Sunday 6 June will have the week 7 matches of the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Football League EAST.

Now placed at decent 4th in the standings, Ichiritsu Funabashi High School will take on Kashiwa Reysol U-18, which share the same home prefecture of Chiba. Ichiritsu Funabashi with their superb defence and quick attacks have scored eight goals so far in the season, but in the last match they had a first scoreless loss of the season to Mitsubishi Yowa SC Youth (Tokyo). This week they will go all out attacking the goal as well as keep emphasizing their defence. Meanwhile, Kashiwa has their offense being hot as they recorded three goals in the last match before the break.

The key to the outcome of the match between Tokyo Verdy Youth (Tokyo) and Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) is expected be the defence. Tokyo Verdy have never held any opponent scoreless this season, while Aomori Yamada have not done much better with only one match of such defensive efforts. As Aomori Yamada’s head coach, Kuroda Tsuyoshi says “We can’t win a match unless we cut down our mistakes in defence.” both teams must have every player focused at all times.

JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka) will play against Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki). With the first win of the season in the last week, JFA Academy Fukushima look to keep their momentum going. Kinjo Justin Toshiki says “I think now we got the monkey off our back.” Kashima also showed their resiliency in the last match against Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido) by striking the equaliser in the additional time of the second half. Either way, the next win will certainly give a spark to a winning team’s attempt to go up in the standings.

Mitsubishi Yowa is also trying to get on a streak by challenging Shimizu in the next match. Mitubishi Yowa have held the opponents scoreless in three contests this season. Their stellar defence has helped them to pile up the points. The league-leading Shimizu, on the other hand, have scored three goals in six straight matches. However in the first match after the mid-season break, they allowed four goals to Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School (Chiba) and lost for the first time this season. For Shimizu, it’s up to their defence now.

[Pick-up match of EAST Week 7]
Consadole Sapporo U-18 vs Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School

Sapporo will have the defending champion RKU Kashiwa at home. With many new players on the roster this season, Sapporo have struggled to defend. Except for the win against Academy Fukushima, they always have lost one or more goals in every match, which gives them the season total of 18 goals allowed. In the last match, they allowed Kashima to tie the match in the additional time. The timing to lose a goal has not been very good, either. Since the next opponent is RKU Kashiwa, which have scored total of 13 goals in this season, the defence cannot afford to be sluggish anymore. RKU Kashiwa, too, have their own problem in their defence. In spite of their attacking prowess, they have allowed 12 goals this season, which is tied for the second worst in the league. Effectively transitioning from defence to offence will be the key for both clubs in the next match.

Consadole Sapporo U-18 vs Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School
Dates:Sunday 6 July Kick-off at 13:00
Venue: Sapporo Soccer Amusement Park
Access20-minute walk from Chuo Bus Line’s “Higashi Kariki” stop or “Toyohata” stop
20-minute by car from JR Hakodate Line Naebo Station