Ange Postecoglou was at his bristly best after his Yokohama F Marinos side slipped a whopping 17 points behind J-League leaders Kawasai Frontale, dismantled 3-1 overnight.
Yokohama, after a stuttering start that has become usual under Postecoglou, were on a barnstorming run for the past few games that made last night's match against Kawasaki Frontale a potential season-definer.
Win, and Postecoglou's defending champions had the form, the momentum and the history to challenge for this season's titles. Lose, and it was effectively game-over for Yokohama.
Unfortunately for the Aussie coach, his side didn't just lose - they were essentially dismantled by a high flying Kawasaki unit that perfectly demonstrated how best to best Postecoglou's possession-based philosophy.
The 3-1 scoreline generally flattered Yokohama, a sentiment Postecoglou didn't walk away from as he angrily encountered Japanese media after the match.
“We weren’t positive with our football. They capitalized on our mistakes, and to concede two goals so quickly (makes it) very hard to get back in the game,” said Postecoglou.
“It’s irrelevant. I don’t think that way, I’ve never thought that way,” the Australian continued. “What I’m thinking is that we could have played better today in the second half, put some pressure on them and gotten a result, but we didn’t and they deserved to win.
“I don’t care about points. I didn’t care about it last year, I don’t care about it this year.”
“It’s a disappointing result for us. We worked hard (in the first half) and could have created some more chances,” he continued. “(In the second half) they started quickly, scored the two goals and it was a difficult game for us.”
The loss leaves Postecoglou's side eighth in the J-League, while fellow Aussie Peter Cklamovski's Shimizu S Pulse also lost again, leaving them 17th.
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