《Keigo HIGASHI》

(Thoughts on looking back)

"Despite playing a good game, we unfortunately conceded a goal and made the match difficult. We have to patiently work hard to turn this good performance into a win."

(What will be the trigger for improvement?)

"It's a difficult problem, but we've been talking about focusing on the switching and fighting parts of the ball. Those parts are increasing, so there are only 8 games left, but I think we have to solve them one by one and gradually build them up. I believe that a good flow will definitely come, so I want to work hard from practice with that in mind."

(For the next match)

"Since it's a team that is running away, there is nothing to lose. On the contrary, it would be great if we could win against such a team and use it as a good opportunity. Even though it's an away game, I want to win and achieve victory like today."

"Yojiro TAKAHAGI"

(It was a game where only the score was lacking)

"I think we are getting better. We just have to keep going. We are also creating opportunities."

(What about the part of building an attack?)

"I think we are becoming able to do it. Everyone is aware and we are able to unify our will. That's why I think we have more time to push our opponents, so I think that's good."

(Is it just a matter of making the final decision?)

"I see. I feel like it might be better to have a little more leeway towards the end. I think it's okay to relax and add some playful plays."

"Tokyo - Manager Kenta HASEGAWA Press Conference Summary"

"I think it was a good game that we didn't lose. We were focused on scoring, so our minds were set on Sendai's goal, but when we were able to score, we naturally had more composure and ideas. However, with the strong desire to score still present, we were unable to break free from the various constraints and felt stiff. I believe that we won't be able to score unless we overcome this, so we need to think about players who can play with all their might for the next match... Although today's game wasn't bad, I want to think about it a little more. The players who played today were unable to play at a high tempo during the busy summer season, but now that the season has changed, we talked about increasing the tempo. I think everyone was conscious of that and we were able to show some aggressiveness in terms of switching and winning the ball. However, towards the end, there were players who cramped up or got tired, so there are still some areas where we haven't fully recovered, but I believe that continuing to play these kinds of games will lead to the team's growth. It may be a really tough time right now, but the fans and supporters are cheering us on with their voices, so we want to fight together with the players and respond to their support."

Q=Is there a possibility of using players in good condition, including substitutes?

"We need to review the game again to make a calm analysis. From the feeling of the game just ended, I feel that we need more boldness. Tomorrow we also have a J3 game, so I want to decide whether to use it or not by observing it in training, including such games."

Q=Is it safe to say that there will be bold selections in the future, following the previous story?

"I'm not sure if it's a bold move or not, but I'm thinking it might be good to add some stimulation. However, if players like that don't come out, I don't think the players who played today had a bad performance, so I want to think about that for a week and make a decision."

"Sendai - Manager Susumu WATANABE Press Conference Summary"

"Thank you for your hard work. This game was one where the club came up with various ideas and put on a game that focused on attracting spectators. There is no doubt that the supporters will create an even better atmosphere than usual. We talked about delivering the best results to those supporters. However, since there is an opponent, we won't know if we can deliver the best results until the game is over. What we can promise when we play the game is to give our maximum effort. Let's aim for the best results and show them to the supporters, shall we? That's what we talked about and sent the players off to today's match."

It was a very difficult game, but we were able to win against tough opponents and earn 3 points, which I believe is a very important victory in terms of endurance.

I also talked to the players, but our mission is to focus on the next game and make good preparations for it. We want to focus on the game in front of us and make good preparations for the next game.

Q: I think we showed a defense that went to get the ball from the front from the start of the first half, so please tell us about the performance and feeling at that time.

"In the first half, honestly, both in attack and defense, it didn't go very well. Perhaps if we could have held onto the ball a little more and entered the opponent's territory, we could have shown a higher level of defense and been able to push forward a little more after forming a block."

It's already linked from the attacking side, so it's difficult to separate it from the defense, but if we limit it to the second half, we were able to make solid adjustments in the attacking part. In the part of switching to defense, we first tried to take the ball away with the consciousness of going for it. If we can actually do that, we can play with blocks and move forward, so I think it was a second half that was linked to the attack.

Overall, I think we did well in the end, rather than defending forward, and I think that was one of the reasons for our victory.

Q: There is a word called "patience competition", can you tell me the reason why you endured the first substitution until a very late time?

"First of all, we had a difficult time in the first half, and we were sure that the pressure from Tokyo would decrease in the second half. That was already within our expectations, so we focused on finding a way out of our build-up play. We organized our ideas during halftime and I think it worked out well in practice."

We wanted to score first, and if possible, add another goal and then defend it in the second half. However, it was difficult to make that decision, as we had both the hope of scoring another goal and the fear of being scored on.

When I thought about it, with 10 minutes left, I told the coaching staff to cut the card with the message of just defending like this, so the reason for the substitution is that we cut the cards one by one in the last 10 minutes."