Review: Urawa Reds 0-1 Cerezo Osaka (J1 MD33)

A winning goal by Hirotaka Tameda gave Cerezo their second 1-0 win in a row after the Osaka derby.

Two days after a thrilling win over Gamba Osaka in the 29th round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, Cerezo Osaka took to the road to face Urawa Reds in the 33rd round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League without much time to enjoy the afterglow of their Osaka derby victory. With the aftermath of the big match still fresh in their minds, the team had to cope with difficult conditions, but manager Akio Kogiku made no changes to his starting line-up, hoping to "continue the flow of the derby". Koji Toriumi replaced Masaya Shibayama on the bench.

After the Osaka Derby, in which Cerezo showed impressive offensive and defensive performances, Cerezo again played a 3-4-2-1 formation, using both a high press and a middle press for defense to keep opponents out of their own half. The team's defense, starting with the three up front players Leo Ceara, Lucas Fernandes and Sota Kitano, kept their opponents at bay. They limited Urawa's build-up and were able to recover the balls that were kicked to them. In the 8th minute, Shunta Tanaka, again starting in the center of the back three, passed the ball to Sota Kitano, who got behind the defense and almost scored a goal. Then, in the 17th minute, Cerezo took the lead. A diagonal pass from Ryosuke Shindo to Hirotaka Tameda led to a corner kick, and Lucas Fernandes' kick was met by Tameda at the far post. With Shindo competing with a defender in front of him, Tameda was free to wait for the ball, and he met the ball perfectly, saying, "I didn't go against the ball, I just followed the basics." He met the ball perfectly and kicked a strong ball to the opposite side. The difference in physical condition due to the difference in preparation time was expected to become more noticeable as the match progressed, so the early goal was very significant.







Cerezo's momentum grew, and they had another golden opportunity in the 22nd minute. Fernandes cut out the opposing goalkeeper's errant pass and quickly sent a pass to Ceara, who danced past the oncoming defender and finished well, but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. Later, he reacted to the rebound and tried to collect the ball, and it appeared that he was brought down by the foot of an opposing defender. However, the referee's whistle did not blow and no penalty kick was awarded. Despite not scoring a second goal, they continued their strong defensive performance from the previous match, holding their opponents to zero shots on goal in the first half.

In the second half, as Urawa pushed forward with their players positioned higher than in the first half, Cerezo's entire team dropped back and the second ball was picked up by their opponents, leaving them pinned back in their own half for a long time. However, even though Urawa possessed the ball, their defenders did not panic, and in the 65th minute, they created a close chance. Reiya Sakata, who has started the last three matches, dribbled aggressively down the right flank and, after being denied by a defender, Hiroaki Okuno shot straight at the rebound. The ball was blocked by goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa and no goal was scored. From that point on, Urawa continued to push forward, and in the 82nd and 85th minutes, Cerezo twice found themselves in trouble on the left side of the field. However, goalkeeper Kim Jin Hyeon made a good save from Ryoma Watanabe's shot in the first instance, and Shindo threw himself forward to block Yoshio Koizumi's shot in the second, a much clearer chance for the opponents. "I always try to put myself in a position to increase my chances of preventing a goal, so it was the result of that," Shindo said. In second-half stoppage time, Capixaba, Ryogo Yamasaki, and Hayato Okuda, who came on in the second half, combined well down the right flank to finish off the scoring. The win followed the Osaka derby, and the team is now unbeaten in their last four matches, with three wins and a draw in their last four matches.







"We had a short time to prepare, so it was tough, but we showed what we can do on the field and it was good that it led to a win," said Fernandes, who assisted the winner. Cerezo gave the best performance they could in their current condition. Manager Kogiku attributed the victory to "the strong connection between all the players," including their fighting style and mentality. After a difficult period, the team is now on the verge of a "V-shaped recovery," according to manager Kogiku. After a two-week break, the team will look for their second three-game winning streak of the season next week when they host Jubilo Iwata at home.