Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 3 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Match Comments after the match

“I think the attitude of the players in today’s match was great. They were in control of the game right from the start, and Naoki (Maeda) on the right side was very sharp. They played on a very difficult pitch. So, I felt that we had a good attack.Then, in the 31st minute, captain (Hiroki) Sakai scored a wonderful goal.We have created chances from set pieces in previous matches, but today we did our best. I'm glad I was able to connect the dots.

At the start of the second half, Sapporo (Hokkaido Consadole) started to attack, but after that they were able to control the game again and created chances. I think we should have scored the second goal to decide the game. In the final stages of the match, our players did a professional job as they were able to block the opponent's attacks in front of the goal and in the penalty area. It was Sato (Yodai)'s debut match as a center back for Urawa, and he played wonderfully.

I think the fact that we were able to score first and that we didn't concede a goal towards the end of the first half was a result of our mental improvement compared to previous games. It was also good to see Samuel Gustafson grow within the team. I would like to thank my opponent, Sapporo. I would also like to thank all the fans and supporters who came to Hokkaido. thank you very much"

[Question-and-answer session]
(Congratulations on your first win. What role did you expect from Shinzo Koroki who was appointed as the starting pitcher?)
``(Koroki) Shinzo is a player who can play the top position and has tactical strengths in both attack and defense, so I had high expectations for that. I think we worked well together.”

(When Ken Iwao and Ayumu Ohata were introduced, I saw them talking on the bench. What was the reason for introducing both players?)
“In addition to replacing Kaho (Koizumi) and Nori (Iwao), we thought about changing the position of Taka (Takahiro Sekine) to inside half.At that time, the other replacement would be Sho (Nakajima). We were debating whether to choose Ya or Ayumu. It was a difficult decision to bring in a player who can handle the ball well or a player with speed."

(The defensive system was different from the previous two games, and it looked more like a countermeasure against Sapporo than a correction. What countermeasures did they take?)
``Defensively, I think he's been playing better each week.We looked at the condition of the pitch and talked about responding to long balls.If long balls are the main focus, we should play second balls. The key is to pick up the ball and then connect it to the attack. Throughout the match today, we had a good sense of distance between the players. That's why we were able to press directly, moving from the middle block to high press and driving to the side. I feel like I was able to move more clearly when coming out of the low block or middle block.”

(I would like to know about the conditions of Naoki Maeda and Yoshio Koizumi.)
``Both Naoki and Kaho only suffered muscle cramps due to strain on the soft pitch, but there are no serious problems.Alexander Alexander Scholz felt pain in his hamstring, so we will check it early next week.''

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]