The 25th All Japan High School Women's Football Championship kicked off in Hyogo prefecture, and 16 first-round matches were competed among the 32 teams who got through the regional qualifiers on Friday 30 December.

Pick-up Match 1

Tokiwagi Gakuen High School 7-0（5-0, 2-0）Yanagigaura High School

The first match at Mikibo Park Hyogo was between five-time champions Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (Tohoku 1/ Miyagi) and second-seed Yanagigaura High School (Kyushu 1/ Oita). From the beginning of the match, Yanagigaura aggressively tried to advance the ball forward, whereas Tokiwagi used the full length and width of the pitch and created chances—mixing vertical passes going through OKINO Kurea while attacking from the flanks or exploiting the space behind the fullbacks. Then, in the 6th minute, Tokiwagi’s right winger, KATO Shiori, met a cross from the left wing in front of the goal and successfully scored the opening goal.

Tokiwagi also hunted for goals from mid-range. In the 14th and 25th minutes, TAKIKAWA Yume successfully found the net from distance and extended their lead to 3-0. They never ceased attacking Yanagigaura. After the fourth by TAKAHASHI Ami in the 29th minute, Takikawa scored a hat trick from netting a loose ball in the 36th minute. The first half ended with Tokiwa leading 5-0.

Yanagigaura were now on the back foot, but they started to create better chances after halftime. Unlike the first half, they pressured Tokiwagi up front, chasing, for example, the back pass to the opposing goalkeeper by MARUYAMA Chisato. While they could not fire a single shot before the break, they had several scoring attempts in the second. However, they were unable to break the opponents’ solid defence and instead conceded their sixth struck by Okino in the 60th minute. Tokiwagi successfully exploited the space behind the Yanagigaura’s players who were coming out aggressively to score goals. Dominating the entire match, Tokiwagi Gakuen High School got through to the second round with a final score of 7-0.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

Osaka Toin High School　1-9（1-5, 0-4）Shonan Gakuin High School

The second match at the Mikibo Park Hyogo saw Osaka Toin High School (Kansai 3/ Osaka) face Shonan Gakuin High School (Kanto 1/ Kanagawa). It was Shonan who took the early initiative by coming out aggressively to attack the opponents’ goal while capitalising on their individual strengths. In the 10th minute, right fullback TOMITA Iori moved up to the attacking third and fired a shot superbly to the far side, scoring their opening goal. Then, in the 22nd minute, HIROSE Satsuki added their second and extended the lead.

Osaka Toin struck back in the 35th minute from a free-kick by OSHIMA Saki, but one minute later Shonan scored their third and they did not allow the opponents to have any chance of equalising or gaining momentum in the game. Shonan Gakuin controlled the match at their pace by passing the ball to the two talented forwards, SHIRAI Miku, who moved the ball superbly up front with high individual skills, and UEDA Riho, who was brilliant at exploiting open spaces. While Ueda added their fourth in the 38th minute, Hirose slotted the loose ball off Ueda’s shot in injury time. The first half finished with Shonan taking a 5-1 lead.

Shonan Gakuin continued to attack aggressively in the 2nd half. In the 57th minute, Tomita met a cross by Ueda and scored her second of the day. Three minutes after this goal, Ueda ran behind the opposing defenders and fired a shot. Hirose scored a hat trick finding the loose ball once again off Ueda’s shot.

On the other hand, Osaka Toin placed more players in offence from the second half and created more chances. However, they failed to score after halftime and instead allowed the opponents to take advantage of the open space in their own end. Shonan’s scoring tally did not cease and ended in a 9-1 rout. They advanced to the Round of 16 with a convincing win.

Match Details (Japanese version only)

The second-round matches will take place at venues across Hyogo prefecture and decide the Top 8 teams advancing to the quarter-finals on Saturday 31 December.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

TAKIKAWA Yume (Tokiwagi Gakuen High School)
I had stretches where I had a tough time keeping a good balance in the midfield defensively. However, I focused on taking advantage of the speed of our wingers. In our training, we repeatedly practised taking shots from crosses so I was confident that the forward players would score if we continued to attack from the flanks. But, I never expected that I could achieve a hat-trick today. For the past month, my teammates encouraged me to take more attempts at goal and I believe this allowed me to score multiple goals today.

HAYASHI Kazuyuki, Coach (Yanagigaura High School)
We prepared for this match and I believe how we played at the beginning was not bad. However, we allowed the opponents to take the initiative of the match after conceding the opener. It was the first match and furthermore it was against the powerhouse Tokiwagi Gakuen. It was difficult to contest a level match against them and we simply could not perform at our pace in the first half. During the halftime break, I encouraged the players by saying “we are the top-seeded team from Kyushu. Give all you have and don’t give up until the end”. Today we found a lot of issues. From now on, we will work on improving them, hoping that we can come back here to avenge next year.

UEDA Riho (Shonan Gakuin High School)
I headed to the match with the motivation that I would do my best in each play, thinking about the other teammates who were not on the pitch. At the beginning, I was too focused on my play and I could not see what was going on around me. But gradually, I regathered myself and got involved in the scoring and assisting of goals, which were some of the positives. We had more scoring chances than usual, and we want to keep doing so in the next match.

AMANO Yasuo (Osaka Toin High School)
It was conceivable that we conceded up until two goals in the first half, but the third goal we allowed right after we scored was not acceptable. We tried to strike first in the second half and cut their lead to three goals, which I believed then we would have had the chance to equalise. However, this strategy let the opponents take advantage of the open areas in our own end. We did research about Shonan Gakuin prior to the match, but we simple could not compete well against them. They were much more aggressive than we expected. We have never seen any opponents scoring this many goals against us, and I cannot find any words to tell my players. However, this is football. I appreciate all my players who kept fighting until the end. I know also that the senior players who are leaving the team will continue to play football. I am sure that this experience will bring them positive results in the future.

25th All Japan High School Women's Football Championshi

30 December 2016 (Sat.) ～ 8 January 2017 (Sun.)　[Free Admission]
First Round～ Quater-finals：Venues across Hyogo Prefecture
Semi-finals ～ Final：Noevir Stadium Kobe (Hyogo Prefecture)

Tournament Information