The 16th sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2022 WEST took place on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October. At Riseisha Ibaraki Ground, Riseisha High School (Osaka) faced Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka).

Featured Match

Riseisha High School 4-1 (2-1, 2-0) Gamba Osaka Youth

“We have played with most of the guys on the other side in junior high school. We are the ones who couldn’t make it to the youth team, so we entered the match with a challengers’ mentality,” said FURUTA Kazunosuke (#9), as four players from Gamba Osaka Junior Youth started for Riseisha in this match. Before the match, coach HIRANO Naoki told the players, “Let's show Gamba how much you have grown. Go out there and repay the favour by playing well in today's match.” Responding to their coach’s words, the players showed great aggression in both offence and defence from the outset.

Led by KAWABATA Haru (#14), Riseisha tried to initiate their attacks by forcing turnovers in the attacking third but couldn’t find ways to create close opportunities. While the home side struggled to get their offence going, Gamba Osaka capitalised on their opportunity in the 29th minute, when MINAMINO Harumi (#9) converted the pass of ADACHI Kodai (#8) to take the lead.

“Despite conceding the lead, nobody was discouraged by it. Instead, we were fired up to score back a goal,” said Furuta, as Riseisha rallied at the end of the first half. In the 45th minute, TOKUYAMA Ryogo (#5) struck a header off of a corner kick to equalise the match, before scoring another goal with a header in additional time, this time converting the free kick delivered by MYOGAN Toya (#10).

With momentum on their side, Riseisha continued to create chances in the second half. Furuta came close to scoring a goal in the 52nd minute when he struck a shot after intercepting a pass in the opposing end. Gamba Osaka had their opportunity in the 59th minute, when KUWAHARA Rikuto (#5) fired a shot that went over the head of the goalkeeper, but HIGASHIO Taiki (#4) was there to make the save, as the defender later reflected, “I was fully determined to stop the shot.”

After dodging a close bullet at their own end, Riseisha scored their third goal in the 61st minute, when Furuta struck a well-placed shot from outside the box. Marking his 12th goal of the season, the striker later commented, “I am happy with all of my goals, but I was especially happy with this one.”

In the 65th minute, Myogan responded to a loose ball created by CHUBACHI Tsubasa (#15), who intercepted a pass in the midfield, and calmly slotted the ball into the right corner of the Gamba goal to seal the match. With this victory over their prefectural rivals, Riseisha have taken a step forward to avoid relegation from the Premiere League.

Coach and Players' Comments

HIRANO Naoki, Coach (Riseisha High School)
After failing to close out the match against Shimizu S-Pulse Youth last week, the players showed that they have learned from their mistakes and managed to keep the opposing attackers at bay today. Instead of reacting to the threats, we played to prevent the treats. Our theme for this year is to “win the ball.” In order to win the ball, we need to take away the freedom, space, and time from our opponents. In that sense, I feel like our players did a great job of winning the ball at each position.

DF #4 HIGASHIO Taiki (Riseisha High School)
This was a match we couldn’t afford to lose in order to avoid relegation, so we were fully determined to win three points today. We approached the match as if we were competing in the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, which is a single elimination tournament. Even if we played well, it doesn’t mean a thing if we lose the match. Our forwards did a great job today. All the players who used to play for Gamba were really fired up for this match, and I am glad we were able to showcase what we were capable of.

MF #6 OBATA Toshiki (Gamba Osaka Youth)
We have been striving to showcase a passing football that takes good care of the ball but are execution has been poor in the recent matches. We are also getting outran by our opponents, so that is an aspect we must improve on. Only after we lay our foundation, we can start trying to possess the ball. We cannot change this outcome, so we will do our best to reset our minds ahead of our next match.

FW #11 SUZUKI Hiroto (Gamba Osaka Youth)
Many of our former teammates play for Riseisha, so this was a match we really wanted to win. Instead of focusing on how to avoid relegation, we need to work to win the match in front of us. In order to do so, we first need to improve how we make transitions between offence and defence. In order to achieve the football style we are striving for, we must first work on the fundamentals.

Results of other matches

Sagan Tosu U-18 2-1 (2-1, 0-0) Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth
Shizuoka Gakuen High School 1-1 (1-1, 0-0) Nagoya Grampus U-18
Jubilo Iwata U-18 4-0 (1-0, 3-0) Cerezo Osaka U-18
Vissel Kobe U-18 2-0 (1-0, 1-0) Higashi Fukuoka High School
Ozu High School 2-1 (0-0, 2-1) Shimizu S-Pulse Youth

Led by the goals of MASUZAKI Kosei (#17) and NARAHARA Yoshiki (#7), Sagan Tosu U-18 (Saga) managed to win their home match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth (Hiroshima) 2-1. Shizuoka Gakuen High School (Shizuoka) and Nagoya Grampus U-18 (Aichi) each scored a goal in the first half to share a point. Jubilo Iwata U-18 (Shizuoka) marked back-to-back wins with a 4-0 victory over Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka). Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo) kept their undefeated streak since the eighth sec. alive by beating Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) 2-0. Despite conceding the opening goal to Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka), Ozu High School (Kumamoto) rallied back to score two goals to earn their fourth win of the season.

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Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2022

League Duration: Sat. 2 April - Sun. 4 December 2022

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