Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki), who look to end the first half of the season in the first place, have been saddled with two draws, so it will be intriguing to see if they can earn three points in a game against the second-place Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba). Ichiritsu Funabashi took their first loss of the season in the seventh leg, but got three points against Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) in the eighth leg, showing their mental strength as they bounced back from the defeat.

A matchup between two top teams in the standings in the fifth-place Aomori Yamada High School and the third-place FC Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) will be another to watch. Aomori Yamada wound up a 1-1 draw with Kashima in the previous leg, but midfielder KAMIYA Yuta netted a free kick and they gave the league-leading team tough times until the last minute. On the other hand, as head coach SATO Kazuki says that Kamiya's shined with his kicks for Aomori Yamada, FC Tokyo acknowledge that Aomori Yamada could be scary from set-pieces. FC Tokyo will try to reduce unnecessary fouls around their own penalty area and look to add three points.

Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido), who are in the eighth place presently, will host Kashiwa. Sapporo have lacked up a couple of wins in their last four matches, but for the 10th leg, they will miss forward SUGA Daiki, who will be participating in a trip of a under-categorized national team. So they want to post a victory before their ace player will be absent this time. Meanwhile, Kashiwa, who are sticking with a pass-oriented football, have struggled and notched just a win so far. “In the world of competitions, you won't be evaluated unless you come up with positive outcomes,” Kashiwa head coach SHIMOTAIRA Takahiro says. Both teams seem to show their persistence for a result this week.

A match between Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka) and Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School (Chiba) will be a contest between a team who's taken four-game losing streak (Shimizu) and another who's lost in their three games (Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa). Both sides have scored just one goal apiece in their last three matches. Shimizu, in particular, have not been able to lack up multiple goals in a game since their week-one contest against JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka). They made some scoring chances by playing a conservative defence and fast counter attacks in their previous game, so for this week they need to make those chances for some goals.

[Pick-up Match - EAST Matchday 9]
JFA Academy Fukushima  vs.  Omiya Ardija Youth

JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka), who got off to consecutive wins in the second cool, will take on the unbeaten Omiya Ardija (Saitama). Academy Fukushima polished their defence around defender SHIMOGUCHI Wakaba. They have allowed their opponents to just single-digit shots since the seventh leg and shown an indication of their ascension.

In their previous game against Sapporo, they played patiently and held the opponents, and it led to their goal in the stoppage time in the second half. For Omiya, midfielder KUROKAWA Atsushi were involved in three goal plays against Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa. Their players had insisted that they had to overcome the lack of scoring, but it has seemingly been resolved. It will be interesting to see how the two teams on a roll will get to play against each other and fans are advised to come to the stadium to witness it.

JFA Academy Fukushima  vs.  Omiya Ardija Youth
Date: Sunday 12 July - 16:00
Venue: Tokino Sumika Sports Centre Tokino Sumika Ground
Access: 5 minutes on taxi from Iwanami Station of the JR Gotemba Line. Or 5 minutes from Susono interchange of the Tomei Expressway
Access information (Japanese version only)　

Premier League EAST - MD 9 Sun. 12 July

11:00
Kashima Antlers Youth  vs.  Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Ibaraki Prefectural Kashima Soccer Stadium)
11:00
Shimizu S-Pulse Youth  vs.  Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School (Ecopa Stadium)
11:00
Consadole Sapporo U-18  vs.  Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Sapporo Soccer Amusement Park)
13:00
Aomori Yamada High School  vs.  FC Tokyo U-18 (Aomori Yamada High School)
16:00
JFA Academy Fukushima  vs.  Omiya Ardija Youth (Tokinosumika Sports Centre Tokino Sumika Ground)

JFA-TV