Head Coach: "We desperately needed three points in this match, so we're not satisfied with just one point. It's disappointing. It made me realize that each and every one of us needs to work hard to find out what we lacked. We managed to keep the defense scoreless, so I think we can say we didn't score enough goals, but we need to look into what we lacked in that regard."

Q: "You chose Usami as a starter, but what was your aim in doing so?"
Head Coach Matsuda: "Quality. His high quality as a player contributes to his ability to get the ball, hold the ball, and activate our attacks, so I had high expectations of him to dominate and play a calm game, and I think he lived up to those expectations. He should be a threat to the opponents, so there are times when they might be a little defensive, and I wanted to take advantage of that in our play."

Q: "I know it can't be helped, but was the drop in activity a little early in the second half something that Head Coach Matsuda had already taken into account?"
Head Coach: "That's right. After a really long absence, we were basically aiming for about 60 minutes, but he was in good condition so we kept him on until after the 70th minute, but I think that was inevitable."

Q: "Whenever Usami was on the pitch, the ball would come to him and we would have a good rhythm. If there's one thing you regret, it's that we weren't able to score while he was on the pitch."
Head Coach: "Yes, I think that would be the most ideal way to play out. Then it would be like he was relieved of his duties, and the other players would cover for him and run away with the game, or we would score more points with that momentum. That would have been the most ideal situation."

Q: Towards the end of the game, Rihito YAMAMOTO made his debut for Gamba after recovering from an injury. I think there was also an intention to play a long ball. What was the aim of bringing him on?
Head Coach Matsuda: "Now that he's back in a condition to play in matches, he's a player who really sets the rhythm of the attack, and right now, Yuki YAMAMOTO is doing a great job of that in the midfield, but with Masahito Yamamoto joining the team, I hope we can create more scoring opportunities and see more goals being scored, so that's why he was included in the squad and why I chose him."

Q: "The situation may not have changed, but with three games remaining, please tell us what is important."
Head Coach: "All we can do is put everything on the line. There is no next game, just the next match, the match in front of us, and we put everything on the line. For example, today, if Usami was physically OK, we would have played the full 90 minutes, and even if there was a rebound or a reaction next time, we wanted to win today's match, but there were some parts that were impossible, so we made substitutions to win, but that kind of resolve, enthusiasm, and things like that are gone now, even though we have three matches left. We only have one game, so with that mindset, there's nothing else to do but make arrangements to win the next match."