Meiji Yasuda J1 League, No.4, against Shonan Bellmare Comments after the game

I think the first 20 minutes were great. We had a lot of big chances, but I think we needed to get a point there. After that, we were too passive when we had to press.

At halftime, we were leading 1-2, but I told the players that we could get three or four goals in the second half. Shortly after that, we were leading 1-3, but the players showed a lot of spirit and fought to catch up.

And I think the players who started on the bench did a good job on the pitch. At the end, there were times when we looked like scoring the fifth goal. Thiago (Santana) and Yaohdai (Sato) had chances.

I think the temperament that the players showed today was very important. I think the area we need to work on in the future is stability. I also hope that we can press more throughout the game.

I think it was important that we did not lose today against a team with such great shooting ability. Of course, their shooting was good, but the loss was not what we wanted. We scored four goals today, and we have played three away games since the start of the season, and we have been able to keep scoring."

[Q&A]
(Vertical passes often slipped through the midfielders, and even when they did, we couldn't catch them. How do you see that?)
I think you are right. Even when we had the ball, we didn't connect very well, and we started to play more long balls. That gave the initiative to the other team.

And our pressing also left space in front of our defensive line. In the second half, we brought in Ken (Iwao) to bring more balance to the game. We also tried to increase our physical strength there. In this way, we thought of going forward through the midfield, and at the same time, by putting Matsuo (Yusuke) in front of us, we thought of aiming more directly at the space behind us.

(There was no center back on the bench today. What would you have done if there had been an accident earlier in the game?)
(What would you have done if there had been an accident earlier in the game? One was Atsuki (Ito). The other was to use (Hiroki) Sakai as a center back and (Ayumu) Ohata as a side back. It was very likely that we would use these two if something happened, but we also had a plan to use Ken as a center back."

(At this time of the year when the team is starting up, how does the presence of players like Shinzo Koroki in the first half and Ken Iwao in the second half help the coach?)
"I think (Koroki) Shinzo was good in the first half, especially in attack. He was able to play involved in the build-up as well as scoring.

Ken's character showed in every area. I can see why he played so many games last year. And Ken can play a role somewhere between anchor and inside half, and he is adapting to it.

(You struggled with Shonan's press in the buildup today, how do you hope to correct that?)
(You struggled with Shonan's press in the build-up today. We needed to change sides and play from side to side, but we stopped doing that in the middle of the game.
I think we need to work on when to connect well from the back and when to go directly to the back.

(Naoki Maeda Players were substituted early in two consecutive games. Is it difficult for you to play 90 minutes because you are not yet in 100 percent condition?)
I have been absent from practice for a little longer due to illness, and in that sense I am struggling a little physically. He also had a cramp in his leg in today's game. I think it will be a good time for us to have no official games for two weeks during the national team week. It is a good time for Naoki to train, as well as for players like Tomo (Tomoaki Okubo) who are coming back from injury. It is also a time for us new coaches to get to know our players better. Each week we will be learning more about the J-League.

Today, I would like to thank Shonan. With the many Shonan fans who came and the Urawa Reds fans and supporters, I think we played the game in a really great atmosphere."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)