match Match Schedule & Results

[Reserves]
GK:21, Haruka Ohno
DF:12, Yasuaki Tokuda, 14, Kensuke Takei, 22, Yusuke Asano
MF:-
FW:24, Shohei Amano

○Match Digest
This match was the final game of the Final Round of the 13th Tokyo Club Youth Soccer U-17 Championship.
The opponent faced was Mitsubishi Yowa SC Youth. They are a rival team that fought to avoid relegation until the very end in last year's Premier League.
This match, in which they wanted to seize victory to advance to the Final Round, kicked off at 1:00 p.m. on a clear day at the Tokyo Gas Musashino-En Multipurpose Ground.

At the start, Tokyo took the first shot. At 1 minute, Yoshida intercepted in their own half, passed the ball to Kawakami, and finally Kishi fired a low trajectory shot, but it narrowly missed to the left of the goal.
It seemed that the match would be dominated, but from this point on, they began to struggle against an opponent who maintained high concentration in both offense and defense. Both sides, eager to seize control, started to show rough play, resulting in fouls being called on both teams and an increase in set-piece situations.
At the 7th minute, Tokyo's free kick was blocked by the opposing DF. At the 9th minute, the opponent's free kick was safely dealt with by a fine save from GK Baba.
However, at the 12th minute, a foul was committed by Tokyo after knocking down an opponent, resulting in a free kick from straight in front of the goal. The directly aimed free kick hit Tokyo's DF wall but the rebound ball was absorbed into the right side of the goal, conceding the opening goal.
After that, Tokyo, unable to penetrate the penalty area, resorted to sending long balls in desperation, but they failed to connect well to the targeted points and were pressured by the opponent's last line, losing possession and being pushed into a difficult situation.
Still, at the 22nd minute, Kishi broke through on the left side with a dribble, evading opponents and dropping the ball to Koizumi, who ran into the open space. Koizumi then passed to Saito, who closed in front of the goal and headed the ball, but it just slipped away. Despite the difficulties, the eleven continued to run forward persistently.
However, at the 23rd minute, a foul was committed against the opponent who was gaining momentum. They conceded a goal from the set play, allowing an additional score.
To change the flow here, a position change was made between Kawakami, who has good playmaking ability, and Koizumi, who can cover open spaces and maintain balance.
Then they began to build the play starting from Nozawa. At the 26th minute, Nozawa sent a long feed to Kishi up front. Kishi received it and passed to Saito on the left side, but he was fouled by the opposing defender.
The free kick taken by Kawakami’s left foot resulted in a scramble and the ball spilled loose, but it was taken by the opponent. However, they regained possession and continued to connect passes carefully, skillfully using side switches.
Even when losing possession, the Eleven regain it and patiently and carefully keep connecting passes.
Then, in the 33rd minute, Ito broke through the side with a dribble and sent the ball to Aoki, who overlapped. Receiving it, Aoki dodged the opposing defender and crossed the ball, which Kishi reacted to and met in front of the goal, but it went straight to the opposing goalkeeper.
And just before the end of the first half, Gokatsu from the backline made a long feed. Free Koizumi ran in, but the opposing GK cleared the ball just before contact. The momentum began to shift toward Tokyo as the first half ended.

At halftime, they were trailing by two goals and chasing the game, but if they score the next goal, anything could happen.
Let's create passing lanes together and go to seize the ball. Also, we confirmed that we need to respond more quickly to the second balls, which have been slow, and take good positions against the opponent's fast, long balls.

Here, Iwata was brought on to replace Koizumi.
The second half started with the good momentum from the end of the first half. We carefully circulated the ball and maintained control throughout. It was as if the struggles in attack during the first half never happened, as the eleven players came alive.
Focusing on Yoshida and Ito, they broke down the left side, with many players starting to get involved in the attack, continuously pressing toward the opponent's goal.
At the 49th minute, Yoshida and Ito executed a one-two. Yoshida, who ran up from the back line and received the return pass, passed it to Kawakami. The ball was then played from Kawakami to Iwata, and finally connected to Saito, but they could not bring it to a finish.
At the 53rd minute, Yoshida dribbled down the left side and crossed to Iwata, who was positioned near the goal. Iwata's shot was blocked by the opposing defender. Kishi took a shot on the rebound but could not shake the net.
However, the attack did not stop with this momentum. Yanagisawa connected a cut ball to Ito, then overlapped to receive the ball, dribbled forward, and passed to Iwata. Finally, Yanagisawa took a shot but could not break through the goalmouth.
At the 59th minute, Iwata took a powerful shot in front of the goal from a pass by Ito, but it was deflected by the goalpost. At the 60th minute, Yoshida and Nozawa combined to break through the center from the back line, and finally Yoshida delivered a perfect cross in front of the goal, but the opposing goalkeeper caught it.
63rd minute, the opponent committed a handball. Nozawa’s direct free kick aimed precisely from just left in front of the goal narrowly went wide to the left.
They have taken possession and are controlling the game at Tokyo’s pace, but the frustrating situation continues as they fail to deliver a decisive blow.
76th minute, Amos Bozo was brought on to replace Saito.
Then came the 78th minute. Finally, Tokyo's attack bore fruit. From an opponent's foul, a free kick from the right side. The free kick delivered by Kawakami's left foot was sent to the far side. Yanagisawa, who had moved into this space, struck the ball into the goal, scoring his first official match GOAL! They pulled one goal back.
From here, Tokyo's relentless attack accelerated. In the 81st minute, Nozawa took a low-driven middle-range shot from a ball by Yoshida, and in the 87th minute, Kishi connected with a pass from Nozawa, but the opposing GK cleared it. The opposing GK also cleared Kawakami's corner kick from the left again. On Kawakami's second corner kick, Iwata reacted and fired a low trajectory shot.
At the 90th minute, Iwata reacted to a long feed from the last line by Gokatsu and ran in, but the opposing GK caught the ball despite slight contact.
In the final attack at the 92nd minute, GK Baba also rushed forward to join the attack. Yoshida, who ran up, delivered the ball in front of the goal, and Iwata connected with a header, but the opposing GK cleared it. Kawakami’s powerful left-footed corner kick was cleared by the opposing defender. The ball from Kawakami’s last left-footed corner was carefully passed around, pressing toward the goal, but time ran out here.

“Mind, Technique, Body — Mind: Feelings and mentality are important. If the mind is not strong, you cannot make use of your skills or move your body. Difficult times will come. What will you do then? Each individual’s strength must come together as a team. Injuries and starting positions don’t matter.”
These words from Coach Motoyoshi, spoken to the players before the match, resonated throughout the game.
In the first half, the opponent took control, and while valuing balance “as a whole team,” we were unable to connect and coordinate our attack and defense. However, without fearing the opponent, once everyone fully recognized what had been confirmed and began to move, the gears started to mesh.
As a result, although Tokyo dominated the match in the second half, unfortunately they were unable to secure a come-from-behind victory. However, we hope they will use the experience and challenges from this match as a foundation to connect to the next game, the 3rd place playoff.

Thank you very much for your warm support for the U-18 team today.
We will continue to strive for further growth based on this result. We appreciate your continued passionate support.