The Prince Takamado Trophy Under-18 Premier League West will enter the second week of the season on 19 April (Sunday).

Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth (Hiroshima), who are looking to regain their first championship in three years, took on Kyoto Tachibana High School (Kyoto). As Kato Mutsuki, who completed a hat trick in their season opener, said that he wanted to contribute to wins for the team, Hiroshima were spirited and looked for the consecutive victory. Kyoto Tachibana, meanwhile, managed to draw with Oita Trinita Under-18 (Oita) in Week 1, showing some progress from last year, where they struggled to gain points earlier. So the matchup between the two sides is intriguing.

Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) dropped their season opener against Cerezo Osaka (Osaka) 1-6 in the previous week, but have tried to deepen their internal communication. Their opponents this weekend, Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka), are a team who are an offensive-oriented team, like Cerezo, and for Higashi Fukuoka, it'll be a key how much they will avoid allowing goals to them.

Cerezo Osaka Under-18 got off to a good start of the season for the title repeat in the previous week. And as their head coach Okuma Yuji said “we will fight all out both offensively and defensively, they will look to win the second straight game against Kyoto Sanga FC Under-18 (Kyoto). Kyoto, who aim to play with a tactic to rob the ball from up front under the guidance of head coach Morioka Ryuzo, and the matchup will be a battle that you can't take your eyes off until the very end.

For a game between Vissel Kobe Under-18 (Hyogo) and Riseisha High School (Osaka), the battles at the side back positions will likely be the key. “I'm telling (my side back players) to penetrate inside, not just taking positions up high,” Kobe's Noda Satoru says. Riseisha's Hirano Naoki says: “I want out side backs to have the mind-set of the defensive midfielders.” Both bench bosses will demand their side backs to work better both ends of the ball.

［Pickup Match］
Oita Trinita U-18 vs. Nagoya Grampus U18

Oita Trinita Under-18 (Oita), who were promoted this year, ill host Nagoya Grampus Under-18 (Aichi) in their first home game of the season. Although Oita were saddled with a draw against Kyoto Tachibana in their season opening game, they still earned some confidence leading up to the second game on. “We played our game like Oita and got one point that will lead up to our next game,” Oita head coach Yamazaki Tetsuya says. Trinita will rotate the ball around Iwata Tomoki and try to get three points with their offence in which their players boldly join attacks before their opponents' goals.
Nagoya, on the flip side, took a one-sided loss to Gamba Osaka, but they actually yielded no goals to them in the first half. “Our defence was hanging in there, so if we had taken advantage of our chances in the first half, it may have been a different game,” Takata Tetsuya looks back. Nagoya will look to score earlier to seize the momentum this time around.

■Oita Trinita U-18 vs. Nagoya Grampus U18
Date：
19 April (Sunday), 11 p.m. kickoff
Venue：
Oita Sports Park Daigin Soccer Rugby Field
Access：
Take a Oita bus from JR Oita station. 18-minute walk from Oita Sports Park stop
Access

Premier League WEST 2nd Sec, Sun. 19 April

11:00    Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth  vs.  Kyoto Tachibana High School（Yoshida Soccer Park）
11:00    Oita Trinita U-18  vs.  Nagoya Grampus U18（Oita Sports Park Daigin Soccer Rugby Field）
13:00    Higashi Fukuoka High School  vs.  Gamba Osaka Youth（Higashi Fukuoka High School ）
15:00    Cerezo Osaka U-18  vs.  Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18（Cerezo Osaka Maishima Ground）
15:30    Vissel Kobe U-18 vs.  Riseisha High School（Ibuki no Mori Field）

More Information

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