What does a manager identify first when his team fails to protect a lead after scoring the opening goal?
After Kawasaki Frontale’s comeback loss to Machida, manager Shigetoshi Hasebe mentioned both the failure to score an additional goal and defending from the flanks.
He also commented on the officiating and the opposing players’ behavior, but it is necessary to distinguish the result confirmed in the match from the issues raised by the manager.
3-line summary
1. Hasebe’s team lost 1-2
2. They conceded two goals after scoring first
3. The comments about the officiating were the manager’s concerns
16 minutes after the opening goal, the match became 1-2
Kawasaki Frontale lost 1-2 to Machida on the 2nd in their J1 League Round 5 match. According to reports, it was their first loss of the season. The venue was G Stadium, as stated in reports, and it was an away match for Kawasaki Frontale.
In the 14th minute of the second half, midfielder Yasuto Wakizaka scored first. However, starting in the 30th minute of the second half, they conceded two goals and the result was overturned. Since this was a match in which the team that had taken the lead failed to earn points, what remained was not only a single concession but also the failure to turn the flow of the game into an additional goal.
After the match, Hasebe reflected on it as an extremely disappointing loss. Although they had scored first and produced good attacking patterns, he said that if they do not score an additional goal, they cannot turn it into a victory. This was the manager’s assessment of the result against Machida and does not refer to the results of subsequent matches.
Kawasaki Frontale had won 4-2 in their previous match against Chiba. However, they also conceded two goals in that match and conceded twice against Machida as well. The fact that goals continued to be conceded separately from the team’s scoring shows that a one-goal lead did not provide enough margin for comfort.
The starting point of this match was the opening goal, but the ending was a comeback loss. This is why Hasebe mentioned the need for an additional goal. The assessment that there were good attacking moments and the result that they failed to win are not contradictory. It means that failing to connect the chances they created to a second goal was the turning point of the match.
Two goals conceded from crosses, scenes identified as recurring
Both of the goals conceded late in the match were goals that began with crosses. Hasebe said that this was not the first time they had conceded from balls coming in from the side, including set pieces. He also indicated that the team needed to refine this aspect further.
What deserves attention here is not simply the position known as the “flank.” The manager mentioned both set pieces and balls coming in during open play. The trigger for the ball being delivered may differ, but his explanation was that dealing with the ball and opposing players in front of goal remained an area requiring work.
This was not a match in which Kawasaki Frontale created no attacking chances at all. Wakizaka scored the opening goal, and Hasebe also assessed that there had been good attacking patterns. Therefore, rather than explaining this loss solely as an attacking slump, it is necessary to consider together the failure to turn the flow into an additional goal and the defense’s response to crosses.
In particular, the manager’s expression that “this is not the first time” is difficult to dismiss as a coincidence limited to one match. It was reflection on specific conceded-goal scenes, not an announcement that the problem had already been improved. What was confirmed against Machida was two goals conceded from crosses and a 1-2 loss.
Criticism of the officiating and comments on the opponents’ behavior were separate remarks
After the match, Hasebe raised questions about the decisions of referee Fuming and the behavior of the Machida players. He expressed the view that there may have been several incorrect calls and said that forcefully grabbing opponents in front of goal or colliding with them where they could not see was dangerous and should stop.
However, these were Hasebe’s post-match comments. The reports provided contain no official determination that the incidents actually violated the rules, no indication that any decisions were overturned, and no indication that sanctions were imposed. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that “they lost because of incorrect calls” or that a particular action was definitively a foul.
The match result, by contrast, is clear. Machida won 2-1, and Kawasaki Frontale recorded their first loss of the season. The failure to score an additional goal and the two goals conceded from crosses were aspects of the match that the manager himself identified, while his comments about the officiating and dangerous behavior should be treated as concerns he raised.
The assessment of striker Koki Ogawa, who scored two goals for Machida, is another separate scene. Hasebe coached Ogawa during the latter half of 2019, when he was at Mito. He assessed Ogawa as a player who finds good positions and timing in front of goal and can score with headers as well as with both his right and left feet.
This was the manager’s assessment acknowledging the opposing striker’s performance. He also explained that after Ogawa came on as a substitute, Ogawa likely knew where and when to enter as he observed the state of the match. The result of two goals is confirmed, but the interpretation of that player is the view of a manager with past coaching experience.
Kawasaki Frontale are scheduled to play Shimizu S-Pulse at MUFG National Stadium on the 6th. Whether the problems identified against Machida will actually have improved by then is not yet a confirmed fact. Still, immediately after the first loss, the key points Hasebe left behind were the need for an additional goal, the response to balls coming in from the side, and the match scenes he considered dangerous.
References
Tags #ShigetoshiHasebe #長谷部茂利 #KawasakiFrontale #J1League #Machida #FCMachidaZelvia #MachidaVsKawasaki #KokiOgawa #YasutoWakizaka #ShimizuSPulse #MUFGNationalStadium #JapaneseFootball