Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 9 match against Gamba Osaka [MATCH PARTNER Medical Care Services] Post-match comments

"Although we didn't create any big chances in the first half, I think we were able to control the game. At halftime we talked about how we would have more space in the second half, so we needed to keep playing without getting impatient.

In the second half, I think we continued to control the game. We created some big chances, like (Watanabe) Ryoma's run up the field and (Ito) Atsuki's header. We also had a good combination on the right wing and Samuel (Gustafsson) took a shot, and a few minutes later Thiago (Santana) turned and had a free shot.

Ryoma's shot was well saved by the goalkeeper, but we didn't retreat and kept defending from the front to win the ball back. I told the players, "You did a good job." I think we had about 8 to 10 chances to score, and the other team only had about 1.

As for the goal we conceded, we had enough players, but we lacked the quality to stop the shot. However, we played a lot of the offensive football we want to play. I think we had the potential to create more chances, and if we had played a little tougher, we could have created more chances. I'm grateful to the players for their performance, their attitude, and their dedication to our football.

We still have a lot of games to play, so we need to take those positives and carry them into the next games. It's great to have (Alexander) Scholz and Tomo (Tomoaki Okubo) back. I think they did a good job. But we didn't want to take any extra risks, so we substituted them both at the end."

[Question-and-answer session]
(What do you think needs to be improved in today's game to help score a goal?)
"In our last home game we scored three very good goals and today I thought we created enough chances to win. We had 11 corners and there were chances to score from those too.

There may be areas where we can improve in terms of the quality of our shots, but there are games like today where we create 8 to 10 chances and still lose 0-1. However, we could see that we are growing in terms of our performance, so we want to continue that. Our injured players are returning, so when we have all these players, I hope we can create even more chances and play well."

(I think you were in control of the game in the first half, but you didn't create many good shooting opportunities. Do you evaluate that throughout the 90 minutes, or would you have liked to have created better shooting opportunities in the first half?)
"I thought the opponents defended very well in the penalty area. Perhaps we should have had more players. Also, when it comes to attacks from the right wing, we had potential, but I don't think we were able to utilize that power very well. We didn't have many chances from the right. Of course, there are games where the ball and the opponents move around, and you take your time aiming for a goal, but if we had played a little sharper, we might have been able to score in the first half.

In terms of getting to the final third, we were able to do that today, so I think that's something to be happy about. I hope that we can further improve the details there and create even bigger opportunities.

We moved the ball well, and before the game I said, "We need to move in front of the ball," and I think we did that. We had some good combinations and runs behind the defense, and we were aggressive in going after the ball. We had the foundations we need, so we want to build on them."

(We conceded a goal right after Alexander Scholz was substituted, but was the substitution planned from the start?)
"Five minutes before the substitution, Scholz came up to me and said, 'It's better to make a substitution.' The health of the players is very important, and it's also important that they are fresh for the next game. Both Scholz and Tomo did a great job today without any injuries.

I hope that next week Hiroki Sakai, Nori Iwao, and Taka Takahiro Sekine Sekine will be able to return to practice, and Ola Solbakken has also started jogging, so I feel like we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]