The starting lineup was the same as the previous week, while on the substitute’s bench, Leandro returned from injury and Lee Yong Jick was back from his stint with the Korean national team. In addition, Tatsuya Anzai also made the squad.

 

It was Verdy who captured the rhythm after the kickoff. Building patiently from the back, they maintained compact spacing together with a high line that enabled them to retrieve the second ball and push their opponents back. Kofu, on the other hand, aimed to hit on the counter-attack via the powerful runs of Utaka. After several matches in which they dominated play in the opposition area but could not bypass the last line of defense, Verdy were a different team on this day. In the 8^th minute, Naoya Kondo played a ball into space on the left side that was retrieved and controlled by Junki Koike. Koike evaded the press of the defender with a single touch and then switched the ball to his opposite foot, enabling him to run directly at goal. The Verdy forward then drilled a low pass that traveled across the box and was met by the run of Paraiba, who scored with his first touch. After the opener, Kofu began to push back by working the ball through their target man, Utaka.  In the 10^th minute, Utaka received a cross unmarked but Wakasa was able to make the block, just as he was about to shoot. In the 12^th minute, a cross from the left was once again met by Utaka with an unmarked header. The ball looked on track to reach the right corner of the net, but Kamifukumoto reacted quickly with a desperate lunge to bat it away, achieving a super save. Once the Verdy defense managed to put a lid on the explosive Utaka, the team would once again find good opportunities on the attack.  In the 15^th minute, Koike played the ball to Paraiba in the final third and the latter’s killer ball was deflected by the defense, only for the clearance to fall to Kajikawa. For a brief moment, the opposition failed to react. Klebinho motioned as if he would make a run to the outside and Koki Morita positioned himself perfectly in the space between defenders, ready to receive the ball. These movements would in turn grant Kajikawa time on the ball and the Verdy midfielder dummied a pass behind the back line and then shifted his motion to fire a curling mid-range shot that pierced the top right corner of the net.

 

Even with a two-goal lead, Verdy did not abandon their attacking style and continued to pin Kofu in their own half, moving the ball across the full width of the pitch as they searched for an opening. After Verdy failed to locate any gaps for a long period, Kofu began creating their own chances through set pieces and attacks in the wide areas. In the 27^th minute, Utaka pushed onto a loose ball that fell in the box, after a corner kick from the left, but his effort cannoned off the crossbar. Utaka took another swing moments later, but Kamifukumoto threw himself at the ball and saw it come off his face for the save. Kofu once again pounced on the rebound and this time the ball deflected off a diving Verdy defender and hit the bar again before finally going out of play. In the 44^th minute, a sharp cross from the left would once again find the head of Utaka, but he hit the bar for the third time and Verdy escaped without conceding.

 

In the previous week’s match again Ryukyu, Verdy finished the first half with a three-goal lead but then struggled after the break, only reenergizing after conceding a goal. The manager addressed that matter at half time and aimed to send the team onto the pitch with renewed focus. However, they would once again endure a difficult restart as a header off the bar from a corner kick and other chances threatened their goal. In the 54^th minute, Allano broke free and attempted to chip a shot over Kamifukumoto but the ball went just wide of the post. As the half progressed, Verdy spent more time with numbers at the back and trying to create chances on the counter. When the match was over, the manager would rue the fact that they only developed play on the break, rather than maintaining their overall attack. There were few attempts by the team to slow the play after winning the ball and push their opponents back, as they had in the first half. It’s also true, however, that after Leandro’s insertion midway through the period, Verdy’s Brazilian trio were extremely effective on the break and provided a potent threat to the opposition. In the 74^th minute, Leandro served as the target man and played the ball into space for the running Paraiba on the right. The latter’s final ball crossed the face of goal and Leandro played it through, allowing Klebinho to pounce for a powerful effort that was kept out by an excellent save from the goalkeeper. In the final minutes, Kofu began throwing more numbers forward in attack. Down by two goals, their pressure increased and forced Verdy to spend more time in their own area. In the 80^th minute, Verdy were pinned in the penalty area and a shot squeezed through the defenders and found the right corner of the net to cut the lead to a single goal. With Kofu now throwing everything into attack, Verdy inserted Tomohiro Taira and switched to a back three. Further warnings would come, such as a mid-range shot by Utaka that came after he beat three defenders in midfield, but this effort would go just over the bar.

 

During additional time, Kofu relied on early crosses in front of goal, while Verdy gathered every man around Kamifukumoto to repel the danger and protect their lead until the final whistle.

 

Though the final score was close, Verdy still managed to open the defense according to plan in the first half, defend their lead in the second, and secure a vital win against an opponent high up the table. Though the progress may not be dramatic, there is no doubt that the team’s commitment to their style is producing results. There are now only five matches left. Even with their two-match winning streak, Verdy are no farther nor closer to qualifying for playoff contention. The players have no choice but to believe the points will arrive and take each match as it comes. No matter what happens, of course, the team will remain committed to dominating their opponents and playing their brand of football.

Your thoughts on the match?
The first half went according to plan or at least, we were able to accomplish what we had prepared to do. I do think our strategy was on target. However, the second half was the opposite and there were periods where many things did not go well. That’s something we have to do a better job of next time and we will work on it in training. In addition, although I say it every match, we are grateful for the support we received from the fans.

In the second half, it seemed as if the players were too focused on contra-attacking (a method similar to counter attacks).
That’s definitely true. It was something that I felt was difficult to convey from the bench. I think the players were, in fact, attacking the areas of the pitch that our opponents left open, but Kofu were also pushing far forward to try to make up for the two-goal deficit. When they did so, they left only their two center backs at the rear and that meant that any contra-attacks would be effective. Because of that, however, I regret how that ended up becoming the entire focus of our play. In order to pursue our ideals more, I would like to see more players emerge who can read what’s happening on the pitch and that needs to happen quickly. We need someone who can tell everyone to stop rushing things and slow things down after gaining possession, so that we can push them back. I myself would be happier if more players would read the flow of the game in that way. There have to be more than one or two players making those decisions if we want the whole team to understand the need to retain possession and resume pinning them back. When that happens, we will play better football.

What do you think is the reason that they were able to push you back so deeply in the wide areas?
On a basic level, in those moments when either team is poised to win possession and control the game, if we can be the ones to take the initiative, we can pin their wingbacks deep and force them into a back five. However, the opposition were playing to equalize after going two goals down and their wingbacks were taking very high positions. So, while on some levels it was unavoidable, they were able to use the full 68-meter width of the pitch and create a five-man front line instead. In response, we switched to a back three and filled the spaces in the wide areas with our side attackers. When either side can dominate the play, it comes down to whether we can force them into a back five or whether they can stretch us on both sides. That is the ebb and flow of football. On the other hand, when we do win the ball, there is plenty of space behind the defense, which brings us back to the original question. Contra-attacking will be effective but the match is likely to evolve into an end to end game. It’s at that point where we have to learn to control the pace more. If we can keep the ball and push their wingbacks deep, they will have fewer opportunities to attack. That’s my philosophy for defense, that we do it by being on the ball.

You suffered a lot of shots on goal, but it must be a positive that your defense was strong enough to avoid conceding.
I’m sure we will face situations like we did today in later matches, but my ideal vision is that we cut down on that happening. Our first step is to keep the ball more, but it’s also good if we can grow strong enough to defend when the match grows end to end. In terms of positives, when we switched to a back three, we had more height and that enabled us to clear their crosses. However, I still want us to avoid falling into those situations to begin with. Our goal is to prevent the opposition from playing their game, so that we mean we have to be on the ball. We will continue working on that, but yes, I am glad that we held strong in defense today.