JOC Junior Olympic Cup The 19th All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournament had its second round on Monday 4 January at J-GREEN Sakai in Osaka.

Pick-up Match 1

Clubfields Linda (Hokkaido)　1-15 (1-6, 0-9)　Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls (Kansai/Osaka)

The contest between Clubfields Linda and Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls turned out to be one-sided. In the 5th minute, Cerezo’s TAKARADA Saori broke through the left flank and opened the scoring before her side continued to take the initiative by outnumbering on sides. Takarada made a hat trick already in the first half. Linda were six goals down by 32 minutes, yet in the 37th minute TAKEUCHI Senri dribbled through and got a goal to keep their hopes alive for the second half.

Although Linda changed the system in the second half in attempt to come back, they conceded five goals within seven minutes after the match entered 50 minutes. In the tough stretches with a big disadvantage, goalkeeper YAMAMOTO Fuka yelled out from the back and kept playing hard, but Linda failed to halt Cerezo's attacks. Cerezo coach TAKEHANA Tomoya said to his players, "don't ease attacks even after scoring goals, and go all out to get more goals." With his word in mind, the Osaka side piled up goals to 15 and claimed the last four spot.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18 (Kanto 3/Chiba)　1-0 (0-0, 1-0)　AS Elfen Saitama Mari (Kanto 4/Saitama)

JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18 and AS Elfen Saitama Mari squared off against each other in the third-place match at the Kanto Qualifiers. JEF beat Saitama Mari on penalties after a 2-2 extra-time draw in the last matchup, and this tournament's battle was for Saitama Mari's revenge match. JEF fed long balls from the start and went offensively in the opposing end. Saitama Mari also denied JEF’s attacks with high concentration. JEF created chances with various attacking options such as crosses from sides, set-pieces and dribbling penetrations. The Saitama side committed their body to defend and kept a clean sheet until halftime.

In the second half, Saitama Mari went forward, picking up momentum. JEF's offensive side also came close, led by OZAWA Hiro, but Saitama goalkeeper MATSUKA Moe did not allow a goal. While JEF kept the possession and passed the ball around to look for an opening, Saitama Mari fought back with tenacious defence. After a tense standoff, JEF broke the deadlock. In the 71st minute, MOTOZONO Kana rushed in and met a left corner for her side's opening goal. The Chiba side held a slim lead after a hard-fought battle to win through to the semi-finals.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Other Matches

Urawa Reds Ladies Youth　3-1 (3-0, 0-1)　Albirex Niigata Ladies U-18
Sfida Setagaya FC Youth　0-6 (0-2, 0-4)　Nippon TV Menina

Coach and Players' Comments

TAKARADA Saori (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls)
I tried to get goals and extend our lead as many as possible to let my team play comfortably. I'm glad I was able to play my part. I tried to take a shot whenever I could see the goalmouth in my sight. In this tournament, I'm able to try on various plays – challenging with dribbling in front of goal and dodging the opponents' pressure by changing the passing strength. The next counterparts Urawa Reds Ladies Youth have got individual skills, and we will get together to get a win with my goal.

NUNOKAWA Kumi, Coach (Clubfields Linda)
Because we had done our best, we came here to play against Cerezo, and we came out with strong mindset today. But their speed and playing quality were totally a lot better and we couldn’t play how we wanted. We came out with different tactics compared to the past. The players got confused and the tactics did not go well. We got our regular system (4-3-3) back in the second half, but it was still difficult to pull together as the players were down after we gave up goals continuously. The most important issue we have now is how we can take advantage of the experience here after getting back to Hokkaido.

MOTOZONO Kana (JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18)
We created chances but weren't able to convert them into a goal and we had a bit of pressure. But I called out to the team and was believing that "we can get a goal some time." We regularly practise the set-piece (that led us to score.) I had a couple of opportunities to score but failed, and the remaining time was also not much. I just rushed with a determination, "I will put in the next one at any cost," and the ball hit my face and went into the net. It hurt, but I was happy. After that, as firing up my teammates starting to get tired, I was able to play out the match.

OSUGA Maki, Coach (AS Elfen Saitama Mari)
Winning a close match should give us confidence, so the loss is disappointing. The win slipped away in a big situation because we are not good enough as a team. We have been working on moves to shift to attack after robbing the ball up front so we should have stuck to that way. Even so, my players committed themselves and played with strong heart. It's disappointing we can't play the rest of the two matches, but I want them to take advantage of this disappointing experience for their future.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Match 2nd  Highlight

JOC Junior Olympic Cup The 19th All Japan Youth Women's Football Tournament

Sun. 3 January 2016 - Thu. 7 January 2016
J-GREEN Sakai/Sakai City, Osaka
More information