Pick-up Match

Omiya Ardija Youth　2-0 (1-0, 1-0)　Consadole Sapporo U-18

Omiya Ardija Youth (Saitama) took on Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido) in the 12th leg of the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League EAST on 30 August.

Omiya, who have won in their last four contests, attacked Consadole from early. In the 2nd minute, MATSUZAKI Kai returned a pass into the space before the Consadole goal, FUJINUMA Takumu put it into the next to give a lead for Ardija. After the goal, Omiya threatened the Consadole goal as KAWATA Kento fired middle shots in the 5th and 10th minutes and kept their momentum.

Meanwhile, Sapporo gradually got able to connect their passed past 10th minute and increased their own offensive opportunities. In the 21st minute, SUGA Daiki reacted a corner kick and blasted a shot from outside the box, but it was saved by the Omiya goalkeeper KATO Yuuki.

In the 30th minute, MOTOZUKA Toshiya launched another middle shot, which ended up hitting the goal post, and the game entered halftime with Consadole holding the pace.

Omiya entered halftime in a bad rhythm but came in the second half after their coach OTSUKA Shinji told the players, “The content of our game isn't good, but we are winning. A real winning team gets a win out of a game like this.”

It was unchanged that Consadole tried to tie and Omiya aimed at extending a lead from counter attacks, focusing mainly on their defence. For Sapporo, SUGIYAMA Yuta fired a shot aiming at a corner of the Omiya goal and it gave the team energy.

But Omiya responded with their physical defensive plays against the Consadole attacks. They prevailed in their defence in front of their own goal that they learned through their trip in the Netherlands during the summer, and would not gave Consadole free spaces.

In the 82nd minute, OGASHIWA Tsuyoshi reacted with a lateral pass from the Omiya defensive line and threatened the Consadole goal with his dribbling.

Ogashiwa drew a couple of defenders and made a last pass to TSUCHIDA Naoki, who ran from behind. Tsuchida put it into the goal to give Omiya a second goal, which ensured the win. Omiya retained the lead until the final whistle and completed five straight victories, including three consecutive shutouts.

Having elevated their confidence level, they are going to face Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) in an all-undefeated teams matchup in the next leg.

Coach and Players' Comments

OTSUKA Shinji, Assistant Coach (Omiya Ardija Youth)
Through tournaments and overseas trips during the summer, if there was a trap during the season, I thought it would be today's game. We didn't play a game that we were content, but we still managed to earn three points.

There's no doubt that this is a big win for us and I felt our team's growth. With our coach missing, our players really did their job. While we gave the opponents some chances, we managed to defend them as a team, thanks to the experience we gained during this summer.

TSUCHIDA Naoki (Omiya Ardija Youth)
After we took the first goal, we had some difficult time afterward, but we kept an awareness of playing our defence as a team and ended up posting the win. While our KUROKAWA Atsushi is missing, his substitute has been fitting well and we have been able to play as the whole team.

As for my goal that gave the team an additional lead, because you can't feel secure with a one-goal lead, I was looking at it. If the goal gave the team some room to breathe, I'm happy. I've tended to get banged up and gave the team some troubles so far, I would like to do more.

KAWAGUCHI Takuya, Coach (Consadole Sapporo U-18)
We gave up a goal just two minutes into the game and it affected us until the end. We played our own brand of ball both in the first half and second half, but whether you can make shots or not probably made the difference.

We've played better teams in the standings, against Kashima last week and Omiya this week. Toward their goal for next year (in the Premier League), I think our players have performed well. We want to exhibit our strengths going forward, no matter who we play against.

Other Matches

Aomori Yamada High School   4-1 (3-0, 1-1)   Kashiwa Reysol U-18
Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School   0-1 (0-1, 0-0)   Kashima Antlers Youth
JFA Academy Fukushima   1-1 (1-1, 0-0)   F.C. Tokyo U-18
Shimizu S-Pulse Youth   0-1 (0-1, 0-0)   Ichiritsu Funabashi High School

The second-place Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) and third-place Kashima defeated Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) and Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School (Chiba), respectively, to put some pressure on the league-leading Omiya.

Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) edged Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka), who had posted a three-game winning streak, 1-0. They are in the distance in a hunt for the championship.

JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka), who are currently in the bottom of the standings, took a lead with a goal by NOBE Yuta in the 9th minute, but F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) tied as their SATO Ryo made a shot. The game ended as a 1-1 draw. Yet Fukushima accumulated one point, cutting the gap with the seventh-place Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa to two points.