Today, due to the evening match, I started with a slightly late wake-up, a longer walk, and then breakfast.
In the morning, considering the fatigue from consecutive matches, each player adjusted individually, and Coach Sato said, "Let's learn to use our time to deliver our best performance," which is also part of the experience.
Today's opponent is the Bochum U-19, currently in 3rd place in the Bundesliga U19 West.
From the start of the match, facing an opponent who has established individual skills, speed, strength, and organization as a team, we are unable to play our own style of football and fall behind.
Then, they quickly concede their first goal of the current expedition from a short counterattack.
Despite facing strong pressure from the opponent, they fought tenaciously, and with solid play centered around Omoto, Yumoto, and Takahashi, they ended the first half with a score of 0-1.
During halftime, Coach Sato motivates us by saying, "This is a great opportunity to feel pressure like we don't usually experience. Let's take on a challenge to build something!"
In the second half, everyone, including the substituted players, begins to fight aggressively.
Pressing from the front with awareness of the risks behind, quickly regaining possession of the ball in the front line and creating chances.
Then, in the 59th minute, Takahashi pushed in the loose ball from Yokota's cross from the right FK to equalize.
Furthermore, Haga steals the ball single-handedly at the front line, passes it from Terayama to Imamura, and Imamura successfully turns the game around with a left-footed shot.
Despite continuing to show a proactive attitude in challenging, Iizuka, who rushed out to intercept the opponent's cross, collided violently with the opponent and fell, allowing the equalizer to be scored in the meantime.
However, without losing heart, everyone showed the determination to take the lead goal, and in the 86th minute, Yokota calmly scored from Kubo's cross, successfully regaining the lead and finishing the match.
Although we conceded the first goal for the first time in this expedition, we showed determination to win by taking the lead twice without losing our spirit. It was a match where we could feel the growth from various experiences since the start of this season.
Dinner at the sports bar located at Signal Iduna Park, the home stadium of Dortmund, after the match.
It was dinner while watching the friendly match between the German national team and the Brazilian national team.
After that, we arrived at the hotel in Paderborn after 11 PM.
While achieving three consecutive wins on this expedition, it was a day where I felt growth, as we were able to fight against a pressured opponent and take control of the flow during the match.
Tomorrow, we will face Schalke 04 U19, which is considered to be the strongest team in this expedition.
It may be the fourth consecutive match and fatigue may be setting in, but I want to continue to challenge without fear.
