On Monday 30 June, the third day of the 13th National Senior (Over-50) Football Tournament was held in Obihiro, Hokkaido. The final day had two semi-final matches and the final match where four teams that survived the first round fought competitive contests to reach to the top.

Semifinal

Alfoot Azumino Senior　1-1(PK7-6、1st 1-1、2md 0-0)　Hyogo Senior 50 Select
Toyopet Club  4-0(1st 4-0、2nd 0-0)　Aichi Senior 50

The match between the last year’s runner-up, Hyogo Senior 50 Select (Hyogo) and the three consecutive semi-finalists, Alfoot Azumino Senior (Nagano) went to penalty kicks after each scored one in the first half and none in the second. There was no determination by five kickers each, forcing a sudden death. In the end, Alfoot Azumino Senior’s Goalkeeper Okubo Masatoshi stopped Hyogo’s ninth kicker while Alfoot’s ninth did not miss the opportunity. Alfoot Azumino Senior moved to the final for the first time.

The last year’s champion, Toyopet Club (Tokyo) won against Aichi Senior 50 (Aichi) 4-0 after starting with Ota Takehiko’s goal at the 5th minute and adding three more goals only in the first half. Only one more win was required for the team to grab the back-to-back title.

Final

Toyopet Club　1-0(1st 0-0、2nd 1-0)　Alfoot Azumino Senior

The final between teams that faced each other at the semi-final last year was a close match. From the start, Toyopet Club created goal scoring opportunities with solid attacks as they moved around the ball mainly controlled by its central midfielders Watanuma Mitsuaki and Onuki Keiichi. Despite the effort, however, Toyopet Club couldn’t put it into the net of Alfoot Azumino Senior. “We lost 0-3 last year, so we started defensively creating a firm defensive block,” said Alfoot Azumino Senior’s Uchida Hiroaki. After the first half ended without any goal from the both clubs, Toyopet sent Onuki up front and kept attacking from the sides with less ball touches in order to snatch a goal. At the 8th minute of the second half, Toyopet fed the ball to the right side from Onuki’s post-play. After getting into the penalty box with short passes, Onuki finished with his left foot strike to give Toyopet a much-needed lead. Alfoot Azumino, which sat one goal down, kept fighting back only to miss the finish. The game ended  with Toyopet’s back-to-back winning, after they kept up the attacking efforts and managed the time efficiently the rest of the way.

Comments

NAKANO Shigeru Head Coach（Toyopet Club）
We won the championship last year in Fujieda and have practiced to win back-to-back. Having trained with teams in the Tokyo’s senior league, we could work on the weaknesses. That could bring us the win. It was a great thing that we continued our training on a regular basis to win tough games. We did well in the first round and semi-final but had a hard time in the final. We could win the game and I am so relieved, because I was worried if it would go to the penalty shootouts. What’s good about senior football is we take a bath together, drink and enjoy talking a lot about the game we just had, so I’m looking forward to doing that after this.

UCHINO Makoto（Toyopet Club）
We won last year, but it ended up with the penalty kicks. I’m pleased to get a win in the regulation. This is the fourth time to participate in the Kanto Tournament or the National Tournament. We weren’t well-prepared when we participated for the first time as we didn’t understand the games and competitions. It was significant that we kept taking part in competitions and got used to them. All players including ones who got injured came to Obihiro and helped the team to prepare and did ball boy for the rest of the team. It was great we could be all in one. Because senior players are physically declining, it is important to create a build-up that doesn’t depend on their athletic abilities. That is supposed to be the fun part, but it’s also tiring because we have to think a lot and be smart.

AKAHANE Takehiko（Alfoot Azumino Senior）
We lost 0-3 against Toyopet Club in the semi-final last year. We put more effort into the defence, feeling that we would not win if we would play the same. Finishing with 0-0 in the first half was just as we planned, but it collapsed when we conceded the opening goal. While I’m disappointed just because we reached to the final and we wanted to win, I’m satisfied that we got the best from ourselves. This is the fourth time to participate in the tournament. I myself have gradually grown up on and off the pitch with all the failures I had every time I participated. I’m happy because there aren’t many opportunities to grow up at my age. I hope this result stimulates kids our members coach.

UCHIDA Hiroaki（Alfoot Azumino Senior）
I’m honestly tired because we had five games in three days. We could play well in the first half but the second half was tough as the opponent fed a lot of long balls to upfront No.24 (ONUKI Keiichi). The difference between our team and the opponent was not only physical abilities but also accuracy in each play and tenacity to keep sprinting the last one or two meters. I’m happy to play again with guys I played together in our high-school days. (Toyopet Club’s) Onuki was one of my opponents at the Inter-high School Tournament and the National Sports Festival when I played for Toyoshina High School. At that time, I felt he was a much better player, but I believe there are some parts that I could catch up as we got older. That’s what’s good about senior football.

JFA-TV

Ranking

Winner：Toyopet Club

2nd Place：Alfoot Azumino Senior

3rd Place：Hyogo Senior 50 Select、Aichi Senior 50

Cooperation