J.League 2023 Matchday 12, Tactical Review: Kawasaki Frontale vs. Sagan Tosu
Frontale's build-up improvements, while Tosu's struggles continue.
Hi all. I’ve been wanting to talk about Tosu for a while because they are usually a very interesting team. Meanwhile much has been discussed about Frontale’s struggles this season but I haven’t really been able to focus on them in this newsletter (despite watching most of their games) since my Matchday 1 review, which seems aeons ago…
Here are my most recent reviews:
Let’s get started!
Sagan Tosu: 15th, 11 pts (3 W, 2 D, 5 L)
vs. Kyoto Sanga
1st Half: Build-up under heavy Kyoto pressure was mainly unsuccessful despite a few decent possession sequences. Tosu were mostly forced to loft long balls to the wings or behind Kyoto’s high defensive line but were mostly unsuccessful in being able to create lots of chances. Their few successes mainly came from creating situations where Ono and Honda would drop to receive the ball, in tandem Naganuma and Iwasaki would make diagonal runs inside to receive through or long balls from Kawahara or Moriya who had received lay offs from Ono/Honda and were able to face forward on the ball. Despite their struggles however, Tosu managed to be very clinical on the very few chances that they were able to create despite going down a goal first and went into halftime 3-1 up.
2nd Half: Despite a man-advantage for most of the 2nd Half due to Ichimi’s red card, Tosu struggled in possession oddly enough as Kyoto continued to press them despite being a man-down. They were still able to hold on and not concede until the penalty deep into added time but it was a bit of a concerning performance from them.
vs. Yokohama F. Marinos
1st Half: In the build-up, Tosu were able to get Kawahara and Moriya to face forward on the ball very easily past Marinos’ 1st line of press (Lopes plus one of Elber/Nishimura/Yan). From there the two midfielders were able to pick out players in the forward line dropping to receive and then be given the ball back higher up the pitch or more directly lob long balls down the wing for the Tosu wingers to take-on Marinos’ full backs 1v1. Tosu’s forward line interchanged with each other a lot and made it hard for Marinos’ midfield to catch them. Tosu’s press wasn’t very effective with a few exceptions as Marinos moved Tosu’s players around and quickly played into the open spaces. Tosu were gradually pushed back into their own defensive 3rd with chances only coming through a few quick long counterattacks but they mostly ended with ineffective crossing attempts. The moments of real danger from Tosu came from cut-backs by Iwasaki.
2nd Half: Slowly able to push into Marinos’ final 3rd despite Marinos improving their press against Tosu’s back-line at the start of the 2nd Half. However, chances came more from set-pieces (corner kicks and free kicks) rather than through open-play even if Tosu did well to threaten and earn these in the first place. Tosu still had difficulties to break down Marinos in their box and they seemed to have ran out of steam in the last 10~15 minutes of the game as they couldn’t dominate on the ball like they did in earlier parts of the 2nd Half.
Kawasaki Frontale: 10th, 15 pts (4 W, 3 D, 4 L)
vs. Urawa Reds
1st Half: Frontale were able to build-up quite smoothly in the first 20 or so minutes to enter the final 3rd from which point they were able to perform their usual overloads on the flanks to cross the ball near the end-line. However, Urawa’s defense remained resolute and were able to knock back Frontale’s crosses with ease as Frontale’s attack plus Noborizato making runs to the far post didn’t really have the height advantage to trouble Urawa in the air. Miyashiro would make lots of diagonal runs from the center and behind the gap between the Urawa Center and Full Backs, but once receiving the ball there he couldn’t do a whole lot with it. Frontale’s press worked relatively well in the opening minutes but gradually Urawa were able to gain a foothold on the game in the last 10 or 15 minutes of the 1st Half. Kota Takai looked composed with and without the ball. In general, Frontale defensively were quick in negative transitions and made it difficult for Urawa Reds to get good shots even when they countered quickly down the wings.
2nd Half: Despite taking the lead very early in the 2nd Half, Frontale then struggled to maintain control of the game via their possession game while their high pressing simply stopped working against Urawa who were able to push Frontale back for significant parts of the half. Still, besides the goal, where Frontale had a cascade of poor judgment and defensive errors, they were mostly able to keep Urawa at bay.
vs. Avispa Fukuoka
1st Half: Lots of good build-up variations with Schmidt and Seko moving around to find gaps between Avispa’s forward and midfield lines. Frontale were able to enter the final 3rd and create enough time there to then push numbers into the box and move Avispa’s lines around. In terms of chance creation low cutbacks were more effective than high crosses against Avispa’s defense. Both Takai and Kurumaya had an easy time against Avispa’s long balls and were also able to play good vertical passes in the build-up to progress the ball up-field.
2nd Half: Lots of good combinations on the wings and cut-backs to score the goals to put the game away in the 2nd Half. Frontale were then able to keep possession as in the 1st Half and keep Avispa at bay but slowly started to lose control from around the 60th minute. Frontale then had to resort to long balls behind Avispa’s defense to force them backwards but otherwise Avispa were able to lay siege to Frontale’s box and get a goal back in the last 20 or so minutes of the game.
vs. Kyoto Sanga
1st Half: Initially had a difficult time dealing with Kyoto Sanga’s press but gradually got used to it. Joao Schmidt was good at collecting loose and 2nd balls from duels to quickly transition through vertical passes into feet or long diagonal balls to the wings. Frontale were able to push Kyoto Sanga back and keep play in the opponent half but they found it difficult to break them down and enter the box. As a result, their threat mostly came from rather futile high crosses which the Kyoto defenders were able to deal with relative ease.
2nd Half: Weathered Kyoto’s press again and were able to shift Kyoto’s block to one side before escaping into lots of space on the opposite side to push into Kyoto’s half of the field. Still had same problems of creating quality chances in the final 3rd and while Oshima showed some quality he was not very press resistant as Kyoto simply continued to ramp up the pressure and Frontale couldn’t keep circulating the ball further up-field to really play to Oshima’s strengths (nevertheless he was the difference maker by providing an accurate cross for Kobayashi’s winner…).
Starting line-ups
Yasuto Wakizaka looked more like a #10 with Seko and Schmidt in a double-pivot for large parts of the match.
The continued absence of Leandro Damiao and Jesiel means Miyashiro remains up top and Takai establishing himself in the back-line.
Kurumaya, usually a Center Back these days, slotted into his old position for Noborizato at Left Back.
Marcinho takes Tono’s Left Wing place in the starting XI after making his return from injury off the bench against Kyoto in the midweek fixture.
Unlike previous games, Tashiro started as the Right Center Back and Yamazaki as the Left Center Back.
With Cayman Togashi and Ayumu Yokoyama’s medium-term injuries, Yuji Ono continues up top with Atsushi Kawata on the bench.
First Half
Frontale’s press during 1st Half wasn’t great as they let So Kawahara free too often between the 1st line (the forwards) and 2nd line (the midfielders) of press with Ienaga’s awkward positioning being exploited many times throughout the half. A usual pattern was that Kawahara would drop to receive from the back-line, then square it to Kikuchi who was free in the space behind Ienaga to progress up the field (2:30, 8:53, 12:41, 16:08, 26:45, 28:39, etc.
).
Unfortunately for Tosu, they didn’t really take advantage from there as long balls down the Left Wing to Iwasaki were easily shepherded by Yamane and Ominami, as well as Kamifukumoto sweeping behind the high line. In general, long balls directly from the Tosu Center Backs or Park I.G. to the wingers weren’t successful as Frontale’s Full Backs were both alert to the danger and also more physical to beat them in the air (3:01, 9:40, 11:15, 24:25, 39:18, 44:57, etc.
).
Advancing slower through short passes simply let Frontale track back to set up their defense and Tosu couldn’t find ways to create chances in the final 3rd. The movement and intricate passing combinations we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Tosu have seemingly evaporated this season aside from maybe the Naganuma cross in the 3rd minute
. Yuto Iwasaki, who is usually Tosu’s biggest direct threat with his dribbling, didn’t get a whole lot of service to go on his threatening runs at pace in the game.
Otherwise there were a few times that Frontale made mistakes in their build-up (prompted by Tosu’s press or not) like in the 11th minute
or 33rd minute
but they weren’t able to capitalize against the run of play like against Kyoto Sanga.
During the 1st Half, Frontale’s goalkeeper Naoto Kamifukumoto was very heavily involved in the build-up. Even when Frontale’s back-line and Schmidt couldn’t find a way forward, they were usually able to maintain possession (not lose the ball in bad or silly situations like earlier in the season) and simply start over again from Kamifukumoto to reset their build-up (like from 40:40~41:30
).
Kamifukumoto himself was very adept at lofting passes into midfielders in a pocket of space (Wakizaka and Seko in the half-spaces between the lines of Tosu’s press) and everybody in the back-line could also play it long for Marcinho behind Tosu’s defense (like in the 32nd minute
) or to Miyashiro making dropping movements.
As we’ve seen from Frontale this season, Miki Yamane inverted into central midfield next to Schmidt in the build-up on certain occasions. This was somewhat successful when Fuchi Honda would be occupied with marking Schmidt, meaning there was space for Yamane to receive (18:20, 20:47, 40:47, 45:22
). This would also have the impact of drawing other Tosu players up the field which Frontale could exploit, like in the 21st Minute
.
As the 1st Half went by, Frontale were able to take control of the game but they threatened the most from a variety of passes (long diagonals, through-balls down the line, etc.) to Marcinho on the Left Wing, who could use his pace to cut inside to shoot or use that to create time for Kurumaya or even Ienaga on the overlap inside the box (19:20, 25:05
).
Tosu were never able to take advantage of Ienaga’s drifting around to exploit and outnumber Yamane on the counter so this wasn’t an issue for Frontale in this game.
On the Right side, there were occasions where Yamane, Ienaga, and Wakizaka combined well to enter the box on the Right but Tosu were usually set up defensively with more than enough numbers back in these situations. Tosu’s defense blocked most of the shots created from this side of the field in sustained possession (10:45, 29:33, 31:10, 36:05, 37:30
).
So the 1st Half finished 0-0 with Frontale looking far more likely to score but more due to Frontale’s ability to at least get to the final 3rd compared to Sagan Tosu.
Second Half
Substitution (Frontale): Ryota Oshima on for Tatsuki Seko.
Substitution (Tosu): Atsushi Kawata on for Yuji Ono.
From the start of the 2nd Half, Frontale were able to maintain possession in Tosu’s half better which allowed more players to push up and be involved in the attack. Numerous players got involved in quick combination play in the wide areas and find runners entering the pockets of space inside the box. There were far more dangerous opportunities on cut-backs and passes back into the center for shots or switch balls to the far side because of better movement and sheer number of Frontale players available to receive the ball. Ryota Oshima was quite impactful compared to his recent 2nd Half cameo appearances as Frontale were able to use his strengths far more effectively. He would find good spaces to play off Schmidt in midfield and also provide more of a presence in-and-around the box by helping to keep the ball moving from side-to-side or occupy the Tosu’s defenders in the box, especially when Miyashiro drifted wide (45:40, 57:57, 68:35
).
The goal from Wakizaka came from Frontale having numbers on the Right Wing, with Miyashiro making a run toward the wing to drag Tashiro away, and the ball bouncing kindly for Wakizaka from Ienaga’s lofted pass as Tosu’s closest marker (Kawahara) wasn’t alert to his threat.
What I noticed in the 2nd Half was that Kamifukumoto was involved far less in the build-up as Frontale were able to maintain possession in Tosu’s half much easier. Tosu’s pressing stopped being effective and Frontale players could thread those vertical passes to progress up the field without having to turn back and try again, to me it definitely seemed like they did not have to reset back to Kamifukumoto in the build-up phase as much compared to the 1st Half.
Tosu were still able to play past Frontale’s press to have midfielders receive the ball behind Frontale’s 1st line then, find players between the lines to push into final 3rd but from there… yet again they did not have a whole lot of ideas to take shots, let alone enter the box. Atsushi Kawata’s introduction at half-time made sense as Tosu simply needed more targets in the front-line that could hold onto the ball under pressure but Tosu weren’t able to get him involved as much as they would have liked. He was involved in one dangerous chance as he was able to flick the ball on for Honda on the counterattack in the 54th minute
but was otherwise quiet as Frontale’s Center Backs, Takai and Ominami were alert to knock back any long ball attempts from Tosu to relieve pressure on their back-line.
Still, when Frontale’s press forced Tosu into wide areas, they didn’t have a whole lot of options besides kicking it long where Schmidt and the Frontale back-line were more than equal to it, contributing quite a bit to how easily Frontale were able to keep the ball in Tosu’s half most of the time. J. Schmidt was diligent in his positioning as he was the key man in Frontale’s midfield. His interceptions and ball circulation pinned Tosu back in their own half while also being able to receive passes from defenders to transition Frontale into attack.
Sagan Tosu finished the game pretty tamely as even with various substitutions such as bringing Kohei Tezuka on for for Moriya and Yuto Horigome coming off for the ineffective Iwasaki, they really struggled to create chances, let alone get into the box. Their most dangerous opportunities in the game were times like in the 33rd minute
when Schmidt lost the ball poorly near his own box and Honda’s mazy dribble on the counterattack in the 54th minute
. Contributing to Tosu’s difficulty in the last 15 minutes, was Yu Kobayashi (who came on for Ienaga in the 75th minute
) who did well to either close the passing lane from Tosu’s back-line into the midfielders or keep a very close mark on Kawahara while Kento Tachibanada also came on to add a bit more defensive steel to close out the game.
In the pouring rain at the Todoroki Stadium Frontale did not let the lead slip and were able to win their first home game of the season.
Summary
In the end Kawasaki Frontale ran out as comfortable winners despite the narrow 1-0 scoreline. Kawasaki Frontale have looked much better in recent weeks with their victory over Tosu now their 3rd straight win. With Kamifukumoto establishing himself in the team alongside Takai and Kurumaya (today at Left Back rather than Left Center Back), Frontale were better able to circulate the ball, be patient, and find gaps in opponent’s press to play vertical passes into midfield to progress up the pitch. On a very basic level, most of the players involved are far better now in their decision-making for when and where to make those vertical passes and preventing the opposition from intercepting the ball in dangerous areas.
Frontale are still missing the extra goal (or two) to really put the game to bed as better teams would have been able to make something more of the times Tosu were able to get past Frontale’s press with ease. However, improvements to breaking down teams in the final 3rd were seen in this game and they’ll hope to build on that from here on out.
I have been disappointed in Sagan Tosu this season. They simply don’t keep the ball like they used to, as they can’t seem to use Park I.G.’s involvement in the build-up as the extra man against a press to their advantage and are forced to kick it long. Granted, sometimes kicking it long is part of the plan to exploit opponent’s high defensive line, especially after luring the opponent to press Tosu’s back line but they don’t have players that can win the ball in the air in central areas nor on the wings.
This is in part because Tosu usually start with Yuji Ono up top and only bring on Kawata in the 2nd Half, and with Togashi’s injury absence it leaves Tosu without somebody to hold the ball up on the half-way line and higher. Tosu can still look dangerous when they can get the ball into the double pivot, especially Kawahara being able to face forward but from there attacks usually peter out in the final 3rd. One very noticeable stat that highlights Tosu’s struggles are that they average only 9 shots per game, which is the worst in the league (according to FBref). In this game they actually only took 8 (according to Sporteria).
So Tosu are caught in the negative cycle of:
Being poor in possession, whether in the build-up phase near their own box or further up the field.
Throwing the ball away long or simply trying to exploit the opponent’s high line.
Inability to get into a rhythm to break down an opponent in their box if they were able to progress the ball up the field (whether from short or long passing sequences).
Lose the ball and their press or counter-press is evaded.
Get pushed back into own defensive 3rd and back to Step 1…
Against Kyoto they were able to be clinical but here against Frontale they were up against a far better opponent defensively, who didn’t give Tosu a whole lot of mistakes in their build-up to capitalize on either. Tosu should still be safe from any relegation troubles as there are teams far worse then them. Also the return from injury of Cayman Togashi or simply playing Kawata from the start may provide them with more “power” up top, even if they don’t provide the same pressing intensity and clever passing that Yuji Ono provides.
Next Frontale play FC Tokyo at the National Stadium (Friday Night J.League!) while Sagan Tosu have a mid-week fixture against Urawa Reds.
Thanks for reading!