日本瓦斯株式会社
株式会社ミロク情報サービス
株式会社H&K
ATHLETA
ゼビオグループ

MATCH

2020 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE 37th Sec - FC Ryukyu vs Tokyo Verdy

Match Report

In their last fixture, Verdy took the lead against Avispa Fukuoka, a team competing for promotion, but settled for a draw after giving up an unfortunate equalizer. On this day, they traveled to Okinawa as they sought to win the entirety of their remaining matches and build momentum for another season under manager Hideki Nagai.

https://verdy.s3.ap-northeast-1.amazonaws.com/image/game/31915_1200x675_5fc346f932dd2.jpg

In the early minutes, Verdy allowed the opposition a clear chance off a cross from the right, but afterward, the players began to retain possession and push their opponents back, and win the second ball, allowing them to mount a sustained attack. In the 4th minute, Koki Morita exploited a gap between defenders to collect a pass and fire a fierce shot that tested the goalkeeper. In the 14th minute, Morita again picked up on a diagonal pass from Rihito Yamamoto and launched a powerful mid-range effort that was once again well-saved by the goalkeeper. It was moments later that the match would turn on its head. In the 17th minute, Verdy were stretched wide on the right and the defense were caught ball watching as a pass was played behind the back line and turned in at the right post by an unmarked attacker for the opening goal. After conceding, Verdy resumed possession and continued to stretch the defense as they looked to put pressure on goal. In the 29th minute, the players connected a series of ten or more passes before entering the penalty area, where Yamamoto attempted a first-time shot off a shallow cross. However, he was unable to cleanly make contact with the ball. Once again, Verdy would resume possession and pin their opponents in their own half, but in the 39th minute, their back line was breached and the ball tapped home from the left to extend the opposition lead. Finally, in the first minute of additional time in the first half, Hanato would call for the ball at the post and play it down for Joel Chima Fujita, whose shot cannoned off the left post. Verdy thus failed to pull a goal back before half time.

 

During the break, the manager gave a harsh evaluation of the team’s defense and outlined scenarios by which they could turn the match around. He also substituted both front central midfielders as play resumed. The players began the half with renewed defensive intensity and tried to be more decisive in attack as they pushed forward, but they were unable to get the ball into effective areas of the final third. Even so, Ryoya Yamashita and Haruya Ide combined well in the wide areas to threaten the goal, showing that potential still remained for a Verdy comeback. In the 62nd minute, however, the team would concede a series of chances off of consecutive corner kicks. The first of these would produce a good save from Matheus but the second would be propelled into the net in dramatic fashion for a third goal. Immediately afterward, Klebinho and Koike were brought on and the two players would create advantages in the wide areas that enabled them to play dangerous crosses into the box, but none of them led to a clear chance. On the other end, in the 86th minute, a pass cut through the final third, leading to another stunning shot and a fourth goal. Despite falling behind by an even bigger lead, the Verdy players continued to search for a goal of their own until the final whistle. However, they were unable to correct the slight errors that afflicted their attack and the match ended with no further changes.

 

With this loss, Verdy’s chances of attaining a position in the top two and earning promotion finally came to an end. With five matches now remaining, it is up to the players what they will express and what impressions they will leave. The 2021 season will also feature limits on the number of teams that can vie for promotion, meaning that the competition will remain fierce. The preparations Verdy will undergo to survive that challenge have already begun.

Read more

Post-match comments

Manager Hideki Nagai

Your thoughts on the match?
While it was an away match, we had experienced an extremely disappointing result against our opponents in the season’s first leg, so the players were highly motivated to get revenge and achieve the maturity of our football, which we had outlined as our objective for the season’s remaining matches. However, our play at the start of the match, while not exactly a case of over-confidence, was not fully focused and I regret that very much. In addition, there were periods when we did not display our strong point as a team, which is our ability to move the ball with care and push our way up the pitch. I feel that we have to re-examine our fundamentals once again, make adjustments, and obtain a better understanding of the areas in which we are superior to our opponents. Even so, we still executed several good moves. But in terms of finishing those moves, the necessity of which is obvious in football, Ryukyu was able to do that while we were not. The game was a clear reflection of that gap between the two teams. We don’t have long to prepare, but we will now have to shift focus and there is no time for complacency or hanging our heads. I have to keep the players looking forward and we must make progress together. More than anything else, I regret that we were unable to display good football or deliver victory to the fans and supporters who traveled all the way to Okinawa with the expectation of seeing us get a win. We have another home game coming up, so I will work with the team so that we can perform better at that time.

You moved Yamamoto to the libero position after the first half water break. Can you tell us what your aim was?
In terms of our ability to recycle the possession, I felt that things would go smoother with Rihito (Yamamoto) in that position. Judging from the speed of his decision making and precision, it seemed like Joel (Fujita) was tired today and I switched him with Rihito. From the midpoint of the second half, it seemed like the entire team began making fewer runs. The packed schedule is no excuse. Of course, there were will be moments during the match when we question the referee’s decisions, but that’s exactly why we need to be firm about playing our football. We couldn’t do that today. The loss of movement during the second half is one of the major regrets we have from the match.

Can you tell us why you initially played Yamamoto and Morita at front central midfield?
I had felt that the battle for possession would be key today and that having Rihito and Koki Morita, two players who have a very good understanding between them, play together would give us the best chance of winning that battle. For whatever reason, it didn’t work well. I don’t think that it went poorly in every aspect, but those three players in midfield can do a better job of establishing spacing between them. That’s something we will reflect on.

You seemed to struggle with the wind in the first half.
If you ask whether it made things easier or more difficult for us, I would say more difficult. However, that’s part of football and something that we have to take into account when trying to establish dominance of the game. I hope that we can learn to be more intelligent in the way we compete from now on.

Do you think you could have taken more shots in the first half?
We did well to break them down, but still have to improve at the end of moves. If I were to take a positive outlook, I would say that we still have a lot of potential for growth.

Read more

Post-match comments

MF24Yuta Narawa

Your thoughts on the match?
We conceded at a point when the match could have gone either way and then gave up another goal at the end of the first half. It felt like one of those games where we sank ourselves.

How did you feel at the start of the match?
Each team had a big chance in the early minutes and while I felt that we could do better, we were still executing our football to some degree. I think the opening goal had a negative impact throughout the squad.

Did you struggle with the wind?
We wanted to play with the wind at our back in the first half and chose that side of the pitch. I don’t think the wind was that big a source of stress.

You seemed to be a step behind your opponents for most of the match.
I wish we could have held onto possession for longer periods. On the other hand, when the opposition had the ball, we did not observe our usual rules of play. It reminded me that unless we do the obvious things expected of us in an obvious manner, the match will be difficult for us.

Midway through the second half, the entire team seemed to begin making fewer runs.
Objectively speaking, it’s always going to be hard to overcome an 0-3 lead. our desire was to get a goal as soon as possible in the second half, while the score was still 0-2, so I’d be lying if I said we didn’t suffer a shock after conceding in that period. The third goal really hurt us.

Read more

MF11Haruya Ide

What was your outlook on the first half?
Our job is to observe our opponents as we play, whether that’s the way they defend from the front or how they form their defensive block at the back, and we then decide where and how we will attack them or what positions we will take up. Watching from the outside, it seemed to me that in the first half, the players in the middle needed to change their positioning a bit.

What instructions did you receive from the manager when you took the pitch at the beginning of the second half and how do you rate your performance?
We were down 0-2 at the start of the second half and needed to get a goal quickly. We had a clear chance to do so in the 15th minute of the second half and I think we were doing a competent job of stretching our opponents. However, with us being down 0-2 and 0-3, we seemed to be under more pressure than usual to get forward as we tried to finish our moves. If we had scored early on things might have been different, but when we failed to do so, the match developed the way it did and all of our actions were about trying to move the ball to the front. That means that we didn’t try to establish our passing rhythm as much as we usually do and tried to force things more. The situation was what it was, so we simply had to put priority on earning goals.

While the lead surely had an impact, do you feel that your opponents didn’t allow you to pull them out of shape as much as other teams do?
When the lead grew to three goals, the opposition no longer had to come forward and rather than try to close us down, they sat back in defense and tried to hit us on the counter. In response, I think we needed to stretch them in the wide areas more, since they wouldn’t try to close us down from the front. However, as I already mentioned, once we were down 0-2 or 0-3, our priority was to earn goals and that meant that rather than move the ball, we needed to get forward and play crosses into the box. Had we not been down by two or three goals and under normal circumstances, I think we would have made the opposition run more. Today, we had to score so it can’t be helped. Regardless of whether the opposition closed us down, we needed to attack in a quick, simple manner.

Read more

Share The Match!

SCHEDULE