their approach clearer. He would try to chest it or head it down and then the other players would try to get on the second ball. In response, I told Rihito (Yamamoto) or Waka(sa) to stick with the player who went after the ball. When Mikado came on, it again made things easier for us, as we knew that he was the one to keep an eye on. Like last week, the players at the front did a good job of chasing. I think that tired them somewhat, which likely had an effect on their finishing and I was sorry about that. However, it made it easier for us to execute our defensive plan.
In the first half, you did a good job of dividing your approach between moving the ball around their press and playing long balls behind.
Right now, everyone is taking up good positions and getting between the lines of the opposition formation. That makes it easier for me judge whether to play it behind or carry the ball forward myself. With that said, I think we needed to raise it up a gear in the second half if we wanted to get a goal and individually, we made some mistakes. Myself included, we lost the ball in bad areas and put ourselves in danger on the counter. That’s something we need to improve. If we play with the same rhythm for the entire match, the opposition will eventually prevent us from getting near the goal, so we need to be a bit more elaborate in our build up.
When they did break on the counter, you did a good job of slowing them down.
I watched my surroundings and kept an eye on where the opposition players were. I also had a good view of how our players were retreating, so rather than try to chase the ball myself, I tried to push them into areas that would be easy for us to defend. We aimed to win the ball when they took a heavy touch, so in that sense, we were playing with poise and time to think.
Two clean sheets in a row ought to give you confidence.
Yes, but right now, we’re defending with all eleven men and putting too much of our energy into that. As a defender, I regret to see our players having difficulty in attack. We wanted to win today and make a move up the table, so I’m a bit frustrated with the draw. Honestly, I think this was a match we could have won. I’m sure Omiya feels the same way, but I think we wanted it more.
You ‘ll definitely want three points against Gifu, now.
Gifu had a rough loss today, so I’m sure they’ll give us a hard time. They’ll be desperate for a win and if we get over-confident because we’ve played well against opponents high in the table, we’ll easily be undone, so I up we can refocus. We had a lot of issues emerge in the match today, too, so we have to talk to each other after the weekend and prepare to face Gifu.
MF 20Rihito Yamamoto
What was the game plan when you came on as a substitute?
The match was still even when I came on, so my role was to create chances and help build the tempo. However, it was also important that we not concede. We had to speed up our response to the second ball, so we could compete with their forwards after entry passes or goal kicks.
Watching from the bench, what did you think about their strategy?
I felt the tempo of the match was high. But I also felt that there was room to work when we got the ball wide, so I felt that we could take our time more. Myself, Kaji(kawa) and Kanya (Fujimoto), especially, could have taken our time to combine and break them down.
Has anything changed for you with four matches under your belt?
Compared to my first match against Nagasaki, I’ definitely a lot calmer. I’m coming on as a substitute a lot, but even when the tempo of the match is high, I’m able to come on and impose my own pace, so I feel that is a sign of growth on my part.
There were a lot of turnovers when you came on, which must have made things difficult.
My teammates lost the ball several times when I would try to get forward, but coming on with only 15 minutes left, I felt that was my role and continued doing it.
Coming on as a substitute, it must be difficult to be on the same pace with your teammates, considering you are fresher than them, physically.
These days, I’m coming on as a substitute with the A team in training a lot, so during those training sessions, I’m communicating with Yuhei (Sato), Kanya (Fujimoto), and Shion (Inoue) a lot and we’re starting to get on the same page.