The fourth sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Super Prince League 2020 Tohoku took place on Saturday 19 September. With the Premier League being cancelled due to the effects of COVID-19, Premier League teams joined the regional Prince League to form the Super Prince League. At the Tohoku region, Aomori Yamada High School has joined the Tohoku Prince League.

Pick-up Match

Aomori Yamada High School 3-0 (2-0, 1-0) Vegalta Sendai Youth

Since the start of the season, Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) has won three straight matches. In the fourth sec. the Premier League side welcomed Vegalta Sendai Youth (Miyagi), who has also won three straight matches, to their home field.

Ahead of the match, Sendai’s coach IKI Yusuke shared his aspiration towards the matchup, “We thought we would never have the chance of facing their top team until we get promoted to the Premier League, so this is a matchup we have been waiting for. We were looking forward for this match ever since the new league was announced.” Sendai’s GK OKAYAMA Shuto (#1) also mentioned, “By beating Aomori Yamada, we wanted to prove that we are the best team in the Tohoku region, and we have trained all week to prepare for this match.”

However, Sendai struggled to find their rhythm early in the match, as coach Iki later reflected that their eagerness to win the match might have had a negative effect on their performance. Despite working on their build-up plays, the team struggled to connect their passes.

On the other hand, Aomori Yamada got off to a good start, as their MF ANZAI Soma (#7) mentioned, “Good offence is initiated by good defence.” In the 21st minute, Anzai scored a superb shot to give his side a lead, as he later reflected on the paly, “I was able to break through in good shape and saw the DF blocking the GK’s view.” MF OBARA Yoshitaka (#8) followed just before halftime to give Aomori Yamada a two goal lead at the break.

With coach Iki giving a pep-talk during halftime, Sendai started to pick up their rhythm in the second half, but Aomori Yamada defence showed great defence to deny the Sendai offence, as Aomori’s DF FUJIWARA Yudai (#5) mentioned, “We were committed to denying any shooting opportunities.” With Anzai scoring his second goal in the 64th minute, Aomori Yamada has sealed the deal, as they shut down the Sendai side with zero shots. With the team winning their fourth straight match with a dominating performance, Fujiwara mentioned, “Our goal is to win every single match to take down the Tohoku title. We are committed to win all official matches this season.”

Coaches and Players' Comments

KURODA Go, Coach (Aomori Yamada High School)
I am not satisfied with how we challenged the ball and our intensity level. A win or a shut-out does not automatically mean that we have done a great job, and I will continue to demand greatness from our players. We should also never take for granted to be given this opportunity to play these league matches. It hurts my heart to hear about other athletes who were forced to end their career without the opportunity to test their strengths, and I am truly grateful to be given this opportunity to play.

MF #7 ANZAI Soma (Aomori Yamada High School)
We are now participating in the Super Prince League Tohoku, but regardless of the league format, we are always striving to meet the nation’s top level. That is why winning a match is not enough and the process is more important for us. The first goal came from a great run of play. The second goal came from a short-counter, which is one of our team’s strengths. I was focused not to get under the ball and try to aim towards the corner, and I am glad that I was able to execute the shot just like in practice.

IKI Yusuke, Coach (Vegalta Sendai Youth)
We cannot just launch the ball against teams like Aomori Yamada, so we entered the match with the intentions to connect passes from our defence line. We also thought that we were not that behind against Aomori Yamada in terms of technique, strategy, and physical strengths. However, there was a world of difference between the teams’ mentality, as the players of Aomori Yamada were always demanding for higher levels. We hope to utilise this experience to become a better team.

GK #1 OKAYAMA Shuto (Vegalta Sendai Youth)
Our goal is to become the best team in Tohoku, so Aomori Yamada was an opponent we cannot lose. Although we managed to shutdown the opponents from capitalising on set-plays, their finishing plays were incredibly accurate, and they had the upper hand in that aspect. Although we struggled to execute our football, we managed to showcase a better performance in the second half.

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Super Prince League 2020

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