On Thursday 26 July, the semi-finals of the JFA 23rd U-15 Japan Women's Football Championship took place as Nippon TV Menina Serias (Kanto1/Tokyo) and Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara Avenire (Kanto3/Kanagawa) faced each other in the first match up, while Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Junior Youth (Kanto2/Saitama) squared off against JFA Academy Fukushima (Tokai1/Shizuoka) in the second match.

First Semi-final Match

Nippon TV Menina Serias 1-0 (1-0, 0-0) Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara Avenire

It was the Nojima side who took the initiative of the match early on as they applied aggressive pressure from their front line. Serias’ Coach SAKAGUCHI Keisuke later reflected, “Compared to Nojima, who has advanced to the semi-finals three years straight, we don’t have any players who has played at this stage. We were rattled due to our lack of experience.” In the fifth minute, Nojima’s NEBU Momoko responded to the pass delivered by NISHIGORI Mahiro, creating a one-on-one situation, but her effort came short from finding the back of the net. They came close to scoring in the 10th minute, when SASAI Chinari struck the post with her shot. While Nojima struggled to convert their opportunities, Serias got their first chance in the 24th minute. Following a counter attack. UJIHARA Rihona capitalised on the clearance error made by the Nojima defence line to score the opening goal of the match.

Just as Coach Sakaguchi anticipated, “We knew our opponents will run out of gas because they have been pressing hard from their front line,” Serias took control of the match in the second half, as they moved the ball around effectively. In the 41st minute, Serias came close to extending their lead when KIMURA Sana sent a pass to FUJINO Aoba, who struck the ball well to threaten the opposing goal. The match ended with a final score of 1-0. The winning coach expressed his take on the match, “Although we won the match, we still looked immature. I hope the players will implement what they have learnt in this match in the final.”

Coach and Player’s Comments

MF #11 UJIHARA Rihona (Nippon TV Menina Serias)
We were rattled by our opponent’s pressure and couldn’t move the ball around as we usually do. In the scene where I scored the goal, it was a gamble. I saw the ball in front of me, so I just went for it. Up until this point, we haven’t been able to play up to our full potential, maybe perhaps because we are still nervous playing in a national tournament. In the final we would like to keep our composure, even if our opponents come out applying pressure aggressively, and do our best to create opportunities. We hope to win the match with a good performance.

HASEGAWA Ayumi, Coach (Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara Avenire)
I am satisfied with the fact we managed to execute our game plan in the first half. However, we conceded a goal in an irregular fashion and lost our composure. We recouped ourselves and tried to equalise the match, but the Serias side showed great discipline to deny our attempts. They had the upper had in terms of game management as well. It was our third semi-final appearance in three years, and we really wanted to advance to our first final, but we still need to improve to get there. We still have the third-place match ahead of us, so we will reset our minds towards it.

Second Semi-final Match

Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Junior Youth 1-2 (1-2, 0-0) JFA Academy Fukushima

The second semi-final match featured the same matchup from last year’s final, as Academy Fukushima sought for revenge against the defending champions. The Fukushima side was the aggressor in the early minutes as ISHIKAWA Rion reflected on their approach, “We didn’t want to give away opportunities for our opponents to counter attack, so we told each other to always finish with a shot,” they pressed up deep into the opposing territory. Their approach proved to be successful when TANIKAWA Momoko’s long range shot went into the goal in the 12th minute to give them the lead. With the momentum on their side, Fukushima extended their lead just three minutes later when MATSUKUBO Manaka dribbled through the central area before finding the back of the net with a shot from the outside of the box. Urawa did manage to cut their deficit in half with a goal scored by SASAKI Yuria in additional time of the first half.

The second half saw more opportunities created by the Urawa side, but Fukushima Academy showcased great intensity to keep their lead as Coach MISHIO Shota later reflected, “The players were communicating well after they conceded the goal and created a positive atmosphere. I feel they have matured greatly in the mental aspect.” With the help of the superb efforts made by their goalkeeper HATTORI Momoka and with a shot being deflected off the goal post, Fukushima Academy held on to their lead to hear the final whistle with a score of 2-1. Coach Mishio encouraged his players ahead of the final, “I want them to play to their fullest and gain positive experience that will help them down the road.”

Coach and Player’s Comments

KANBE Shintaro, Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Junior Youth)
Fukushima Academy sought for revenge from last year while we aimed to repeat as champions, but I think it was apparent that their desire was stronger than ours. We couldn’t adjust against our opponent’s aggressive approach in the early minutes and allowed a goal too easily. The only time we really took control of the match was the last few minutes. Compared to last year, we didn’t have that one player that can take over the match, so we kept our focal point on teamwork and collective efforts. To be honest, I did not expect our team to come this far, so they’ve done a great job. I hope they will feed off of this experience.

DF #26 ISHIKAWA Rion (JFA Academy Fukushima)
We were playing on a different pitch from yesterday, so it took a little while to adjust to it, but we managed to focus on our ball movements to carry the ball upfront. It is regretful the way we conceded the goal because we knew they were going to send the ball upfront, but we couldn’t fully commit ourselves to approach the ball. Last year, I suffered a concussion during the semi-final match and couldn’t play in the final, so this year I have set my goal to play in the final. The older players have given us words of encouragement and many people has told us that they watched today’s match via the live streaming, so I really want to win the next match as well.

Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Junior Youth vs JFA Academy Fukushima

Nippon TV Menina Serias vs Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara Avenire

JFA-TV will live-stream the two Semi-finals on Thursday 26 July, Final and Third-place match on Saturday 28 July.
*Please be aware that the internet live-stream may not be available depending on the connectivity and the browsing environment.
Internet Live-Stream (Japanese website)

The JFA 23rd U-15 Japan Women's Football Championship

Tournament Dates: Sat. 21 - Sat. 28 July 2018
Tournament Venue: J-GREEN Sakai (Sakai, Osaka)
Tournament Information