The 13th Sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League EAST will be held on Saturday 5 September and Sunday 6 September.

An exciting game is expected between Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) and Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba), both of whom won matches in the previous Sec. Aomori Yamada is on a winning streak with four consecutive victories but will not have HIROSUE Riku, the goalkeeper, due to the U-18 Japan National Team’s tour of China PR.

However, the team earned three points without Hirosue in the 7th Sec. with standby goalkeeper KIMURA Daichi, who also has good experience in the Premier League since his second grade. As the team were beaten by Ichiritsu Funabashi 2-0 last time, the players are eager to win the coming match.

Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido) will meet Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka). Although Sapporo lost to Omiya Ardija Youth (Saitama) in the previous Sec., they had more goal-scoring opportunities than the opponent. KAWAGUCHI Takuya, the coach, later commented, showing his satisfaction: “we kept possession long enough.”

However, the team need good results, not just good performances, in order to remain in the league. As the midfielder SUGIYAMA Yuta noted: “we do not lose our playing style any more even under pressure”, the next aim of the team will be scoring goals and getting a good result.

Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) in third place will play against Omiya (Saitama) to climb the league table. MACHIDA Koki, the centre back of Kashima, will be away for the U-18 Japan National Team’s tour of China PR. As the team will not have the key defender in the defensive line, it will be vital to work out how to keep a clean sheet.

Kashima won four games in the past, in which they struck multiple goals, while Omiya have never conceded more than one goal in a game this season. We cannot take our eyes off the coming competitive match to see whether Kashima will come back to lead the league or Omiya, who have won five consecutive games, stay unbeaten.

F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) will meet Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba). Both teams are currently struggling in the league. After losing to Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa (Chiba) in the 11th Sec., Tokyo drew with JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka) in the previous Sec., not earning many points against low ranked teams.

Kashiwa, on the other hand, lost three consecutive matches, scoring only one goal in three games. As they are threatened with relegation on three points, winning this coming match is vital to remain the league.

［Pick-up Match - EAST Matchday 13］
Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School  vs  JFA Academy Fukushima

Winning the coming match will be essential for both teams to remain the league. The record of Ryutsukeizaidai’s recent five matches is one win and four losses after losing to Kagoshima. However, the defence has improved, conceding only one goal in the last two games.

Academy Fukushima earned some points by drawing with F.C. Tokyo in the previous Sec., which was their first draw this season. Until then, the team kept losing to the opponents by one-goal differences, but they may be able to make some changes in this Sec. Will the team show their strength against a team they comprehensively lost to 3-0 last time?

Date: Saturday 5 September Kick-off at 13:00
Venue: Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School ground
Access: Approximately 12-minute walk from TOBU bus stop “Kashiwanoha Park”. Or near the TOBU bus stop “Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa”, which runs from the East Exit of “Edogawadai” Station (Tobu Railway's Noda Line).

Direction to venue (Japanese version only)

Premier League EAST Matchday 13

9/5 (Sat.)
13:00   Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School   vs   JFA Academy Fukushima (Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School)
9/6 (Sun.)
11:00   Consadole Sapporo U-18   vs   Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shiroi Koibito Park)
11:00   Aomori Yamada High School   vs   Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Aomori Yamada High School)
15:00   Kashima Antlers Youth   vs   Omiya Ardija Youth (Kashima Antlers Club House)
16:00   F.C. Tokyo U-18   vs   Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Tokyo Gas Musashino Ground)

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)