2020 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE 40th Sec - Tokyo Verdy vs V-Varen Nagasaki

Match Report

Over their past four matches, Verdy have found themselves growing ever distant from victory. With only three games left in the season and the club needing as much financial support as it can get after the difficult circumstances brought on by COVID-19, the players were hungry for a victory that would reward all those who support the team.

Verdy’s opponents were third place V-Varen Nagasaki, a team still competing for promotion who could not afford to lose themselves. For their own part, Verdy would field a squad that included rookie Seiya Baba, making the occasion his official pro debut.

In the first three minutes after the opening whistle, Koki Morita had a chance on the counter from mid-range, but after that opportunity, the Verdy players were unable to win the second ball and found themselves pushed back by Nagasaki for an extended period. Still, the back line buckled down to repel the attack and provide support for Baba. When they did win the ball, the team began their usual patient buildup play. In the 12^th minute, as Verdy gradually began pushing their opponents back, Joel Chima Fujita intercepted the ball in a high position. Fujita immediately laid it off to the middle and set up Mizuki Arai for a blistering mid-range effort that the keeper did well to save. In the 15^th minute, Verdy were on the receiving end as Luan dribbled through the final third and beat his marker to take a shot on goal. However, Matheus read the play and was able to make the stop. The match continued as a competitive affair from that point until a sudden turn of events. In the 28^th minute, a corner kick was played from the right and met point blank in front of goal by the head of Kakuda. Verdy now hoped to fight back, but in the 32^nd minute, a Nagasaki attacker entered the penalty area. Although the defense initially blocked his attempt on goal, the second ball was retrieved by Otake, who tapped home to extend the lead. Desperate to claim a goal before half time, the players continued to attack and in the 47^th minute, Jin Hanato read an opposition pass, intercepting the ball and carrying it on goal. As he searched for an angle to shoot, however, he was closed down by a defender. The Verdy man attempted to throw off the marker with a feint, but his shot was blocked and the ball drifted wide of goal just before the whistle that ended the first half.

Looking to change the momentum, the manager made multiple moves at half time. Haruya Ide was brought on for Yuhei Sato and Ryoya Yamashita for Mizuki Arai. In addition, Hanato picked up an injury just after the half time whistle and Shion Inoue was brought on in his place. In the 64^th minute, Takayuki Fukumura was taken off for Yuta Narawa and in the 82^nd, Morita was replaced by Rihito Yamamoto. Despite Verdy strengthening their attack with these changes, Nagasaki were now content to retreat in front of goal and defend their two-goal lead. As a result, Verdy were unable to generate a clear chance on goal. Their biggest opportunity to do so would come in the 91^st minute. After persistently moving the ball in the wide areas, the players finally managed to up the tempo of their play and Junki Koike played a through pass into the box, only for the charging Inoue to have his shot blocked by the defense. As the boll rolled loose, Masashi Wakasa also responded and played a pass to Haruya Ide, who was unmarked to the left of goal. Ide managed to beat the goalkeeper to the ball and take a shot with his first touch, but he couldn’t keep it down and sent it flying over the bar. In the end, Verdy were unable to score before the full-time whistle.

With conditions difficult both on and off the pitch, the club is facing questions about what it can express to those who support the team. The final week of two matches will thus be an important one leading up to the 2021 season.

Manager Hideki Nagai

Your thoughts on the match?
Nagasaki was playing to keep their promotion hopes alive, so we expected them to be highly motivated and planned with that in mind. In the first half, we tried to put pressure on them from the front, including on goal kicks, and I think the players did an excellent job. I do think they executed the basic elements of our plan, but what we really have to regret is the fact that we gave up a goal off a single set piece. To take it one step further, despite how clear we have made our intent to play attacking football, the players tend to hang their heads after giving up even one goal. As we look toward next season, that’s an area where we need to grow stronger. For the second goal, I don’t want to say that we self-destructed or were naïve, but the players obviously cannot stop playing until the whistle blows, so that’s another aspect that’s extremely frustrating. Other than that, I thought we played a decent game, but in terms of the way we use possession and what we want to do, our priority is that everything should be carried out while thinking about what we need to do score. Especially in the first half, we didn’t do that well enough and I will work with the players to address that before the next match. In the second half, we made substitutions and I think the players did a good job of showing greater intent to get a goal, but I will need to use the short time we have available to raise our quality at the end of moves and in the moments when we really have to put it in the net. Each individual has to raise their level of awareness. In contrast, Nagasaki did a brilliant job of managing the game and that’s another area of regret. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the fans and supporters who come to every home game and cheer us on to the end while praying for a Verdy victory. I am sorry that we weren’t able to deliver that to them. Just as the banner says, next season has already started for us and to become a team that can get the win more in competitive matches, we must continue working in preparation for the remaining away games. I and the players will work as hard as we can to be able repay the fans for their faith.

Baba made his pro debut today. How did you rate his play?
Since it was his J-league debut, I’m sure he was somewhat nervous, but I think he did the basics of what we expect from him. I hope Seiya (Baba) will look at this as a positive and work to perform even better next time.

Arai made his first start in 11 matches. Can you tell us why you named him from the opening today?
We knew that their right winger (Maikuma) was one of the main strengths of their attack、When we also consider that he was converted to that position from forward, it stands to reason that he will try to run with the ball in high positions as much as possible, so we wanted to try and build numerical advantages on our left side in response. That’s why Arai was used there. Of course, it also has to do with the positive attitude he has always displayed in training and his recent performances. But tactically, that was the objective.

In the second half, you took off Sato and Arai for Ide and Yamashita. Can you tell us what your aim was there?
The second half changes were based on the fact that we didn’t build the advantages I had sought on the left side. In addition, our biggest problem was that although we had possession of the ball, we weren’t able to aim behind their defense. That was another reason I made changes on the left side.

DF35Seiya Baba

How did it feel to make your pro debut?
I played with the intent to contribute to a victory for the team, but I am frustrated with my performance and give myself a zero. It was only yesterday that I heard I would be starting, but I had the feeling that would be the case.

Your thoughts on the match?
If I had done a better job of serving as the starting point for the attack and played more effective balls behind the defense, I think we would have had more chances to attack in the first half.

In the lead up to the first goal, did you intend to clear the ball from your position?
Yes. I knew where they were going to play it and if I had done a better job of putting a body on the attacker, I think I could have made it more difficult for him to take the header.

How did it feel to be on the pitch in a professional match?
The physical battle for the ball was much different from what I’ve experienced at the youth level and I realized that I would need a stronger focus as I played. I ended up being partly to blame for both goals we conceded and to make sure that doesn’t happen, I needed to be more physical on the first goal and close down the ball holder before they took the shot on the second. There are many things I have to do better. The team has practice again tomorrow, so I hope to make the most of each day.

After suffering a severe injury last October, how did it feel to be back on the pitch in an official match again?
After I was injured in October, the trainers and doctors took good truly care of me. My family also provided a lot of support. I played today with true gratitude for the staff and my teammates. It was frustrating to watch so many of my former youth teammates make their debut while I was undergoing rehabilitation, but I am here today because I was able to keep from giving up mentally.

MF14Koki Morita

Your thoughts on the match?
We gave up two goals midway through the first half and after that, they retreated into a 4-4-2 defensive block that made it difficult for us in attack.

Is it your impression that things didn’t go well on the left side in the first half?
We always begin the match with a plan, but when our opponents do something different from expected, I think our response hasn’t been good enough. Mizuki (Arai) was stretching things wide and our plan was to play it to him there, but it just didn’t work. I think I should have done a better job of using the spaces left open by their side half.

Did you change your attacking approach between the first and second halves?
In the second half, they had their two-goal lead and they stayed in a defensive block rather than come forward and attack us, so we weren’t able to get into the final third. We should have tried to pull them out of position more and then aimed for space on the opposite side.

You were aggressive about attacking them at the posts, but other than the final bit of quality, is there anything else you need to get goals from those moves?
It’s not only about the final bit of quality. There’s also the opposition’s positions, the status of the match, and our precision. If we put the ball in the wrong place, then all the precision in the world won’t matter, so we have to correctly judge the circumstances.

MF11Haruya Ide

Your thoughts on the match?
The opposition got a goal in the first half from a set piece and as far as the second goal is concerned, I think we just lost focus. We had some clear chances in the second half and I don’t think they had that many of their own. However, in terms of going head to head against a team at the top of the table like them, I think their physical play on the ball was better than ours throughout the entire match.

Did you think the match was even up until the first half water break?
In terms of how we moved the ball, we were able to cross the halfway line, but in terms of how we attacked from there, there were things we accomplished and things we didn’t. Compared to some of our other recent matches, I don’t think that our recycling of the possession was that bad. It’s true that after grabbing their first and second goals, the opposition formed their 4-4-2 block and didn’t need to come forward, but it’s still an issue for us that we couldn’t get a goal.

If the team had scored from your opportunity at the end of the first half, do you think the game would have developed differently?
I haven’t watched that play in close up yet, but I think that’s true and also applies to the chance I had. They were simply better in front of goal than we were. The two goals they scored from were the only chances they had in the first half and I don’t think they had many chances in the second either. I think their finishing ability is the reason they are near the top of the table.

You came on after the half time break when the team were already down two goals. What instructions did you receive from the manager?
The score was 0-2 and our intention was to get three goals in the second half. But they had a two-goal lead and they formed their defensive block, which made it almost like a half court game. In terms of how we could pull them out of position and get the ball in front of goal, I think we accomplished what we set out to do a number of times. It’s those moments that we have a chance to impact the result and I don’t think we carried the ball into those positions enough in the first half. I think the difference for us was not doing that in the first half and then our finishing.

As you were chasing the score in the second half, did the accident with Hanato have an impact on your plan?
Of course, Jin (Hanato) is an important presence on our team and his position is the most important for the way we play. So, in that sense, our most influential player left the pitch suddenly at the start of the second half. However, as Coach Nagai often says, I think that one of our strengths is that we can play our style of football no matter who is on the pitch. There will be slight changes to our shape depending on personnel, but Shion (Inoue) was able to create chances for us after he took Hanato’s place and we all tried to fill spaces so that Shion could play with freedom.

In the second half, your opponents completely retreated and you were able to move the ball between the lines. Is it your impression that you struggled to break them down from there?
Not only today, but in the games against Machida and Chiba as well, teams have played against us with the same 4-4-2 formation and defensive shape. We have yet to win against that and need to make adjustments. In the discussions with the other players, we seem to agree that we’re not taking up the positions and spacing that are best for us. Personally, I feel that when we attack the 4-4-2 and try to get goals, all of us are getting too far forward and our positions are overlapping a lot. That’s what I’ve felt personally and in talking to the other players, they concur as well. What concerns me is that we’ve been getting in each other’s way, rather than anything the opposition has been doing.

Individually, you had a big chance at the end of the match.
Waka(sa) played me a good ball and I knew that I was unmarked, so I should have scored. Not scoring there is indicative of what I lack at the moment. I have to take responsibility.

Since the possibility of promotion has disappeared and you’ve been reexamining your football, do you feel that the team’s play has seemed slightly constrained recently?
Losing the chance for promotion is not a factor. In our regular meetings, we talk about the need to get wins as a reward for all the people who support Verdy and all the players want to get a win for the team as well. In the midst of that, our problems during match play have been our spacing and slight mistakes in the positions we take up. The result of those is that we’re not where we want each other to be. I think that we can correct those small mistakes in positioning and spacing on the pitch. That’s actually one of our strengths, so in the next match against Matsumoto and in the final home game against Mito, we want the result to show the fans and supporters the kind of progress they can expect from us next season.

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