Post-match comments for the 2025 Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 37 Trial Fagiano Okayama

"From the first 20 to 25 minutes, Okayama applied strong high pressure, and although we tried to connect short passes in Zone 1, we didn't make any moves to exploit the space, so I think they created more dangerous opportunities for us. After that, we were able to keep the ball better and play in Zones 2 and 3 in the opponent's half. I wish we could have been a little more patient and kept possession of the ball while changing sides, and we started to do that from the middle of the game.

In the second half, we aimed to press harder and exploit the space behind the defense while changing sides. That led to the goal. We were able to execute the moves we've been practicing since last week, which I think was great.

Our opponents also created some scoring opportunities, but (Nishikawa) Shusaku was able to stop them well today, and I think the whole team, including the mental aspect, worked hard until the end. This led to our first win in two months.

I also thought that the performance of the promising Renji Hidano was very good. I think he will become a very important player for the Reds in the future.

[Question and Answer Session]
(Why did you select Hidano Renji as a starter, and why did you change some of the team members, such as Kenta Nemoto?)
"Thanks to SD Horinouchi (Saint Seiya), Renji has been joining us for training over the past two weeks. He plays as a striker at university, but ever since he joined our training camp this year, he has been a player I'd like to see him play as a winger. Over the past two weeks, he has mainly taken part in training as a winger. Of course, he is a player who can play both as a striker and as an attacking midfielder.

Also, watching his performance in training, I noticed that he excels at getting behind the defense, something we haven't seen much of recently in the team's play. He's fast and has the ability to make decisions inside the penalty area, so that's why he was selected as a starter today.

As for (Nemoto) Kenta, I would like to use him in the next match against Kawasaki Frontale. I would like him to gain experience playing against Kawasaki here in preparation for next season.

(This was the first away win this season, requiring a plane or bullet train.)
"I think we played very well today, regardless of the means of travel. We performed very well in the away games against Shimizu S-Pulse and Tokyo Verdy, but we were unable to score a goal.

We've waited three Trial and two months for this win. These three points are extremely important. I would like to dedicate this victory to our fans and supporters who travel so far to come to every Trial."

(There have been no cheers from fans or supporters in the past few Trial, but today there was some support towards the end Trial. What do you think about that?)
"And that's where the goals came from. That's all I can say."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]