match Match Schedule & Results

[Reserve]
GK:16, Haruka OHNO
DF:3, Yusuke ASANO, 5, Yasuaki TOKUDA, 26, Ryu YAMAGISHI
MF:34, Wataru SASAKI
FW:18, Amos BOUZO, 33, Yudai HASUKAWA

○ Match Digest
After a convincing victory over Yokohama F.Marinos Youth in the previous match, this time they face JEF United Ichihara Chiba U-18 aiming for a third consecutive win. The kickoff took place at 11:00 a.m. under a pleasant sunshine at the home ground, Tokyo Gas Musashino-En Multipurpose Ground.

The first shot was taken by Tokyo. At 1 minute, Iwata aggressively pressed from the front line to steal the ball, then passed from Nozawa to Ito, and finally, Iwata, running into the center, connected with a header from Ito’s cross. Although it narrowly missed scoring, it was a good way to start the match. Tokyo, showing proactive possession from the beginning, faced an opponent who formed a solid defensive block in response. Despite threatening the opponent with Nihei’s dribble shot, they struggled to get close to the goal. On the other hand, there were moments of panic against the opponent’s counterattack-focused offense. Here, Tokyo’s defenders and defensive midfielder Nozawa calmly built up play without rushing, moving the ball with good tempo. When Takahashi skillfully received the ball between the opponent’s MF and DF, chances gradually appeared. At 20 minutes, Yoshida’s cross, breaking down the left side while moving the ball, spilled over to the opposite side, where Ohnishi, positioned high up, passed to Ito. Ito’s layoff led to Nozawa’s middle-range shot, which was unfortunately saved by the opposing GK, but they continued to develop a substantial attack. The deadlock was broken at 36 minutes. Nihei’s fast, straight left corner kick hit the opponent’s DF, and Iwata pushed in the rebound to score the opening goal!! Tokyo did not ease their attack afterward; Nihei and Ito actively took shots, pressing the opponent’s goal, leading to continued corner kick opportunities. Then at 40 minutes, from another left corner by Nihei, Iwata ran to the far side and his cross hit the opponent’s hand, earning a penalty kick. Nozawa confidently scored by deceiving the opposing GK, securing an additional goal!! Until the end of the first half, although there were several moments when they were pressed by counterattacks in defense, the defenders blocked three shots with their bodies, and Tokyo went into halftime leading 2-0.

At halftime, Coach Motoyoshi said, "We cannot be complacent with a 2-0 lead. The next goal will be crucial."
He also urged the players, "Prepare for the opponent’s counterattacks when we are on the offense, and never neglect the transition immediately after losing the ball. And let’s attack without falling back into defense!"

The third goal was scored early in the second half. At the 47th minute, the ball was played from Nihei in the center to Takahashi, then to Ito on the left. Takahashi received the ball again from Ito’s cross and calmly slotted it in with his right foot to make it 3-0!! This valuable third goal brought the victory closer! However, after the 60th minute, the opponents started pressing and their corner kicks increased. Tokyo then substituted Ito, who had been creating chances, with Nagasawa, trying to change the momentum with a fresh player. But at the 72nd minute, they conceded a goal from a header in the center following the opponent’s left corner kick. Afterwards, Tokyo tried to pull away again with Nihei’s long-range shot and the first-year duo of Takahashi and Nagasawa breaking down the right side, but they couldn’t score. Then at the 83rd minute, they allowed a dribble breakthrough just outside their own penalty area, the center was broken down, and they conceded their second goal, narrowing the gap to one point. It was Koizumi who broke this tense atmosphere. Just one minute after conceding, at the 84th minute, Yajima rushed in to shoot on a grounded cross from Iwata in the center. Koizumi quickly pushed in the rebound for the fourth goal!! After that, neither side could score again, and the match ended as it was.

Although the players' expressions immediately after the match showed some dissatisfaction with the second half, they achieved a splendid first three-game winning streak of the season. Despite the two goals conceded in the second half and remaining issues, they confidently secured goals against opponents who defended deeply and scored four goals in two consecutive matches, which should give them confidence going into the next game.

The Prince League will be temporarily suspended here, and the next match will resume on Jul 1 (Sun) away against Maebashi Ikuei High School. Starting next week, the Kanto qualifiers for the Japan Club Youth Soccer Championship (U-18) national tournament will begin. A new battle will start, but we want to ride the wave of these three consecutive wins and firmly advance through the Kanto qualifiers.

Thank you very much for your passionate support today as well.
We kindly ask for your continued warm support for FC Tokyo U-18.