Pick-up Match

Cerezo Osaka U-18   2-1 (1st 1-0, 2nd 1-1)   Nagoya Grampus U18

The Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League WEST had its eighth matchday on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July as Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka) faced Nagoya Grampus U18 (Aichi).

Despite leading the WEST league in form so far, Cerezo failed to connect passes and struggled to take a shot early in the match. Even so, the Osaka side fed long balls to up front to create some openings, starting their build-up from forwards KISHIMOTO Takeru and INOUE Taito with their back to the opposing goal. 

In the 26th minute, denying Nagoya forward MORI Kota's free kick, goalkeeper MATSUBARA Shumo switched the flank to the left. Kishimoto sent a cross into the box, but it did not meet any of his teammates.

The deadlock continued afterwards before Cerezo broke it in the 45th minute, when defender HORIE Daiki put a cross into the box, and midfielder HARA Daichi tapped the loose ball in.

Cerezo boss OKUMA Yuji said "It was big we finished the first half in our favour with the goal scored when we were in a tough situation." However, the flow of the game changed in the second half as Nagoya intensified their attack. 

In the 47th minute, defender SHIBATA Shun found himself unguarded and met forward KITANO Seiya's cross, but Matsubara saved the shot well. Nagoya head coach TAKADA Tetsuya looked back the moment, saying "That's the regret we have. We could've scored there."

Nagoya, who were not able to convert the equalising opportunity into a goal, gave up a goal again when Cerezo’s Kishimoto netted Nagoya’s failed clearance in the 77th minute.

Nagoya, not wanting to hold back, equalised in the 81st minute, when Mori dribbled into the box to score a solo goal to close the gap to one goal. Forward FUKAHORI Shunpei fired substitute midfielder KAWASAKI Kentaro's cross in the 86th minute, but his shot went inches wide. Cerezo Osaka edged Nagoya 2-1 in a heated contest to keep top spot.

Head Coaches' Comments

OKUMA Yuji, Head Coach (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
We lost a lot of balls through sloppy plays from the first half, and that is not something pleasant. We needed to play more carefully, but it was a good side that we picked up three points while also struggling. 

The second half saw an open game of football as expected. My players were very patient. We wanted to stop the opponents' attacks at a higher positon. Even so, we didn't give up any goal-scoring opportunity until the moment when we conceded a goal. That's a passing mark.

TAKATA Tetsuya, Head Coach (Nagoya Grampus U18)
Thinking about the first six matches since the opener, we are getting back in form. Now we are able to create a situation where we have a chance to equalise, comparing to the past matches where we never came back after giving up a goal. Only a couple of mistakes are keeping us from winning a match. We kept making mistakes on loose balls in the first half and conceded a goal. 

We created some chances in the second half, but whether final passes can get through decided the outcome. We can create our moment and work hard. But on top of that, we need to stick to more details.

Results of Other Matches

Gamba Osaka Youth   1-1(1st 0-0, 2nd 1-1)   Vissel Kobe U-18
Higashi Fukuoka High School   2-1 (1st 0-1, 2nd 2-0)   Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth
Oita Trinita U-18   2-1 (1st 1-1, 2nd 1-0)   Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18
Kyoto Tachibana High School   1-4 (1st 1-2, 2nd 0-2)   Riseisha High School

In the contest between Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) and Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo), Gamba opened the scoring with forward YAMANAKA Kaito's goal in the 59th minute, but Vissel defender YAMAKAWA Tetsushi scored an equaliser in the 77th minute before the match ended in a draw. 

After posting their first loss in the past six matches, Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) made a comeback win against Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth (Hiroshima) despite allowing a lead earlier.

The first half red card put a burden on Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 (Kyoto) on the road and eventually the opposition Oita Trinita U-18 (Oita) came back from behind to win the contest.

A high school contest between Kyoto Tachibana High School (Kyoto) and Riseisha High School (Osaka) saw Riseisha's attacking end shining as HAYASHI Daichi marked a hat trick. Riseisha clinched their first victory of the season to climb out of the bottom.