MEIJI YASUDA J1 League Round 24th, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo VS FC Tokyo finished in a 1-1 draw.
However, it was a very exciting game where both teams fought with all the energy they had. It was a very enjoyable affair for both sets of supporters.
Consadole’s Thai star Chanathip Songkrasin also made a great performance in offense, with his speed and passing skills. He’s surely ready to once again take up the mantle for his National Team when they face World Cup qualifying matches against Vietnam and then Indonesia.
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo coach Mihailo Petrović expressed his delight about his team’s performance. Here are his comments from the press conference after the game.
Regarding the first part of the game…
“FC Tokyo is an experienced team always aiming to get results. It was a very difficult game. In the first 20 minutes, we entered the game in a good way and we had 2-3 chances to score a goal. Sadly we weren’t able to score.
After the first 20 minutes, the team stepped back and we entered a defensive mode. Stepping back, we weren’t able anymore to go pressing in the middle so the players, noticing that they cannot make in time to press, continued to fall back FC Tokyo was able to easily enter on our zone.”
About the free-kick which Tokyo scored to lead the game…
“Stepping back that time of the game gave Tokyo that free-kick opportunity. Watching that situation, I thought we needed a 3-man on the wall inside the area.
“The team made a wall but that was formed from Chanathip and other small players. In a situation like that, we thought the opponent would send the ball inside the area (with a cross) 99.9% of the time, and we needed our tall players to defend that.”
“You can find several free-kick situations during the game. Is very important for players to organize the defense as they were told by the coaching staff, but it’s also important for the team to think for themselves and find the proper solution for all patterns.”