Shigematsu Shows Technique As Tokyo Crush Yamagata
12/05/2010
Shigematsu Shows Technique As Tokyo Crush Yamagata
J.League Division 1 11th.Game
Sunday May 9th. 2010
NDsoft Stadium Yamagata ( Away )
Attendance 11,176
F.C.Tokyo 3 Montedio Yamagata 0
25 Shigematsu ( Tokyo ), 38 Hanyu ( Tokyo ), 79 Konno ( Tokyo ).
F.C.Tokyo:
Gonda, Nagatomo, Morishige, Konno, Kim, Tokunaga, Hanyu ( Suzuki 69 ), Ishikawa, Matsushita ( Kajiyama 54 ), Hirayama, Shigematsu ( Akamine 73 ).
Subs not used: Shiota, Mukuhara, Nakamura, Ricardinho.
Montedio Yamagata:
Shimizu, Miyamoto ( Yamada 40 ), Nishikawa, Sonoda, Ishikawa, Kitamura ( Hasegawa 59 ), Akiba, Sato, Miyazawa ( Masuda 59 ), Tashiro, Furuhashi,
Subs not used: Uekusa, Ishii, Shimomura, Han.
Tokyo Aim To Finish Busy Period With Win
F.C.Tokyo made the trip north to Yamagata to take on Montedio in the 11th.game of the season. Tokyo had stopped the losing streak in the previous outing, keeping a clean sheet for the first time since the 4th.game of the year, but the attack had faltered again. "We're putting our own neck in the noose," commented Naohiro Ishikawa after the side had shown great obstinacy and created a host of chances but failed to score. Tokyo entered the final game of the hectic Golden Week period in search of a goal to ease tensions and provide the impetus to a victory.
Opponents Yamagata lay in 8th.place at kick off with a W4 D2 L4 record worth 14 points. The side had scored 10 but conceded 12, indicating that their fixtures had been decided by the narrowest of margins. Tokyo had struggled against their tight defence and sharp attack in 2009 and the side had since been bolstered by signing forward Tashiro, midfielder Masuda and a pair of Korean strikers Kim Kun Hoan and Han Dong Won. Tokyo manager Hiroshi Jofuku commented, "They've upgraded their style since last year and now every player has a high defensive awareness. They carry no passengers and, individually and collectively, their defence is top class".
Kajiyama began on the bench due to concerns over his leg injury. Tokunaga returned to a defensive midfield position while Kim and Nagatomo played at left and right back, respectively. Matsushita started on the left of midfield with Hirayama and Shigematsu the preferred striking partnership. "We have to concentrate to deny our opponents any chances while completing our attacking patterns to create a threat," commented Hiroshi Jofuku. A hard game was envisaged, with Tokyo aiming to snuff out their opponent's moves at the point of origin and gain control of the flanks.
Tokyo had conducted a closed training session to fine tune their tactics ahead of the game. "I have to apologise to those who came to Kodaira hoping to watch the team train but we felt it was the best approach considering the current situation. We want the team to show a strong unity of purpose on the pitch".
Tokyo kicked off in the NDsoft Stadium shortly after 4pm on a sunny afternoon.
Shigematsu Shows Fine Technique To Score Opener
Tokyo threw off the Yamagata pressing game and dominated possession from the start, creating chances from the wings. In the 10th.minute Tokyo took a quick free kick inside the Yamagata half and Ishikawa curled in an early cross for Shigematsu that earned a corner. Matsushita hit the ball deep beyond the far post, Konno headed it back into the danger area but Hirayama failed to make contact in front of goal. In the 14th.minute Tokunaga and Nagatomo combined to set Ishikawa away down the right; Ishikawa took the ball to the byline and cut it back to Hirayama inside the Yamagata area. Hirayama turned and attempted to shoot but a defender blocked his path to goal. Hanyu pounced on the loose ball but his shot flew wide.
In the 23rd.minute Tokyo passed the ball around at the back before Hanyu fed Ishikawa and Tokunaga hoisted a long ball forward to Hirayama. Hirayama knocked it down adroitly into the path of the onrushing Ishikawa but he fired over the bar. A similar move in the 25th.minute brought Tokyo the opening goal; Hanyu played the ball forward, Hirayama again nodded it down but to Matsushita this time. Matsushita feinted to shoot and rolled the ball into the Yamagata area on the left where Shigematsu met it with a cool finish, stroking the ball through the goalkeeper's legs and into the net. Composed play in front of goal had given Tokyo the long-awaited lead.
Tokyo continued to play the ball around steadily at the back, while Hirayama enjoyed plenty of possession at the other end and chances were created down the right. In the 38th.minute Tokyo launched a counter attack and Shigematsu moved the ball on to Hirayama on the left flank, just outside Yamagata area. Hirayama rolled the ball inside to Hanyu who moved it across the face of the penalty area before unleashing a drive that arced past Shimizu's fingertips and nestled inside the far post. Tokyo's positive attacking intent had been rewarded with a second goal. As half time approached Yamagata midfielder Kitamura managed to infiltrate the Tokyo defence line and found himself inside the penalty area in a central position with only Gonda to beat; Kitamura shot but Gonda stood tall and made a superb save, denying the home side a vital goal. The first period finished 2-0.
Late Konno Goal Seals The Win
Yamagata came out fighting in the second half and won a free kick just outside the Tokyo area on the left in the 51st.minute. Forward Furuhashi struck the ball cleanly and it seemed headed for the back of the net until Gonda produced a flying save to fingertip it over the bar at full stretch. The home side launched another high-speed attack in the 52nd.minute with forward Tashiro running onto a through ball but the Tokyo defence closed him down quickly and Gonda held his shot comfortably. Tokyo were under pressure and began to play deeper but the defence maintained its concentration and quickly switched into attack.
Kajiyama replaced Matsushita in the 55th.minute. Tokyo reasserted their control of the game and enjoyed an increasing amount of possession. Kajiyama received the ball back from Ishikawa in midfield in the 64th.minute and pushed forward to the edge of the area before slipping it to Shigematsu as the young forward overlapped on the right. Shigematsu struck firmly but into the side netting. A similar move in the 68th.minute saw Shigematsu the provider as he dribbled inside from the left, drawing the Yamagata defence towards him before pushing the ball through to Hirayama, unmarked on the right. Hirayama had only Shimizu to beat but the goalkeeper spread himself and blocked the shot away.
Tokyo replaced Hanyu and Shigematsu with Suzuki and Akamine, maintaining the aggressive attacking approach. The game became an exchange of counter attacks but Tokyo continued to press for a third goal and it arrived from a corner in the 79th.minute, after Shimizu had denied Hirayama again. Ishikawa drove the ball to the far post where Konno bundled it over the line to give Tokyo a 3-0 lead. Tokyo continued to press with Hirayama leading the line and created further chances but failed to muster a fourth goal. At the other end Gonda made another good save to deny Yamagata a consolation goal and the final whistle blew on a 3-0 win. Tokyo had scored three for the first time this year and earned their first win since the 4th.game.
Players' comments
Shigematsu
"I was looking to get behind the defence as I held the ball up on the left. Hanyu played the ball on to Sota and I thought Matsushita was going to shoot when he got the ball. I was shouting to him as I ran through and he played the ball to me with perfect timing. The angle was tight so I tried to trap the ball with my right foot and then shoot hard with my left; I thought that if I hit it hard enough it might take a deflection. I was delighted that it went in and gave us the lead. I can't be satisfied with just one goal and I wanted to score again. I got a bit of cramp and that's why I was substituted. We won though, and kept a clean sheet which is important. I want this kind of game to continue".
Hanyu
"To be perfectly honest I'm very relieved. We'd become too obsessed about scoring, I think. To create a more relaxed mood we played mini games in training and discussed amongst ourselves the best way to score. Then today the manager again said that whether we score or not wasn't the point but that we were dynamic. It's been tough but we felt the only way was to continue shooting, whether they went in or not. I'm very happy that led to the result we got today. Considering my shooting power and accuracy I should be able to get over ten a year. I wanted to show that shooting and missing was better than freezing up and not shooting at all and how important it is to take up shooting positions".
F.C.Tokyo manager Hiroshi Jofuku
"The team is in a worrying situation at the moment and the players' sense of fatality has overcome their dynamism in recent games. I told them I wanted a dynamic display today so to beat a good team like Yamagata 3-0 is a great result. However, the win doesn't erase the difficulties we've been having and it will have no meaning if we don't get a good result next Saturday".
Montedio Yamagata manager Kobayashi
"The players were far more tired than I had expected and my first impression is that they couldn't move. Because there was no movement they were playing too deeply and I felt we were defending in every area. Even so, with quick decision making and good technique it's still possible to do something and that's what we have to demand of them. It's not something that can be changed quickly but I think there's a need to improve the accuracy in response to the situation. All three goals came from our mistakes which is a little disappointing. It wasn't that Tokyo pressed particularly hard from the front but when we moved the ball around our lines dropped deeper and we didn't move it around enough to get it out to the side backs who were playing in quite advanced positions. It would have been better if we could have distinguished between when we were counter attacking at speed and when we were moving the ball around. I thought we might concede one but conceding the second goal from a mistake was disappointing. The players looked far heavier than I had imagined and it would have been better to have had some fresh legs in the team. The reports said they were fine and I thought so too, which is also disappointing. We could have been more positive in the second half as well".
< Other results >
Reds 2 F Marinos 3
S-Pulse 0 Albirex 2
Vissel 3 Jubilo 0
Vegalta 1 Grampus 2
< Standings >
S-Pulse 24, Grampus 22, Frontale 20, Reds 19, Antlers 18, F Marinos 17, Sanfrecce 15, Albirex 14, Montedio 14, F.C.Tokyo 13, Cerezo 13, Vegalta 12, Jubilo 12, Gamba 11, Vissel 11, Bellmare 9, Ardija 8, Kyoto Sanga 8.
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