Pick-up Match

Cerezo Osaka U-18   3-4 (2-0, 1-4)   Gamba Osaka Youth

The 4th round of the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League WEST on Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May was an Osaka derby between Cerezo Osaka U-18 and Gamba Osaka Youth.

Just as MIYAMOTO Tsuneyasu, the coach of Gamba Osaka, commented: ‘we cannot be beaten by our local rival’, the team showed their determination in the match. In the first half, Cerezo Osaka took the initiative. After 21 minutes, HAYASHIBE Koki, who received a pass from YAMADA Hiroto, struck the opener with his left foot, followed by a superb long-distance shot by FUNAKI Kakeru in the 22nd minute. Cerezo Osaka quickly built up a two-goal lead. Gamba Osaka, on the other hand, could not get the ball near the goal and ended the first half without any shots. The coach Miyamoto later noted: ‘despite Cerezo’s fierce pressure, we tried to get through the centre.’

At the beginning of the second half, Gamba Osaka MESHINO Ryotaro’s shot hit the opponent’s hand, sending the defender off. Although Gamba Osaka earned a penalty kick with a numerical advantage, Meshino’s kick was saved by INOUE Seiya. Gamba Osaka could not close the gap.

In the 63rd minute, a mistake in a combination play in defence let Cerezo Osaka score their third goal. Despite the fact Gamba Osaka could not find their momentum, the team started to show their new playing style – MATSUMOTO Ayumu noted: ‘we have strong spirit to turn the game around.’ After SATO Yamato struck a goal in the 63rd minute, Meshino found the back of the net with a cross from the left, closing the gap to one goal in the 75th minute. Gamba Osaka never stopped their attack. After 85 minutes, Matsumoto scored the equaliser. Then USUI Kanta fired a shot with his left foot just before the final whistle to turn the match around. Even the coach Miyamoto admitted: ‘the game surprised me.’ Gamba Osaka earned their third victory this season. 

Coach and Players' Comments

MURATA Kazuhiro, Coach (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
As many of us have lost to Gamba Osaka when we were in a junior youth team, we played with a strong spirit today. We may have been intimidated by the opponent at the beginning, but we could display our playing style, and take the initiative. In the second half, we had to play with 10 players only and couldn’t react quickly enough to the opponent’s long-distance balls. 

HAYASHIBE Koki (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
I have never won against Gamba Osaka in junior high school time. I’m gutted, as it was a good opportunity to show off what I’ve learned in three years of high school. In the first half, we could press from up front, and find our pace. Although we scored in a good time, losing one player had a severe impact on the match. As we haven’t got used to playing with 10 players, and we let the opponent take the initiative. After building a three-goal lead, we thought we were going to win and couldn’t sustain our concentration well enough.

MIYAMOTO Tsuneyasu, Coach (Gamba Osaka Youth)
Although I believe we started well, we let the opponent strike the opener due to a lack of concentration. We conceded the second goal shortly after that, just like the game against Higashi Fukuoka High School in the previous round, in which we lost. However, the players refreshed their minds in the second half, and attacked back. There were negative aspects to our performance – conceding three goals without any shot attempts and failing to score with a penalty kick. We earned this victory by believing that we could turn the game around starting with one goal.

MATSUMOTO Ayumu (Gamba Osaka Youth)
As Cerezo Osaka is also from Osaka and a strong team, I was determined to win. When we conceded three goals from our own mistakes in the first half, I thought it was a tall order to turn the situation around, if I’m honest. However, the atmosphere around our team became better after scoring the first goal, which brought us an upset victory. We lost to Higashi Fukuoka in the previous round. I thought we couldn’t claim to be a strong team, if we lost once again – that’s how I faced today’s game against Cerezo Osaka. I’m over the moon that we won the match.

Other Matches

Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School   0-0 (0-0, 0-0)   Higashi Fukuoka High School
Nagoya Grampus U18   1-2 (1-1, 0-1)   Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth
Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18   1-1 (0-0, 1-1)   Vissel Kobe U-18
Oita Trinita U-18   <Postpone>   Ozu High School

Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School (Hyogo), who lost two consecutive games, met Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka), who had been unbeaten since the start of the tournament. Despite good performances from both teams, the game stayed scoreless until the final whistle. 

Despite KIN Ryoya‘s opener in the 15th minute of the match between Nagoya Grampus U18 (Aichi) and Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth (Hiroshima), Nagoya conceded one goal each in the first and second half, letting the opponent turn the game around.

Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 (Kyoto) played a home game against Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo). Although HATTORI Kohei scored another goal after the one in the previous match to strike the opener in the 60th minute, the opponent levelled the match in injury time of the second half. The game between two teams from Kyushu, Oita Trinita U-18 (Oita) and Ozu High School (Kumamoto), was postponed due to the Kumamoto earthquakes.  

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