The second leg of the Prince Takamado Trophy Premier League WEST will be played on 16 and 17 April. 

Pick-up Match
Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth vs Oita Trinita U-18

Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth (Hiroshima) will host Oita Trinita U-18 (Oita) on the 17th.

Hiroshima had only two games throughout last season that they held their opponents scoreless, but they put up a 1-0 win over Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 (Kyoto) in their season opening contest this year. Especially, Sanfrecce gave Sanga a chance to have only one shot in the second half, so they got off to a great start, playing descent defence. However, Sanfrecce coach SAWADA Kentaro wasn’t satisfied and tried to get his team prepared for the second-leg game. “We could give ourselves credit for not giving up any goals, but at the same time their made some mistakes and it contributed”, he said. “We still have an issue on how we lost the ball and we still had some weakness in battling with the opponents for the ball.”

Under NAKAMURA Tamotsu, who took over as coach this year, Oita took on Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka). They wound up losing 2-3, but their players played with a lot of energy. With goals by ONOHARA Kou and TSURU Naoki, they once took a lead, and they were able to gain some confidence offensively. Their next contest against Hiroshima will be a game that could alter their fate in the entire season. “Overcoming the issues we came up in our season opening game, we were going to test our genuine ability in the second-leg game”, Nakamura said.

Coach and Players' Comments

SAWADA Kentaro, Coach (Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C. Youth)
Oita is a tough team who don’t make many mistakes. Last year, we were overwhelmed by their momentum and wound up dropping games (Hiroshima lost both two games). This year, we would like to move the ball well and win battles for the ball. We are not going to neglect on our hard working and win the game by any means. Also, we had hard times performing our own brand of ball, so we would like to be a team so people eventually say that we have energy and momentum this year.

IYOHA Osamu Henry (Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C. Youth)
Our strength is that we can keep fighting throughout the 90 minutes for the team. In the Oita game, I think that the point will be how much we can win in the battles for the ball and exhibiting our resiliency both offensively and defensively. Individually, I have confidence in heading and  tenacious defensive plays before the goal. Performing my own strengths, hopefully I can get involved in some offensive plays as well. It’s my pleasure that I can play against the top-flight team that have players of the same generation. And I’m excited to put up some challenge in showcasing what I can do and putting up some battles.

NAKAMURA Tamotsu, Coach (Oita Trinita U-18)
Against Hiroshima, who apply a 3-4-3 formation, which we play as well, it will be a key how we can find mismatches. Also, we will at least have to keep out transition speed between our offence and defence and have to win in battles for the ball with our intensity. If we take the game, I think we will get some momentum. In the previous leg, we realized how tough it was to win a game. Every single team put up their passion to win in this league, and we will have to fight with the entire team, including our staff.

FUJINO Kyoya  (Oita Trinita U-18)
Our team keep running for our teammates and make up mistakes they make, and we won’t get behind anyone in terms of those devoting plays. We have a unity that we don’t get collapsed no matter how tough situations we are in. In our game against Hiroshima, I think that our side attacks will be one of the keys. Individually, I would like to lead the team and hold them to no goals, while I don’t want to get beaten in 1-on-1 situations. I’m excited to see how much we will develop through the Premier League play.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C. Youth vs Oita Trinita U-18
Date: Sun. 17 April　kick-off 11:00
Venue: Yoshida Soccer Park
Access: 20 minutes on a taxi from "Mukaihara Station" of the JR Geibi Line

Premier League WEST Match Day 2

4/16
15:00　Gamba Osaka Youth vs Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School (Gamba Osaka Ground)

4/17
11:00　Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 vs Nagoya Grampus U18 (Kyoto Sanga F.C. Higashijoyo Ground)
15:00　Cerezo Osaka U-18 vs Vissel Kobe U-18 (Cerezo Osaka Maishima Ground)

*The games listed below have been postponed due to the earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture. (4/16)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth vs Oita Trinita U-18 (Yoshida Soccer Park)
Ozu High School vs Higashi Fukuoka High School (Ozu Athletic Park Ground)

Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) will face Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School (Hyogo), both of who triumphed in their season-opening games, will play for their consecutive wins at stake. Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 and Nagoya Grampus U18 (Aichi) will play to earn their first win of the season. Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka) will take on Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo) at home.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Match Day 1 Digest

More information