Prince Takamdo Trophy U-18 Football League 2014 Premier League kicked off its matches on April 6. Following the results of the first section, we preview how each team react to the results of the first section.

Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) had a draw game in the opening match, and will play against Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido) at home. They look to score their first goal of the season and win three points by their own style of football, which frequently uses short passes. Sapporo, meanwhile, allowed three goals in their first match to Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka). Their offence was not good, either, attempting only three shots. They thirst for coming back in this section from the tough start. 

Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School (Chiba) will have Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) visiting at home. Although beating Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) 3-2 in the first match, HC Honda Yuichiro looks back the match saying “It was a very bad game.” The question is how players will respond to the high level of demand by the coach. 

Funabashi Municipal High School is looking for their 1st win of the season against Tokyo Verdi Youth (Tokyo). In the 1st section match against JFA Academy Fukushima, they executed a steady game plan by relying on their defence with the lead by last year’s U-18 National Team goalkeeper Shimura Ko. On the other hand, even though they finished the match with a loss, Tokyo Verdi had a good stretch where their offense overwhelmed the opponent’s defence. It will be noteworthy whether they will defeat Funabashi for their 1st win.

Mitsubishi Ryowa will match up against Aomori Yamada and look for their second straight win with Disaro Akira Silvano and Soma Yuki leading their offense. Disaro headed in two goals in the last match. Their opponent, Aomori Yamada, has three big defenders, all taller than 180cm, in the defence line and has strengthened their defence against cross balls. One of the keys of this match will certainly be how Aomori Yamada’s defence will stop Mitsubishi Ryowa’s Disaro Akira Silvano.

[Notable match of EAST’s second section]
JFA Academy Fukushima vs Shimizu S-Pulse Youth

Despite their 1st season after promoted to Premier League, JFA Academy Fukushima (Fukushima) finished third in the ranking last year. It’s still early in the season, they already face an opportunity to play against Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka), which was ranked 2nd in last year’s final standing. JFA Fukushima has welcomed many new players in the offseason, and their head coach Nakata Yasuto says “Staying in the Premier League is our first goal.” In the opening match, they had a draw game against Funabashi Municipal High School. Now they have their sight on the first win in this section. Shimizu, meanwhile, have kept many key players since last year including U-18 National Team player Miyamoto Kota. Their play style is well known among players. In the last section, they dominated Sapporo throughout the match and cruised to 3-1 win. They are now sound and ready for the second section.

Last year when they faced each other at Tokinosumika Sports Centre, JFA Fukushima came back from 0-2 deficit to win the match. We expectantly wonder how this match will be played out.

■JFA Academy Fukushima vs Shimizu S-Pulse Youth
Date and Time: Sunday 13th April  Kick-off at 15:00
Venue: Tokinosumika Ground at Tokinosumika Sports Centre
Access: 5 minutes by taxi from “Iwanami Station” of JR Gotenba Line
5 minutes by car from “Susono” I.C. of Tomei Expressway