Review: Urawa Reds 2-1 Cerezo Osaka (J1 MD3)
- TEAM
In the Meiji Yasuda J1 League Section 3, Cerezo Osaka boarded Urawa Komaba Stadium and challenged the away game against Urawa Red Diamonds. The starting lineup was changed for four players from the previous section. Kim Jin Hyeon and Koji Toriumi made their first appearances this season, and Ryosuke Yamanaka returned to left SB and Tokuma Suzuki made his first starter in this season.
At the beginning, Cerezo spent some time on the defensive, but managed to prevent conceding points with Toriumi’s repeated good coverings. In the 10th minute, Leo Ceara made a mid-range shot from a distance. It hit a DF and headed for goal, but unfortunately hit the crossbar. After around the 15th minute, Cerezo began to take possession, with Kim Jin Hyeon’s accurate returning kicks against Urawa"s press, and in the 27th minute, Leo Ceara broke through the left side and shot. In the 28th minute, they received Urawa’s quick attack, but the shot went off target. The match progressed evenly, but Cerezo succeeded in scoring the opener in the 33rd minute. In response to the kick that GK Nishikawa aimed at the FW, Matej Jonic cleared the ball at a high position, and Hirotaka Tameda, who picked up the second ball, broke through vertically without hesitation and fed a cross. While Satoki Uejo was also ready approaching the goal on the far side, he invited the opponent"s own goal. From here, Cerezo"s attacks became even more active. The pass exchanging tempo was speeded up, and even in defense, they succeeded in recapturing the ball immediately. When pushing in the opposition half, in the 39th minute they got a scoring chance from a CK. Matej Jonic reacted to Jordy Croux’s kick with his header, but it was blocked by the GK’s good defense.
The second half began with a one-point lead. The FWs went to press from the front line, but since the others’ pulling the defense line up was not enough, then the vacant space appeared. In the 52nd minute, their back was taken by Shinzo Koroki, but it was fortunately an offside. However, in the 59th minute, when Urawa picked up their misaligned build-up pass and launched a counterattack, Koroki took their back again from Hiroki Sakai’s through pass, and Toriumi could not help and gave a PK for a foul. Alexander Scholz scored this to make a score tie. Even so, right after conceding the goal, they broke through the left side in a thick attack, and Leo Ceara matched Tameda"s pass on the opposite side and shook the net. However, the goal was canceled for an offside judgment as a result of VAR review. From here, both teams attempted to break through with player substitution, but it was Urawa who went on the offensive. Cerezo managed to hold on to the pressure, but conceded a goal in the 82nd minute. After that, both SBs were changed and they counterattacked, but they could not catch up and suffered a regrettable come-from-behind loss.
“It was a very regrettable defeat. I think it is time to be patient as a team. Last year as well, while we did not have a good start, we all looked in the same direction and built up one by one. We all keep that feeling in mind once again, and work hard to make a big jump from here,” said Manager Akio Kogiku. In next week, they will have a series of home games with the Levain Cup, which will finally start, and the J1 League Section 4. They want to break a deadlock somehow here and launch a counterattack. They overcome the trials that they are now facing in this early stage with the whole force of the team.
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