Pick-up Match

Ichiritsu Funabashi High School　0-1（0-0, 0-1）Aomori Yamada High School

Matchday 13 of the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League EAST was held from Saturday 17 to Monday 19 September. Second-placed Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) played home game against league leaders Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) at Funabashi City Field/Grasspo on 18 September. Although there was a temporary downpour prior to the game, many people came to see the match which would decide the top team. 

Ichiritsu Funabashi took the initiative first. The two first graders, SATO Keisuke and OKAI Toshinori, started the game and initiated attacks from the left, while SUGIOKA Daiki on the defensive line waited for opportunities to overlap. In the 16th minute, after exchanging passes with HARA Teruki, SUGIOKA dribbled up front and created a scoring chance for OTA Takaya, but could not find the net.

Aomori Yamada, on the other hand, had been struggling to create goal-scoring chances for the first 20 minutes. However, the team defended well against Ichiritsu Funabashi and started to initiate attacks. In the 33rd minute, KOYAMA Arata, who broke through on the right with a one-two with his teammate, sent a backward ball to the centre. Although GOUKE Yuta freely struck it at the goal, the shot went straight to the centre of the goalkeeper. Both teams went close to the goal having only few scoring opportunities, including with an unsuccessful attempt from YANO Ryuto of Ichiritsu Funabashi. The match stayed scoreless until the second half.

In the second half, the match became more fierce as the players of both teams battled to secure the top spot. Aomori Yamada found their rhythm first. The players up front did not pursue the opponents too much, allowing them to come out to a certain line. But when they advanced to that point, Aomori Yamada robbed the ball with their swift fence-in defence and initiated their counterattacks.

In the 56th minute, SASAKI Kai, who ran to a forward pass from SUMINAGA Kakeru, missed a short-range shot. In the 68th minute, KOYAMA reacted to a loose ball from a corner kick and got close to the goal, but failed to score the opener. However, Aomori Yamada were creating more and more chances.

Then, in the 78th minute, Aomori Yamada finally found the back of the net. The team reacted to the opponents’ clearance in front of goal and passed it to the left. As coach KURODA Go described HORI Shuto as a player who have ‘special talent in kicking’, he sent in a superb cross. SAGA Riku freely headed home, striking a much-awaited opener. 

Ichiritsu Funabashi, who were now one goal behind, threw everything into attack, including their defenders advancing forward. In the 4th minute of injury time, SUGIOKA broke through the left side on his own splitting two defenders and sent a strong pass to the front of the goal. However, Aomori Yamada defended desperately to prevent the equaliser. 

A highly competitive match finished with a one-goal lead for Aomori Yamada. They celebrated as though they had won the championship, while Ichiritsu Funabashi flung themselves facedown on the ground, which showed how much this match meant to them.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

ASAOKA Ryuzo, Coach (Ichiritsu Funabashi High School)
The players, who came off the bench in the second half, could not make much difference in our attacks. As the starting players performed tenaciously, I expected the substitutes to have more impact on the game. Another reason for the defeat was that we couldn’t get through the opponents’ defensive block. Despite the fact that we knew the opponents would defend solidly, we needed to add another twist to our play. Because of this defeat, the coming game against F.C. Tokyo U-18 means more. So we’d like to prepare to get ourselves in the best condition possible. 

HARA Teruki (Ichiritsu Funabashi High School)
Although the pitch was slippery, it accelerated the speed of our passes and I believed it was to our advantage. I wish we could have sustained possession longer. I was hoping to make the opponents’ attackers run more and get them exhausted after 60 minutes.

If we had reacted better to a loose ball after clearing, the game could have changed a little. I was determined to win today. Although I didn’t get anything positive out of today’s match, we’ll meet F.C. Tokyo U-18 very soon. I’d like to refresh myself to win every game from now on.

KURODA Go (Aomori Yamada High School)
Keeping a clean sheet meant a lot. Ichiritsu Funabashi used more long-distance balls than usual. Perhaps, they were focusing too much on winning the match. It was good that we could control the opponents’ passes, while defending solidly. All 11 players played hard to prevent the opponents from entering the penalty area, which worked well.

As I have been telling the players: ‘if you keep a clean sheet, positive things will happen'. Our patience brought us victory. We earned these three points, only because the players faithfully focused on solid defence until they stole the ball up front to initiate attacks.

SAGA Riku (Aomori Yamada High School)
When I reacted to a cross to score the goal, I knew the opponents were not following me. As the goalkeeper came forward, I aimed at the side. As a result, the shot found a great path. Since I was the only forward in my team, who hadn’t score a goal, I’m over the moon that I did it in this important match.

The coach told us not to neglect running up and down in defence. Even though I haven’t got the top-level skills, I can still contribute to the team by playing hard and diligently. I’d like to focus on what I can do for the team. I also respect the importance of ‘self-sacrifice spirit’ that our coach always insists us. I’ll work hard to strike more goals.

Other Matches

Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa　1-2（1-0, 0-2）Omiya Ardija Youth
F.C. Tokyo U-18　7-0（2-0, 5-0）Kashiwa Reysol U-18
Albirex Niigata U-18　1-3（0-2, 1-1）Kashima Antlers Youth
Shimizu S-pulse Youth　2-1（2-1, 0-0）Yokohama F・Marinos Youth

Although bottom-placed Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa (Chiba) maintained their one-goal lead halfway through the second half, they conceded two goals in the last 20 minutes, letting Omiya Ardija Youth (Saitama) post a comeback win.

F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) won a sweeping victory against Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) with goals from seven different players, and are now only one point away from the league leaders Aomori Yamada.

Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) grabbed a victory in away game against Albirex Niigata U-18 (Niigata), getting one step close to staying in the league.

Shimizu S-pulse Youth (Shizuoka) scored an upset win against Yokohama F・Marinos Youth (Kanagawa), which halted their winning streak of four matches.

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