The final of the 23rd All Japan High School Women's Soccer Tournament was held at the Noevir Stadium Hyogo on Sunday 11 Januray.

Hinomoto Gakuen High School (Kansai1/Hyogo) 0-0 PK4-2 (1st 0-0, 2nd 0-0, Extra1st 0-0, Extra2nd 0-0) Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (Tohoku1/Miyagi) 

The final was a grandstand finish between Hinomoto Gakuen High School Kansai1/Hyogo), who were aiming to become back-to-back champions and win the championship for the third time, and Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (Tohoku1/Miyagi), who wanted to win their sixth championship and their first in two years.

After two minutes, Yasaka Mei from Hinomoto Gakuen passed a cross forward, receiving the ball from Watanabe Natsuki on the right wing, only for it to be saved with a punch by Ono Asuka, the Takiwagi Gakuen goalkeeper. Although Ikejiri Mayu had a shot from the rebound off the goalkeeper, it hit the bar. In the 10th minute, an accident happened. Kitsuki Yui, the goalkeeper of Hinomoto Gakuen, was injured after some contact play and the match was temporarily halted. After the goalkeeper Kitsuki received treatment, the match started again in the 19th minute. Hinomoto Gakuen pressed the opponent with their attacks and after 26 minutes, Ikejiri, who reacted a free kick from Yasaka, ran towards the goal area. Then Tada Ayaka also pressed forward twice, but the ball was cleared by Sugihara Haruna of Tokiwagi Gakuen.

Hinomoto Gakuen stayed ambitious for goals with a swift change between attack and defence. On the other hand, Tokiwagi Gakuen focused on a solid defence with Kawasaki Saya at right back, who aggressively overlapped to use the width of the pitch, and waited for attacking opportunities.

The second half started scoreless. Attack and defence kept switching dramatically. After 65 minutes, Watanabe of Hinomoto Gakuen struck at the goal from the right side, but pushed it wide of the left post. In the 74th minute, although Mitsuhashi Asuka of Tokiwagi Gakuen, who played the combination with Kobayashi Rikako, shot at goal, the goalkeeper Kitsuki saved it. Then after 81 minutes, Hiratsuka Maki of Hinomoto Gakuen in front of the goal shot wide. Tokiwagi Gakuen also had a goal-scoring opportunity in the 90th minute. Kobayashi got through the defensive line, facing forward, and passed the ball towards the area in front of the goal. Then Sugihara ran onto the ball and struck at the goal, which sadly hit the right post. Although the match went into extra time at 0-0, the score stayed the same. It went to penalties. While the first and the fourth kicker of Tokiwagi Gakuen missed, Hinomoto Gakuen had four successes. Hinomoto Gakuen became back-to-back champions after winning the Inter-high school championships in the summer for two consecutive years, which was achieved for the first time ever.
Details can be found here.

Match Detail

Comments

KOBAYASHI Rikako（Tokiwagi Gakuen High School）
It was difficult to attack through. Having said that, the content of the first half was good. We pressed the opponent, eliminating their advantages and attacking their weaknesses. In the second half, the opponent was better than us. Our team has improved compared to last year but we could still find more mental and physical issues, which we’d like to work on and improve even more. I’d like to get more attacking power on top of the current Tokiwagi Gakuen’s skill going forward, so that we can attack against any opponent. I’d like to lean more from my third grade.

NISHIKAWA Ayaka（Tokiwagi Gakuen High School）
It would have been better if we had scored before going to penalties. We couldn’t find the back of the net. As Kobayashi Rikako followed loose balls well, we could start the attacks from the wing. We all have been playing so hard, but I missed my penalty. I’ve been practicing for this tournament. I’d like to expect my younger teammates to do better and also I’d like to improve myself as well.

TANABE Tomoe Head Coach（Hinomoto Gakuen High School）
Although it was a good game, the quantity and the quality of the shots need to be improved. We can point out that we kept a clean sheet, but we have to work on scoring goals. We were confident with our defenders, who had high skills, including the goalkeeper Kitsuki. I think they performed best today. This year’s team had a lot of support. I hope the good aspects of this year’s team will remain, while improving each individual even more.

KITSUKI Yui（Hinomoto Gakuen High School）
I tried to stay focused even more after picking up an injury, and stayed vocal, calling out to the defenders. There were tough times, but we all saved our goals. I have thought that if the game went to penalties, I was the one who could save the goals to lead my team to victory. I couldn’t think in any other way. When I saved the fourth penalty, I thought we were one step nearer to winning the championship. I trusted my teammates would score their penalties. I’m over the moon that we won the game. I’m grateful to everyone for supporting us.

All Japan High School Women's Football Tournament

Sat. 3 January -  Sun. 11 January 2015

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