JOC Junior Olympic Cup The 19th All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournament had its semi-finals on Wednesday 6 January at J-GREEN Sakai in Osaka.

Semi-Final  1st Match

Urawa Reds Ladies Youth (Kanto 1/Saitama)　1-2 (0-0, 1-2)　Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls (Kansai/Osaka)

The tournament’s playing site was moved to the main field of the same facility and the semi-finals saw four teams playing tense matches for the title. In the contest between Urawa and Cerezo Osaka, the Osaka side put pressure from up front and went into the opposing end. Urawa also tried to fight back as No.10 IMAI Yurina aggressively took shots. In the 20th minute, SHIOKOSHI Yuzuho fired a shot off the post, and Cerezo were not able to convert their goal-scoring efforts into a goal. The first half ended scoreless as both teams showed the offensive weapons they have got.

Cerezo subbed in TAKARADA Saori, who scored a hat trick in the second round, from the start of the second half. "Go more aggressively," said Coach TAKEHANA Tomoya to the players before the match, and the eleven attempted shots as told. The Urawa side also seemed to be striving for a goal as ENDO Yu fired a shot through a side attack. The deadlock was broken in the 55th minute. Sent in with a word from her coach "go and get a goal," Takarada fired a blast from the right flank and it brilliantly went into the back of the net for her team's opening goal. And in the 67th minute Cerezo's HAYASHI Honoka found home with a well-controlled shot to extend her team's advantage to two. Urawa with their back to the wall started coming back with MINAMI Moeka's goal through a corner kick, but that was it. Cerezo edged Urawa 2-1 in their first tournament appearance and moved on to the final.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Semi-Final 2nd Match

JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18 (Kanto 3/Chiba)　0-1 (0-0, 0-1)　Nippon TV Menina (Kanto 1/Tokyo)

The matchup between Kanto league counterparts JEF and Nippon TV Menina who compete with and know each other turned out to be a close match that was up for grabs. Early in the match, while Nippon TV tried to find space behind the defenders, JEF pushed forward taking advantage of their physical strength. In the 22nd minute, SATO Mizuka came close from a corner kick but failed to convert. Nippon TV also came close in the 43rd minute when UEKI Riko threw her body headfirst to a left corner. Although both teams showed some signs of scoring a goal with firing two shots each, the first half finished scoreless.

In the second half, with Nippon TV coach TERATANI Mayumi's pep talk, "keep the ball safe and fight it out," her players braced themselves up. Five minutes into the second half, Nippon TV gained a corner kick. Captain MIYAGAWA Asato met KANNO Oto's set-up to make the scoreline 1-0. Nippon TV got motivated with the goal and created more chances afterwards, but JEF players committed themselves to defend and did not give away any goal. JEF were threatened by Nippon TV's deep attack in the 64th minute. But goalkeeper HOSHINO Akari denied it cooperating with defender MOTOZONO Kana and kept their hopes alive for a win. In the closing minutes, Jef grabbed a chance from a corner kick but fell short. Nippon TV proved to be the champions and clinched a close win.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Coach and Players' Comments

SHIMOYAMA Kaoru, Coach (Urawa Reds Ladies Youth)
I said to my players before the match, "you show what you've done in your training so that you can win the match." But there were a lot of mistakes in the first half and the situations where we lost the ball in our end. We gave up an opening goal right after giving away the ball and didn't have capability to improve the situation. I'm sorry to them leaving the tournament in the semi-finals, but it doesn't mean they are quitting football. I hope they will keep up their work on their next stage.

TAKEHANA Tomoya, Coach (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls)
It was the best game in the past few matches. My players grew a lot mentally. After being patient through the tough stretches, we got an additional goal. That's why we could win. They (Urawa) were not easy as they won through the Kanto qualifiers atop. There were a lot of situations where my players lost marking, and if we conceded a goal at our pinches in the first half, the result would have been reversed.

KONNO Yuiko, Coach (JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18)
We were competing evenly on some part, but the opponents were better than us. JEF were physically stronger, and we were trying to find a way for a win through set-pieces. If we had got a goal, the course of the match would have gone differently. And we gave up a goal from a corner kick and that made it tough for us. The third-place match will be our last match with this team, so we will end the tournament with a win.

KANNO Oto (Nippon TV Menina)
First we tried to focus on defence, so I'm glad to win with a clean sheet. When we scored, I tried to send the corner to (Ueki) Riko to be honest, but the ball went a bit differently to (Miyagawa) Asato. In this tournament, we say to each other, "let's work together and win." So after the goal, we celebrated with our teammates including the players on the bench. We will try to be focused more in the final.

JOC Junior Olympic Cup The 19th All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournament

Sun. 3 January 2016 - Thu. 7 January 2016
J-GREEN Sakai/Sakai City, Osaka
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