The seventh sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Super Prince League 2020 Tokai took place on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December. At IAI Stadium Nihondaira, two J.Club youth teams, Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka) and Jubilo Iwata U-18 (Shizuoka), clashed in the Shizuoka Derby.

Pick-up Match

Shimizu S-Pulse Youth 3-0 (2-0, 1-0) Jubilo Iwata U-18

Fireworks started early in the derby match, as S-Pulse scored the opening goal in the sixth minute, when TANAKA Jigen (#32) converted a cross delivered by AOSHIMA Kenta (#10). With momentum on their side, S-Pulse started to show their dominance over the Jubilo side, as they applied aggressive pressure to control the ball possession. In the 19th minute, S-Pulse scored their second goal from a play similar to the pay that produced the opening goal, as KOSHIO Genki (#9) capitalised the perfect cross sent by OTSUKA Ryosuke (#2) to double the lead.

S-Pulse did not show signs to slow down in the second half, as they continued to show their dominance over their prefectural rival. With Jubilo making an attempt to start their build-up from the GK position, Aoshima made a great effort to chase down the ball, forcing a turnover deep in the opposing territory and assist the goal of Tanaka in the 50th minute.

Trailing by three goals, Jubilo started to show better ball movements and created more shooting opportunities, as they took six shots in the second half, contrary to the two shots they have taken in the first half. NONAKA Yuto (#12) came close to scoring a goal in the 73rd minute, when he responded to a through ball and struck a direct shot off the pass, but his shot went just wide of the goal. Despite coming close in several scenes, Jubilo fell short from scoring a goal, as the match ended with a final score of 3-0. With this victory, Shimizu S-Pulse Youth kept a perfect 6-0 record at Group B with 23 goals scored and zero goals conceded.

S-Pulse will now face the leader of Group A, Nagoya Grampus U-18 (Aichi), on Saturday 12 December to determine the champion of the Tokai region.

Coaches and Players' Comments

IWASHITA Jun, Coach (Shimizu S-Pulse Youth)
We were not able to hold our training sessions at the beginning of the season, so the players had to improve themselves over the matches. Jubilo have been our rival since the junior youth category and their presence really allows our players to play beyond their limits and showcase a spectacular match. I saw some of the players play exceptionally well today, so it really made me realise that players develop through these kinds of matches. The play-off match against Nagoya Grampus U-18 will be played ahead of the Club Youth Football Championship, so we hope to finish this tournament on a high note.

MF #10 AOSHIMA Kenta (Shimizu S-Pulse Youth)
We were able to score two early goals and just as we spoke during halftime, we managed to score an early goal in the second half as well, so those goals were huge in this match. Our opponent had many tall players, so we were anticipating for the long balls, and our defenders did a great job denying the opponent’s opportunities. We were trying to keep a perfect record, but as the season went on, we also wanted to keep clean sheets in all matches, so that was our goal today. To cap off this perfect season, we will try to earn another clean sheet victory against Nagoya Grampus U-18 at the play-off.

SETO Taiji, Coach (Jubilo Iwata U-18)
We conceded the opening goal from our own mistake and the second came from a play we have been working on. Although we managed to create some opportunities in the second half, we were not critical enough to score against an opponent like the S-Pulse. We have players with great talent and potential in our senior class, so I hope they will return to our top team four years from now. As for the first and second year players, I hope they can utilise this season’s experience to become a better player.

MF #12 NONAKA Yuto (Jubilo Iwata U-18)
I failed to convert two critical opportunities, so I feel like I am the reason for our team’s loss. We have to be fully committed to beat a team like the S-Pulse. Although we were not playing in the Premier League this season, we were still given the opportunity to face strong opponents from Shizuoka, and for S-Pulse to have a perfect record in this league, it just shows how great their team are. I hope our younger players will one day exceed the S-Pulse. We might have been dominated today, but we will utilise this experience to showcase a better performance at the play-off and finish the season on a high note.

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