Saturday 5 July and Sunday 6 July will have the week 7 matches of the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Football League WEST.

Kyoto Tachibana High School (Kyoto), which have had no win, meet Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka). While Kyoto Tachibana are struggling at the bottom of the standings, “Though we don’t have skilled players like last year, we are rather collective” says Kurimoto Kotaro.  With their great teamwork they want to get their much-awaited first win this week. For Gamba Osaka, whether they can perform their football with full of techniques and creativity  is a key element to win.

Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka) face Toyama Daiichi High School (Toyama) at home after beating Gamba Osaka for the U-18 Osaka derby in the last match. Cerezo Osaka’s attacking squad is in good performance as MF Maekawa Taiga and FW Sakamoto Masaki, registered for the  Class 2 youth team, both scored in the last match. Cerezo Osaka look for an opportunity to gain 3 points against the highly collective Toyama Daiichi’s defence.

Higashiyama High School (Kyoto) in a losing streak  have installed new three-centre-back system in the last week. “We are pretty competitive in the league” says Kamata Daichi. The players seem to be confident throughout the latest matches. Higashiyama try to deepen their confidence by winning against Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth (Hiroshima), who have been in their winning streak. Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo) have been away from winning since the 3rd week. Their ace player Yonezawa Rei warns, “Teammates seem to have heads down and be negative even in the practice.” The team face Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 (Kyoto) in the next match. This match could be significant for both teams as Kyoto also have been struggling with only one win so far in the season.

[Pick-up match of WEST week 7]
Nagoya Grampus U18 vs Higashi Fukuoka High School

Nagoya Grampus U18 (Aichi) have Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) at home. The former is undefeated and leading the league and the latter have won three in a row. The Nagoya have a good defence as Head Coach Takada Tetsuya comments, “We don’t have big men but are doing well with organising push-up and covering smoothly at the defensive line.” The Nagoya have conceded the least goals in the league with their solid defence. Such creates the momentum in the match and leads to goal opportunities with their attackers such as FW Sakurai Subaru and Aoyama Hiroaki receiving passes up front. Higashi Fukuoka’s manager Morishige Junya comments on his team, saying “We don’t have star players, but players do their job well both defensively and offensively.” As everyone in the team fulfils their role, the team have solidly added up points. When Akagi Tsubasa and Masuyama Asahi are in charge of their side attack and the captain Nakajima Kensei gets close to the goal, their attack can be powerful and impressive. Higashi Fukuoka scored five goals in the last match and are now placed at the fourth place, which is the highest among high school teams. You don’t want to miss this match between the two red hot teams.

Nagoya Grampus U18 vs Higashi Fukuoka High School
Date: Sunday 6 July,  Kick-off at 12:00
Venue: Toyota Sports Centre
Access: 10 minutes by walk from Meitetsu Toyota Line “Miyoshigaoka Station”