2018 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE 29th Sec - Tokyo Verdy vs Oita Trinita

Match Report

Last week, Verdy were sunk in an away match by two goals from set pieces. As they prepared to fight back this week, the team were unsettled by the transfer of Shinnosuke Hatanaka to Yokohama F. Marinos, while Kouta Watanabe was also away joining the U-21 Japan National Team. It was not only one-way traffic, however, as Yuki Kagawa joined the team from V-Varen Nagasaki and immediately took a spot on the bench for this upper table matchup with Oita Trinita.

For the lineup, it was Yuhei Sato who was brought in at inside-half to replace Watanabe, while Tomohiro Taira took Hatanaka’s position to start the match. Jin Izumisawa was also brought into the starting lineup, after coming off the bench for the last several matches, and slotted in next to Douglas on the front line.

The match itself was neither a tight encounter contested in midfield, nor a one-sided affair, nor even an end to end match with dramatic shifts in momentum. Instead, both teams had their share of the play for significant periods and the three points could easily have fallen to either side. Initially, it was Oita who were in control. Happy to throw numbers forward in attack, they were aggressive in putting pressure on the Verdy goal. Verdy attempted to push back but they were unable to secure the ball on the front line when they did win it and often found themselves vulnerable on the counter attack. Before long, the players had little choice but to retreat and defend in their own area. Though they were pinned back, they maintained a good defensive shape and were able to confine the opponents’ attacks to the wide areas, effectively limiting the danger. In the 29th minute, a mid-range shot from the opposition was repelled off the post in a near-miss, but other than that, the defense refused to concede any clear chances. As the first half began to wane, Verdy finally began connecting their passes. In the 40th minute, Izumisawa threatened the back line on the dribble, breaking into the penalty area for a 1 v 1 with the goalkeeper, but his effort went off the keeper’s leg and wide of the post. Verdy refused to let up, however, and in the 44th minute, Douglas broke down the left side and played a through pass into the penalty area. Ryota Kajikawa latched onto the pass on the left-hand side and swung his left foot for a shot, but once again the effort was deflected by the goalkeeper and flew over the bar.

During the break、the coaching staff issued detailed instructions and the Verdy players would respond by controlling possession and dictating the play inside the opponent’s half. In the 56th minute, the players managed a series of short passes in a narrow area, allowing Yuta Narawa to break free on the left and play a pass to Izumisawa, who had plunged through the gaps in the opposition defense. After a turn with the ball, Izumisawa swung his right foot for a blistering mid-range shot that looked headed for the top left corner but was kept out by a save from the goalkeeper. Moments later, from the ensuing corner kick, Verdy would fool the defense with a trick play and find Kajikawa unmarked on the left side of the penalty area. Kajikawa cut inside to put in a shot, but his effort lacked power and was saved once again. When Verdy did lose the ball, they were quick to track back in defense and push the ball wide, enabling Naoto Kamifukumoto to concentrate on opposition crosses and win it back. Verdy then resumed attacking and in the 69th minute, the players would create a good chance from a set piece. Douglas trapped the ball with a clever touch and played it past his marker before being brought down for a direct free kick from a promising diagonal angle left of goal. Yuhei Sato aimed his shot at the top left corner and it seemed perfectly placed, but once more, the keeper was equal to the task and kept it out. From there, the opposition began seeing more of the ball, but in the 85th minute, Verdy would once again break through with their short passing game. Douglas and Alan combined on the left side to initiate the play and passed the ball to the right corner of the penalty area where Kanya Fujimoto had made the run. Fujimoto attempted to place his shot but could only manage to hit it directly at the keeper. The final minutes saw a more open game develop and Verdy attempted to break the rhythm by inserting Yong-jik Ri, but neither side could find opportunities for a shot and the match ended a scoreless draw.

In this marquee head to head encounter, it was Verdy who created the greater number of clear chances, but their lack of precise finishing held them to a draw. Still, the team’s ability to match up against a club that tops the table in points and hold them without a goal -- better still, to do so by controlling possession throughout the match -- must surely be seen as a positive. Now, Verdy have only two days to prepare for an Emperor’s Cup match against Urawa Reds. This will be the team’s first time to play a club in a higher division since their match against Yokohama F Marinos in 2016. This is no time to be timid, however, and Verdy must aim to give momentum to the their league campaign by playing for the win.

Manager Miguel Ángel Lotina

Your thoughts on the match?
The match began with Oita in control. Up until the 30th minute, they had possession of the ball and dictated the play near our penalty area. After the 30th minute, we had the ball for longer periods and were finally able to accomplish what we set out to do. In the second half, we played more the way we wanted. Of course, there were moments where we had to defend. After all, they are a fantastic team. Even so, we were able to create clear chances and could have gotten a goal. I’m satisfied. In defense, we played without any major errors. In offense, we lost the ball too easily but once we corrected that, we were able to keep it in their area and create chances. For those reasons, I’m satisfied.

Tell us why you decided to play Yuhei Sato in place of Kouta Watanabe and what you expected from him.
The reason I chose Yuhei to replace Kouta was because he had played well in other games so far and I trusted him. Having him drift into wide areas was part of the plan, but there were some problems with the timing and positions he took. In the second half, we corrected those and I think we attacked well. He can help us in the deeper positions, as well as play passes behind the defense or a good final ball. When he combines with his teammates in the area, he is especially threatening to the opposition. In addition, he can also threaten the defense as a set piece taker. I wanted him to express those areas of his game.

Jin Izumisawa has become an increasingly important player since joining the team. What do you expect him to add to the attack in the future?
Each week, Jin has gained a deeper understanding of how we play and improved his performance. He is a player of high ability and I want him to use that to help the team. I want him to continue to adapt and improve. For us, he is an excellent player and I think he will become a more important presence in the future.

Kanya Fujimoto usually plays on the wing, but today, he was inserted as a wing back. Was that in reaction to today’s opponent?
Kanya isn’t a traditional wing or a wing back. I actually don’t think he is a natural wide player. His natural position is inside half. With that said, he can play well on the outside, including at wing and wing back. Today, he was at wing back. That required him to run farther to get back in defense and he also had to cover a greater distance to join the attack. He has all the physical attributes to do that. However, he usually plays further forward, as a wing, with a side back behind him. Or I have him play closer to the penalty area, where his talents emerge more. As the manager, I do think it is important that I bring the best out of each player, individually, but at times, I also have to ask them to sacrifice for the good of the team. I chose the system we used today because I thought it was the best way to do damage to Oita.

You were missing two regulars today, with Kouta Watanabe playing for Japan in the Asian tournament and Shinnosuke Hatanaka having transferred. What effect will this have on the team in the future?
Both Hata(naka) and Kouta (Watanabe) were extremely important players for us. Having Kouta join the national team at this moment does hurt, but it’s also something that I could not refuse. The loss of Hata also hurts, but in thinking about his future, I think we should be happy for him. I’ve heard that this year has seen one of the highest numbers ever for transfers from the second division to the top flight. For some clubs, this will mean a great deal of damage. If you can’t contain it to just one player, but lose two or three, it can be an extremely critical problem. For example, when players leave the club on transfer day or in the finals days of the window, clubs in the second division don’t have the resources to react. I think those clubs who lose players on the last day, or two or three days before, should be given an extension of some kind. If a club loses three players on the last day, that is a huge problem. I think the JFA or the league should think of some sort of measure to address that.”

MF 38Ryota Kajikawa

Your opponents had more of the ball in the first half, but did you ever feel threatened?
They passed the ball well, so of course it was tiring for us, but in terms of the final ball, they didn’t have any way of delivering other than floating crosses into the box and I think that was because we made it difficult for them to keep it on the ground. The last time we played them, we tried to press from the front and they passed it around us, so I think we made the right adjustments this time. We still pressed them from time to time, but today, when the inside halves went forward, we knew that they would try to feed it to them in the air or with diagonal passes and our job was to stop them from playing those balls while still maintaining our shape. So, while we spent a lot of time in defense, we were able to rush them and things went pretty well.

The team’s play seemed to improve, overall, after the first 30 minutes. What was the reason for the change in momentum?
At first, when we won the ball, we tried to play it out of tight areas and ended up losing it. That sloppiness enabled them to keep possession. Even so, we were able to make the adjustments we needed and gradually, I think we began to settle down.

You had a near miss in the first half.
If we don’t score from those kind of opportunities, it’s always going to be difficult for us to win. It’s good that we’re able to create those chances, but we have to take them. That’s something I regret.

In the second half, the team’s passing rhythm seemed to improve.
It started to improve at the end of the first half, but it got even better in the second. I don’t think they were able to create anything other than quick chances on the counter and we were able to move the ball without rushing. We couldn’t keep the ball on the front line and we had to remain patient, but I still think we played well.

It seems like Izumisawa joining the team has had a big impact on set pieces.
He is good in 1 v 1 situations out wide and if we can get him the ball in those positions, more times than not, I think he will beat his man. If they adjust by bringing two defenders to deal with him, that will open up space for the rest of us, so I think it’s a big help.

Despite the back and forth nature of the match, it seemed like you were still able to manage risks well.
It’s something the manager is always on us about. Of course, when we have opportunities to get forward, we will do so, but he is insistent about us not giving up cheap goals on the counter. I think that has had a positive effect on our play.

MF 16Yuhei Sato

In the first half, it seemed like you were being outnumbered in the key matchups.
We were trying to delay them and in those moments, they weren’t able to play the ball to the front, so it wasn’t that big of a threat. I don’t know how things looked from outside the pitch, but we didn’t feel like they were putting the ball in dangerous areas and it was rather easy for us to defend.

Was it always the plan to play three at the back?
Both of their center backs are good at playing long balls into the pockets between the defense, so we wanted to make sure they couldn’t take advantage of having two strikers. I think it was good that they weren’t able to play many of those passes at all. In the second half, we were forced to defend for some periods, but I think we did well. They put crosses in from out wide, but they weren’t very precise and not a big threat. At the same time, we had two or three big chances and if we had scored, I think it would have made for an easier match.

You, yourself, seemed to contribute well in defense.
This was my first time to start at this position and I was very conscious of my defensive duties. Usually, Kouta (Watanabe) works very hard defensively and I’d watched him from outside and on the pitch in dozens of matches, so I understood what to do. I think my body picked up on it after that.

During set pieces, you had a lot of well-rehearsed plays. Is that due to the influence of Izumisawa joining the team?
We tried out a lot of different variations today, but a lot of it was down to watching how they set up in defense and reacting. I think we were able to get them looking in the wrong direction. However, that’s something that our opponents will be able to research, so we can’t do it more than once or twice per match. We try to save it for the right moment. Jin’s dribbling ability is a big weapon and it prevents them from pressing hard on him. If we can make it easy for him to move or play precise passes to him, that will lead to big chances and I think it’s a good option for us.

Was the system change in the second half more about improving the build-up and attack than defense?
We revised our positioning to be able to carry the ball forward smoothly. When the ball came to me, their markers would close me down and if I dropped to a deep position, that would pull them forward and out of shape. Their holding midfielders were tracking me, so in the second half, Tamu(ra) was able to receive the ball unmarked and Kanya was able to find space. I wanted to play the ball behind them a bit more, but they had a lot of stamina so it became a standoff.

In the second half, you made some late runs that allowed you to get involved with chances.
By tightening up, I was able to get on the ball in those situations. In the first half, our spacing was too distant, so I couldn’t play in that way. In the second half, however, we closed the spacing and I got on the ball. I felt that diagonal runs as a shadow striker would work well in that situation. However, I can only do that about once or twice a match because when I leave my position, it upsets the balance of the shape. If Kaji(kawa) could have made passes to a deeper position, I think that would have made for some different development. I had Douglas in my line of sight and it was good that my touch was able to set up the finish, but I still think we need to raise our precision.

MF 24Yuta Narawa

Your thoughts on the match?
Their style is similar to ours, in that they like to have a lot of time on the ball and dictate the play. We expected that we would both share possession today, but we were able to defend well when they had the ball. I think it was a tight match for the entire 90 minutes.

At the start of the match, did you feel that you were losing the ball rather than them winning it from you?
They were moving the ball in high areas and many times, we were in deep positions when we did win the ball. For that reason, it may have looked like we were pinned back. On top of that, in our more difficult moments, they were able to build numerical advantages out wide, so we lessened the stress by pulling more numbers back in defense. Once we did that, we were able to play our game. I think we did well to correct what was wrong before the end of the first half.

You had a chance of your own at the end of the match, off Alan’s diagonal pass.
I was being marked by Rei Matsumoto and I did well to turn him, but I didn’t see the other three defenders behind him. I had also just made a long run, so my legs were a bit tired as I took the shot.

It was an entertaining match to watch, in both the first and second halves.
Honestly, to reach our objectives for the season, we needed to take this opportunity to beat the number 2 team in the table at home, but we were also afraid of them hitting us on the counter if we attacked too urgently, so I think it’s a positive that we were able to get a point from the match.

What do you think the team needs to win these kinds of matches?
To get goals, I do think that one of us needs to try and force things as we near the finish and it’s also important that we invite more mistakes from the other side. However, in defense, we’ve also given up a lot of goals from our own mistakes and we need to lessen those. Still, there’s never a guarantee we’re going to score anyway, so I don’t think we need to get down on ourselves about that.

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