On Monday 7 January, the two semi-final fixtures of the 27th All Japan High School Women's Football Championship was held at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium.

Semi-Final 1

Tokiwagi Gakuen High School 2-0 (1-0, 1-0) Jumonji High School

The first fixture featured a match between Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (Tohoku1/Miyagi) and Jumonji High School (Kanto2/Tokyo), where both sides has won the tournament title in the past.

Tokiwagi Gakuen showed great aggression to carry the ball upfront as they fired many shots from distance, totalling 12 shots just in the first half. While Jumonji took less shots at goal, they created quality opportunities to threaten the Tokiwagi Gakuen goal, including HAMADA Megu’s ninth minute shot that nearly captured the right corner of the goal.

While each side showed great firepower, it was Tokiwagi Gakuen who opened the scoring. In the 34th minute, the Miyagi side capitalised on a corner kick when NISHINO Akane struck a header at the far side. The shot was once blocked by the opposing goalkeeper, but OKINO Ruseri was there to tap in the ball into the net.

The second half saw Jumonji penetrating the right flank to create opportunities, but Tokiwagi Gakuen made the adjustments by utilising their substitutes to cover the flank. With the lead and rhythm on their side, Tokiwagi Gakuen successfully extend their lead in the 69th minute from a fast break.

Despite the efforts made by Jumonji to rally back, the defence line joined by the two defensive midfielders of Tokiwagi Gakuen was too solid to break through, as they held onto their two-goal lead to advance to their first final in four years.

Semi-Final 2

Seisa Kokusai High School Shonan 4-0 (3-0, 1-0) Tokai University Fukuoka Senior High School

The second fixture saw a clash between two teams who has never played at the semi-finals, as Seisa Kokusai High School Shonan (Kanto3/Kanagawa) squared off against Tokai University Fukuoka Senior High School (Kyushu3/Fukuoka).

The match saw early action as Seisa Shonan captured the opening goal in the third minute, when ENDO Sakura struck a shot from 30 meters out, catching the Fukuoka goalkeeper off guards. This goal gave great momentum for Seisa Shonan as they increased their intensity in offence. Through their quick one-touch passing, the Kanagawa side broke down the Tokai University Fukuoka defence. The second goal came in the 30th minute when KATO Momo responded to a through ball. Just five minutes later, this time ANNBO Mami chased down a through ball to find the back of the net to give Seisa Shonan a commanding lead in the first half.

In efforts to rally back from a three-goal deficit, Tokai University Fukuoka displayed better coverage in the central area, but Seisa Shonan started to penetrate the flanks in the second half. In the 60th minute, Annbo broke through the flank and delivered a cross to Kato, who converted the delivery to score her second goal of the match. Tokai University Fukuoka made a shift to play two of their forwards, FUKUNAGA Kiwa and NAKAJIMA Ema up top, but with the superb saves made by the Seisa Shonan goalkeeper, ONO Aoi, they ended up empty handed, as Seisa Shonan captured their ticket to the final.

Players' Comments

OKINO Ruseri (Tokiwagi Gakuen High School)
In the scene where we scored the opening goal, Nishino Akane did most of the job, but with the goalkeeper getting a hand on the ball, I made the run to bury the ball into the net. We were really eager to score the opening goal at that moment, so I was very happy. I have a sense of relief now, because I wasn’t able to perform well in the previous two matches I played. Even though we had control of the ball, we were too scared of the counter attacks, but the opening goal allowed us to play with composure. We are eager to achieve our goal of winning the All Japan High School Women's Football Championship, and we don’t want other people to think that our success at the Inter High School Championships was a fluke, so we hope to finish off the tournament with a win and take down the title.

ANNBO Mami (Seisa Kokusai High School Shonan)
Even though I played in three matches in this tournament, I wasn’t able to score any goals, so I am very happy that I managed to score a goal today. I struck the cross bar twice today, and that was something I’ve never seen before. I am so happy of my goal, my assist to Kato Momo, and the fact that we are advancing to the final. We entered the tournament with the goal to win out of the first round. Once we won our first match, we changed our goal to “Win the next match.” The fact that we gave our very best to achieve our short-term goal has led to this deep run. We will continue to give our best to achieve our goal to “Win the next match” at the final.

The 27th All Japan High School Women's Football Championship

Tournament Dates: Thu. 3 - Sun. 13 January 2019［Free Admission to all matches］
Tournament Venue: Miki Athletic Stadium, Goshikidai Sports Park, Ibuki no Mori Athletic Field, Kobe Sports Park
Tournament Information