The 3rd Sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League EAST will be held on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April.

Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) will meet Shimizu S-pulse Youth (Shizuoka) at home. Ichiritsu Funabashi won twice against Shimizu last year with scores 2-0 in the 8th Sec. and 3-0 in the 17th Sec. As Asaoka Ryuzo, the head coach, commented: ‘we had to defend with patience against the opponent, who had better skills’, Ichiritsu Funabashi beat Shimizu twice with their solid defence and swift counter-attacks. This year they will try the same attacking tactic – defend solidly, waiting for an opportunity for counter-attacks.

F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) will play against JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka). In the previous section, F.C. Tokyo won against Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa (Chiba) 4-0. Sato Kazuki, the head coach, pointed out that they kept a clean sheet and noted: ‘we could show what we’ve been practicing. It’s vital not to concede goals as much as possible to get through the league matches.’ On the other hand, JFA Academy Fukushima, who started with consecutive losses, had only four shots in the match against Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) in the previous section. They also need to focus on their defence, as they conceded goals just before the last whistle of the first half in both two games.

The match between Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) and Aomori Yamada cannot be missed. Kashiwa made significant changes to the team this year and first and the second graders are playing in the defensive line, which has been working very well without conceding any goals. If the attackers, who had only two shots in the 1st Sec. and four in the 2nd Sec., brace themselves, they will likely to get three points. In the meantime, Aomori Yamada started with consecutive victories despite some concerns - Kuroda Go, the head coach of, commented earlier: ‘our first priority is to stay in the league.’ They had to play 10 games to wait for their second victory last year.

Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) will meet Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa. Kashima won against F.C. Tokyo in the 1st Sec., striking the opener and defending solidly after that.  In the match against Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido), they scored twice in both first and second half and swept the game 4-0. Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa, on the other hand, were struggling with their consecutive losses. Honda Yijiro, the head coach commented: ‘it won’t work even if we change the starting line-up or the tactics.’ How will they play while the second graders are away on their tour in Italy?

［Pickup Match］
Consadole Sapporo U-18 vs. Omiya Ardija Youth

Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido) will aim to halt their losing streak at home. Sapporo tend to struggle at the beginning of the league with under-strength preparation due to the snow. Their record from last year was one win and four losses in the five consecutive games after their opening match. They still have to improve their attack, as they remain scoreless, but their main focus is the defence. Although Omiya Ardija Youth (Saitama) tend to retain possession, they cannot finish with shots. They have yet to win a game. As Kurokawa Atsushi noted: ‘our attackers, including me, just haven’t been able to score yet, despite the solid defence’, the players do understand why this is happening. They are determined to fix it in the coming game.

Premier League EAST 3rd Sec.

Sat. 25 April
11:00  Ichiritsu Funabashi High School   vs.   Shimizu S-pulse Youth（Grasspo）
15:00  Kashiwa Reysol U-18   vs.   Aomori Yamada High School（Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Field）
15:30  F.C. TokyoU-18   vs.   JFA Academy Fukushima（Tokyo Gas Musashino Ground）

Sun. 26 April
11:00  Kashima Antlers Youth   vs.   Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa（Kashima Soccer Stadium）
14:30  Consadole SapporoU-18   vs.   Omiya Ardija Youth（Shiroi Koibito Park） 

More Information

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