The final of the 28th Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Tournament was held on Wednesday 28 December at Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka as Shimizu S-Pulse Junior Youth (Tokai 1) claimed the title for the first time in 16 years, third in their history, with a 3-1 win over Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo U-15 (Hokkaido 1).

Final

Shimizu S-Pulse Junior Youth　3-1 (3-1, 0-0)　Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo U-15

The first scoring action came in the opening six minutes. While Shimizu moved the ball well, Sapporo capitalised on their first opportunity. SAKASHITA Keigo fired a free kick toward the far post from a 45-degree angle in front of goal. His shot hit off the post, and YASUDA Nishiki tapped it in at the end from a goalmouth scramble. Shimizu gave up the opening goal but played composedly as the wind was at their back. In the 11th minute, KAWAMOTO Riyo fired a drive with his left foot from the outside of the box through a throw-in on the right flank. His blast found the near-side of the net, and his team got back to square one.

With the equaliser, Shimizu added their attacking impetus. After they changed the sides from right to left in the 15th minute, left back SUZUKI Mizuki took a shot from distance. Suzuki put it into the right side of the net to help his team turn the score around. Just two minutes later, YAMAZAKI Ryosuke picked up the ball on the left flank and netted a well-controlled shot after dribbling. Shimizu extended the lead to 3-1 before the first half finished.

After Shimizu's intense attacks, Sapporo on the other hand rallied back in the second half. Even on defending situations, full backs went up and actively robbed the ball as well as created space in the opposing end. And the other Sapporo players got involved in combinations of their two strikers by faking to receive a pass and letting it go or running behind the defensive line. Those efforts activated movement of players and the ball. Sapporo sent crosses after breaking through the right flank in the 43rd and 50th minutes, but Shimizu coped well with them without losing composure.

Shimizu did not allow Sapporo to complete their attacking by concentrating on the key points with substitutions and position swaps. Conversely in the 77th minute, Shimizu’s substitute SAKAKIBARA Kyota threatened Sapporo with a long-range shot on a counterattack. Sapporo kept seeking for a goal until the end, but the total number of shots taken were three, which was one shot fewer than the number in the first half. The score remained the same at 3-1 before the final whistle was blown. Following the JFA Premier Cup in spring and the Japan Club Youth (U-15) Football Championship in summer, Shimizu clinched their third title of the season to cap the year.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Coaches' and Players' Comments

IWASHITA Jun, Coach (Shimizu S-Pulse Junior Youth)
Unless possessing a strong mind to win against the opponents at hand, the players cannot realise their dream of becoming a professional. I think they worked hard and got good results. We gave up a goal first in most matches, but I told them not to look down and not to lose the potential. The fact that they did what they could do and turned the score around turned out to be a very good experience. And I tell my player not to lose on one-on-one situations. I try to help them get various options and ideas, but they need skills to make those work. In the final, we were able to show our strength, breaking through with individual play or combination with others. But it's still one of the things that need to be done. I want my players to work hard to become a professional.

KAWAMOTO Riyo (Shimizu S-Pulse Junior Youth)
In the last tournament, we lost because I missed one in a penalty shootout. I'm happy if this year's three crowns turned out to be our repayment to last year's third graders. I didn't feel pressed when we gave up the opening goal, but it happened because of my clearance mistake. So I wanted to get a goal myself. We didn't take many shots as a team, and the one I took with my intention to ignite my teammates with that attempt actually went into the net.  Everyone on the team is hard-working and has been able to strengthen body trunk with proper diet and physical training. That led us to the three crowns. My awareness about that grew since I felt the difference between physical intensity and skills in overseas tours. Like Japanese international OKAZAKI Shinji, who grew out from Shimizu to the world, I want to be a player who can perform in the international scene.

MORIKAWA Takumi, Coach (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo U-15)
My players were really tensed, but their start into the game wasn't so bad. In the first 15 minutes, how much they know football made the difference. We wanted to force the opponents to stay on sides and get the ball but allowed to them to get into the centre and we ended up giving up three goals. In the second half, we played at positions where we can show aggressive attitudes, but Shimizu didn't give us a chance for a shot or cross. Shimizu just did what they were capable of doing.  We didn't have enough ideas. But my players came to read the game situation and started understanding what to do. This was a tournament where we were able to show what we had throughout the year.

HONMA Yohei (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo U-15)
Shimizu knew the flow of the game, and we couldn't cope with shots taken from the windward (in the first half). Each one of the players lost in physical battles. Even when getting close with multiple players, we were beaten and allowed shots, which led to a goal. We didn't give up so many goals in this tournament. When we scored the opening goal, which we thought it was important, we wanted to get our momentum. But the goal we gave up after that hurt us. This is the last chance to play with those teammates, so I'm very disappointed at the loss. But everyone grew and played their own role, so we could get good results in this tournament.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Final highlight

Shimizu S-Pulse Junior Youth (Tokai 1/Shizuoka) vs Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo U-15 (Hokkaido 1)

28th Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Tournament

2016-12-17(Sat.)～2016-12-28(Wed.)
First Round～Quarter-finals：Various Stadiums in Ibaraki Prefecture
Semi-finals～FinalAjinomoto Field Nishigaoka(Tokyo)
Tournament Information
Fixtures and Results (Japanese version only)