Pick Up Match

Nagoya Grampus U18   0-5 (1st 0-3, 2nd 0-2)   Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18

Nagoya Grampus U18 (Aichi), leading the WEST with 8 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, welcomed six-placed Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 (Kyoto) at Toyota Sports Centre.

After Kyoto, who were in a four-match winning streak, got out of a jam earlier, Matsushita Eisuke netted the pass from Okugawa Masaya in the 19th minute to open the score sheet. In the 28th minute, Takuno Kairi headed home the left corner kick from Okugawa to double the lead. And then, in the 45th minute just before the break, Okugawa, who set up first two goals, sent a stunner into the net after a brilliant dribble to extend the lead to 3-0.

In the second half, Nagoya dominated the possession, looking for goal-scoring opportunities passing the ball in the Kyoto’s end. But they could not convert the opportunities into a goal as Kyoto’s goalkeeper Wakahara Taishi made a great save. Meanwhile, Kyoto’s captain Onishi Yuki scored on a counter-attack in the 81st minute to make it 4-0 before Numa Daichi added the fifth goal in the 83rd minute.

The match ended up with Kyoto’s five goals, joint-highest of the season, and kept Nagoya at bay. That was good enough for Kyoto to avenge the 0-3 defeat at home against Nagoya in the week two as they extended their winning streak to five. Nagoya suffered a stunning loss but remained at the top spot in the table thanks to second-placed Cerezo Osaka U-18’s loss.

Comments

TAKADA Tetsuya, Head Coach (Nagoya Grampus U18)
That was the worst match of the season. Before this match we had made clear where to get the ball on our defence and were successful in collectively getting it. But we couldn’t do that today. We don’t have any prominent player so we need to create outnumbering situations at both defensive and offensive end. We will keep our team’s spirit up for the next match.

SAKURAI Subaru (Nagoya Grampus U18)
Because we were at the top spot on the last table, we got pressured, and we couldn’t get into the match well. As they changed their playing style from the last time (when Nagoya won 3-0), we couldn’t cope with that well. We will discuss what went wrong on defence and correct them by the next match to keep the top spot.

KAWAKATSU Hiroyasu (Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18)
This win was brought from our players’ great concentration. We had too much respect for the opposition earlier and couldn’t catch our pace. But we could gradually come back to take our rhythm by not missing scoring opportunities. The goals in the second half were great in the sense that we could keep our pace.

ONISHI Yuki (Kyoto Sanga F.C.U-18)
We all had a motivation to smash the leaders. I’m happy to dominate them. The top spot is almost there with six points to Nagoya. Okugawa Masaya will be away (for Japan U19’s Vietnam trip), so I as the captain will lead the team to add up our winning streak.

Other Results

Toyama Daiichi High School   1-3 (1st 0-1, 2nd 1-2)   Vissel Kobe U-18
Higashi Fukuoka High School   4-0 (1st 1-0, 2nd 3-0)   Kyoto Tachibana High School
Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth   2-1 (1st 0-0, 2nd 2-1)   Cerezo Osaka U-18
Higashiyama High School   1-6 (1st 0-3, 2nd 1-3)   Gamba Osaka Youth

Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo) added two goals for a win after Toyama Daiichi High School (Toyama) levelled the score once in the second half. Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) routed Kyoto Tachibana High School (Kyoto) with Masuyama Asahi’s two goals. Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth (Hiroshima) snatched a comeback win over Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka), who opened the scoring in the second half. Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) scored six goals including Takagi Akito and Yamazaki Takumi’s two goals each to cut the gap to the top two clubs in the table.