The Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League EAST enters its Matchday 14 on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September. Including this matchday, the league has only five fixtures left. Each one of the outcomes highly reflects the rankings.

Omiya Ardija Youth (Saitama), who have led the league unbeaten, face Shimizu S-pulse Youth (Shizuoka) on the road. In the last contest against Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki), the Saitama side grabbed a comeback win despite allowing the opening goal, scoring two goals with only three shots.

After Matchday 10, they have been without captain KUROKAWA Atsushi but won all the matches during the period and did not let the absence of their key player felt. With an aggressive performance both on offence and defence, they look for the seventh straight win.

JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka) welcome Kashima, who trail the top two teams by four points. Academy Fukushima drew with F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) on Matchday 12 and beat RyutsuKeizaidai Kashiwa High School (Chiba) 3-1 in the last match.

They snapped out of the bottom place with the additional four points. With early attacks in those matches, they scored first at the early stage of the match, which helped the team gain the points. How they start the match is expected to determine the outcome of next match again.

Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori), who are on a five-match winning streak, meet Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido). As trying to keep the opponents scoreless, they look for a goal mainly through set-pieces on offence. During the last five matches, their midfielders have been in perfect form – four goals by TAKAHASHI Issei and three goals by KAMIYA Yuta.

They were successful in halting Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) in the last match, allowing them only three shots. The Aomori’s high school powerhouse have built their rhythm on defence and led its momentum to good offence. They look to add points in the upcoming match before facing Omiya in their favour.

The Kashiwa derby between Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba), standing in seventh place with 10 points, and bottom-placed Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa with nine points is decisive for the relegation battle. Reysol's offence has been sluggish, scoring only one goal in the last four matches. There were not many situations where they showed their trait of passing football.

As the outcome has been poor, the team as a whole also have been somewhat daunted. Reysol have matches against lower-ranked teams in this match and the following Academy Fukushima match. Playing without hesitation this weekend first will certainly lead to the battles thereafter.

［Pick-up Match - EAST Matchday 14］
Ichiritsu Funabashi High School vs F.C. Tokyo U-18

Despite falling a bit far behind the top two teams, other two title contenders, who have stayed in the top flight, face each other. Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) have not got any straight wins after Matchday 6, struggling to pile up points enough. As Ichiritsu Funabashi lost four matches by one goal, they gave up a goal in added time in two of those four losses. Their problem has been how they end a match.

On the other hand, F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) midfielder SATO Ryo has been in shape, scoring all the three goals the team scored in the last two matches. In the last match against Reysol, where the team won 2-0, he scored multiple goals for the first time since Matchday 6. How well Sato, who scored 14 goals out of 25 goals the team got, plays is the key for them if they can win or end up losing.

Date: Sunday 13 September, Kick-off at 11:00
Venue: Funabashi Hoden Park (Grasspo) Field
Access: Take Keisei Bus from JR "Nishi Funabashi Station" or JR Musashino Line "Funabashi Hoden Station” and get off at "Otsuka Glass." Walk for 1 minute.
Take Community Flower Bus from Tobu Noda Line "Magomezawa Station" and get off at "Este City." Walk for 3 minutes.

Direction to venue (Japanese version only)

Premier League EAST Matchday 14

9/12 (Sat.)
15:00   Shimizu S-pulse Youth   vs   Omiya Ardija Youth (IAI Stadium Nihondaira)
9/13 (Sun.)
11:00   Ichiritsu Funabashi High School   vs   F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Funabashi City Field/Grasspo)
11:00   JFA Academy Fukushima   vs   Kashima Antlers Youth (Tokinosumika Sports Centre Tokinosumika Ground)
11:00   Aomori Yamada High School   vs   Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Aomori Yamada High School)
16:00   Kashiwa Reysol U-18   vs   RyutsuKeizaidai Kashiwa High School (Hitachi Kashiwa Sogo Ground)

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)