Pick-up Match

F.C. Tokyo U-18 1-1（1-1, 0-0）Ichiritsu Funabashi High School

Matchday 14 of the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League EAST was held on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September. F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) in second place squared off against Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) in third place at Tokyo Gas Musashinoen Tamokuteki Ground (Artificial Turf) on Saturday.

As the coach SATO Kazuki later described: ‘the players were a little passive, because I had asked them to think about the whole 90 minutes’, F.C. Tokyo had to focus on defending against Ichiritsu Funabashi’s attacks at the beginning of the game. In the 20th minute, YANO Ryuto reacted to FUKUMOTO Tomoya’s pass and slipped past the defender of F.C. Tokyo, HASUKAWA Sodai, facing the goalkeeper one-on-one. Yano nutmegged HATANO Go with his shot, striking the opener for Ichiritsu Funabashi.

F.C. Tokyo, who were one goal behind at home, no longer stayed passive. The attackers, including OIJI Yoshiatsu, ITO Junya, and MATSUOKA Rimu, kept changing positions and moving the ball around with short passes to go close to the opponents’ goal. However, Ichiritsu Funabashi’s goalkeeper, HASEGAWA Ryo, who made his debut in the Premier League in this match, defended excellently, preventing the opponents from scoring the equaliser.

Just before halftime, the game moved. F.C. Tokyo earned a scoring chance from a corner. HANYA Yosuke, receiving a corner kick from Ito, crossed the ball to UCHIDA Takuya, who reacted well to a floating ball and struck a brilliant shot on the turn, equalising the score.

As the second half began 1-1, both teams looked for goals even more eagerly. Matsuoka of F.C. Tokyo freely received a pass and fired a shot in front of the goal in the 54th minute, while Yano of Ichiritsu Funabashi ran towards to a pass from NISHIHA Taku to take a strong shot in the 55th minute, which struck the goalpost.

After a period of high tension, the match finally moved in the 66th minute. AKUTSU Ryo of Ichiritsu Funabashi brought Hanya down in the penalty area, and he was sent off. Although Ichiritsu Funabashi had to play with one less player, as well as giving away a penalty kick, goalkeeper Hasegawa performed superbly, stopping Hanya’s penalty.

Ichiritsu Funabashi defended more solidly with 10 players and got close to F.C. Tokyo’s goal more frequently with counter-attacks. After 80 minutes, KOU Takahiro, who came off the bench, received a pass from Nishiha to take a shot, only for it to go wide.

In the last 10 minutes, F.C. Tokyo pressed Ichiritsu Funabashi, who started to show some tiredness. Although F.C. Tokyo tried all sorts of ways to score, including attacks from the wings, getting through by dribbling or short passes, and long-distance balls, SUGIOKA Daiki, the captain of Ichiritsu Funabashi, and goalkeeper Hasegawa led the team in an excellent defensive effort. GUNJI Atsuya, who came off the bench, also showed his incredible stamina by chasing the opponents. The game, which had some serious intensity in offence and defence for the full 90 minutes, ended 1-1. There was generous applause for both teams who really pushed themselves in this match. 

Coaches' and Players' Comments

SATO Kazuki, Coach (F.C. Tokyo U-18)
The players’ performance was not bad at all. Although Ichiritsu Funabashi put us under a lot of pressure in the first half, we attacked back in the second half. Since one of the opposing players was sent off, we had a numerical advantage and created goal-scoring opportunities. As the game became more open, the opponents also had as many opportunities as we had. In general, I shouldn’t grumble about the performance. The players are gutted, though. I’d like to point out that it was against Ichiritsu Funabashi with their usual tenacity. 

ASAOKA Ryuzo, Coach (Ichiritsu Funabashi High School)
We struggled to play as we wanted until one of our teammates was sent off. As soon as we focused fully on defence with one less player, we performed better to a certain extent. We needed to improve both performance and quality to take the initiative of the game. We couldn’t dictate the match while 11 of us were playing, which showed how weak we are at dominating the game. I wanted the players to show their strength and score that second goal even if they are one player down. I have to admit that the players performed well, but I don’t believe they performed their best.

HASEGAWA Ryo (Ichiritsu Funabashi High School)
It was my first game in the Premier League. Despite some nerves, I carefully performed my first play and gradually became able to defend as usual by staying vocal. After one of our teammates was sent off, SUGIOKA Daiki led a strong defence. I believed in them. When I faced a penalty kick, I thought it was my opportunity to showcase my skill and gain my teammate’s trust. These strong thoughts made me stop the penalty kick. I focused on the movement of the kicker until the end, just as goalkeeping coach ITO Ryuichi advised me to do. As I found there was still room to improve my basic skills, I’d like to practice hard from now on.

YANO Ryuto (Ichiritsu Funabashi High School)
In terms of scoring, we have been practicing one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper and also we have studied about the opponents’ goalkeeper beforehand. I’m glad I could manage to score. Having said that, we should have been able to strike another from individual skills even though we had to play with 10 players. Since I was off the roster in the Inter-High School Championship this summer, I have been trying to find my strength. I was selfish before, but found a new way to contribute to the team with my individual strength. I’d like to play hard up front, looking for goals. 

Other Matches

Kashiwa Reysol U-18　0-0（0-0, 0-0）Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa
Aomori Yamada High School　2-1（1-0, 1-1）Albirex Niigata U-18
Kashima Antlers Youth　0-2（0-1, 0-1）Yokohama F・Marinos Youth
Omiya Ardija Youth　3-2（2-0, 1-2）Shimizu S-pulse Youth

Although Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa managed to keep a clean sheet for the second time this season, they could not score and drew with Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba).

Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) won home game against Albirex Niigata U-18 (Niigata), stretching their lead to three points ahead of F.C. Tokyo in second place. 

Yokohama F・Marinos Youth (Kanagawa) beat Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) 2-0 in away game, while Omiya Ardija Youth (Saitama) managed to snatch victory from Shimizu S-pulse Youth (Shizuoka), earning three points. 

More Information