Review: V-Varen Nagasaki vs Cerezo Osaka (J1 100 Year Vision League MD4)

Kosuke Nakamura makes a string of big saves but Cerezo suffer away defeat to V-Varen Nagasaki with issues remaining in both attack and defense.

Five days have passed since Matchday 3 of the Meiji Yasuda J1 100 Year Vision League Regional League Round against Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Cerezo Osaka traveled away to face V-Varen Nagasaki for Matchday 4 of the Regional League Round. There was one change to the starting lineup from the Hiroshima match, with Shinnosuke Hatanaka returning to the starting XI for the first time in three matches since the season opener. Rikito Inoue, who was substituted after the first half in the previous match, also started, while Shunta Tanaka moved back into the defensive midfield role to partner with Shinji Kagawa.



Cerezo started the match well by dominating possession and pushing forward, but around the 10th minute, misplaced passes in their own half began to increase, handing the initiative to Nagasaki. In the 11th minute, Nagasaki was gifted the first major chance of the match, but Kosuke Nakamura made a big save to deny Matheus Jesus. A minute later, Nakamura produced another fine save from a first-time volley from the flank. The game continued with Cerezo being dispossessed by Nagasaki's aggressive pressing and subjected to consistent pressure. In the 20th minute, a pass from a center-back was intercepted, leading to a mid-range shot against them. Despite being forced into a purely defensive role for the first 30 minutes, Cerezo held firm without conceding, thanks to their goalkeeper's heroics. From the 30th minute onwards, Cerezo began to find opportunities to enter the opponent's half. In the 31st minute, Thiago Andrade had a chance from a Kagawa pass, and in the 33rd minute, a wave of attacks ended with a shot from Masaya Shibayama. Both were thwarted by fine saves from the opposing goalkeeper, yet there was a sense that Cerezo was regaining momentum. However, they conceded in the 38th minute. An imprecise exchange between the two defensive midfielders, Kagawa and Tanaka, was intercepted by Thiago Santana, who had pressed back. The ball was carried forward, and Jesus ultimately fired a powerful, non-spinning mid-range shot into the net. Although Nagasaki threatened again in first-half stoppage time, Cerezo avoided a second goal and ended the half 0-1.





Cerezo went on the offensive from a high position right at the start of the second half. In the 47th minute, Shibayama broke through from a Reiya Sakata pass and nearly found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Another big chance followed in the 50th minute: after a sequence involving Ayumu Ohata and Thiago, Shibayama struck a shot that took a deflection and nearly went in, only to be stopped by the goalkeeper. While Cerezo managed to control possession in the second half, they were also subjected to sharp counter-attacks from Nagasaki, led by their trio of foreign players. Nevertheless, Nakamura continued to make a string of big saves just as he did in the first half, and Rikito Inoue even blocked a shot with his face. Hoping to reward the defensive effort, Manager Arthur Papas made his first substitutions in the 57th minute, bringing on Motohiko Nakajima and Yumeki Yokoyama for Shibayama and Sakata. Yokoyama, playing on the right wing, immediately created a chance with a vertical breakthrough. In the 58th minute, Solomon Sakuragawa met Nakajima's cross for a decisive chance, but it was once again denied by a fine save. When Yokoyama later shifted to the left wing, that side became more active, with Ohata joining the attack and the team penetrating the opponent's penalty area. Cerezo launched a fierce onslaught during this period, but Nagasaki's counters remained a threat; in the 69th minute, Dion Cools put his body on the line to stop a breakthrough on the right side. On the resulting corner for Nagasaki, Nakamura showed incredible reflexes to save a header from Jesus. Although Cerezo fought back in the second half and prevented further goals, an equalizer proved elusive on the day. In the 85th minute, Hatanaka connected well with Nakajima's corner at the near post, but his effort narrowly cleared the crossbar. Ultimately, the single goal conceded in the first half weighed heavily, resulting in a 0-1 defeat. The result handed Nagasaki their first home victory since their promotion to J1.





Following the previous match against Hiroshima, Cerezo once again saw the initiative taken from them early on. While the defense fought hard to keep the deficit to a minimum, the attack struggled to generate the desired number of shots and clear-cut chances, leading to consecutive defeats. Numerous issues remained from this match, including build-up play, the battle for second balls in midfield, and the overall intensity and frequency of attacking moves. The team aims to show an improved performance in the next match against Shimizu S-Pulse upon returning home, hoping to secure their first home victory of the season together with the supporters at Yodoko Sakura Stadium.