On Saturday 28 July, the final of the JFA 23rd U-15 Japan Women's Football Championship took place where Nippon TV Menina Serias (Kanto1/Tokyo) and JFA Academy Fukushima (Tokai1/Shizuoka) faced each other.

Final

Nippon TV Menina Serias 0-2 (0-1, 0-1) JFA Academy Fukushima

With the U-15 women’s national title at stake, the final did not lack action. Serias had scored a tournament leading 18 goals up to the final, and it was them who initiated the action. In the second minute, FUJINO Aoba broke through the right flank before sending a cross to centre but came short from scoring a goal. The team continued to attack the flanks to create opportunities but failed to come through with a goal. On the other hand, Academy Fukushima showed their strong will towards the title as HAYASHI Manaka described their eagerness, “We failed to win the title last year and we wanted to fight in behalf of last year’s players as well.” The Fukushima side responded with a collective approach against Serias’ quick ball movements. In the 14th minute, MATSUKUBO Manaka delivered a through ball behind the opposing defenders where Hayashi was making the run. The striker who has scored two goals in the tournament converted the opportunity as she calmly took on the goalkeeper one-on-one and found the back of the net, later reflected the situation, “I was anticipating exploiting the space behind the defenders and the last pass came right to my feet.”

The second half continued to see Serias taking the initiative as they showcased great ball movements, as KIMURA Sana mentioned, “We managed to keep control of the ball from the beginning of the second half, so we were confident to win the match.” In the 33rd minute, they forced a turnover in the left side of their own half before sending the ball upfront to Fujino, but the Academy defenders were prepared to face the Serias attacker, as they shut down the opportunity with their collective defence, Sato Akari later explained their approach, “We knew #9 (Fujino) is a dangerous player and we didn’t want her to face our goal with the ball. If she does get the ball facing forward, we were going to delay here play and wait for the other defenders to retreat and defend as a team.”

Academy Fukushima’s patients got paid off in the 40th minute when OHTA Moe intercepted the ball in the midfield and dished the ball to Matsukubo. As Ohta later shared that she sensed that, “As soon as I intercepted the ball, I knew it was going to be an opportunity for us,” the ball was returned to Ohta who followed up the play by slotting the ball into the left corner of the goal to extend their lead to two goals.

In attempt to rally back, Serias created a chance in the 59th minute when Kimura dribbled up the field to send a cross. Although her attempt couldn’t connect with anyone, Coach SAKAGUCHI Keisuke praised her performance, “She couldn’t perform to her fullest in the semi-final, but she managed to change that in the final.” The final whistle blew right after her effort as the action filled match ended with Academy Fukushima taking down their second title in three years.

The third-place match that took place ahead of the final concluded with a 5-0 victory by Urawa Red Diamonds Junior Youth (Kanto2/Saitama) over Nojima Stella kanagawa Sagamihara Avenire (Kanto3/Kanagawa), as Urawa showcased their strengths as the defending champions. The tournament ceremony was conducted after all matches were done and the fair-play award went to JFA Academy Fukushima.

Coaches' and Player’s Comments

SAKAGUCHI Keisuke (Nippon TV Menina Serias)
Even with the loss, we are satisfied with our performance. The team showed great improvements from the semi-final, as we controlled the match and created many chances. We gave everything we’ve got and although the result of 0-2 didn’t favour us, we played a close match, so this should serve as a positive experience for us. However, we must be more creative and heighten our quality at the final third. Even if we take control of the ball possession during the game, if we can’t score, we can’t win the match. This tournament is just a pathway for our main goal, which is to be promoted to the Menina squad. I want my players to feed off this disappointment and develop as a football player.

MF #7 KIMURA Sana (Nippon TV Menina Serias)
We were disappointed with our performance in the semi-final, so we really wanted to display our style of football at the final, but we came short from winning the title. However, compared to our performance at the semi-final, we managed to play more aggressively and showcased the Serias style football, so even though we lost the match, we are leaving with great satisfaction. The fact that we managed to recoup ourselves within the one-day rest we’ve got ahead of the final shows great improvement as a team. Personally, I really wanted to score a goal and help the team win because they brought me here while I was injured through the Kanto qualifiers, so that’s the only regret I have.

MISHIO Shota, Coach (JFA Academy Fukushima)
Serias is a very strong team that we oftentimes look up to, so we were expecting a tough match. But the fact that we won the match shows us that our players have developed themselves through each match we’ve played in this tournament, both in offence and defence. We knew we were going to be dominated at some point of the match today, but the players made great adjustments and played defence collectively. Our offence made mistakes in the early matches as they tend to rush themselves in front of the goal, but today they managed to play calmly and convert the opportunities they were give. We still have many aspects to improve, but this tournament gave us a great opportunity to grow as a team. We’d like to thank all the staffs who helped running this tournament, and all the supporters for cheering on us.

MF #22 OHTA Moe (JFA Academy Fukushima)
I am very happy to win this tournament. We couldn’t play well in our first couple matches, but once we got used to our surroundings, we managed to improve our performances. We faced a tough match today, but our team kept on talking to each other and with the help of our supporters’ cheers, we managed to run through the entire match. The high school players from our academy came to support us and cheered on us too. I think this title is a title won by the entire academy. We will pass on our experience to our younger class players so that they can keep on the legacy to win the title next year and the following years to come.

7/28 Final: Nippon TV Menina Serias vs JFA Academy Fukushima

7/28 3rd Place Match: Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara Avenire vs Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Junior Youth

The JFA 23rd U-15 Japan Women's Football Championship

Tournament Dates: Sat. 21 - Sat. 28 July 2018
Tournament Venue: J-GREEN Sakai (Sakai, Osaka)
Tournament Information