Head Coach Miyamoto: "When the Head Coach was replaced, the players were really motivated and had a high level of awareness, and they were working hard in practice. I think they went into the match with the determination to show that even in the match. I think we were able to see a lot of the defensive aspects that we had actually practiced, and although we conceded a close goal from a free kick, we didn't lose our heads after that and entered the second half with confidence, and after we tied the score, I think we created a lot of chances, so I think the players' efforts are worthy of praise, and there was an atmosphere in the locker room after the match that we would do even more from now on, so I want to keep this up."

Q: "Taka was in the starting lineup. What was the reason for selecting him as a starter? What is your assessment of his performance?"
Head Coach Miyamoto: "While watching the team's battles in the first half of the season, I thought that one area for improvement was the midfield defense, so I gave Taka that role from the J3 level onwards, hoping that he would perform well.
"It was Taka's first time in a J1 match, but I thought he would do well. I thought he was a little nervous at first, but as the second half went on, he improved offensively, and on the defensive side, he really worked hard from the first half on his movements to snatch the ball."

Q: "In addition to Taka, you used Yonekura on the right side of the second row. In the past, in Gamba's good games this season, Yonekura played with a lot of intensity on the right wing. Did using these two players lead to the intensity or the strength of the midfield today?"
Head Coach said, "I chose the combination of Anzai and Abe to suppress the high intensity of the left wing of Kashima.
"I was hoping for that, and we had a chance to win in the second half when we brought in Fujimoto, so that went pretty much according to plan."

Q: "So you're prioritizing not conceding goals to a certain extent, and using Fujimoto at the most crucial moments?"
Head Coach: "Yes, in the first half, there were some parts of the right side that were not going well, so in terms of attacking, we gave them different roles when we made substitutions in the second half."

Q: "You must have felt the enthusiasm of the fans from the moment you got on the bus before the match, but how did you personally Head Coach in the atmosphere in the stadium and the feelings of the fans today?"
Head Coach Miyamoto: "I don't think there is a single player who wouldn't be inspired by seeing that, and while the supporters were feeling frustrated, I appealed to the players that although we wanted to win, our goal was to deliver a victory to the team."
It was really encouraging to see them perform like that, and going into the match, I think the players' desire to live up to that was clearly apparent in the match.

Q: You said yesterday that you weren't feeling any excitement about being in charge of a J1 Head Coach for the first time, but what did you feel after actually taking Head Coach today?
Head Coach: "There were times when I felt the high level of the Kashima players right on the pitch, and at first the Gamba players were also receiving the same things, but gradually they got better, and I was able to keep a good sense of how things were changing in the game, and which team was gaining the upper hand, and I think I was able to stay calm to a certain extent while watching."

Q: "Was today's midfield defense by Taka and Yonekura just for the Kashima match, or do you want to use it as a base for future matches?"
Head Coach Miyamoto: "I'd like to consider how I will use the players depending on the characteristics of the opponent, and it's true that we don't have much time to make such tactical adjustments, but I've told the players that we need to do that well and play solid defense as a team. We'd like to reduce that to 15 goals after conceding 25 in the previous match, so I'll continue to push for that."