Pickup Match

Cerezo OsakaU-18　2-1（1stHalf 1-1、2ndHalf 1-0）　Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth

In the matchup between two teams that had earned victories in the previous week, a close, tough battle was played until the last whistle. It was Cerezo Under-18 who took the momentum early as they aggressively chased their opponents in the front field on their defensive side of ball and attacked Hiroshima's goal by boldly relaying passes. Then, Maekawa Taiga robbed the ball at a high position and sent it to the right side. Takada Kazuya fired a shot on a feed and missed it, but Kishimoto Takeru put the loose ball into the goal to give Osaka the first goal of the game. But Hiroshima quickly rallied as they equalled the contest at 1 all with a header of Ishizu Yusuke from a corner kick on 14th minute.
In the latter half, the teams held back-and-forth battles in the middle of the field. Cerezo played quick press defense and tried to have fast attacks, while Hiroshima attempted to firmly build up their offense from the back field, seeking to score a go-ahead goal. But again it was Cerezo who broke the even. In the 81st minute, Hashimoto Yuki connected a corner kick by Maekawa into the nets with a header for the game-winning goal. Hiroshima threatened the Cerezo goal for a couple of times, but goalkeeper Saito Kazuki defended the goal behind him well and Cerezo wound up winning for the second straight week.

Comments from coaches and players

OKUMA Yuji, Head coach  (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
I think our players ran well and played aggressive game both offensively and defensively. But as we gave up a goal and had some pinches after we took our second goal, it was a game that we came up with some issues to correct as well. Also, we missed a few chances that we should have made, so we will have to elaborate our offensive qualifies in front of the goal. Our players are certainly aware of the championship in the end, so hopefully we will improve our game as the season wears on and have the best condition we could have in the end.

MAEKAWA Taiga（Cerezo Osaka U-18）
As we did last week, we aggressively went to get the ball in the front field in the  physically tough minutes and connected it for goals, and we can give ourselves a credit for that. But we found some issues, especially when we have leads, like the goal we gave up after we scored the first goal and the moments we had some pinches after our second goal. At the end of the day, we could have played a lot easier game had we scored goals we were supposed to. I have not scored a goal and we will need to work harder.

MOCHIZUKI Kazuyori, Head coach（Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth）
Our players played well on building up from the back field, which is our team concept. I would like to give the credit to them. You cannot develop your game qualities overnight. In fact, we had some occasions that we lost the ball during the game. But if you keep doing what you believe in, you can eventually improve on whatever you do. You cannot get better being afraid of making mistakes, so it was our good point that we kept challenging what we tried to do. But I think that of course they are frustrated to have lost, so I would like them to take advantage of this loss for their next game.

ITO Katsuhisa（Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C. Youth）
Having lost so many players for graduation, we have a lot of players that are playing their first Premier League season. As seen in the previous game against Kyoto Sanga F.C. Under-18, we weren't able to relay the ball with composure and after all we had so many occasions that we were taken the ball away in the back field. In order to improve on this issue, we can do nothing but get better through our practices and games, gaining more experiences. With that being said, I think that we patiently relayed the ball, trying to build up, until the very end.

Other Results

Vissel Kobe U-18　4-1（1st 1-1、2nd 3-0）　Toyama Daiichi High School
Kyoto Sanga F.C.　0-3（1st 0-1、2nd 0-2）　Nagoya Grampus U-18
Gamba Osaka Youth　5-0（1st 2-0、2nd 3-0）　Higashiyama High School
Kyoto Tachibana High School　1-3（1st 0-1、2nd 1-2）　Higashi Fukuoka High School

Vissel Kobe Under-19 (Hyogo), the reigning champions, took on Toyama Daiichi High School (Toyama) at home. Vissel struck first with a goal by Kako Seiya, but allowed a game-tying goal to Toyama Daiichi within the opening half. But Vissel added three more goals in the latter half and posted a 4-1 victory, remaining on top of the league standings. Nagoya Grampus Under-18 (Aichi), who also came in the game with a win in the previous week, faced Kyoto Sanga F.C. Under-18 (Kyoto) away. Sakurai Subaru, who had netted a goal in the previous contest, scored again and Nagoya capped a 3-0 win. Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) earned a score from Hatsuse Ryo and ended up raking up five goals in a big win over Higashiyama High School (Kyoto). Kyoto Tachibana High School (Kyoto), who were promoted before this season, left the pitch as the losers for the second consecutive week with a 1-3 loss against Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) at home.