match Match Schedule & Results

[Reserves]
GK:30, Katsuya MATSUSHIMA
DF:33, Makoto OKAZAKI
MF:－
FW:25, Daisuke MINAMI

○ Match Digest
The "adidas CUP 2014 38th Japan Club Youth Soccer Championship (U-18)" reached its 5th day after a rest day. Tokyo’s opponent is JEF United Ichihara Chiba U-18, whom they also faced in the CY Kanto qualifiers. Every team is challenging with full force aiming for Mitsuzawa and NHK SPRING .F, where the semifinal and final rounds will be held. Tokyo, united as a team, aims for victory to advance to the best four for the first time since the 2009 tournament (when Yoshinori MUTO, now in the top team, was a second-year student).

The match kicked off at 11:30 a.m. at the Maebashi City Miyagi General Athletic Stadium, where the third game against Ehime FC Youth was held. Before kickoff, Coach Sato said, "We won 5-3 in the Kanto qualifiers, but it was by no means an easy match. Don't forget the challenger’s spirit," "Let’s work hard with strong determination," and "Let’s fight toward the goal of being the best in Japan that we set at the start of the season."

The match kicked off at 11:30 a.m. with Tokyo in possession. As Coach Sato had mentioned, it turned out to be a tough game. On a pitch where the ground conditions could not be called good, both teams started cautiously. The first shot came from Chiba. At 5 minutes, Tokyo lost a throw-in deep in their half, allowing an opponent to take a mid-range shot, but it went straight to goalkeeper Ito. At 8 minutes, Tokyo lost the ball due to a passing error and came under attack again, but they did not allow a shot on goal.

Despite the poor field conditions, both teams built their attacks with long balls to avoid losing careless sideways passes in midfield. At the 11th minute, Tokyo applied pressure on the ball holder from the front line, and DF Koyama stole the ball and quickly launched an attack. Koyama passed the ball to MF Hasukawa, who was positioned vertically on the left side, and finally FW Okuma took a shot, but it was closed down by the opposing DF and did not hit the target. At the 14th minute, Tokyo advanced into the opponent's territory with precise passing, but could not get a shot off against the opponent's concentrated defense.

At the 16th minute, Tokyo faced a crisis. They conceded a free kick on their right side in their own half. The free kick was crossed to a player on the far side, who then cut the ball back to the center for a header, but GK Ito reacted quickly and made a fine save to prevent the danger. Chiba also carefully kept possession to avoid losing the ball and tried to break through Tokyo’s defensive network, but Tokyo’s defenders, led by Takada, Onishi, and Takuya Watanabe, responded tenaciously and did not allow any easy shots.

Tokyo, having established rhythm through solid defense, saw MF Nagasawa receive a pass from the DF line at the 24th minute and carry the ball by dribbling. He sent a final pass to Hasukawa, who made a diagonal run behind the opposing DF line from the left side, but this was ruled offside. Then, at the 25th minute, MF Abe stole the ball in midfield, dribbled through the center, and sent a through pass to Okuma, but this too was ruled offside. Pressing forward, Tokyo threatened the opponent’s goal with a long-range shot at the 28th minute. From a throw-in deep in the opponent’s half, Abe received the ball from Koyama and immediately passed it to MF Takahashi, who was positioned right beside him. Seeing that the opposing DF did not close in, Takahashi boldly struck the ball with his right foot. The ball, spinning slightly without rotation, headed toward the goal but unfortunately hit the crossbar and did not shake the net.

Unable to score the opening goal, Tokyo conceded first to Chiba in the 34th minute. They gave away a free kick near the center of their own penalty area. This free kick was scored directly, resulting in a goal against them. Trailing, Tokyo’s MF Nagasawa applied pressure on the ball holder from the front line, trying to win the ball back high up the pitch, but the opposing players did not lose possession easily. Even when Tokyo regained the ball, they could not break through Chiba’s defensive network, which consisted of four defenders and a forward who dropped back to form a five-midfielder defensive block in midfield. The first half ended with Tokyo still trailing to Chiba.

Halftime. Coach Sato asked the players, "We’re going to be number one in Japan, right?" and encouraged them by saying, "Let’s continue to play energetically and boldly as we have so far," "The chance will definitely come, so let’s fight without rushing," and "Let’s run through without regrets," sending the players back onto the pitch for the second half.

From the start of the second half, Tokyo makes a substitution. MF Sasaki is brought onto the pitch, replacing FW Okuma. However, early in the second half at the 46th minute, Tokyo gives the opponent a clear chance due to a mistake. After a careless play, the ball is taken deep in their own half, creating a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, but GK Ito calmly responds and prevents an additional goal. Tokyo launches a counterattack, and the substitute Sasaki makes a difference. Receiving the ball in midfield, Sasaki dribbles forward despite pressure from the opposing DF and passes to Hasukawa. Hasukawa sends in a cross, but it does not connect with the players in front of the goal. At the 50th minute, Abe delivers a floating pass behind the opponent’s defensive line, and Hasukawa takes a shot, but they fail to score.

In response, Chiba also changed their system to 4-1-4-1 from the second half, setting up a defensive block to prevent Tokyo from playing wedge passes. However, Tokyo remained composed, repeatedly connecting short passes to create gaps. Gradually, Tokyo gained control of the game. Increasing their ball possession, Tokyo’s fullbacks Yamagishi and Koyama took high positions on both flanks, pressing the opponent. Still, Chiba defended tenaciously and did not give Tokyo any clear chances.

Tokyo, eager to equalize, saw Sasaki cut in from the right side to the center and strike with his right foot in the 68th minute, but the opposing goalkeeper made a fine save, denying the equalizer. In the 78th minute, Tokyo made their second substitution, bringing on MF Wataru Watanabe for Nagasawa. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Chiba quickly launched attacks aiming for an additional goal whenever possible, but Tokyo held on tenaciously and did not concede. In the 88th minute, near the end of the match, the game was leveled. Takahashi received the ball in the opponent’s territory and sent a lofted pass to Wataru Watanabe up front. Watanabe entered the penalty area, positioned himself in front of the opposing defender, controlled the ball with a chest trap, but was charged and knocked down by an opponent. From this play, Tokyo earned a last-minute penalty kick. Facing a late-game chance to equalize, the kicker was Hasukawa, who had scored four goals in this tournament. Hasukawa powerfully struck the penalty, driving the ball into the net to tie the game!!

Following the match against Sendai, the game entered extra time. Before the extra time began, Tokyo's players encouraged each other with "We can do this! We can do this!" and headed back onto the pitch. The extra time was a fierce battle of determination for victory, with neither side gaining the upper hand. At the 100th minute in the second half of extra time, Tokyo substituted Koyama on the left side for DF Aihara. At the 101st minute, they replaced Yamagishi on the right side with DF Yanagi, refreshing both flanks with fresh players to press Chiba, but they were unable to score the winning goal and the match proceeded to a penalty shootout.

Before the penalty shootout, just like in the Sendai match, Coach Sato encouraged the players by saying, "Be confident and enjoy it!" to help them relax. Tokyo will go second.

<<Chiba 1st kicker>>
Success.

<<Tokyo 2nd kicker>>
Sasaki took a shot down a very narrow angle and scored.

≪Chiba 2nd Player≫
GK Ito dives to the left and deflects the shot!!

≪Tokyo 2nd Player≫
Isao TAKAHASHI calmly slots the ball into the side netting, taking the lead.

≪Chiba 3rd Player≫
Success.

≪Tokyo 3rd Player≫
Hasukawa struck a heartfelt shot and scored successfully.

≪Chiba 4th Player≫
GK Ito dived to the right and caught the ball at the perfect timing!!

≪Tokyo 4th Player≫
Watanabe Ryu calmly scored, securing a 4-2 victory!!

The match, like the one against Sendai, remained undecided even after 110 minutes, and Tokyo won after a penalty shootout. Tokyo advanced to the best four for the first time since 2009. Their opponent is JFA Academy Fukushima U18. In the Semifinal Round, members who could not accompany the team on the trip will also be able to come and support. Only two steps remain to reach the goal of becoming the best in Japan. The team will move to Yokohama on the tournament rest day tomorrow and prepare well for the next match. Thank you very much for coming to the match venue today despite the severe heat and for sending passionate cheers to the players.