The 27th Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Tournament started on Saturday 19 December in Ibaraki.

Pick-up Match 1

Kyoto Sanga F.C.U-15　1-3 (1-1, 0-2)　Yokohama F Marinos Junior Youth

The first match at the K's Denki Stadium Mito was between Kyoto Sanga F.C.U-15 (Kansai 1) and Yokohama F Marinos Junior Youth (Kanto 3). Kyoto has many players, who played for the U-15 Japan National Team short-listed squad, while Yokohama FM won the JAPAN Club Youth Football Championship this summer. From the outset, there were some high-level performances on the pitch.

Kyoto moved first. In the three minute, EGAWA Genki, who reacted to a loose ball from a free kick, struck the opener. Although TOSA Rikuu from Yokohama FM later commented: "I was almost demoralised by conceding a goal early on in the match", the team gradually pulled themselves together to attack back. After 26 minutes, TANAHASHI Akito reacted to a forward ball and passed it to NAKAMARU Ruka, who scored the equaliser. The game went into the second half at 1-1.

In the second half, Yokohama FM accelerated their attack and defence in order to decide the game. After 62 minutes, Tosa received a clear ball from Kyoto’s goalkeeper and struck a strong long-distance shot, turning the game around. Then just two minutes after that, NISHIKAWA Jun, who came off the bench, reacted to a cross from the right side to strike the deciding goal. Yokohama FM did not let Kyoto score any more, and won the match to advance to the second round.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

Seagull Hiroshima Junior Youth　0-5 (0-3, 0-2)　Gamba Osaka Junior Youth

In the second game in the Mito City Soccer Rugby Stadium (Twinfield), Seagull Hiroshima Junior Youth (Chugoku 2) met Gamba Osaka Junior Youth (Kansai 3).

Gamba Osaka took the initiative at the beginning of the match with some careful passing in occasionally strong winds. After nine minutes, IBARAKI Ryosuke got through the left wing to send a low cross to HARADA Retsushi in front of the goal. Then Harada fired a half-volley with his right foot, striking the opener. As the coach KAMOGAWA Koji later noted: "the opening goal made the players feel relaxed", Gamba Osaka started to attack even more strongly. ADACHI Tsubasa scored twice in the 14th and 32nd minute, building a three-goal lead before halftime.

After the coach TAOMOTO Yutaro encouraged the players: "let’s stay calm and do what we can", Hiroshima started to attack aggressively in the second half. Two or three players dealt with the ball at the same time, overwhelming the opponent. YAMADA Shuhei at midfield and the captain MAEDA Kazuya led the team in looking for goals.

Gamba Osaka, on the other hand, defended solidly with their bodies, creating more opportunities from counter-attacks to add insurance. MESHINO Soma struck a goal in the 44th minute, and KUBO Yudai in the 72nd minute, winning the game 5-0 to advance to the next stage.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Coach and Players' Comments

TSUBOKURA Shinya, Coach (Yokohama F Marinos Junior Youth)
I didn’t expect to meet one of the strongest teams, Kyoto, but my team were confident enough by winning the Club Youth Football Championship in the summer. So I encouraged the players "not to wait, and play aggressively" before sending them onto the pitch. We don’t mind too much conceding a goal early on in the game.

Pulling themselves together to play calmly despite experiencing something unsettling at the beginning of the match gave the players more confidence. The players seemed to become relaxed by conceding a goal first. We’d like to play the second round, as though it were another start for us.

TOSA Rikuu (Yokohama F Marinos Junior Youth)
As we conceded a goal at the beginning of the game, we struggled for a while. However, after Nakamaru scored the equaliser, we played better. When I scored a goal, I could see a clear course to the goal, as the goalkeeper moved forward. So I kicked through with my right foot.

I know I was facing a strong team today, and I tried to prevent the opponent’s shots as much as possible by not letting them play freely. As the teammates up front ran hard after the opponent, I could also push my limits.

KAMOGAWA Koji, Coach (Gamba Osaka Junior Youth)
In the match, the players tried to play normally, using the space available depending on the opponent’s positioning. I think the players performed with their own thoughts, not just waiting for our instructions. As we struck the opener early on in the game, we could stay relaxed.

The defenders stayed focused, keeping a clean sheet. We achieved a lot in this game. I hope the team will continue winning, and improve themselves by playing competitive games.

YAMADA Shuhei (Seagull Hiroshima Junior Youth)
We played hard as a united team, doing everything we could. I’d like to bring what I learned to high school life. As we lost to Gamba Osaka 6-1 in the Club Youth Football Championship, we faced the match with a strong spirit today. Although we started the game a little awkwardly, we built up attacks in a better manner than in the previous game in the summer.

Of course, I’m not satisfied. I’d like to improve myself in terms of stamina and skills from the basics in my time at high school.

Other Matches (Japanese version only)

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Tournament

2015-12-19 (Sat.) - 12-28 (Mon.)
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