Pick-up Match

JFA Academy Fukushima   1-2 (1st 1-0, 2nd 0-2)   Omiya Ardija Youth

The Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League EAST entered its matchday 9 on Sunday 12 July as JFA Academy Fukushima (Shizuoka) faced Omiya Ardija Youth (Saitama).

The early stages of the match saw Omiya, who had kept their unbeaten run, put pressure with acute challenges on Academy Fukushima's defence and robbed the ball in the midfield for attacks. Omiya got close to the opposing goal with steady efforts including close shots by KUROKAWA Atsushi in the 11th minute and FUJINUMA Takumu in the 16th minute.

Meanwhile, as coach MANAKA Mikio said, "We were able to fend off pressure according to the situation," Academy Fukushima evaded Omiya's pressure by not sticking to short passes and simply sending long balls to space behind the opposing final line. 

NOBE Yuta and MIURA Tatsu chased defenders around up front and narrowed their passing path. Into the 42nd minute with 0-0, Nobe took advantage of the moment when the opposition started running out of steam and opened the scoring. Academy Fukushima finished the first half with a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, the Omiya squad started going on a fiercer offensive surge after boosted up by their coach ITO Akira at halftime. The Saitama side not only sent passes to feet but also mixed passes toward space to make it difficult for the opposing defence to focus.

In the 51st minute, Omiya broke through the right flank by taking advantage of opponents' being off guard at the moment when they were switching one player to another in defence. 

KAWATA Kento tapped in the ball in the end for his side's equaliser. "The match would've finished 1-1 before, but the players are hungrier now," said Omiya boss Ito. His side maintained their offensive momentum. In the 64th minute, HASEGAWA Motoki responded to Kurokawa's final pass and turned the score around for a 2-1 lead.

Then Omiya subbed in defensive midfielder YAMADA Riku and passed the ball around to run out the clock. Academy Fukushima also threatened the opposing goal with TOMITA Tsubasa's shot in attempt to rally back, but fell just one step short. The final whistle was blown with Omiya's one-goal lead to leave ending the first half of the season unbeaten.

Coaches' Comments

MANAKA Mikio, Coach (JFA Academy Fukushima)
I was expecting we would be struggling to score because of the match against the team who hadn’t conceded many goals. Defending solid and connecting the ball safely. We went out for this contest, putting our best focus on things we had placed great value on until this match. 

We were able to fend off the opposing pressure and take advantage of that for our opening goal. But in the second half, we gave up one goal after another when we lost our rhythm. I can give credit to our attitude to go for a goal to the end that we showed after we got a goal behind, but I wanted to limit the goal against to just one.

ITO Akira, Coach (Omiya Ardija Youth)
Because of the string of matches we had already played and high temperature, the players weren't so sharp, but in the second half they braced themselves up and snatched a victory. The second half went in our favour because we respected the opponents, fought with challenger's mindset at the same time and kept our guard up. 

We have been unbeaten so far but had a lot of draws. We haven't gained so many points. That was our problem. In that sense, I feel players’ growth in winning three points twice in this match and the last one. 

Results of Other Matches

Consadole Sapporo U-18   2-3 (1st 2-0, 2nd 0-3)   Kashiwa Reysol U-18
Kashima Antlers Youth 2-1   (1st 0-0, 2nd 2-1)   Ichiritsu Funabashi High School
Shimizu S-Pulse Youth 2-0   (1st 0-0, 2nd 2-0)   Ryutsu Keizaidai Kashiwa High School
Aomori Yamada High School 2-1   (1st 0-1, 2nd 2-0)   F.C. Tokyo U-18

Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) allowed a two-goal lead to Consadole Sapporo (Hokkaido) in the first half, but their offence exploded in the second half. The Chiba side levelled the scoreline with two goals by the 87th minute before YAMAZAKI Kaishu struck Kashiwa's winner three minutes into stoppage time to give his side a dramatic victory. 

Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) beat Ichiritsu Funabashi High School (Chiba) with two second-half goals to secure top spot.

In the contest between Shimizu S-pulse Youth (Shizuoka) and Ryutsu Keizaidai Kashiwa High School (Chiba), the Shizuoka side grabbed a win with SUZUKI Kaito and NAKANO Yuta's goals, which gave the team the first multiple goals in a match since their opener. 

Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) faced F.C. Tokyo U-18 (Tokyo). While Aomori Yamada went one goal down before halftime, NARUMI Akito and TAKAHASHI Issei marked a goal in the second half. They trail leaders Kashima by four points just as Omiya and Ichiritsu Funabashi do with the same margin.