The squad that took the pitch featured Koki Morita at midfield in his first ever league start, while Ryohei Hayashi made his first appearance in two matches on the front line, paired with Jin Hanato. Yuhei Sato, who recently had been playing mainly as one of two shadow strikers, was today placed in the number ten role, where he would be asked to disrupt the opponent’s marking with dynamic movement. Lastly, Kota Watanabe returned to the bench for the first time since completing his trip with the Japanese National Team.

While Verdy allowed the opposition to penetrate into their area in the opening minutes, they soon discovered that their opponents were content not to press hard from the front and began retaining possession, spending long periods in attack. While much of the buildup went through the back line, with frequent changing of the play from side to side, the holding midfield duo of Shion Inoue and Koki Morita were able at times to move the ball in high positions, pushing the defense back with forward passes and ensuring that Verdy were not merely holding on to the ball with no attacking intent. In spite of that, the Verdy players seemed almost too intent on trying to break down their opponents, passing up shots from mid-range as they focused on short passing moves. In doing so, the team was lacking in precision with their combinations and lost the ball, leading to danger on the counter. In the 22nd minute, the Verdy defense failed to find regain position during a counter attack and a shot came in that was kept out by a fine save from Kamifukumoto. The more Verdy tried to put numbers forward in attack, the more their first defense against the counter was delayed and the line found itself sagging backwards. However, the defenders committed physically when it mattered and were able to block most attempts at a finish, stifling any clear chances. On the other hand, Verdy also failed to create decisive chances and ended the first half without a shot on goal.

Given that Verdy had successfully developed an attacking rhythm in the first half, the objective now was to raise the focus on finishing and producing more shots on goal in the second. However, they would soon concede the momentum to the opposition, who came out with renewed spirit after a fairly passive first half. In the 49^th minute, a Kanazawa attacker made a run with the ball down the Verdy left and rounded his marker, continuing in on goal, where he played a cross that was deflected by Kamifukumoto, only to be turned into the net by an attacker in the box. Although the team hoped to push back quickly, the opposition continued with their new approach, pressing from the front and inviting Verdy to commit a greater number of mistakes. With every mistaken pass, Verdy were hit on the short counter and the ball was played behind their defense, allowing the opposition to repeatedly threaten the goal. It was the 74^th minute when Verdy finally struck back. After a series of first-time passes opened up space on the left side, Takuya Nagata ran at the defense and played a cross in front of goal. Inside the box, Hayashi had snuck into the defender’s blind spot and met the ball with a header that found the net, earning Verdy an equalizer that began from wide play. In the 79^th minute, Verdy would once again hand the opposition a decisive chance and it took a goal line clearance from Tatsuya Nagata to keep the ball from the net. Perhaps because of tiredness from their dominance of the ball in the first half, Verdy’s legs seemed to grow heavy at the close of the match. They were unable to deal with Kanazawa’s forward runs and several dangerous moments occurred. All opportunities, however, were missed by the opposition and Verdy earned a 1-1 draw despite absorbing 13 shots.

Against an opponent who decided to gamble on the second half, Verdy’s positive attacking rhythm in the first half actually proved a major miscalculation, as it sapped them of stamina and allowed the opposition to gain momentum. Either way, the team desperately needed a goal during those moments in the first half when they passed with a quick tempo and put the ball in position for a goal. Of course, moving the ball with rhythm is Verdy’s style, but to put the ball in its final resting place, the net, will require great calculation on the team’s part. Next week, Verdy return home for two consecutive matches at Ajinomoto Stadium. To combine style with results, preparation begins now.

Your thoughts on the match?
I think we played very well in the first half. In particular, Yuhei Sato took up good positions in front of their center backs and our plan was to create confusion over which one of them would mark him. I think that worked well. In the second half, we played well in the opening minutes, but after they scored, they were dominant for long periods. As the home team, their energy levels picked up and we were forced to defend more, but finally, we put in a good cross and Ryohei (Hayashi) finished, so I’m satisfied that we were able to close the match at 1-1. There are always going to be matches that we dominate the play and that was true for parts of today, but I think we still have issues with scoring in those moments. In football, all the possession in the world means nothing if you don’t score.

Speaking of possession without scoring, is the way the players continue moving the ball without taking shots a case where your instructions have been ignored?
It is something that I’ve spoken to the players about, but when they’re on the pitch, they often choose to make an extra pass when they have the opportunity to shoot or play a cross when they could run at the defense. The need to be more aggressive in those situations is an issue we’ve had since the beginning of the season and I feel like I need to speak to them about it again. Maybe it’s just the Verdy club culture, but everyone is focused on maintaining possession and we need more of those aggressive moments at the end of moves that will lead to a goal. The transfer window is open now and I’ll be looking for players who can be more aggressive and look to shoot when they have the ball.

Do you think the over-reliance on possession is a problem with Japanese football in general or is it something specific to Verdy?
I don’think you can say it applies to Japanese football as a whole. When I watch training sessions with the Verdy academy, I see a lot of young players who can pass the ball with incredible technique and quality. With that said, the nature of football is that it’s all meaningless without a goal and I hope that we can convince the younger generation of players to focus more on putting shots in. If we had Harry Kane on our squad, I’m sure he would score a ton of goals. Not that he’s coming any time soon (laugh).

Morita made his first league start today. Was the way he upset the opposition’s man marking with subtle movement something you asked for?
I’m satisfied with Koki’s performance and particularly in the first half, I thought he displayed his ability to make direct passes or split the defense with a killer ball. He only had three days rest after playing in the Emperor’s Cup and there were many moments in the second half when he seemed to have heavy legs, so that’s why I subbed him out. The one area where he still has to improve is seeing what’s happening around him. I’m always telling him to get his head up at least once every two seconds and that applies to Rihito (Yamamoto) as well. If they can learn to use their peripheral vision to see the whole pitch and sense where other players are, I think they can make the most of their skill set.