Saturday 15 October saw the final Sec. of the 1st Round and the quarterfinals in the 11th Japan Beach Soccer Championship. There were groups enjoying barbecues on the beach, and local residents as well as numerous supporters from across the country came to see the matches. Although it rained in the morning, the players performed under the blazing sun with a rainbow above the pitch in the afternoon.

Sol Mar Praia Okinawa (Host city/Okinawa) beat Harectio Okayama (Chugoku 1/Okayama) 4-2 in Group A, topping the group with three wins. Loewe Yokohama (Kanto 3/Kanagawa), who won a close match against Kochi University Football Club (Shikoku/Kochi) 4-3, ended in second place.

In Group B, Aveldage Kumamoto BS (Kyushu 1/Kumamoto) met Fusion (Hokushinetsu/Niigata) in the 3rd Sec., and played for the top spot. Although Fusion let NISHIGUCHI Keisuke of Kumamoto strike the opener in the second minute, the team scored seven goals, including a shot from MOREIRA Ozu, to easily top the group.

In Group C, the previous champions Dorsole Kitakyushu (Kyushu 3/Fukuoka) won a sweeping victory over Belle Equipe (Chugoku 2/Okayama) 11-4 to advance to the next stage with three wins. Vamos a la Casa (Kanto 1/Chiba) beat La conquista (Hokkaido) 11-2 and grabbed second place.

Tokyo Lequios BS (Kanto 2/Tokyo), who ended in second place in the previous championship, won against Ninja B.S (Tohoku 1/Miyagi) 7-0 to get through to the final round. Avante Osaka from Kansai managed to win a close game against the tenacious Libeldade URUMA (Kyushu 2/Okinawa) 3-2 and reach the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinal between Sol Mar Praia and Kumamoto BS in the afternoon was very competitive. The score stayed at 2-2 through overtime, and the match went to penalties. After both teams succeeded to score one goal, the third shot from Kumamoto BS hit the goalpost, while ISO Hiroaki of Sol Mar Praia struck a goal to snatch victory.

After two minutes in the game between Kitakyushu and Osaka, OBA Takaaki struck the opener from a free kick. One minute later, OBA once again scored through a combination with AKAGUMA Takuya. After building up positive momentum with two goals in the first period, Kitakyushu continued to overwhelm Osaka, including AKAGUMA’s hat trick. Although Osaka managed to maintain their pride by striking three goals in the final period, they did not perform well enough to close the gap. Kitakyushu won the game 9-3 to advance to the next stage.

Yokohama succeeded in scoring the opener against one of the strongest teams, Fusion, which excited the spectators. However, Heimanu TAIARUI of Fusion soon scored the equaliser, showing off the accuracy of his shot. Then MOREIRA Ozu fired a lob shot, which went over the goalkeeper’s head to turn the game around. After 17 minutes, although Yokohama managed to level the match from an opponent’s own goal, the team ended up conceding five goals against Fusion’s fierce attacks. Yokohama could not achieve their aim to reach the semi-finals.

Two Kanto teams, Tokyo Lequios and Vamos, were competitive. In the first minute, SUZUKI Masato of Tokyo scored a goal first, and took the initiative in the game. Although Vamos attacked back with KOUDONO Naoaki’s shots in the 17th and 24th minute, the team could not find the back of the net in the final period. Tokyo, on the other hand, continued to score steadily and won the game 8-2 to advance to the semi-final.

The last day of the championship, Sunday 16 October, will see the semi-finals and the final to decide the top team of the 11th Japan Beach Soccer Championship. Who will win the championship – Dorsole, who aim to become back-to-back champions, Tokyo or Sol Mar Praia, both of which are eager to win the title back? We cannot take our eyes off newcomers Fusion, which holds some top world-class players. The semi-final will kick-off at 9:30 and the final will be from 13:00.

Players' Comments

NISHIGUCHI Keisuke (Aveldage Kumamoto BS)
I struck the opener in the final Sec. of the 1st Round against Fusion as I wanted to. As we have been building up positive momentum to win games by scoring first, we aimed to do the same in today’s match. I really wanted to beat Fusion, which also have some international players. So I was over the moon to strike a goal in the match, which was essential to top the group. It was a precious experience to meet the players, who play in the World Cup.

KAWAI Yusuke (Sol Mar Praia Okinawa)
I came off the bench in the third period of the quarterfinal. If I had kept a clean sheet, the match wouldn’t have gone to penalties. So I wish we had decided the game during overtime. Under pressure, I focused on waiting patiently until the kicker fired a shot. When I saved the goal, the shot came went to the opposite side from the one I predicted, but I managed to stop it with my foot, which was great.

SUMITANI Yusuke (Avante Osaka)
We met Dorsole Kitakyushu in the quarterfinal, to which we lost 2-0 in the nationwide championship last year. Despite the fact we had been preparing for today’s game, our tactics didn’t work well, and we conceded five goals in the second period. In terms of the third period, we performed well with our team’s strength. Our task is to extend that kind of playing period. We’d like to fix our problems for the coming championship.

OBA Takaaki (Dorsole Kitakyushu)
As our issue is how we start the game, it was good that we struck the opener in the quarterfinal, followed by another goal. Since our performance as a team is not consistent enough throughout the whole game, we’d like to improve on that. We’ll meet Sol Mar Praia, which we have played in the Kyushu league. We know each other very well. I believe we can beat them with some difficulties, if we display what we’ve been practicing.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Quarter-Final Highlights　Sol Mar Praia Okinawa  vs  Aveldage Kumamoto BS

Quarter-Final Highlights　Fusion  vs  Loewe Yokohama

Quarter-Final Highlights　Dorsole Kitakyushu  vs  Avante Osaka

Quarter-Final Highlights　Tokyo Lequios BS  vs  Vamos a la Casa

11th Japan Beach Soccer Championship

2016-10-14(Fri.)-16(Sun.)
Okinawa Prefecture/Ginowan Tropical Beach

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