Pickup Match

Shimizu S-pulse Youth   3-2(1st 2-1, 2nd 1-1)   Mitsubishi Yowa SC Youth

Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Football League Premier League EAST had the 16 Section on 22 and 23 of November. Shimizu S-pulse Youth (Shizuoka) played against Mitsubishi Yowa SC Youth (Tokyo). For Shimizu, it was very important to win so they can win the league, and for Mitsubishi Yowa also had to win to avoid relegation.

This important match was full of tension, Mitsubishi Yowa, playing away from home, took the lead in the first half. With very sharp defense, they stole Shimizu’s ball to launch swift attack on the opponent’s goal. After getting the first goal made by MATSUI Kizuna at 12 minutes, Mitsubishi Yowa kept playing aggressively in both offense and defense.

Shimizu, on the other hand, didn’t allow Mitsubishi Yowa to keep attacking. Even though HIRAOKA Hiroaki, the Coach of the team accepted that the players were nervous early in the match, the team gradually started to get more into the game after KITAGAWA Koya attacked the Mitsubishi Yowa’s goal with heading on 25th minutes. On the 34th minute, FUKAZAWA Yutaro, who was the substitute for KITAGAWA due to his injury, scored from MOCHIZUKI Riku’s cross. FUKAZAWA got the second goal from a cross on 44th minutes and the first half finished on 2-1.

Shimizu protected their lead in the second half. The team tried to get their 3rd goal with several attacks such as a strong shot against the cross bar by NISHIZAWA Kenta on 49th minutes and a very close header by FUKAZAWA on 61 minutes. However, Mitsubishi Yowa stopped those intense attacks just in front of their goal and drew the match level at 2-2, maximising their only chance of the second half in the 71st minute, TAKAHASHI Akito went through the left wing and passed the ball to SHIMODA Yuta in front of the goal. SHIMODA calmly took his chance and put the ball into the back of the net.

After this, the game became a seesaw battle between the two teams; on 83 minutes, Shimizu’s player FUKUI Yuhi started pressuring in a higher line to take advantage of GK’s passing mistake. NISHIZAWA got their 3rd goal by applying the finishing touch into the empty goal. Shimizu, who scored in the last 7 minutes, kept their high level of concentration until the end to protect their lead and the match ended with 3-2. Shimizu maintained their challenge to win the league.

Comments from Coaches and Players

HIRAOKA Hiroaki, Head Coach (Shimizu S-pulse Youth)
I appreciate the players winning the match under the pressure that they had to win. Until this match, the team kept a clean sheet in the previous 3 matches, but I think FUKAZAWA’s goals gave us strength. FUKAZAWA is originally DF and his heading is very strong. I appreciate his hard work for winning the match today, even though his leg cramped up due to many attacks. I appreciate the players’ aggressiveness even after the persistent Mitsubishi Yowa’s equaliser in the second half.

FUKAZAWA Yutaro (Shimizu S-pulse Youth)
I came on to the pitch hoping that I could change the game. Since I was a small kid, I have practiced heading and scoring with heading is one of my strengths. It was good to show my strength today considering I couldn’t play so far this season. The second goal was difficult to transfer the strength to the ball because I was falling backwards. It was successful to attack the opposite direction to the goalkeeper’s movement.

YAMAMOTO Nobuo, Head Coach (Mitsubishi Yowa SC Youth)
A good result has gone away because we have just lost 3 points while we had to get at least 1 point from the game today. Considering the fact that we made a good start to the match with good defense, losing the second goal was particularly shameful because it was similar to how we lost the first goal. We have to be more careful about preventing crosses as well as how we respond to crosses. The only way to avoid relegation is to win games, so we just want to concentrate on the next match and training.

SHIMODA Yuya (Mitsubishi Yowa SC Youth)
We could do 90 percent of what we wanted to do today, but what we really needed is the good result. Considering the fact that we had to get at least 1 point today and we couldn’t, I have to say that our performance wasn’t good at all. The first 2 goals that we lost were goals we could have prevented because we weren’t disrupted at all. I know that what we have to do is switch our mind. We know that starting our attack from defense is our strength and we also want to maximise our speed in the front line. For the remaining 2 matches, I just want to show our strong “Yowa Spirit” to win them both. 

Other Results

Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba)　3-1(1st 0-0, 2nd 3-1)　 Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba)
Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori)　0-1(1st0-0, 2nd 0-1) Tokyo Verdy Youth (Tokyo)
Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki)　1-1(1st 0-0, 2nd 1-1）　JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka)
Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa (Chiba)　3-1(1st 0-0, 2nd 3-1)　 Consadole SapporoU-18 (Hokkaido)

League leaders Kashiwa Reysol U-18(Chiba) beat Ichiritsu Funabashi High School(Chiba) 3 to1 with Mugikura and Aizu’s goal in second half for making almost sure to clinch Premier League EAST title for the first time. Tokyo Verdy Youth (Tokyo) snapped three points winning away against Aomori Yamada High School(Aomori), getting points first time since 7 session but they were relegated to Prince League next year due to other games’ result. JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka) tied the game against Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraaki) 1-1 with Hamada’s goal. Takazawa and Suzuki’s goal let Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa (Chiba) winning home against Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido).