Saturday 30 July saw the final of the 21st All Japan Youth (U-15) Women's Championship, which decided the strongest U-15 women’s team, and JFA Academy Fukushima (Tokai 1/ Shizuoka) played against JEF UNITED ICHIHARA CHIBA LADIES U-15 (Kanto 2/ Chiba). 

Final

JEF UNITED ICHIHARA CHIBA LADIES U-15　0-2 (0-0, 0-2)　JFA Academy Fukushima

This was a big chance for both teams since this would be their first time to win the title, and they competed evenly from the beginning. JFA Academy tried to build-up their play from the back line. On the other hand, JEF United responded to them with their press defence from the front line. NAKAO Momo of JEF United described the team as: “we take on challenges. We run and compete every play.”

The first half remained in the balance with only few scoring opportunities. In the 6th minute, from a throw-in, JFA Academy Fukushima’s ITO Megumi made the first attempt but could not find the net. On the other hand, JEF United’s KAI Marin stole the ball in the centre of the field and drove the ball toward the goal, but could not take a shot. First half ended scoreless.

JFA Academy Fukushima could not attack as expected in the first half. However, they didn’t appear disappointed at half time: “all of the players were fine. They were encouraging each other with smiles” said the team’s Coach KADOWAKI Mai.

In the opening minutes of the second half, JFA Academy Fukushima got the scoring opportunity. TOMIOKA Chihiro reviewed her feelings: “unlike last year’s final (that ended up being the runner-up), all of us were positively minded, so I felt we would score.” In the 33rd minute, TAMAGAWA Mina stole the ball on the left side of their own half and quickly passed it forward to Kadowaki. Then, WATANABE Urara received it and send it towards IWAI Ran in front of the goal. She successfully netted home and the team now took the lead. She reflected on the moment after the match: “I couldn’t miss it for the team.”

However, right after JFA Academy Fukushima scored the opening goal, JEF started to take control. In the 38th minute, unmarked OSAWA Haruka took a shot just in front of the goal but failed to convert. Then, HORIKOSHI Yui challenged the JFA Academy Fukushima’s defenders many times. The team’s Coach IKEDA Yuki talked about her: “she has grown up dramatically through this championship.” For JFA Academy Fukushima, it was a difficult time since they couldn’t pick up the second balls even after clearing them. However, as Iwai expressed their motivation: “we had worked hard for a year to win this championship,” they never allowed JEF United to equalise. 

Now, JFA Academy was near the goal-line. In the 2nd minute of the stoppage time, they got the final chance. Kadowaki smashed a shot from the right side of the box and scored the decisive goal. “I couldn’t score any goals in the previous 2 matches, so I really wanted to score today,” said Kadowaki. Right after this goal, the final whistle was blown.

JFA Academy Fukushima won their first championship title. In the award ceremony afterwards, Fair-play Award was given to INAC KOBE LEONESSA U-15, which ended up in the third place.

Coaches and Players' Comments

IKEDA Yuki, Coach (JEF UNITED ICHIHARA CHIBA LADIES U-15)
Since our star player KUROKO Hitomi couldn’t play today again due to fever, we expected the match to be difficult. Players performed well in the second half taking control of the match. Since last year when we lost in the first match, we worked hard and aimed to play for the final. I appreciate the players for making it true. I know that we wanted to win the title, but there’s nothing to be ashamed of. We will go back to Chiba with pride. 

NAKAO Momo (JEF UNITED ICHIHARA CHIBA LADIES U-15)
It was a such a wonderful opportunity to play in the final. It was also great to play with my cherished teammates. Since we lost in the first match last year, we tried to avenge the loss by working hard and thinking about what we can do for the team. This worked out very well as we could play the matches in good spirit. Even when competing with the strong opponents, we were able to showcase our strength: active defense from the front line and running and battling each play. I am in the final year of this team. I want not only myself but also the younger players to learn from this experience and make themselves better football players in the future.

MISHIO Shota, Coach (JFA Academy Fukushima)
I want to express my sincere gratitude towards the players’ parents, staff members, and all the people who supported us throughout the course of this tournament. Thank you very much. We knew that JEF is a strong team, but at the same time we believed that we could make chances if we could keep our level of play.

In the first half, we suffered from their intense press defense but we didn’t change our style and played with persistence, allowing us to enter the second half in good mood. It was also important for us that we scored the opening goal from crossing as we did in practice.

IWAI Ran (JFA Academy Fukushima)
Last year, we couldn’t perform our best due to hot weather. Since then, we kept working hard to build up the team with positive energy. This time we won the title because we were more persistent. I scored today not only because of my teammates who passed me the ball but also my teammates off the pitch and supporters who cheered me from the stand. I want to thank for all the support I received today. 

3rd place play-off

INAC KOBE LEONESSA U-15 1-0 (1-0, 0-0)　NOJIMA STELLA KANAGAWA SAGAMIHARA AVENIRE

The 21st All Japan Youth (U-15) Women's Championship

23 July 2016 - 30 July 2016
J-GREEN Sakai (Sakai/Osaka)
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