2019 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE 21st Sec - Tokyo Verdy vs Yokohama FC

Match Report

Last week, Verdy gained a come from behind win at the death in an away match against FC Gifu. This week, they returned home for the final match of the season’s first leg to face Yokohama FC, a team separated from them in the table by only two points. The starting lineup that took the pitch was mostly unchanged from the previous match, except for the lone striker, where Leandro was chosen to replace Ryohei Hayashi.

The match began with Verdy retaining possession and playing at their preferred tempo. The Verdy players had the advantage in the physical battle and moved the ball well in opposition territory. However, as they tried to spread the play into the wide areas and create space, the defense was well placed in the positions in front of the wings and regularly cleared the ball. Junki Koike and Takuya Nagata were unable to make runs behind and there were few opportunities to set up the finish as the opposition closed down the space. In defense, Verdy paid close attention to the key man duo of Ibba and Leandro Domingues, shutting down dangerous chances even when the ball was carried in sight of goal. As the players continued to move the ball in search of an opening, it was their young midfield general who break the deadlock. In the 30^th minute, after receiving a pass from Jin Hanato in the final third, Shion inoue turned away from his marker and faced goal, swinging his right foot for a shot. It was a low effort and as a defender attempted to block the shot, the ball changed course and found the right corner of the net. This opener would prove a major turning point in the match. The Verdy players faced a situation where they needed a clear decision on whether to press the attack or seek balance in defense. Instead, however, they made mistakes in their link-up play and individual technique, leading to easy loss of the ball and problems developing their rhythm. Just before the halftime break, multiple incidents occurred in which Verdy lost the ball in dangerous spots within their own half, giving the opposition full control of the momentum. In the 40^th minute, Matsuura broke down the right side, and pushed into the penalty area, where he played a reverse cross for the unmarked Ibba to place into the back of the net. Though Verdy had plenty of defenders in the box, their marking was indecisive and the opposition drew even at 1-1. Worse, just three minutes later, Leandro Domingues would receive the ball in the final third with Takuya Nagata attempting to close him down. The ball came loose, allowing the Yokohama player to recover and take advantage of the defense’s inability to press further by hitting a curving effort that found the top left corner and gave the opposition the lead.

Verdy had been made to regret a series of easy mistakes and returned from the break hoping for a strong recovery. However, they would once again give up an easy goal. It was the 52^nd minute and after a cross from the right was played into the area, Nagata cleared, only for the ball to come free in front of goal. This time it was Tashiro who pounced, hitting a powerful first time shot that was too strong for the hands of Kamifukumoto and found the net. Now down by two goals, Verdy would restart their engines but just as in the first half, the players had their runs in the wide areas cut off. They also failed to find space in the middle of the park and couldn’t create a muscular attack. Instead, the team made numerous short passes, probing for a breakthrough while the opposition were content not to chase. The ball movement failed to stretch the defense. In the 74^th minute, with Verdy’s play growing more desperate and the match threatening to go stagnant, it was once again Inoue who would give the team a glimpse of hope. After picking up the ball on the left wing, the midfielder ran with the ball through the packed defense and drew markers away to create space. Inoue then hit a through-pass that Nagata was able to run onto. The latter continued his run into the penalty area and played a sharp cross past the face of goal that was met by Koike with a powerful effort that put Verdy back within a single goal. The players did not cool off from there. In the 78^th minute, Verdy cleared a corner kick and started a counter that ended with substitute Ryota Kajikawa running with the ball and hitting a sharp effort that went just wide of the left post. The last big chance of the match came in the 87^th minute when Koike broke through the defense on the right and hit a cross to the far post that was played back first time by the running Nagata and met by Leandro. The Verdy forward made perfect contact, sending the ball past the goal keeper, only for a defender to clear it off the line and keep it out of the net. After that opportunity, Verdy continued to penetrate the opposition half but Yokohama were now totally committed to defense and would not be broken down again, bringing the match to a close at 2-3.

With the loss, Verdy have allowed Yokohama FC to move past them in the table and ended the season’s first leg with a record of seven wins, seven draws, and seven losses. In terms of the play, the entire Verdy squad did not flinch from blaming their own mistakes. One must ask why these simple errors continue to occur. Given that the players have shown the clear ability to unlock defenses and find a goal, they must once again address the problems in their own defense and prepare for the next match. That encounter will be an Emperor’s cup fixture on the tenth, followed by the start of the J2 second leg on the 14^th.

Manager Gary John WHITE

Your thoughts on the match?
Just that we made errors in defense and missed chances in attack. On top of that, I think the number of individual mistakes really stood out. Despite not having many problems in the first half, including in terms of possession, we handed them chances with our own simple mistakes and they had two players who were capable of converting those chances. As a result, we went into half time down 1-2. In the second half, we made changes in our tactics and formation, but they took a difficult shot, and I think the ball may have been a bit slippery, but that put us down by a third goal. After that, the players did their best to push back in attack, but we weren’t able to get a third goal. It’s very frustrating, but I think the thing that disappoints me most is how we didn’t close down the ball holder or use our bodies to try to stop them from getting in a shot.

It seemed like the pace of the match slowed down after you took the lead, initially.
I do we think we slowed things down, but I think it was our mistakes that forced us into doing that.

On the goals you conceded, you were a bit lax in pressuring the ball holder, but was that a problem with individuals or a problem with how the players linked up?
In defense, I felt like we were slow to read the play and react to the opposition’s movements. On top of that, Leandro Domingues is a highly skilled player and I did not want us to give him that much space and time to put in a shot. I think that is a negative aspect of our play that you saw in that moment. With regard to the third goal, we made things easy for them and leading up to it, as well, we weren’t playing with a good rhythm. However, after the third goal, I felt like the players finally woke up or at least switched on. The thing for us is that we can’t do that after we’ve fallen behind. We have to do it the entire 90 minutes and play our brand of football.

How do you feel about how you carried the match after scoring the first goal?
I think each player had problems with their roles. If you make mistakes after scoring a goal, you ‘re just going to hand the other side greater momentum and you’re going to drain whatever of your own momentum you had already built. In terms of their individual judgment, reading of the game, and how they react, the players need to be smarter and do things simpler. We have to play with the same rhythm that we had when we were connecting our passes. I don’t know if it’s overconfidence, but if we keep things simple and continue doing all the things we need to do, I think we can protect our lead in those situations. Today, rather than the pace slowing down, it seemed like we grew overconfident in that way. I think the five minutes after you score a goal is a time when you have to concentrate very hard, but instead, we made mistakes that led to us being put under pressure and soon found ourselves on the back foot. Regardless of whether it was a period in which we needed to attack, we were spending more and more time in defense and I think that the effects of our lack of judgment and quality were major. During the periods when we devoted an entire week of training to defense, we were thorough and able to keep a clean sheet, but once we tried to focus on improving our attack, we seem to forget something and all the basic principles of our defense fall apart. Again and again, we concede goals under those kind of circumstances. We have to find the right balance.

During difficult periods, I would think that players like Shion Inoue need to take on a leadership role.
In terms of being a leader, I think Shion has done an excellent job lately. He’s scored goals in the past two matches and I hope he’s able to ride the wave he’s on and continue growing as a player.

MF 6Shion Inoue

Tell us about your goal.
I wanted to keep it down and while I was a bit lucky in the end, I’m glad that it led to a goal. I had the ball unmarked and had the option to play it wide, but in the end, I decided to shoot.

In the first half, you played well in defense as well as attack.
The entire team was wary of Leandro Domingues and Ibba, but on the second goal they scored, we gave him way too much time and space. Since we gave up three goals, I think the entire team has a lot to reflect on.

On the second goal, you showed individual brilliance by beating several defenders on the dribble and playing a great pass to Nagata.
I think I was able to break them down well. It was a simple move, but I think getting the ball in that position wide is effective and I think Takuya (Nagata) made a good run. That is a pattern that is easy to score from. In training, I had put a lot of work into combining with Leandro, Jin (Hanato), and Yuhei (Sato), but we weren’t able to demonstrate that today. I hope we can do it in the future. I also think that if we can improve on breaking down the defense from wide like we did today, we will score more goals.

You’ve scored in two consecutive matches now and you seem much more committed to claiming goals, lately.
It’s something I started focusing on at the beginning of this year. Although it was from a penalty kick, the goal I got last week has given me confidence and I think that led to the goal I scored today. I hope to maintain that confidence and continue pursuing goals in the future.

After several previous matches in which you conceded multiple goals, you changed your formation to the current one, but why do you think you again gave up multiple goals today?
I think all three goals today could have been prevented. Whether it was the way we conceded possession or other problems, they were many things that were more basic than just defending, This week, we have an Emperor’s cup match as well and little time to prepare, but I hope we can make corrections.

Today’s match was the last of the season’s first leg. How do you feel about the team’s performance so far?
To fulfill our minimum goal of qualifying for the promotional playoff, I think we’ll need more points than we have now and if we don’t raise things up a gear, we’re going to be in trouble. I think we have to play and prepare as if we can’t afford to lose even a single match.

MF 19Junki Koike

Tell us about your goal.
In the second half, we changed our formation so that we had three attackers up front. That enabled us to take higher positions and I was determined to try and get on the end of a cross. The ball from Takuya (Nagata) was a good one.

It seemed like the team slowed their pace after the first goal.
I think we made a lot of mistakes that handed them the momentum. On the first goal we conceded, there were problems with me individually, but I also think that we were wasteful as a team. I just don’t think we played well enough after scoring the opening goal.

Between the time of their third goal and your second, there were many mistakes in attack that enabled them to hit you on the counter.
That was something that continued from the first half on. We handed them the momentum more than once or twice and I think that is something we can improve on, so we need to reflect. Any time you give up three goals in a match, it’s going to get very tough, so we have to work on our defense.

You didn’t seem to close them down hard enough on their mid-range shots.
Like you saw on the second and third goals, there were occasions where we couldn’t close them down in the middle. I have to admit, they were good shots, but it’s something we can change and we have to do it quickly.

It seemed like there was a big difference between your physical presence on the ball in this match and the ones when you kept a clean sheet.
When we have a strong presence in defense and fight for the ball, we don’t give up goals. In today’s match, I think it is true that we were short a step in closing them down or trying to block their efforts at a shot. Whether the fact that we didn’t go when we had to is a tactical problem or a problem with our mindset is an impression that will change between when we’re on the pitch and when we’re looking back, but either way, we have to do something different. Our opponents are professionals, so if we give them that much freedom, they’ll play well. We have to do more to limit their options and pay close attention.

The manager suggested that there is a problem with balance between matches when you emphasize defense in training and those when you emphasize attack.
Individually, I haven’t felt that, but I think we have to think about attack and defense as one and the same. If you only do one and not the other, you can’t play good football and I think there are many things we have to improve in both areas. Even if we play well in one match, we have to continue that way in the next and to become a better team, I and everyone else have to do more.

In attack, you did create chances and get two goals, which indicates some success.
As far as goals go, we’re scoring a minimum amount in every match and it’s something we’re confident about. However, as I said just now, we can’t think about attack and defense as separate things. It’s not the case that when we score goals, we don’t have to worry about giving them up. It’s as simple as defending your own goal and scoring on the other end, but it’s also difficult. We have to work harder if we want to advance.

This was your last match of the season’s first leg. How do you feel about the team’s performance so far?
In terms of not conceding and claiming goals of our own, I think we’ve definitely improved in the last few matches, compared to the beginning of the season when we had problems. However, we couldn’t demonstrate those improvements today. We have to increase the number of matches where we accomplish the things we have to do. If we keep repeating this scenario in which we win one won week and lose in the next, we’re not going to reach the next level. We have to improve in the second half of the season. Consistency is important, so it’s something I hope we can develop.

DF 22Takuya Nagata

How did it feel to go up against your old club?
In terms of imposing our style, I think we played the way we wanted to in the first half, but even if it’s only one chance we gave them, we knew they had the quality and yet we had just one or two seconds when we couldn’t stop them. That’s something we have to reflect on. In the second half, it was an open game and we attacked well for some periods. Regarding the goals we gave up, we had to be more compact in our positioning in those moments.

It seemed like the pace of the game slowed after the first goal.
After we got the first goal, I think we became a bit passive. I think we should have continued to press from the front. Snice they were down a goal, we knew they would put more men forward and we also knew that a lapse in concentration could cost us, but we still seemed to take a breather. I hope we can prevent ourselves from doing that in the future.

You seem to be combining with the other players better in attack, lately.
I’ve gradually gotten on the same page with the others and I’ve been able to show some of my qualities. I was able to cut inside well today and even though they blocked my path, I was able to play the assist to Eiko (Koike), so I hope we can connect that to the next match.

Did your assist play out as you envisioned?
I had seen Eiko (Koike)’s position, but I also saw that a ball to the near post would be deflected by the defender, so I was actually aiming for Mon (Leandro).

At the close of the match, you played directly and were able to create clear opportunities with your crosses. It seemed like you were focused on drilling low, quick crosses.
It was slippery, so I thought low crosses would be more effective than playing them in the air. I tried to drill them with speed, but unfortunately, it didn’t lead to a goal.

On their second goal, you had a difficult time defending against Leandro Domingues.
When I close down, it’s from the outside, but I knew that Leandro could make something happen with a single opportunity and no one else was putting pressure on him, so I went myself. It would have been better if I could have won the ball, but I also thought someone would support me when I left my position. In the end, the back line tried to absorb the pressure. We should have pushed up as a team. We had players present on the back line, but he immediately moved to shoot and someone should have tried to block the effort.

From the midpoint of the match, you played on the left side of a back four for the first time. Was there any difficulty?
It was the first time I had done so since joining Verdy, but I’m capable of playing as a left side back or wing back and it wasn’t that difficult. We were behind at that point, so our focus was up the pitch, but I was still able to track back quickly in defense. There were no problems.

MF 9Yuhei Sato

Your thoughts on the match?
We just didn’t defend well, today. We began the first half well, but after that, we were poor. After we scored the opener, they had more of the ball and we needed to press harder from the front. We had been keeping possession well before we scored, but we couldn’t press when they had the ball. The players at the back were strong on the ball, so we kept our rhythm, but our defense from the front was not successful. In the second half, as well, we needed to press and try to win the ball if we wanted to equalize, but it proved too difficult.

Managing games after you score remains an issue.
The time after you score is actually when you have to concentrate the most, but we let them beat us one on one and allowed ourselves to great broken down. That’s something we need to reflect on. Today marked the end of the first leg, but in J2, I think the second leg is the most important.

Do you feel that the reason for the loss today was less that you didn’t a get third goal and more that you gave up three yourselves?
It was the three goals we conceded. We also allowed them a lot of shots on goal. Individually, I wanted to play near Leandro, but I wasn’t able to receive the ball in the pocket. I think receiving the ball in those areas is the way we want to play, so I hope that we can achieve a better balance next time.

Do you think you need to sustain the kind of play that led to the first goal, today?
That and cutting down on our mistakes. I think we can make the game a bit more tense and by doing that, I think that we will concede fewer goals.

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