Pick-up Match

FC Tokyo U-18   1-0 (1st 0-0, 2nd 1-0)   Shimizu S-Pulse Youth

In the matchday 8 of the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League EAST on Sunday, 5 July, the 4th-ranked FC Tokyo Under-18 (Tokyo) took on the 7th-ranked Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka). It wasn't just the FC Tokyo supporters that filled the stands, but some Shimizu supporters were also there, and both supporters sent their cheers to the teams.

S-Pulse Youth, who had taken three straight losses, concentrated on their own defence, playing back at the halfway line, from early. It enabled FC Tokyo to possess the ball, but their head coach WATANABE Takuya put it, the team struggled finding ways to score because when they tried to kick long balls, Shimizu's defensive line got back quickly and FC Tokyo weren't able to find niches in the mid-field either. FC Tokyo had hard times against the collective defensive plays by Shimizu.

There was a moment that ABE Shuto, who positioned at the rear of the mid-field after the 30th minute, threatened the Shimizu goal, but wasn't able to score. A 44th-minute SATO Ryo header was saved by the S-Pulse goalkeeper MIZUTANI Shunsuke as well.

In the second half, it was FC Tokyo who kept surging. But their scoring chance on 57th minute was hindered by Mizutani again. After 60th minute, Shimizu began creating some offensive chances then. They had occasion to get the FC Tokyo defence off balance, but shots by FUKUI Yuhi and NUMANO Masaya missed the goalmouth.

After FC Tokyo survived the dangerous period, their own SUZUKI Yoshitake dribbled through the mid-field with a one-two play with his teammate. Suzuki netted a shot past the Shimizu goalkeeper in the end, and FC Tokyo edged Shimizu 1-0.

Head Coaches' comments

SATO Kazuki (FC Tokyo U-18)
We had a lead up until late in the previous game against Omiya, but allowed them to tie with us in the end. S-Pulse was smart eliminating our passing routes while we had tough times getting behind their defensive line, so we struggled feeing passes laterally more than we usually do. But our players learned something from the previous game and wound up winning today's game 1-0 earning three points, and I think that they've accumulated good experiences in every game they play in the Premier League and that was the results of it.

HIRAOKA Hiroaki (Shimizu S-Pulse Youth)
FC Tokyo were strong and had speed, and I thought that they were the most capable team in this Premier League. If we were going to take the ball away from them forcibly, we thought that it would benefit them to take advantage of their speed for counters, so we decided to focus on our defence first, waiting for some opportunities in the last 30 minutes in the game. Our players played to our plans, but it was regrettable that we weren't able to capitalize on a pair of opportunities that we had. We'd played great defence with concentration, so it was disappointing.

Results of Other Matches

Consadole Sapporo U-18   0-1 (1st 0-0, 2nd 0-1)   JFA Academy Fukushima
Aomori Yamada High School   1-1(1st 1-0, 2nd 0-1)  Kashima Antlers Youth
Ichiritsu Funabashi High School   2-1(1st 1-0, 2nd 1-1)  Kashiwa Reysol U-18
Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School   0-3(1st 0-1, 2nd 0-2)  Omiya Ardija Youth

Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido) host JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka). TANIGUCHI Shoto scored a goal in the stoppage time as Academy Fukushima won for the second straight match with a 1-0 victory. The league-leading Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) allowed Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) to have a lead, but equalled on 75th minute to keep their unbeaten record.

The 2nd-place Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) edged Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) in an all-Chiba Prefecture matchup, to get closer to Kashima by one point in the standings. Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High (Chiba) lost 0-3 to Omiya Ardija Youth (Saitama) and are now tied with Academy Fukushima in the bottom of the standings with six points.