Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 5 Avispa Fukuoka Match Comments after the match

“I would like to thank Avispa Fukuoka for today’s match. In the first half we created four big chances and our opponent only created one. However, at half-time we were leading 0-1. At halftime, I told the players, ``Let's stay calm and move the ball, and let's avoid forcing it through difficult areas.''

In the first half, there were a lot of plays that were aimed too directly, so in the second half we talked about creating gaps by moving the ball from side to side. In the second half, we created about six or seven big chances and were able to score two points.

I'm not happy with the fact that I stopped going so much after going 2-1. I think we have to keep attacking and try to get the third and fourth goals. Avispa Fukuoka also came out attacking, so we had to score points to finish them off. There was a time when the opponent was also pushing towards us.

I think we saw a lot of good plays on offense. I'm happy to be able to win in front of these amazing fans and supporters."

[Question-and-answer session]
(Today, Takahiro Sekine, who has been participating in games until now, was absent, but did something happen?)
“Sekine was injured on Tuesday and couldn’t make it in time for today’s game. Matsuo (Yusuke) was also injured and is coming back from that. He was on the bench today, but he has played three games in a row. I didn't want to take any risks, so I decided not to use it today if possible."

(We failed to convert the big chances first and gave the ball away to the opponent, and even though we turned the tables, I don't think it was a game played by a strong club. What do we need to do to improve?)
``Matches are played in 90 minutes, but when we play against a team like today that plays more man-to-man, we have to play while finding spaces.There were some injuries, so there were a few changes in the lineup. However, if we deepen the relationship between the players, I think we will be able to work together more and find spaces.In the first half of today's game, Naoki (Maeda) and Tomo (Tomoaki Okubo) lined up up front, creating a three-way line. There were some situations where we were down to three opponents, so I think we made a little more direct play to take advantage of that.

Today was Tomo's first game of the season, so I think this relationship will continue to improve."

(Introducing Ayumu Ohata from the middle to revive the team was the same as the match against Tokyo Verdy, but I think it would be fine to use that combination from the first half. How do you evaluate replacing a player on the left side to revive the team from the second half? ?)
"First, when Sekine and Matsuo were injured, we discussed what to do on the left side. (Ohata) Ayumu was called up to the U-23 Japan National Team at that time, so he was tested as a left winger in practice. We tested him a little bit in a short practice yesterday to see how far he could go.

Once we started to be able to control the game, we moved Ryoma (Watanabe), who is more used to the left wing, to the front, and moved Ayumu back to left back.''

(At first, they said that they had calmed down with Ohata in front of them, so they replaced them, but I think Ryoma Watanabe is originally suited for the left front line position. What do you think about using him there?)
“The two left-backs who played last season are no longer in the team.During discussions among the staff about what to do with them, we decided that it would be a good idea to hire Ryoma, who has offensive strength. We talked about this.Ryoma is playing at left back, but I think Ayumu, who comes in from the middle, is also very good and is showing a presence that has an impact on the game.He also has options. These are the players who are giving us so much. If Matsuo, Sekine and Ola Solbakken come back, we will have even more options.”

(Did you change anything you've been doing during this hiatus, or did what you've been doing lead to results?)
“In the match against Shonan Bellmare, I think we had a good 60 minutes. We have been practicing with the aim of bringing that level up to 90 minutes.As I said in the press conference on Thursday, we We also practiced. We were a team that was good at low defense, but we want to be more dynamic in applying high pressure, so we are taking a big step. Also, during this suspension period, we have been practicing one-on-one. We also spent time on this.We want to win more balls through open play and use this to lead to counterattacks.

Possession in today's game was about 70-30. I think we had nine goal chances and our opponent only had two. Considering that, I don't think the match should have been this exciting. I think it was the most stable game we've ever played in terms of creating chances and not letting the opponent create chances."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]