Meiji Yasuda J1 League Round 19 match against Kashima Antlers [NIKE FOOTBALL x URAWA REDS 20th Anniversary Match] Post-match comments

"I would like to thank the players and the fans and supporters today. We changed the flow of the game and came very close to winning.

The first half was not good. We conceded an early goal and then I think we started to play our game better, but our pressing wasn't good. We didn't move the ball well in the midfield in the build-up. And I think Suzuki Yuma dominated the first half. He was a great forward. He was the player that made the difference in the first half.

We believed we could change the flow. At halftime, we switched to a double defensive midfielder with Ken Iwao and Atsuki Ito in a 4-4-1-1 formation. By doing so, I think we were able to alleviate Suzuki's problems. Also, by pressing in a 4-4-2 formation, we were able to get a better flow.

This season, I think he has shown his growth in terms of play, and I think that was on display. They moved the ball a lot, created space for each other, and the player in front of the ball holder was running. Atsuki also showed us a scene where he broke forward from his defensive midfielder position. I think it was a very good game for Atsuki today.

When we brought in Hide (Hidetoshi Takeda), we wanted him to use his left foot in cooperation with Ohata Ayumu. I think that worked. Today, we had about 65 percent possession, and Hide's skill and decisiveness were on display. Just like in the second half of the Vissel Kobe match, we dominated the second half today. However, you need special skills to score there.

(Watanabe) Ryoma also played in the attacking midfielder position and showed his skills there, and if he had scored a shot, the game could have been 3-2.

The ability to turn things around even when the flow is bad during a match and score goals are things that we need to carry over to future matches.

I also think we saw that the players' physical condition is improving along with their great attitude. We were able to dominate the second half. We were able to dominate the second half in both the Kobe match and the away match against Cerezo Osaka. We want to continue to improve our quality, but I think that's something we have to do in practice. And I hope that the players who are absent will return.

I think the attitude of the fans and supporters was wonderful today, and Atsuki and Hide did a great job. I always say how wonderful the fans and supporters are, but I was blown away by the way the fans and supporters performed in the last 10 minutes of the game. I think it was truly wonderful. I will never forget the image of them, burned into my memory. If we had scored the third goal, I felt like the stadium would have exploded with support.

This support brings us great energy, so we hope to use it to create a culture of consecutive wins at the club."

[Question-and-answer session]
(As was the case in the Cerezo OSAKA match, a team that concedes goals in delicate situations such as the first and last five minutes of the first and second half will have a hard time moving up. What do you think needs to be done to improve in that area?)
"I think you're right. The first goal we conceded against Cerezo OSAKA was similar to Hide's goal today. It was a combination of a great shot and a goalkeeper who was a little too aggressive.

We need to reduce the number of goals we concede. I think we play a little too often in a chasing game. Today, we conceded a rebound off a ball that Shu (Shusaku Nishikawa) touched, so I think the timing was just coincidental, but in order to reduce the number of goals we concede, we might need to improve the balance a little more, for example in the midfield. I think there are multiple factors at play.

I think we also need to give credit to our opponents. The two goals we conceded against Cerezo OSAKA were of very high quality, and the same was true for the first goal we conceded today."

(I think it's important to persevere when things aren't going well, but is this a mental or tactical issue?)
"Today we struggled in the press. We gave the opposition space. We were not very good, especially in the midfield, so there are tactical reasons for that. It's up to me to fix that."

After conceding a goal, you gradually gained control of the ball, but you seemed unable to deal with the space left for Ryoma Watanabe until the end of the first half. Why didn't you make any changes until halftime?
"With some players returning from injury, we discussed before today's match whether to use Ayumu as a full-back and Ryoma as a winger. However, Ayumu has not yet played 90 minutes. Also, Tomo (Tomoaki Okubo) was having some pain in his knee, so we also discussed whether to start him. Today, as a tactical approach, we brought Ayumu in as a full-back in the second half and moved Ryoma up to the winger. And Ola Solbakken was also exhausted, so we replaced him with (Maeda) Naoki.

Brian (Linssen) came on as a substitute and scored a goal in the other game, and he showed great play today as well. He had two close calls. I'd like to praise him as well."

(Why couldn't you change your midfield line-up as quickly as you did in the second half?)
"Looking at the fact that we made changes in the second half and got results, you might think that we could have done it in the first half, but the question in the first half was whether we could improve on that form. We weren't able to do that, so we made the change at halftime."

(I think Hidetoshi Takeda will continue to get more playing time in the future, but which position do you think is best for him to play?)
"He can play as an inside midfielder in a 4-3-3 system. He can also play as a winger in a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 system. If the full-back gets involved, I think we can create many two-on-one situations. I think he is one of the most motivated and ambitious players on the team. He is not only improving offensively, but he is also becoming stronger in close quarters. Of course, he will continue to be a candidate for a starting position in the future."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]