Friday 6 January saw the semi-finals of the 25th All Japan High School Women's Football Championship at Noevir Stadium Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture in order to decide the finalists.

Semi-finals - Match 1

Jumonji High School 1-1（PK9-8）(1-1, 0-0）Shutoku High School

The first match was a Tokyo derby, between Jumonji High School (Kanto 3/Tokyo) and Shutoku High School (Kanto 5/Tokyo). The game changed soon after kick-off. In the eighth minute, Jumonji, who were keen to attack from the flanks utilising their speed and attacking power, passed the ball from the centre to the left and sent in an early cross. The right midfielder from the opposite side ran first to the goal before forward MURAKAMI Maho. MATSUMOTO Manaka netted a towering header home, scoring the opener for Jumonji. Just two minutes later, however, Shutoku succeeded in levelling the match. NAKAJIMA Ayane surged up the right flank to send in a cross, which was once defended by Jumonji’s defenders. SUGISHITA Natsuna, who reacted to this clear ball, directly struck a goal, making the score 1-1.

After evening the scoreline, Jumonji went close to the goal once again by moving up the flanks and finding KURATA Akari, who attempted a shot in the 30th minute. However both teams gradually became more careful in their plays. Jumonji sent TAKIZAWA Chise with pace as a forward at the beginning of the second half to impact their attacks. Shutoku, on the other hand, created their scoring chances from set pieces, where KAGAMI Reina took the placed kicks. After 78 minute, GENMA Hazuki of Jumonji struck directly at goal from a free kick, only for it to be saved superbly by goalkeeper SAITO Mina.

The score stayed at 1-1 and the game went to penalties. The five kickers from both teams performed accurate shots. After many successful kicks, the ninth kicker for Jumonji successfully converted the spot kick, while Shutoku failed to do so. Jumonji grabbed a spot in the final after a thrilling match.

Match Summary (Japanese version only)

Semi-finals - Match 2

Daisho Gakuen High School 0-0（PK3-2)（0-0, 0-0）Kamimura Gakuen High School

The second match was between Daisho Gakuen High School (Kansai 2/Osaka) and the previous champions Kamimura Gakuen High School (Kyushu 2/Kagoshima). While attack and defence switched swiftly from the beginning of the game, Kamimura Gakuen found their rhythm first—their forwards and wingers combined to threaten the Daisho’s goal. The team reacted well to loose balls, and their high work-rate helped their offence as well. Daisho Gakuen also evenly matched in running and cornering the opponents’ ball-holder with multiple players. Once they switched to attack, Daisho Gakuen aggressively brought the ball forward.

Kamimura Gakuen started to substitute players to accelerate their attacks at the beginning of the second half, following Daisho Gakuen, who did so in the first half. However, Kamimura Gakuen could not take any shots in the second half from the scrambles in front of the goal, while Daisho Gakuen fired a shot from a free kick from the right side of the goal in the 54th minute. Although KUBOTA Haruka struck at the goal with a header, the shot hit the opposing defender and then the crossbar. Daisho Gakuen sent midfielder YANO Shoko to replace a forward in order to create more effective passes in the middle. Although Kamimura Gakuen also changed their formation to a one-forward system, neither of the teams could create decisive goal-scoring opportunities. The match stayed scoreless until the final whistle and went to penalties.

After both teams succeeded and failed one kick each, Kamimura Gakuen’s third attempt was saved superbly by Daisho Gakuen’s goalkeeper NISHIMURA Kiyoka, while they successfully slotted theirs. The fourth shot of Kamimura Gakuen hit the cross bar, while Daisho Gakuen’s fourth try was parried away by Kamimura Gakuen’s goalkeeper NAKAHARA Saaya.

Prior to the fifth kickers, Daisho Gakuen converted two, while Kamimura Gakuen scored only one. Both teams successfully netted their fifth attempts and, as a result, Daisho Gakuen won the game 3-2 on penalties, getting through to the final for the first time.

Match Summary (Japanese version only)

Both teams, who aim to win the championship for the first time, will meet in the final at 14:10 on Sunday 8 January at Noevir Stadium Kobe.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

MATSUMOTO Manaka (Jumonji High School)
I’m simply happy that we won the match. The best thing, however, is to be able to play in this team until the last day of this championship. When I scored, I ran towards the cross ball just to push it into the net. As we conceded a goal, we stayed more focused in both attack and defence to prevent the opponents from scoring any more. I’d like to defend strongly in the final, while attacking aggressively and relentlessly until we find the winning goal. Thanks to many people, who have been supporting us, we managed to go further than our predecessors. I’d like to show my appreciation by performing well.

ARIGA Shigekazu, Coach (Shutoku High School)
Since we have played many times against Jumonji in different tournaments in Tokyo or Kanto area, we knew about the opponents well. We intended to display our strengths while eliminating theirs. Jumonji’s kicks were excellent in the penalty shootout. We have many players with strong characters this year, and we finally started to play as a united team. I was hoping that we could play one more game. Our concept ‘enjoy football’ fitted perfectly well with this team. I learned how players could improve throughout the year.

NISHIMURA Kiyoka (Daisho Gakuen High School)
We were defeated in air in the first half, and we struggled to get loose balls. However, all the players defended strongly in front of the goal. We were not nervous at all on penalties. We intended to enjoy ourselves, and we were confident of winning thanks to our goalkeeping coach. One of the most impressive things that the coach told us is to keep your eye on the shots – whatever course it takes – until the end. The coach told us to do so even when the shot is weak, or else we will regret it. I believe our coach is the best goalkeeping coach in Japan. I’d like to prove that by winning the next game.

TERASHI Yuta, Coach (Kamimura Gakuen High School)
Thinking of our big defeat against Daisho Gakuen in spring, we managed to close the gap, showing our improvement this year. After playing patiently for the first 15 minutes, we defended consistently, which allowed us to attack well. Although our offence in this match was by far the best since the first game in this championship, we couldn’t find the back of the net. I took this role as a coach last season and aimed to form a new style, changing from an attack-focused to a solid-defensive style. I’d like to point out that we weren’t under pressure too much in this championship. We’d like to become the women’s version of Kashima Antlers – ‘Kamimura Gakuen wins in the end!’

25th All Japan High School Women's Football Championshi

30 December 2016 (Sat.) ～ 8 January 2017 (Sun.)　[Free Admission]
First Round～ Quater-finals：Venues across Hyogo Prefecture
Semi-finals ～ Final：Noevir Stadium Kobe (Hyogo Prefecture)

Tournament Information