JOC Junior Olympic Cup The 19th All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournament, had its final and 3rd-place match on Thursday 7 January at J-GREEN Sakai in Osaka as Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls (Kansai/Osaka) claimed the championship.

3rd place play off 

Urawa Reds Ladies Youth (Kanto 1/Saitama)　0-0 (0-0, 0-0, PSO 4-3)　JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18 (Kanto 3/Chiba)

The 3rd-place match taking place ahead of the final saw last year's runners-up Urawa and 3rd-placed JEF square off. As keeping showing growth through the series of matches, both teams came out with some adjustment after the semi-finals. Both teams moved the ball around quickly and looked for a goal but failed to convert their shots before the match entered penalties with a 0-0 draw. In the closing minutes of the second half, Urawa sent in penalty specialist MATSUMOTO Mamiko, who eventually stopped JEF's third taker after a 2-2 tie. JEF captain HOSHINO Akari also saved Urawa's third kicker and got back on equal terms. But Matsumoto brilliantly denied JEF's fourth and sixth penalty kicks. At the end, TAKAHASHI Hana netted to round up the heated contest.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Final

Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls (Kansai/Osaka)　0-0 (0-0, 0-0, PSO 5-4)　Nippon TV Menina (Kanto 2/Tokyo)

The final between debutant Cerezo Osaka and five-time defending champions Nippon TV was a battle for pride and the Japanese title. Early in the match, Nippon TV picked up their pace and attacked into the opposing end with crisp passing moves. While the Tokyo side were looking for the opening goal from not only open plays but also set-pieces, Cerezo Osaka were desperate not to concede a goal, led by goalkeeper FUKUNAGA Erika. The home side Osaka waited for their goal-scoring opportunity from side attacks, receiving cheers from their U-15 fellows. Cerezo sent in fresh legs early in the match as they subbed in NOJIMA Sakura in the 24th minute and TAKARADA Saori in the 32nd minute. The Osaka side launched three shots in the first half but failed to convert before entering the break 0-0.

Unlike the first half, the second half was more dynamic and free-flowing as offence and defence were switched rapidly. Against Cerezo who tried to attack from sides with Takarada, Nippon TV used multiple players on offence including KANNO Oto and MATSUDA Shino. In the closing minutes, Nippon TV found a gap in the Cerezo defence and created critical moments on a counterattack after the Osaka side came aggressively on offence. UEKI Riko came close, but Cerezo defenders blocked bravely not to give up a goal. The scoreline remained blank, and the outcome was left to the penalty shoot-out.

Before the penalties, Cerezo coach TAKEHANA Tomoya said to his players, "the side who have a stronger will to win get the win." While goalkeeper Fukunaga denied Nippon TV's third kick, all penalties were converted by Cerezo for a 5-4 penalty win, and they clinched the championship in their first tournament appearance.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Coach and Players' Comments

SHIMOYAMA Kaoru, Coach (Urawa Reds Ladies Youth)
To break the deadlock, I sent in AOKI Chisato and ENDO Yu, who would be the heart of our offence. We created a couple of chances, so what we need to improve from now on is to develop finishing touch. I had already decided to play goalkeeper Matsumoto Mamiko when the match seemed to get into the penalties. She actually did her job and I was watching without worry. I'm happy to get the medal.

TAKEHANA Tomoya, Coach (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls)
We achieved to win the championship in our first appearance. Last summer, Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls (U-15) claimed the 20th All Japan Youth (U-15) Women's Championship. And last month, men's U-15 team won the 27th All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Tournament. We won the title following the two fellow teams and brought a bright future to the club Cerezo Osaka. That's the happiest thing. My players committed themselves to keep a clean sheet though they were tired. I want to compliment them on becoming mentally strong.

HAYASHI Honoka (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls)
Our objective was to win the national championship. I'm glad to achieve the objective today. We wanted to score and win the match. And late in the match, we allowed them to attack and called out to each other to "keep them scoreless." In the tournament, we found out our team level by playing against Kanto teams such as Nippon TV and Urawa. While we found a lot of things to improve, we've got something that prevailed such as team work and mental strength. So we will try to thrive on the experience for our future.

FUKUNAGA Erika (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls)
Everyone ran it out so that we could bring the match to the penalties. With the mindset "now it's time to do my job," I really wanted to commit to team's win during the penalties. When standing in front of goalmouth, I already decided to jump to the direction that I felt it was right. I'd never experienced penalty shootout in official matches and of course it was my first one in the final, but I was determined to save the shots today. I'm happy to save opponent's shot as imagined.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

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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