Pick Up Match

Toyama Daiichi High School 2-2（1st 1-1, 2nd 1-1） Higashi Fukuoka High School

Last winter’s All Japan High-School Tournament champions Toyama Daiichi High School (Toyama) and this summer’s Inter-High School Championship winners Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) went head to head. The battle of champions certainly kept everyone’s attention until the very last minute.

As Murakami Hirokazu put it “we have been getting ready in the past week telling ourselves that we were much better than them,” Toyama Daiichi were full of motivation for this match. Early in the match, however, it was Higashi Fukuoka that took the initiative. In the eighth minute, after Akagi Tsubasa broke down the defence on the side, the ball was fed into the box where Kito Shunsuke charged in and put a sliding shot into the goal to take the first lead. While Higashi Fukuoka kept surging to Toyama Daiichi’s goal, Toyama Daiichi showed tenacious defence and occasional quick counter-attacks. In the 32nd minute, Nishimura Takuma penetrated into the middle from the left flank and struck the equaliser for Toyama Daiichi. And the following 47th minute saw Sakamoto Daiki received a pass up front and took it all the way home to turn around the match.

Afterwards Toyama Daiichi continued protecting the lead with aggressively sending fresh substitutes onto the pitch. But Higashi Fukuoka also never stopped threatening Toyama Daiichi’s goal. Finally in the 85th, Sakai Shota, left unchecked at the left of the box, fired a shot. Although Toyama Daiichi’s goalkeeper once cleared it, Fujikawa Kotaro put the rebounding ball into the net to tie the match once again. The match ended moments later, and the battle of spirited champions finished in a 2-2 draw.

Comments

OTSUKA Ichiro, Head Coach of Toyama Daiichi High School
It worked well that we were highly motivated to “beat Inter-High School champions”. Our flanks had been broken down very often, so we worked on defending them in practice. But sometimes when we stopped paying attention, we had them broken down just like when we allowed the first goal. But our players worked very hard.

MURAKAMI Hirokazu (Toyama Daiichi High School)
I thought we were going to get three points, but we couldn’t close the match. I think this match opened our eyes again to be ready for the All Japan High-School Tournament. These matches in the second half of the season have been very good learning experiences both for our offence and defence. We want to keep this momentum going.

MORISHIGE Junya, Head Coach of Higashi Fukuoka High School
Our passes weren’t very accurate and we couldn’t do what we have been capable of doing in practice. We weren’t ready to win against a defensive team like Toyama Daiichi. The plays our players were thinking good enough haven’t been working so well any more. We found many adjustments we have to make.

OGASAWARA Keisuke, Higashi Fukuoka High School
It was good for us to tie the match and take the lead early, but I think we got too satisfied with it. We didn’t play so badly, but we couldn’t keep adding goals when we were supposed to get on a rhythm and score goals. Including the goal we allowed at a bad timing, we have to keep working on our adjustments.

Results of Other Matches

Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth　1-4（1st 1-1, 2nd 0-3） Gamba Osaka Youth
Nagoya Grampus U18　1-2（1st 0-2, 2nd 1-0）　Cerezo Osaka U-18
Vissel Kobe U-18　2-1（1st 0-0, 2nd 2-1）　Higashiyama High School
Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18　3-1（1st 3-0, 2nd 0-1）　Kyoto Tachibana High School

After the first half finished even, Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) scored three in the second half over Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth (Hiroshima) for a big win and a three-match winning streak. Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka) missed head coach Okuma Yuji, who was with the top team for their match, but defeated Nagoya Grampus U18 (Aichi) 2-1 to follow closely behind the league-leading Gamba Osaka. Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo)’s winning streak was extended to six after they beat Higashiyama High School 2-1. The Kyoto Derby between Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 and Kyoto Tachibana High School was won 3-1 by Kyoto Sanga, who are now up to fifth in the standings after surviving recent eight matches without a loss.