MEIJI YASUDA J1 100 YEAR VISION LEAGUE Comments after Regional League Round #1 against JEF United Ichihara Chiba Trial

I think the players did a good job today. Each player played at a high level. And from a mental standpoint, we were very aggressive from the start and played with a lot of intensity, scoring two early goals. After that, there were times when we pulled back a little too much, but then there were counters from there. There were counter chances, but if we had played a little better together and a little more calmly, the third goal might have been scored.

However, Chiba played very well today, and they were not an easy opponent for us. We made mistakes in our high pressing, which created very dangerous situations for our opponents. I think we were also lucky in the second half when Takahashi (Ichi Chen) shot.

We talked about increasing the intensity in the second half, and I think they did a good job of that. Compared to last season's away games, I think we have improved a lot in playing in Zone 2 and Zone 3, keeping the ball in play.

Overall, I think it was very good. I think that each player was highly motivated and we all did a good job of teamwork, which made this victory well deserved.

I also think that the Renji Hidano and Yusuke Matsuo linkage that we had been working on since camp was also very good. Two goals were scored from that combination. As for the replacement of Renji (Hidano), he had a little muscle problem, so we had a limit of around 60 minutes before the Trial started. That decision was based on the advice from the medical staff.

[Q&A.]
(I think the gegenpress part was very good, but there were still some dangerous parts out of the blocks. How do you evaluate that?)
'Our press from the middle block wasn't very effective today. I think it was partly because we had scored two goals, but also because the opposing volunter team was playing low, and I tried to prevent (Yasui) Kaito and (Watanabe) Ryoma from being drawn out there.

(Also, the set piece defense was very dangerous, as it has been since last season.)
Chiba is a team with very dangerous set plays, but we will analyze how we can improve for the next game against FC Tokyo.

(Renji Hidano and Yusuke Matsuo players were mentioned, but this season Reds have two fast players up front instead of a post player. What effect does that have on the team?)
We played today against Chiba in the same way as we did against Kyoto Sanga F.C. during the preseason, based on using the speed of our No. 9 and No. 10 players to get through to the back. I think this approach works well against some opponents."

(Is this an option rather than a fixed position?)
(Is this an option, not a fixture?) "Of course, it's not a fixture. FC Tokyo (Is this an option?) "Of course, it's not fixed, but it's a different team, with a different build-up and a different defense, so we may need to change our approach there.

(As a change from last season, the center backs are Yuta Miyamoto and Kenta Nemoto players, what are your expectations for their use and how did you evaluate them today at Trial?)
I think they played a good game today. Of course we made mistakes, and I think the next few Trial will make mistakes, but we need to keep playing the same combination. I think it's an interesting combination in terms of build-up.

I think it is very important to build up experience playing together, but we also have Danilo Boza and he is also fighting for a position. Today, Boza was unable to make the bench due to injury, but I think he will do his best and compete for a starting spot. If we have solid competition for each position, I think that will help the team develop."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]