Pick-up Match

Omiya Ardija Youth   1-2 (1-0, 0-2)   Aomori Yamada High School 

The Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League EAST had its Matchday 15 on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, and the top team Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) came from behind against Omiya Ardija Youth (Saitama), which was 1 point behind in 2nd place, and won 2-1, taking a step closer to becoming the champions. 

Around the 10th minute of the 1st half, Omiya found its rhythm by its careful pass work; they attracted the opponent defenders on to them through short passes and then quickly moved the ball to the opposite side, or all the way up to forward players to reach Aomori Yamada’s goal. 

Before the end of the 1st half, Omiya’s midfielder TAKAYANAGI Takuya caught the cross from left wing and made a back pass. Midfielder MATSUZAKI Kai cut into the ball to strike a sharp shot which successfully became the opening goal. 

Aomori Yamada kept calm regardless of the goal and started to push up their general defence line to apply more pressure in the 2nd half. That casted a net over Omiya’s pass work and they started continuous attacks and took control of the game. 

After the 20th minute, defender NAMIZUKA Yuhei moved forward to apply more pressure and in the 80th minute the cross from right wing and then to midfielder SUMINAGA Kakeru and he struck a strong middle-shot which equalised the match. 

Omiya had to substitute several players due to cramp legs in the 2nd half, and the last substitute player forward YAMAMOTO Takeshi left the pitch due to an injury that left the team at a disadvantage with fewer players than their opponents. Aomori Yamada kept up intensive attacks and got a penalty kick in the 6 minutes of additional time. Midfielder KAMIYA Yuta’s shot found the net successfully and Aomori Yamada came from behind to win the game. 

Aomori Yamada’s coach KURODA Go didn’t expect this victory from behind. “They’ve made the comeback. It’s electrifying.” Aomori Yamada moved closer to the first victory of this competition by beating their closest rival in this title race.

Meanwhile, the 3rd strongest Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) and the 4th Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) also won their matches. The remaining 3 matches of the competition that will take place after a 2 month break and are expected to be very intense. 

Coach and Players' Comments

KURODA Go, Coach (Aomori Yamada High School)
We have won the match in the way we won two of our earlier matches this summer. We won from behind against F.C. Tokyo U-18 and Ichiritsu Funabashi High School. I think the players have got power much more than before.

I thought they might stop moving when the opponents kept passing the ball a lot but they lost energy first and ended up leaving the pitch- that decided the match. In the 2nd half, our tactics worked well; at first we played defensively since we were 1 goal behind and then we brought on more attacking players.

TOKITA Masato (Aomori Yamada High School)
When the opponent got the first goal, I felt we were in trouble, but in the 2nd half we could move the ball around and did well especially in offence. I was hoping for another goal and looked on from behind. It actually happened in the last part of the match. It was too sudden for me to be happy; it’s more like I’m so stunned by this victory.

We are having a break until the next match, and the next one will be the last home match so we want to get another victory there. 

ITO Akira, Coach (Omiya Ardija Youth)
We had to substitute first and we had such a limited approach to counter attack. They might be physically tired from series of activities over this summer, but they need bit more toughness to keep winning in this long-term competition.

In the 2nd half, they turned to be passive and they were utterly pushed over. Since it was a direct competition of the 2 top teams, it is indeed a big loss for us. However, we are competing for the championship after 18 matches and we have 3 more matches to go. I think we still have a chance.

MATSUZAKI Kai (Omiya Ardija Youth)
Since we had only a 1-point gap between ourselves and Aomori Yamada High School, we were desperate to win this match to give us a good change to be the champion.

In this top competition match, I could score in a good form as I wanted, but in the 2nd half we were pushed by them. We went backwards too much and made some odd space that enabled them to steal our second pass even though we could successfully get the ball at first. For the remaining 3 matches, we will play with strong motivation to get 3 victories.

Other Matches

Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School   1-2 (1-0, 0-2)   Ichiritsu Funabashi High School
Consadole Sapporo U-18   0-4 (0-0, 0-4)   F.C. Tokyo U-18
JFA Academy Fukushima   0-1 (0-0, 0-1)   Kashiwa Reysol U-18  
Kashima Antlers Youth   1-0 (1-0, 0-0)   Shimizu S-Pulse Youth

The ranking changed between 2nd and 3rd place. Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) beat Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka) 1-0 and moved into the 2nd place. 

Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) could maintain its 4th position by beating Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School (Chiba) coming from behind to do so.

F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) got a victory against Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido) 4-0.

The former champion Kashiwa Raysol U-18 (Chiba) beat JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka) and could avoid relegation. The competition now takes a break for 2 months and will resume in mid-November.