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MATCH

2019 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE 39th Sec - Avispa Fukuoka vs Tokyo Verdy

Match Report

With only four matches remaining in this year’s campaign, Verdy’s hopes of making the J1 promotional playoffs came to an end with last week’s defeat to Yokohama FC. Even so, their battle does not end here. The task now for the players is to make as much progress as possible in developing the style they’ve adopted since the appointment of Hideki Nagai as manager. In doing so, they also hope to achieve victories that will give them confidence going into next season. The remaining four matches will thus be spent in pursuit of quality and results.

 

There were several changes to the squad on this day. After returning from injury and taking the pitch in the second half last week, Yuhei Sato was chosen to start today in the libero position, while Leandro slotted in at the front as the free man.

 

Except for a series of mistakes in the opening minutes that saw their opponents put pressure on goal, the match progressed largely as predicted by the scouting reports, with Verdy moving the ball patiently and Avispa Fukuoka retreating into a defensive block, conceding Verdy the initiative. Knowing that a win would put them in good position to avoid relegation, Fukuoka had chosen to play it safe. On the other hand, Verdy had plenty of the ball but could not build moves in the tight spaces left at their disposal, enduring opportunities on the counter after losing the ball. In the 9th minute, the opposition forced a fine save from Kamifukumoto with a midrange shot near the penalty area and the goalkeeper would be called into action again in the 20th, as he bailed the team out of a dangerous counter attack by snuffing out a point-blank shot on goal. Once Verdy had adjusted enough to stifle the counter, they then looked to demonstrate their skill by breaking down their opponents, but cold water would be thrown on those efforts after an opposition set piece. It was the 25th minute and a corner kick from the right side was met at the far post and dispatched into the left corner. Verdy responded in the 42nd minute when play in the wide areas enabled a cross from Ryota Kajikawa that was met by Leandro, but the latter’s effort went wide of the post. The first half thus ended with Verdy down a goal.

 

Hoping to push back, the players would generate a good change early in the second half. After Klebinho had a shot on goal obstructed, he switched his stance and played a cross into the box, where Junki Koike darted forward and connected with a volley. However, his shot floated over the crossbar. With Verdy now throwing every man forward, they would lose focus once again. In the 56th minute, the players allowed Fukuoka to break forward down the right and Matsuda turned in a point-blank cross to extended the opposition lead. Now down two goals, Verdy would again raise their attack another gear and though they created more efforts on goal than the first half, they were still unable to produce effective chances that would enable them to score. In the 73rd minute, substitute Hiroyuki Kawano fired a powerful shot after a one-two with Klebinho and in the 75th minute, a one-two between Leandro and Kajikawa led to an unmarked shot at the near post, right in front of the goal keeper. Neither shot would find the net, however. In the 80th minute, Klebinho showed skill in a tight space as he tried to create room for multiple shots, but in each instance, his efforts were blocked by the determined Fukuoka defense.

 

From that point, the team retained possession, but were unable to further stretch their opponents and the final whistle soon came. In the end, Verdy were unable to overcome their opponents’ pragmatic style and went down to defeat.

 

Such a frustrating result cannot go overlooked. The job of the Verdy players is to impose their style and open paths to goal, no matter how their opponents choose to defend. To build that strength, they have no choice but to continue training hard and build on the time that remains over the final three matches.

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Post-match comments

Manager Hideki Nagai

Your thoughts on the match?
Avispa played exactly as our scouting report described. They defended with a 5-4 block, as we expected, but we were unable to draw them out with intelligent play, or do the other things we wanted for the full 90 minutes and that was the primary reason for the loss. In terms of their opportunities from counter attacks or set pieces, we prepared with due caution, but it seems we still have work to do in those areas. However, I believe the fact that we were able to push them back, retain possession, and control the flow of the play is a sign of progress. Still, the objective of football is to score goals and I’m afraid the reality is that right now, we struggle to find the final ball or continue doing all the things we have to do while observing our opponents. We have three matches left and I will work with the players to continue making improvements and build on the foundation we’ve instilled. To all the supporters who traveled to Fukuoka, I wish we had given you a more entertaining, exciting match to see and I am very sorry that did not happen. In terms of “observing the opponent”, the players did not appear able to accomplish the task. What extra elements do you think are necessary? It means thinking about which areas of the opposition’s formation we need to draw out. Once we pull them forward, we then have to aim for the right spot and put numbers there. Both individually and throughout the team, I do not think we are achieving that right now.

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Post-match comments

MF 16Koki Morita

You had plenty of the ball, but you were unable to create opportunities to apply the finish.
They were content to do little more than defend and hit us on the counter. As we had the ball and got near their goal, our touches let us down and we made poor passes. If we don’t improve our precision in front of goal, I don’t think we will score more than we do now. I also felt that we weren’t on the same page about where we should try to break them down.

Still, it seemed like you were trying to responsibility on the pitch.
To play Coach Nagai’s football, doing things like winning the ball back after losing possession and covering for your teammates has to become second nature. It’s something we have to do every match. Right now, we go through periods where that doesn’t happen and so I tried to be the one to remind everyone and prevent that. I want to maintain my competitive spirit in every match.

In the first half, your passes forward looked like they might lead to opportunities.
They had a five-man back line and of the three center backs in the middle, I noticed that one would always come out to close me down. During training, I had practied playing first-time passes to Leandro in those situations and while I was only able to do that once in today’s match, it is something that we were aiming to do.

In both the first and second halves, you had a moment where you made a run behind the defense but couldn’t the pass. What was it you wanted to do, there?
In the first half, it came down to a technical mistake with my touch. In the second half, I was tired and I felt a cram coming on. Stamina is something that I have to work on. I have to play the full 90 minutes without showing a sign of tiredness and ensure that I do not lose hold of my technique before the final whistle.

You played football with this style at the youth level.
It’s a similar style, in both good and bad ways. There were many matches at the youth level, as well, where we pushed our opponents back, gave up goals on the counter or from set pieces, and were then unable to break down the defense during the remaining minutes. However, that applies to teams all over the world. No matter how strong the team, there is always the potential of getting hit on the counter when you push your opponents back. It is important that we don’t allow them to do that, but right now, I think we have to improve the quality with which we play our current style and get everyone on the same page. Once we do that, I think we can develop more combinations or moments of individual skill that will enable us to score. In terms of stopping the counter or not giving up set pieces, those are also things that we need to work together as a team to accomplish.

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