match Match Schedule & Results

[Reserves]
GK: 1, Naoki TAKAHANE
DF: 5, Aoto TAMIYA
MF: 6, Kazuharu TADA, 10, Wataru SASAKI, 18, Ryota YANAGIZONO
FW: 11, Tatsuhiro SAKAMOTO, 27, Rui NISHIMOTO

○Match Digest
2011 Season, 4th Tokyo Youth (U15) Soccer Kanto Challenge League opening match. The opponent was Jefa FC.
The match kicked off at 15:30 under a cloudy sky.

At 1 minute, Shimodaira sent a cross inside from a free kick earned in the opponent's territory. It was initially cleared, but Akatsuka picked up the rebound and took a shot. The ball went well over the bar.
3 minutes in, Ryo SATO and Koyama on the left side combined to deliver a cross, but unfortunately it did not reach the forward.
6 minutes, Yamaguchi, who played as forward that day, headed a long ball down to Akatsuka who was running in, and he took a shot immediately. This also failed to hit the target.
At the 10th minute, the ball was taken away in the center, and a short counterattack was launched, but the defensive line centered around Takada stopped it. On this day, three second-year defenders—Izu, Aihara, and Koyama—were in the lineup, with goalkeeper Ishihara and Takada controlling the defense.
At the 15th minute, Koyama and Ryo SATO maintained possession on the left side, connecting passes from Akatsuka to Shinohara, and finally Yamaguchi took a shot. Gradually, Musashi-style connecting attacks began to take shape.
At the 18th minute, Takahashi, who took the ball in midfield, passed to Shimodaira. They tried to develop the play, but the opponent's pressing in midfield was strong, making it difficult to advance forward.
21 minutes: Takahashi switches play from the left side to Aihara on the right. Aihara attempts to break through on the right side but is stopped by the opponent's defense. The opposing defense is quite solid, making it difficult to create chances.
24 minutes: From the opponent's corner kick, after a scramble inside, a loose ball was picked up due to a half-hearted clearance and led to a shot.
At the 27th minute, while moving the ball along the defensive line looking for an opportunity, Takada made a perfect pass to Koyama who overlapped. Koyama and Ryo SATO broke through the left side, but were stopped just before by the opposing defense. From the resulting corner kick, Aihara connected with a header, but unfortunately, it went straight to the goalkeeper.
At the 30th minute, Izumi headed a shot from Shinohara's corner kick. Unfortunately, it went just wide. After that, both teams engaged in intense battles in midfield, with back-and-forth action continuing until the end of the first half.

In the second half, the opponent launched a fierce attack, and a period of disadvantageous play continued.
38 minutes in, the right side was broken down and a cross was sent inside, but the defenders held firm and cleared it.
40 minutes, restarts from Shimohei's free kick and Shinohara's corner kick continued, but neither resulted in a goal.
45 minutes, Enomoto came on to replace Akatsuka.
46 minutes, Ishihara made a wonderful rush to punch away the opponent's corner kick and avert the danger.
49 minutes, the opponent's free kick came in front of the Musashi goal. The defense cleared it just in the nick of time to escape danger. This period was dominated by Jefa FC, and it was a time when the defense, centered on Ishihara, endured patiently.
However, even in such situations, I think they were able to maintain good defense by calmly judging and responding to avoid getting into trouble.
At the 55th minute, Koyama intercepted the opponent's pass and passed it forward to Enomoto. The ball was connected from Enomoto to Shimodaira to Shinohara, and finally Shimodaira carried the ball once more and took a shot.
Enomoto, who came on as a substitute, began to establish Musashi's rhythm little by little by playing simply.
Then, in the 60th minute, Enomoto, who had drifted to the right side, received the ball freely, calmly delivered a perfect cross inside, and Yamaguchi, running in, connected perfectly with his head to score the long-awaited opening goal.
After scoring one goal, perhaps gaining a bit of composure, Musashi's characteristic possession emerged, and the match progressed with a good rhythm.
At the 66th minute, Murakami was brought on to replace Shinohara. Murakami also used his body to block the opponent's final attack.
At the 69th minute, Koizumi came on for Yamaguchi. Koizumi focused on playing with the remaining time in mind, cutting off the opponent's attacking opportunities. Although the opposing Jeffa FC launched a fierce final attack, Musashi endured it with solid defensive efforts.
And the whistle blows, signaling the end of the match.

It was a tough battle, but thanks to the efforts and performance of the substitute players, we were able to snatch the victory.
Since there is a second match tomorrow, the motivation and performance of the players who did not play today will definitely be needed in that game. We want to fight like Musashi again tomorrow and unite as a team to secure the win. We appreciate your continued support.