Pick-up Match

Higashi Fukuoka High School 4-1 (0-1, 4-0) Avispa Fukuoka U-18

On Saturday 14 and Monday 16 July, the ninth Sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League WEST took place as the two sides from Fukuoka, Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) and Avispa Fukuoka U-18 (Fukuoka) squared off in the Fukuoka Derby.

Prior to the match Avispa’s KITAJIMA Yuji (#10) described his opponent, “With our home field being so close, there are many players I have played at the junior youth level. They are a team I do not want to lose against.” His words were sincere, and it was the club side who scored the opening goal. Although the match saw Higashi Fukuoka taking the initiative, the Avispa defenders responded to the supporters’ cheers as they showcased a great performance to deny chances from being created. In the 16th minute, Kitajima initiated the attack by possessing the ball before sending it to YOSHIMURA Ginga (#20) who delivered a through ball into the space behind the opposing defenders, where MATSUDA Tomoki (#12) broke through to convert the opportunity.

Despite taking control of the match, Higashi Fukuoka failed to create goal scoring opportunities in the first half. Trailing by a goal, the team increased their intensity and made adjustments in the second half. Midfielder NAKAMURA Takuya (#6) described, “We allowed our opponents’ to build up their rhythm in the midfield area, so we focused on shutting down the pass-courses.” By correcting their defensive approach in the midfield and showing more support to their forwards, the Higashi Fukuoka side added layers to their attacks and increased their dominance in the second half.

The match was equalised in the 60th minute, when Higashi Fukuoka’s midfielder FUKUDA Sho (#7) collected the loose ball in the attacking third before sending the ball to their striker OMORI Shingo (#9), who capitalised on the situation with his shot. Avispa’s Coach FUJISAKI Yoshitaka later reflected, “The fact we allowed our opponents to possess the ball and make runs in the first half hurt us. It was also mentally tough to concede two consecutive goals in a row.” As the coach mentioned, Higashi Fukuoka’s second goal came just four minutes following the equaliser, as Higashi Fukuoka’s IMOTO Kanji (#11) scored the go-ahead goal in the 64th minute. Imoto later stated that “In the second half, I was anticipating to attack aggressively in the final third.” Higashi Fukuoka’s explosive offence did not stop there, as Nakamura Takuya converted a direct freekick in the 65th minute, followed by NAKAMURA Shunsuke’s (#23) goal off a corner kick in the 78th minute to extend their lead to three goals. Despite starting off the match rather sluggish, Higashi Fukuoka capped off the match by coming from behind as Imoto said, “We played poorly in the first half, so I was relieved that we managed to score four goals in the second half.”

Coaches’ and Players’ Comments

MORISHIGE Junya, Coach (Higashi Fukuoka High School)
We could not respond timely against our opponent’s aggressive approach. We certainly have the potential to do well, but in the first half we couldn’t display our best performance. It wasn’t anything unusual, but we must correct how we enter the match. In order for us to do well in the Inter High School Sports Festival and the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, we must find ways to perform the way we did in the second half today. There will be competitions within the team, and the players who cannot perform will be out from the squad. We found what we need to work on in terms of defence, so we will implement that ahead of our next match.

MF #6 NAKAMURA Takuya (Higashi Fukuoka High School)
Knowing that we had the Fukuoka Derby scheduled ahead of us, we were quite pumped-up from our training sessions this week. We couldn’t manage to showcase our style of football, but we told each other that we need to “Pay-back what they’ve done to us,” and attack aggressively in the second half. We performed very well in the first 10 minutes which I think led to our goals. We suffered a devastating loss against the Nagoya Grampus U-18 in the fourth Sec., but we managed to reset our minds to record more wins that losses in the first half of the league. However, we still lack strengths in clutch situations, so we must obtain that strengths as we fight through each match.

FUJISAKI Yoshitaka, Coach (Avispa Fukuoka U-18)
We played well in the first half but were struck hard mentally after conceding goals from easy plays. In the first half of the league, we managed to create positive stretches but conceded when we lost our concentration. In the Premier League, the opponents will exploit the smallest flaws and we must play 120% at all times. The environment that we have placed ourselves allows us to strive to become a better player, and although it is disappointing to lose matches, we are enjoying ourselves in this whole situation. The merit of us joining this league is quite obvious. We will train ourselves so that we can fight back in the second half of the league.

MF #10 KITAJIMA Yuji (Avispa Fukuoka U-18)
We scored the opening goal against Higashi Fukuoka last year as well but allowed them to come from behind in both matches. We had our chances to extend our lead in the second half, but it didn’t work out this time. I feel like we lack the mentality to readjust ourselves after conceding a goal. Before the league started, we had the confidence to do well in the Premier League, but we have been suppressed by our opponents’ intensity and haven’t been able to display our style of football thus far. The JAPAN Club Youth (U-18) Football Championship is fast approaching and we must prepare ourselves so that we can end this bad rhythm we’ve got right now.

Results of other matches

Hannan University Senior High School 1-5 (0-2, 1-3) Gamba Osaka Youth
Vissel Kobe U-18 0-4 (0-2, 0-2) Nagoya Grampus U-18
Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 0-2 (0-1, 0-1) Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth
Yonago Kita High School 1-4 (1-2, 0-2) Cerezo Osaka U-18

Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) faced Hannan University Senior High School (Osaka) where their forwards HARADA Retsushi (#14) and OTANI Yuto (#23) each scored two goals to win the match 5-1. In the match between Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo) and Nagoya Grampus U-18 (Aichi), Nagoya’s forward ISHIDA Ryotaro (#17) got his side going with his brace in the first half to propel Nagoya to a 4-0 victory. Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth (Hiroshima) squared off against Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 (Kyoto) in an away match where they managed to score a goal each in both halves to earn the win. Yonago Kita High School (Tottori) attempted to stop their losing streak when they scored the equaliser against Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka), but allowed Cerezo’s TANIMOTO Shunsuke to score two goals and lost the match 1-4.

Tournament Period：Sat. 7 April 2018 ～ Sun. 9 December 2018

Tournament Information