On the 7th, after the Emperor's Cup JFA 103rd All Japan Football Championship second round match against Kansai University, Yoshio Koizumi spoke about her impressions of Trial and her enthusiasm for the Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance J1 League Round 17 match against Yokohama FC, which will be held at Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium on June 11th.

"I was able to run, and my sense of ball control was not bad, but I still had a lot of difficulties. Personally, I wanted to be a bit more decisive, and it was a little disappointing that I was substituted at a time when I wanted to do that kind of work, but I think it was not a bad performance for the first match (of the Emperor's Cup).

There's no doubt that we've advanced to the next step, and we have Trial in three days, so I hope we can move on as quickly as possible and move on to the next step as a team."

(The team as a whole didn't seem to be doing well, especially in the first half, but were you able to make a difference?)
"It was a little difficult. We haven't played many Trial with this team, and it was our first match of the Emperor's Cup against university students, so I think there were some very difficult mental aspects to it, so I think everyone was a little tense. If I had been able to control the team a little better, I think I could have made my presence felt."

(The members were not that different from the YBC Levain Cup match against Kawasaki Frontale, but were there any subtle differences?)
"I wasn't in that Trial so I don't know, but one thing we mustn't forget is that Kansai University was a really good team today. Our stance was 'never let our guard down and fight with a sense of urgency,' but they were a really strong team, so if we had just fought tenaciously and won in the end, Trial wouldn't have been a problem. I think we may have been more negative and nervous than necessary. It was a shame that we used substitutes Okubo, Ito and Akimoto to take the game to extra time, and I feel very sorry about that. Our opponents were strong and we suffered duly. Of course it's tough if you don't fight as a team, and they were definitely not an opponent that we could beat just because each individual had superior ability."

(It would have been good to have Jose Kante, David Moberg Karlsson and Bryan Linssen under control at the top of the attack, but was there any rush?)
"That's the difficult part. Today in the first half, it felt hot and humid, and the pace was fast, which made it very tough, so we wanted to keep the ball higher up the pitch and control the game, but we were rushing our attacks in some parts. Our defense kept the score at zero, even though we were a little open, so I think they did a great job, and I would like them to appreciate that a bit more.

They were a strong team, so we knew it would be a tough Trial if we couldn't control the game. We often hear that during practice and during Trial, but I feel like we still need to mature in that area."

(It seemed like you got caught up in the opponent's pace?)
"There were two ways to do it. Either take a good position in the build-up, or steadily build up with individual quality, or turn the opponent over a little and lock them in with high pressure. But both were half-baked. Pressing from the front and hard work were also difficult in terms of the amount of movement. We made the opponent think 'we can go' in the early stages, which was a pain, so in that sense I think it would have been better to turn the opponent over to some extent in the early stages and apply pressure, as it would have been easier to understand."

(The coach said, "We didn't increase our speed in the first half.")
"We weren't able to increase the speed of our play, or rather, we were increasing it in places where we didn't need to. We lost the ball too quickly, which prevented us from pushing forward and controlling the game, so I think it was a matter that went beyond the tempo. We also lacked a little bit of creativity and ideas for build-up. Personally, I think I could have helped out a little more there. In practice the day before, we had done a lot of plays where I didn't drop back too much, so I think I got too caught up in that. If I had looked at the opponent and made a decision on the spot, for example if I had moved into the midfield and helped them out, I think it would have been a little easier. In that sense, I think we could have done a better job with game control, especially with the three midfielders, the two defensive midfielders and myself."

(What was the reason for your difficulty in pushing the defensive line forward?)
"The defensive line can't just be pushed up. It can only be pushed up by the coordination with the players in front and by the sense of distance, so if we kick everything behind the defense on a counter attack and it becomes a gamble, there's a risk that we'll lose the defensive line, so we can't just push up right away. There are some areas where it gets difficult if we push up all the way. I think if we can create some time up front, we can push up."

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