Pick Up Match

JFA Academy Fukushima 1-3 (1st half 1-3, 2nd half 0-0)  Shimizu S-Pulse Youth

Under the beautiful spring sun, two teams battled in a heated contest. Early in the match, aggressive defence by JFA Academy Fukushima (Fukushima) kept Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka) from moving the ball forward, as Morinushi Reiji looked back after the match saying “After the kick-off, we couldn’t play our style of football at all”. Before Shimizu adjusted to the pace of the match, in the 34th minute JFA Academy Fukushima stole the ball from Shimizu’s defenders and Kagayama Taiki scored a header for 1-0 lead.  

But later in the 1st, Shimizu started gaining their offence back, as JFA Academy Fukushima “started looking tired”, described after the match by Shimizu’s head coach Oenoki Katsumi. Fukui Yuhi tied the match with a left foot goal in the 36th minute and Miyamoto Kota scored to gain a lead in the 40th. They didn’t stop there and Mitsuzuki Hiro’s strike widened the lead in the 45th.

JFA Academy Fukushima, trying to come back in the second half, started providing simple long balls into the space behind Shimizu’s defenders as well as connecting short passes. Hitaka Keisuke, subbed in during the game, led the attacks, but Shimizu’s goalkeeper Yamakawa Takumi kept protecting the goal. In the end, the match finished 3-1 with no goal in the 2nd half to give Shimizu’s players two consecutive wins since the season opening and smiles on their faces.

Comments from coaches and players

NAKATA Yasuto, Head Coach (JFA Academy Fukushima)
We haven’t gotten used to playing the official matches yet. That showed when we kept allowing goals after the first one. In the last match against Funabashi Municipal High School, we scored first but allowed it to be tied. So I said to players after we scored first “Now is the time.”, but we lost our focus and aggressiveness and ended up using too many short passes. That’s what we have to correct. But we started off the match very well, which is something we gained from this match. We, slowly but surely, started playing physical with the ball, and we can take advantage of this match in the next one.

KUSANO Yuki (JFA Academy Fukushima)
We have to work on how to keep playing after scoring the first goal and how to keep our momentum after losing a goal. But we gained some, too, in this match as a team. They were more physical and skilled as players, but we could manage to play against those guys. We could regain our momentum in the 2nd half for scoring more goals even when we were losing 1-3. It should be intimidating for our opponent that we don’t get passive even when we are losing, keep challenging their ball in their half and show our will to score. We will remember the emotions we displayed in the second half today.

OENOKI Katsumi, Head Coach (Shimizu S-Pulse Youth)
It was a tough match. We struggled early because of their aggressive defence. We kept being pressured when we wanted to start our attacks. We allowed the first goal in the course of that. It was good that we could tie the game when we were supposed to, and gained the lead. Skills and strategies are important, but our players showed their will to fight through. That’s the most important part. We got three points after battling this difficult match, and this will boost our confidence for the rest of the season.

MORINUSHI Reiji (Shimizu S-Pulse Youth)
Early in the match, they kept checking our balls in our half and we couldn’t play our style of football with quick passes. We have to learn how to play through such a difficult situation by ourselves without advice from Coach Oenoki. I thought we, players on the pitch, had to do something about it. What was good was that we didn’t feel down too much and could tie the game right after allowing the first goal. Before the match, it was said among players “We should attack right after if we allow the first goal of the match because they will be let their guard down after scoring.” It was good that we did just that.

Other Results

Kashiwa Reysol U-18 4-0(1st2-0､2nd2-0) Consadole SapporoU-18
Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa 2-2(1st2-2､2nd0-0) Kashima Antlers Youth
Tokyo Verdi Youth 3-2(1st0-1､2nd3-1) Ichiritsu Funabashi High School
Mitsubishi Ryowa 0-0(1st0-0､2nd0-0) Aomori Yamada High School

Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba), in their first Premier League season, routed Consadole Sapporo U-18 (Hokkaido) for their 1st win of the season, led by two goals by Oshima Koki.

Ryutsu Keizai Kashiwa High School lost to Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki). Ryutsu Keizai Kashiwa looked for their 2nd straight win, but Kashiwa consistently led the match and Fukui Takashi’s two goals tying the match midway were not enough. 

Tokyo Verdy Youth (Tokyo) earned a dramatic come-back win over Funabashi Municipal High School (Chiba). Tokyo Verdy Youth, losing to Mitsubishi Ryowa SC Youth (Tokyo) in the last match, allowed Funabashi Municipal to lead until very late. However, Muromachi Masaki’s goal in the 84th minute and Ota Rei’s in the 90th turned the match around for their surprise win.

The match between Mitsubishi Ryowa and Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) finished with a 0-0 draw.