Review: Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-1 Cerezo Osaka (J1 MD9)

Despite many offensive and defensive positives against higher-ranked Sanfrecce Hiroshima, the team suffered a disappointing come-from-behind loss, with issues remaining in adding goals and closing out the game.

Three days after their first home win of the season in the last match against Fagiano Okayama, Cerezo Osaka traveled to Hiroshima to take on Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the 9th round of the Meiji Yasuda J1 League, looking for their first back-to-back victories of the season. There were two changes in the starting lineup from the last game. Goalkeeper Koki Fukui, who was replaced due to a concussion in the last game, was absent from the lineup, and Kim Jin Hyeon returned to the starting lineup for the first time in three games. Ryuya Nishio started at left center back, replacing Shinnosuke Hatanaka, who also injured his right leg in the last match and had to be substituted midway through the game.



Looking for their first win over Hiroshima since the 2021 season, Cerezo took the initiative in the first half. Thiago Andrade broke down the left flank and fired home in the 1st minute, while Lucas Fernandes' dribble earned Sho Sasaki a yellow card in the 8th minute. Both wingers, who had performed well in the previous game, were in action. Following this trend, Cerezo took the lead in the 15th minute. After a pass from Kim Jin Hyeon, Kyohei Noborizato and Motohiko Nakajima, Nakajima made a quick turn and sent a pass forward to Thiago, who dribbled and cut inside. Thiago passed to Sota Kitano, who ran on the outside and crossed to Lucas, who ran in from the opposite side and hit the ball straight into the net. It was a brilliant goal that even the opposition manager, Michael Skibbe, commented after the game: "It was fantastic." Three minutes later, however, the score was level. Ryo Germain, whom Shunta Tanaka had warned about before the match, got the ball on the flank and sent in a cross which Naoto Arai, waiting on the opposite flank, converted. Cerezo, who had conceded with their first shot on goal, were not discouraged and continued to push forward. In the 31st minute, goalkeeper Kim Jin Hyeon once again combined well with Tanaka and Kitano to move forward, and from Kitano's pass, Lucas dribbled down the right flank and fired a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar. In the 40th minute, Jin Hyeon passed the ball to Hayato Okuda, Lucas, Tanaka and Rafael Ratao, and finally Thiago went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Keisuke Osako, a guardian of the Japanese national team, was able to close the distance and stop his shot. A minute after that great chance had been missed, another opportunity came up. Kitano received a pass from Nakajima and fired a shot just wide. Cerezo dominated the first half, limiting Hiroshima to just two shots and coming close several times, but the score remained even going into the second half.





Hiroshima manager Skibbe brought on Tsukasa Shiotani and Sota Nakamura for the second half. Hiroshima tried to put more pressure on Cerezo in every position with the substitutions, and Cerezo was pushed back from the start of the second half. In the 47th minute, they allowed Germain to head a crucial shot from a long throw, but it sailed over the crossbar. Hiroshima had another chance in the 48th minute, but goalkeeper Jin Hyeon made a great save. Ryosuke Shindo did his best to cover in the 54th minute, and Jin Hyeon stopped Germain's mid-range shot in the 58th minute. After withstanding a fierce Hiroshima attack, Cerezo made two substitutions in the 62nd minute. Masaya Shibayama and Shion Homma replaced Thiago and Lucas, and Homma, making his Cerezo debut, made an immediate impact three minutes later. He dribbled from the left flank into the middle and passed to Nakajima, who uncleashed a mid-range shot. He worked smoothly with left back Niko Takahashi, who replaced Noborizato in the 56th minute, to invigorate the attack on the left flank, and in the 76th minute he led the way for Kitano's shot from a cut-in. Homma made an impressive debut and showed great promise for the future, as he himself reflected after the game, “I think my performance wasn't too bad." Cerezo rallied, thanks in part to Homma's performance, and the game went back and forth from the middle to the end of the second half, but in the 86th minute, a long throw from Hiroshima resulted in a goal. The ball was turned in on the far side and Hayato Araki finished it off. After that, Hiroshima made good use of the time, and they were denied the opportunity to mount a counterattack, and the game ended 1-2. The first half was close to the best of the season, and the second half was not bad at all except for the early minutes, but for Cerezo, it was a bitterly disappointing defeat.





The team's season-long problem of scoring more goals and closing out games was highlighted once again this week, but as Okuda reflected, “Today, we were able to press back defensively and put pressure on the front line throughout the entire game. We were also able to get the ball in a good way, especially in the first half.” The team was able to maintain a compact formation while pressing hard up front, and had many opportunities to attack quickly after gaining possession. One of the issues was that in the second half, when the opponents took the initiative, “we could have controlled the game more if we had more time to attack with more depth in the attack” (Okuda). The team, including the players who came on during the game, needed to unify their intentions in attack. However, it was natural for the home team to push the game in the second half when the score was tied, and it was necessary to bounce back with a strong defensive performance. "In the second half, we were often on defense. It was important for us to endure the situation, take better care of the ball we won, and play the game at our own pace,” said Kitano. "From an attacker's point of view, scoring another goal is definitely necessary, and even if we don't score another goal, we have to be able to maintain the lead. I feel most responsible for (not) scoring another goal, so I have to focus on myself and do my best.” The young ace vowed to make up for the loss against Kashima Antlers in the next match. The team will now look to defeat their rivals Kashima, with whom they have lost 12 consecutive games, at home in the next round.