The third sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2022 EAST took place on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April. At Saitama Stadium 2002 Third Ground, Omiya Ardija U18 (Saitama) faced Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori).

Featured Match

Omiya Ardija U18 0-1 (0-1, 0-0) Aomori Yamada High School

After losing the season opener, Omiya bounced back with a 2-1 victory over JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka) in the second sec. and entered this week with hopes to start a winning streak, as coach MORITA Hiroshi mentioned, “In order to achieve our goal of contending for the title race, this was a match we really wanted to win.”

Aomori Yamada on the other hand, had started the season with back-to-back victories, but were not resting on their laurels, as coach KURODA Go described, “Both matches could have gone either way,” and reminded his players, “We are the challengers in this match.”

The match started with Omiya dominating the ball possession and creating the first big chance, but it was Aomori Yamada who scored the opening goal. The goal came in the 31st minute, when WATANABE Rai (#2) responded to the long throw delivered by NARAOKA Kenshin (#11) to strike a header into the net.

Despite giving up the lead, Omiya continued to overpower the visitors, creating multiple chances from corner kicks and free kicks, but couldn’t find ways to break down the Aomori Yamada defence, as OZAWA Haruki (#3) later reflected, “Our opponent had the upper-hand when facing set-pieces.”

In efforts to change the dynamics of the match, Omiya brought in their lengthy first-year striker ISOZAKI Mark (#24) to start the second half but continued to be denied by the tenacious defence showcased by the Aomori defence line led by KOBAYASHI Koto (#15) and MIHASHI Haruki (#4).

A golden opportunity arrived for the home side in the 80th minute, when a hand ball was called inside the opposing penalty area, but Aomori Yamada’s SUZUKI Shoei (#12) made a big save to deny the PK taken by TAKAHASHI Hikaru (#11). Reflecting on this play, coach Kuroda praised his second-year goalkeeper, “He always makes great saves, but he really rose to the occasion today.”

The single goal scored in the first half turned out to be the difference in this match, as Aomori Yamada defeated Omiya 1-0 to become the only team to start the season with three consecutive victories in the EAST.

Coaches and Players' Comments

KURODA Go, Coach (Aomori Yamada High School)
Our defence line played really well to keep a clean sheet. Although we are a very different team from last year, we will not lose the Yamada spirit and fight as a team until the very end. We will try to correct our shortcomings as we compete in this league and gradually increase the range of what we can do as a team ahead of the summer.

GK #12 SUZUKI Shoei (Aomori Yamada High School)
Facing Omiya, who plays a lot of long balls, I knew that I had to challenge the ball aggressively. As a goalkeeper, I am glad that we were able to keep a clean sheet today. When facing a PK, I just focused on not jumping the gun and making my move as late as possible. I still have a long way to go as a goalkeeper, so I will continue to work hard to improve myself.

MORITA Hiroshi, Coach (Omiya Ardija U18)
We knew that our opponent was capable of creating chances through long throws, so we came prepared, but we still conceded a goal from it. We created plenty of opportunities in the second half, but couldn’t capitalise on them, so we must improve the quality of our plays in the final third. There were a lot of things we could learn from Aomori Yamada, including their determination to win the ball in front of the goal.

DF #3 OZAWA Haruki (Omiya Ardija U18)
We had to capitalise on the opportunities we were given, especially when facing a team like Aomori Yamada, who plays with tremendous intensity in front of the goal. Although we were able to possess the ball, it felt like our opponents didn’t give us any space to work with. Our attackers are very talented, so we need to find more ways to get the ball to them. We still have 19 more games, so we will continue to work hard to improve ourselves.

Results of other matches

Yokohama F.Marinos Youth 2-3 (0-1, 2-2) Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School
JFA Academy Fukushima 1-1 (1-1, 0-0) Kawasaki Frontale U-18
Kashiwa Reysol U-18 Postponed Kiryu Daiichi High School
Funabashi Municipal High School 2-0 (0-0, 2-0) Yokohama FC Youth
FC Tokyo U-18 4-3 (1-2, 3-1) Maebashi Ikuei High School

After falling behind 0-2 in the 69th minute, Yokohama F.Marinos Youth (Kanagawa) managed to level the match in the 84th minute, but Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School (Chiba) retook the lead with the goal of KASHIMOTO Shin (#6) during additional time to earn their first win of the season. JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka) and Kawasaki Frontale U-18 (Kanagawa) each walked away with a point after exchanging a goal apiece in the first half. Funabashi Municipal High School (Chiba) welcomed Yokohama FC Youth (Kanagawa) to their home field, where they scored two goals in the second half to end their losing streak. In an intense match between FC Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo) and Maebashi Ikuei High School (Gunma), where the two sides marked three goals apiece by the 71st minute, KUMATA Naoki (#9) scored his third goal of the match during additional time to give FC Tokyo three points. The fixture between Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) and Kiryu Daiichi High School (Gunma) has been postponed.

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2022

League Duration: Sat. 2 April - Sun. 4 December 2022

League Information