Pick-up Match

Nagoya Grampus U18　2-3 (2-1, 0-2)　Oita Trinita U-18

The 11th Sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 Premier League WEST saw the match between Nagoya Grampus U18 (Aichi) and Oita Trinita U-18 (Oita) on Saturday 22 August and Sunday 23 August.

In the first game of the third round, KAJIYAMA Kanta (Nagoya) and YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa (Oita), both of whom were key players in attack, were away on the U-17 Japan National Team’s Czech tour. Both teams had to focus on how to initiate attacks, and Nagoya started their offensive first.

After 16 minutes, MORI Kota reacted to a right cross from SHIBATA Shun in front of the goal and struck the opener. In the 30th minute, once again Mori, who received a loose ball from KITANO Seiya, slotted the ball into the goal, building a two-goal lead.

Oita, on the other hand, struggled, as ASAHARA Naoya later commented: “we didn’t play hard enough.” However, in the 41st minute, OKA Shodai won the competition to get the ball in front of the goal to strike a goal, closing the gap to one goal.

TAKATA Tetsuya, the coach of Nagoya, noted with regret: “we could have won the game, if we had scored a third goal in the first half. We let the opponent pick up their pace by conceding a goal.” Oita took the initiative after their first goal. In the second half, Oita, who were strongly encouraged by the coach YAMAZAKI Tetsuya, kept attacking back.

After numerous goal-scoring opportunities, including MIYAHARA Taichi’s cross, which was aimed straight at the goal in the 55th minute, Miyahara once more got through the right wing in the 59th minute.

Then Asahara, who received a cross from Miyahara, changed the direction of the ball in front of the goalkeeper to find the back of the net. After 60 minutes, SAGIHARA Takuya took a shot, and Asahara slotted a loose ball into the goal.

Oita turned the game around. Although Nagoya, who let the opponent build a one-goal lead, were eager to attack back, they could not create any opportunities. Mori later noted: “our stamina did not last. We could not do much while we were under pressure.” The match ended 3-2 to Oita.

Coach and Players' Comments

TAKATA Tetsuya, Coach (Nagoya Grampus U18)
Oita have strength to move forward. I regret that we couldn’t prevent the opponent from performing well and conceded two goals in the second half. The midfielders could have supported the defenders more, positioning tactically, or could have read the flow of the game as a team.

Oita also could press back harder while they were struggling, which decided the game. I’m not saying we cannot play hard, but we could have done better when the situation was critical. It was just a close match.

MORI Kota (Nagoya Grampus U18)
I really wanted to win today’s match, as I heard Kyoto Tachibana, who were also threatened with relegation, beat Hiroshima. Although we started to play as we intended to, we conceded a goal just before the first half ended, which has been an issue for us.

If we had finished the first half 2-0, we could have played better in the second half. Now we came in dead last, but we still have a opportunity to catch up in the remaining seven games. I’d like to encourage the team to win all of them.

YAMAZAKI Tetsuya, Coach (Oita Trinita U-18)
I didn’t mind conceding two goals, but I wasn’t happy at all with the players’ attitude in the first half. Although I did tell the players prior to the game: “the opponent’s motivation will be high. So we have to be prepared and compete with it”, the players didn’t do well. In terms of the first half, I can’t even discuss the content of the match.

The players showed aggressive play from the beginning of the second half. Having said that, they need to improve themselves more, as they played better only after being told off.

ASAHARA Naoya (Oita Trinita U-18)
As we haven’t won an official game recently, I wanted to play hard to get a good result. We didn’t play well in the first half, but we started better in the second half, building up positive momentum. Although we missed YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa on the pitch today, I wanted to prove we could play well without him, which we could show to a certain extent, I believe.

Other Matches

Gamba Osaka Youth　2-3 (0-0, 2-3)　Higashi Fukuoka High School
Kyoto Tachibana High School　2-0 (1-0, 1-0)　Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth
Riseisha High School　3-0 (0-0, 3-0)　Vissel Kobe U-18
Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18　4-0 (2-0, 2-0)　Cerezo Osaka U-18

Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) let Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) strike the opener from a penalty kick. Although Gamba turned the game around soon after, scoring two goals, they conceded another two just before the final whistle. Gamba lost the game at the end.

Kyoto Tachibana High School (Kyoto) beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth (Hiroshima) 2-0. IWASAKI Yuto scored a goal in both first and the second half.

The match between Riseisha High School (Osaka) and Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo) stayed scoreless in the first half, but Riseisha struck three goals in the second half to sweep to victory.

Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka), who had been leading the league, got a walloping from Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 (Kyoto) 4-0, due to the fact that their main defenders were away. As a result, the top four teams, including Cerezo Osaka and Higashi Fukuoka, are closely competing for the top spot on four points.