International Friendly Match vs Hungary 1st Match
Friday, 1 August 2014 　21:00 Kick Off　12minutes ×3period（Playing Time） 
MLSZ BEACH ARÉNA（Hungary）

Beach Soccer Hungary National Team 4-3（1st 0-1、2nd 2-0、3rd 1-2 Extra1-0）Beach Soccer Japan National Team

Scores
12min AKAGUMA Takuya(Beach Soccer Japan National Team)
19min Goal Against(Beach Soccer Hungary National Team)
23min Goal Against(Beach Soccer Hungary National Team)
34min Goal Against(Beach Soccer Hungary National Team)
36min TOMA Masahito(Beach Soccer Japan National Team)
36min MOREIRA Ozu(Beach Soccer Japan National Team)
39min Goal Against(Beach Soccer Hungary National Team)

Starters
GK：TERUKINA Shingo
FP：ODA Hirofumi、GOTO Takasuke、MOREIRA Ozu、HARAGUCHI Shotaro

Substitutes
GK：GINOZA Tomoya
FP：MAKINO Shinji、TOMA Masahito、YAMAUCHI Shusei、MATSUO Naoya、AKAGUMA Takuya、OBA Takaaki

Match Report

It was a pair of matches against the Hungary National Team as the last opponent in the Europa trip.
Prior to the first match, the Japan National Team tried to loosen their body by taking a walk and stretching in the morning. With the team meeting in the afternoon, they also got their minds ready for the match.

The kick-off was at 21:00. By that time, the daytime heat had been cooled down, which gave players a better condition to play in. They warmed up very thoroughly and waited for the kick-off. Japan sported their blue uniform for the night. The starters included Terukina at GK and Oda, Moreira, Goto and Haraguchi as FPs.
The match was already a very interesting one to watch from the start as Japan aggressively went after Hungary’s ball and Hungary, not being able to afford to lose at home, started their furious attack right after the kick-off. When the ball checking gets physical, what teams must be careful of is a freekick. Although Japan were aware before the match that they needed to minimize giving away freekicks, they started doing so by committing fouls and staying over four seconds in the penalty box. Fortunately Hungary’s shooting accuracy was not good enough to convert those opportunities, but Japan couldn’t create their own rhythm, either.

It was a few moments before the end of the first period, after repeated failed attempts from both sides, Akaguma deflected a shot by Terukina with his head and put it in the goal. The Akaguma’s first goal in his national team career gave Japan 1-0 lead.

Japan wanted to keep on building the momentum to the second period, but they looked a little overwhelmed by referees unfavourable calls and the flow of the game. Again they allowed a freekick to the opponents. The second period went on with the score remained the same, but Japan still couldn’t fix their somewhat sluggish offense and defence. Then in the 19th minute, Hungary moved the ball nicely, and successfully fired the equaliser from the left frank. And in the 23rd, Hungary’s bicycle-kicked shot-like pass led to their second goal of the match for a lead.

The third period started while Japan still couldn’t find a way to turn around the course. In the 34th minute, Japan gave away an unnecessary freekick and the crucial third goal to Hungary late in the contest. When Japanese players were feeling that they couldn’t let the match end without showing any comeback effort, finally 43 seconds before the end of the match, Toma volleyed a throw-in into Hungary’s goal to cut down the deficit to a single goal. After that, Hungary attempted to run out the remaining seconds, but Japan desperately charged to their ball and obtained a freekick at seven seconds to go. And Moreira converted it to tie the match in the last seconds, and the match went into the extra period.

Three-minute extra period saw a freekick given to Hungary at ten seconds remaining when Japan’s aggressive defence led to a foul in front of their own goal. Hungary took advantage of the last opportunity and won the match. Japan once came back and tied the match late, but finished it with a 3-4 loss.
The second match will be kicked off at 21:00 on 2 August.

Comments

Marcelo MENDES, Head Coach
What I want to mention first is this match turned out to be a great experience for our young players. I played Akaguma and Oba and could see what they could do. I am satisfied with the overall performance of this team. You can say what you want to say about referee’s calls, but these things happen even in our future official matches. We have to be ready for that without making mistakes that we made today. In that sense, this match was a good experience for us, too. Scoring three goals is not bad at all. I am confident that we can play even better in the second match.

OBA Takaaki（Dorsole KITAKYUSHU）
We lost, but both as a team and individually, I see now what I have to keep working on. This match is a good stepping stone for our next matches. Tomorrow we have another match to play, so we need to adjust what we need to adjust and we keep doing what we did well. We refresh our mindset and work hard to win the match as a team.

AKAGUMA Takuya（Dorsole KITAKYUSHU）
It was my first match with the national team. I was nervous in a good way, and my teammates kept talking to me, so I could come out with a good mindset. We lost this one, but we will get ready for the next one and win it so that we don’t waste this loss.

HARAGUCHI Shotaro（TOKYO LEQUIOS BS）
After coming here in Hungary from Portugal and having two practices a day and practice matches against local clubs, we could come out for this match in a good condition as a team and individually also. We never quit playing and played to the end altogether and we tied it at one moment. It’s disappointing that my mistake led to the goal and we lost because of that. I think my inexperience showed when I had those away-match atmosphere and tough calls by referees. We still have one more match to play, so I will get my mindset right again and play to help my team to win.

Schedule

*Local Time