The second Sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League EAST 2019 took place on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April at various locations. Among the fixtures, the match between Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School (Chiba) and Shoshi High School (Fukushima) was played in Chiba.

Pick-up Match

Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School 4-0 (1-0, 3-0) Shoshi High School

The two sides entered the match with contrasting results in the first Sec., as Shoshi High School earned a 3-0 victory over Kashiwa Reysol U-18 in their first Premier League match in eight years, while Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School lost their match against Aomori Yamada High School.

The match started with the Kashiwa side delivering long balls into the space behind the Shoshi defence line to push back the visiting side deep into their own territory. Ryutsu Keizai’s midfielder YAGI Koshi (#10) later reflected on their approach, “We focused on entering the match by minimising the risks,” but their approach to utilise the long balls turned out to be much more effective than they have initially thought, as the midfielder mentioned that, “We decided to stick with that strategy.” While the home side sought for their opportunities through the long balls, Shoshi constructed their offence through their build-up plays and by utilising the width of the field.

It was Ryutsu Keizai who scored the opening goal, as their forward MORIYAMA Itto (#11) captured the net in the 44th minute, followed by SAKATA Kotaro’s (#14) goal in the 55th minute. Shoshi’s Coach NAKAMURA Koji took his hats off to his opponent, “The players of Ryutsu Keizai responded superbly to the loose balls. They certainly had the upper hand in that aspect.” Led by their midfielder KOIKE Rikuto (#7), Shoshi made their efforts to rally back, but the Ryutsu Keizai defence showed great persistency to keep the clean sheet intact. Conversely, the home side added two more goals in the closing minutes of the match to register their first win of the season.

Coach HONDA Yuichiro of Ryutsu Keizai reflected on the match, “To be honest, our performance at the season opener was not so bad. The fact that we managed to keep a clean sheet today meant a lot for us. (Regarding his former player at Narashino City High School) Coach Nakamura is doing a fine job at Shoshi, but I’m not going to let him win anytime soon.”

Coaches and Players' Comments

HONDA Yuichiro, Coach (Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School)
After finishing the spring tournament with a disappointing result, our players were a bit low in their confidence level. With that in mind, I think our performance at the season opener was not so bad. This week we played a lot of scrimmages during our training sessions and allowed our first graders to get used to the team. Compared to the older days, first graders are becoming much more capable of coping with the older players.

MF #10 YAGI Koshi (Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School)
We trained all week to avoid losing back-to-back matches and stop the negative vibe. In our season opener, we made so many mistakes and lacked quality in the final third. After showcasing such a poor performance, we entered this week with a strong intention to win the match. During our training sessions, we focused on how we react when making mistakes, and I feel like that was evident in our match today. The fact that the substituted players managed to contribute to this result is a huge plus for the team.

NAKAMURA Koji, Coach (Shoshi High School)
The match really made us realise what we are capable of doing and what we lack as a team. We must be more critical in our defence, especially in tight matches like today. The players of Ryutsu Keizai responded superbly to the loose balls and the quality of their counter attacks were very high. We really got to feel what it’s like to play against Ryutsu Keizai. This is a totally different league compared to the Prince League, and every moment is a learning experience. I am really enjoying our experience in this league as a coach.

MF #7 KOIKE Rikuto (Shoshi High School)
We had to play without SOMENO Itsuki (who scored a hat-trick in their first match) in today’s match. We committed too many mistakes and the second goal was especially regretful. I focused on keeping my plays simple when the opponents were coming after us with great aggression. The Premier League is at a whole new level, and each match presents us with a great learning experience, so we will cherish each of the matches scheduled ahead of us.

Results of other matches

Funabashi Municipal High School 3-1 (1-0, 2-1) Omiya Ardija U18
Kashima Antlers Youth 0-1 (0-1, 0-0) Urawa Red Diamonds Youth
Shimizu S-Pulse Youth 0-1 (0-0, 0-1) Kashiwa Reysol U-18
Aomori Yamada High School 2-0 (2-0, 0-0) Jubilo Iwata U-18

Funabashi Municipal High School (Chiba) took the lead in the first half against Omiya Ardija U18 (Saitama), and despite conceding the equaliser, they managed to pull away with their two goals scored in the second half to earn their first win of the season. Last year’s EAST division champions, Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) dropped their home match against Urawa Red Diamonds Youth (Saitama) to start the season with consecutive losses. In their match against Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka), Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) held on to their one goal lead to earn the victory. Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) managed to win over Jubilo Iwata U-18 (Shizuoka) to become the only team in the EAST division to mark back-to-back wins.

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2019

League Duration: Sat. 6 April - Sun. 8 December 2019

League Information