The Prince Takamado Trophy Premier League WEST kicked off on 9 April. The first match was held in Yanmar Stadium Nagai and Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka) faced Oita Trinita U-18 (Oita). Cerezo Osaka’s SUZUKI Toichi scored the opening goal, but their defense confusion gave Oita Trinita chances to turn the match around.

In the 84th minute, the Suzuki of Cerezo Osaka scored their second goal and equalised the score, and then in the 90+3rd minute FUNAKI Kakeru pushed the ball forward from his half to the opponent’s penalty area and smashed it; the ball successfully found the net. The match ended with Cerezo Osaka U-18’s victory 3-2.

The second match between Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo) and Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) was so intensive that both teams couldn’t break through each other. The match went on towards the end with the score at 1-1, but then Higashi Fukuoka’s FUJIKAWA Kotaro and SATO Ryoga scored goals to push Kobe away, and the match ended with Higashi Fukuoka High School’s 3-1 victory.

The third match was held in Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium. Last year’s champion Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) faced Ozu High School (Kumamoto). Gamba Osaka’s Coach MIYAMOTO Tsuneyasu reviewed the team as “firm, since it was their first match”, but in the 4th minute, Gamba Osaka’s SATO Yamato scored the opening goal.

After the opener, they couldn’t get the second goal, and were attacked by Ozu High School at times, but defense worked well spotting any danger and they could keep a clean sheet. In the 71st minute MESHINO Ryotaro scored the team’s second goal to decide the match. Gamba Osaka started the competition well for their second consecutive title.

Another first round match was between Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 (Kyoto) and Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth (Hiroshima) and was held on 10 April. Even though both teams made some opportunities from the beginning, they couldn’t score in the first half.

While they continued the seesaw game in the 2nd half, Hiroshima got the chance by attacking from their side wing. In the 69th minute, Hiroshima’s YAMANE Towa pushed the cross from KAWAI Ayumu. The opening goal decided the the match; Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth got 3 points by beating Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18.

Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School (Hyogo) ended the series of first matches. They are joining in the Premier League for the first time, and from the first match they made a goal rush. As the opponent team Nagoya Grampus U18 (Aichi)’s player KAJIYAMA Kanta described them “each of them were too patient for us to play as we expected”,  Kobe Koryo took control from the beginning with their strengths and got 2 goals just in the 1st half. They maintained their momentum in the 2nd half. In the 72nd minute, TAKEMURA Fumiaki scored an additional goal; Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School got its first victory 3-0. 

Comments

MURATA Kazuhiro, Coach (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
In the 1st half, their movement was heavier and they couldn’t keep their strengths in pressing which is usually their advantage. The whole of the team was in an incomplete condition. We could get the opening goal, but it was a shame that we couldn’t have enough power to keep strong pressure and speed. Both offense and defense didn’t have “depth” and the ball just moved around a lot. In the 2nd half, the players could be consistent to keep a compact form of defense. I think they could play how they wanted to do at the end of the match. 

MIYAMOTO Tsuneyasu, Coach (Gamba Osaka Youth)
The players kicked off calmly thanks to the first goal in the earlier time, but they couldn’t manage the match as they wanted. What we prepared for this match spending 1 week was defense; we assumed that Ozu High School would make a long pass to the front so we particularly prepared to defend that. I think we did a good preparation as a team, and I appreciate them not only for defending the opponent’s attack, but also for keeping stable level of play throughout the match. 

MESHINO Ryotaro (Gamba Osaka Youth)
Most players who played today are not the usual starting or substitute players. Before the match, we couldn’t be confident and some of them said if we could win. I am the one who experienced the opening match last year and senior player of the team, these things make me have more sense of responsibility and I was very nervous yesterday. In the match, we could get momentum by having a good ball touch and we could score. Considering that it was the first match, I am pleased with what we did today very much. 

MORIOKA Ryuzo, Coach (Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18)
Last year, we conceded 10 goals in 2 matches against Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth. For this match, we prepared with a stronger motivation for making more consistent defense. We haven’t changed one of our advantages “aggressiveness”, but we had too strong attention to defense today. Additionally, I felt firmness which we find particularly in first matches. They could calmly defend, but there would have been more chances if they could move the ball more. 

MATSUDA Hiroshi, Coaches Training Assistant Director (Prince Takamado Trophy Premier League 2016 Technical Study Group)
There are characteristics of each team and I am looking forward to the upcoming matches. There was a match with significant number of goals, but the actual gap in terms of their strengths seemed to be small. All 5 matches express the fact about what they do in their football doesn’t always reflect on their results. What makes the difference is how much you can play in detail, so I expect the players to mature paying more attention to details. 

Match Results

4/9 (Sat.)
Cerezo Osaka U-18   3-2 (1-1, 2-1)   Oita Trinita U-18
Vissel Kobe U-18   1-3 (1-1, 0-2)   Higashi Fukuoka High School
Gamba Osaka Youth   2-0 (1-0, 1-0)   Ozu High School

4/10 (Sun.)
Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18   0-1 (0-0, 0-1)   Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth
Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School   3-0 (2-0, 1-0)   Nagoya Grampus U18

Full match video is here. (Japanese version only)

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