Pick-up Match

Aomori Yamada High School 2-0 (0-0, 2-0) Urawa Red Diamonds Youth

The 13th Sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League EAST took place on Saturday 15 and Monday 17 September where Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) squared off with Urawa Red Diamonds Youth (Saitama).

In a match that was played under strong wind, Aomori Yamada elected to play on the leeward side, despite winning the coin-toss. Aomori Yamada's Coach KURODA Go later explained their decision, “We wanted to face the wind while we had plenty of energy.” As expected, it was Urawa who took advantage of the situation to take the initiative of the match.

With the wind literally pushing their backs, Urawa pressed hard to start the match, utilising their forwards to run up the field to exploit the open space. From their aggressive approach, the team earned numbers of opportunities, from their corner kicks and long-throws, but they were denied by the persistent effort shown by the Aomori Yamada side. Urawa's Coach UENO Yusaku later reflected, “We had to score during that stretch,” as their missed opportunities in the early minutes came to haunt them later in the match.

As the strength of the wind whittled away, Aomori Yamada gained momentum. After displaying a shaky start, the first-year player, FUJIWARA Yudai (#20), who started the match for the first time to fill in the suspended AMAGASA Taiki (#7), gradually picked up his rhythm, as he later mentioned, “The older players helped me relax by encouraging me with positive words.” While the Aomori side took control of the midfield area, Urawa utilised the flanks to create opportunities, as their midfielder YAMANAKA Atsuki (#24) came close to scoring during the half. Despite seeing chances created by both sides, the first half ended scoreless.

The match entered the second half 0-0 just as Coach Kuroda has planned out, and it was Aomori Yamada’s turn to take the upwind to initiate their attacks. In the 51^st minute, Aomori Yamada started a counter attack after denying a chance created by the Urawa side. Midfielder TAKEDA Hidetoshi (#18) penetrated the space behind the Urawa defence line before sending a cross to the far side, where the league’s top scorer, DANZAKI Riku (#10) awaited to capitalise on this opportunity to give his side the opening goal. The Aomori side would go onto double their lead just two minutes later, when Fujiwara converted a delivery from a freekick.

In efforts to rally back, Urawa sought for their opportunities as midfielder IKETAKA Nobuki (#10) attempted to break through, but Aomori Yamada’s defence line led by MIKUNI Kenedeiebusu (#5) and NIKAIDO Seiya (#4) was too solid to exploit in 90 minutes. As a result, Aomori Yamada earned three points with this shutout victory to keep themselves in second place, trailing just to Kashima Antlers Youth.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

KURODA Go, Coach (Aomori Yamada High School)
With the wind blowing against us the first half was certainly tough, but I told my players to keep a clean sheet and the players performed well to execute are game plan. Even thought there were tough stretches, we didn’t allow any critical opportunities to our opponents. Our first goal came from a great play. Danzaki is always anticipating to convert the crosses delivered from the right side. We are committed to win all of the remaining matches in this league.

MF #20 FUJIWARA Yudai (Aomori Yamada High School)
(Regarding his first start) I was nervous from the moment I was told that I was starting the match. I kept my focus on playing simple, rather than holding onto the ball too much. Amagasa gave me advices before the match and during halftime to help me adjust to the match. (Regarding the goal) My strongest weapon is my header, so I was pretty confident to score in that situation. I have been practising to take shots from that angle, so it felt pretty good.

UENO Yusaku, Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds Youth)
We really had to score while we had the wind on our side. Going into the match, we knew that it would be a very tough match if we allowed Aomori Yamada to score first. That is why it was so essential to convert our opportunities early on. However, our players fought well in this away match. They showcased exactly what we have been working on for the past week. Earning points is important, but we will take home all the positives out of this match and move forward.

DF #4 OMOMO Leon (Urawa Red Diamonds Youth)
In the first half, we spoke to each other to take advantage of the wind to exploit the space behind the full backs, and our forwards made great efforts to chase down the long balls. In the scene where we conceded the goal, my clearance was intercepted by the opponents, and I had to be more careful to keep possession of the ball. The overall performance of our team was not so bad, but we couldn’t score goals. We must heighten our quality at the final third to score more goals as a team.

Results of other matches

Kashiwa Reysol U-18 3-0 (3-0, 0-0) Ichiritsu Funabashi High School
Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School 1-0 (0-0, 1-0) Toyama Daiichi High School
Kashima Antlers Youth 1-0 (0-0, 1-0) FC Tokyo U-18
Jubilo Iwata U-18 0-2 (0-1, 0-1) Shimizu S-pulse Youth

Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) won their home game against Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) after scoring three goals in the first half. Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School (Chiba) held onto their opening goal that came in the 63^rd minute to win over Toyama Daiichi High School (Toyama). First place Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) added another three points after beating FC Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) to get one step closer to the league title. Shimizu S-pulse Youth (Shizuoka) prevailed in the Shizuoka derby match between Jubilo Iwata U-18 (Shizuoka) with their two goals.

Tournament Period：Sat. 7 April 2018 ～ Sun. 9 December 2018

Tournament Information