match Match Schedule & Results

[Reserves]
GK:21, Kohei YAMAGUCHI
DF:5, Aoto TAMIYA, 19, Rui NISHIMOTO, 13, Takuya WATANABE, 32, Yoshiatsu OIJI
FW:22, Ryo SATO

○ Match Digest
About one month since the quarterfinal match against Oita. The J Youth Cup semifinal is against the local club Gamba Osaka Youth. They are a team with strong offensive power, having scored 25 goals in the five matches from the preliminary league to this point. In contrast, FC Tokyo has won all five matches without conceding a goal. Tokyo’s schedule is tight, with only four days between the Premier League promotion match held in Hiroshima and this match, but they prepared well, including practicing on the natural grass field used by the top team. For the third-year students, this tournament means immediate retirement if they lose, and they face the semifinal aiming for their sixth appearance in the final round.

Before the match, Coach Sato spoke to the players in a calm tone, saying, 'Let’s savor the happiness of being here and play with that feeling,' and 'Gamba Osaka is a strong team with a proud tradition, but if we give our all with energy and unity, we can definitely surpass them.' He then sent the players off to the stage of the Semifinal Round. Additionally, many fans and supporters gathered in the stands to cheer on the Tokyo players.

Under a cloudy sky, the match kicked off at 11:00 a.m. with Tokyo in possession. Within the first minute, G Osaka was awarded consecutive corner kicks, but GK Ito caught them. At 3 minutes, MF Koyama committed a foul to stop the opponent, conceding a free kick, but GK Ito calmly handled this set piece as well. Tokyo responded at 4 minutes when MF Takahashi intercepted the ball and passed it to Koyama on the left side, advancing into the opponent’s territory, but they were not allowed to enter the penalty area due to tight marking by G Osaka’s defenders. From the start, G Osaka controlled the ball, and Tokyo spent much of the time defending.

Tokyo also regained possession and, centered around Takahashi and MF Abe, moved the ball to build their attack, but G Osaka quickly applied pressure, not allowing Tokyo to play easily. At 10 minutes, G Osaka advanced deep into Tokyo’s right defensive side, but DF Takada slid over solidly to respond. At 13 minutes, Tokyo’s Abe intercepted the opponent’s ball in midfield, carried it forward himself, and sent a final pass to Hasukawa who had broken through behind. However, the timing was slightly off, and it was ruled offside. At 20 minutes, FW Sasaki pressed from the front line to steal the ball, and finally FW Okuma took a left-footed mid-range shot, but it did not hit the target. After 20 minutes of the first half, rain began to fall at YANMAR STADIUM NAGAI as forecasted. The ball started to roll more easily, the pace of the game quickened, and the intensity increased.

At 36 minutes, Gamba Osaka broke through Tokyo's right defensive side with their passing play and managed to get a shot off inside the penalty area, but this shot flew straight to goalkeeper Ito, who averted the danger. At 38 minutes, after Gamba Osaka's attack was caught by Tokyo's well-organized defensive block, Tokyo quickly launched a counterattack with a vertical pass sequence from Sasaki to Hasukawa, but Sasaki's through pass just missed reaching Hasukawa by a step. The first half ended 0-0 with neither side yielding.

≪Coach Sato's Half-Time Comments≫
・The game will be decided by a small difference. Let's stay focused and take on the full 45 minutes of the second half with determination.
・Let's win the second balls and launch secondary and tertiary attacks.

At the start of the second half, Tokyo dominated the match. At the 47th minute, Abe stole the ball from the opposing defensive midfielder high up in midfield and launched a quick counterattack. Hasukawa, receiving a through pass from Abe, broke into the penalty area and faced a one-on-one situation with the opposing goalkeeper, but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper's excellent save, failing to find the net. At the 49th minute, DF Okazaki dribbled forward and earned a corner kick. Nagasawa, the kicker, delivered a grounded ball to the center. Onishi ran toward the ball and let it pass through, drawing the opposing defenders, allowing Hasukawa to receive the ball free. Although he initially lost the ball when pressured by the defenders, he quickly regained possession and scored. However, this goal was disallowed due to a foul committed when regaining the ball.

Tokyo, having gained momentum, made a substitution in the 57th minute. FW No. 10 Sasaki was replaced by FW No. 11 Wataru Watanabe. Watanabe immediately made an impact. In the 62nd minute, Takahashi received the ball in the center and passed it out to Okazaki on the right side. Okazaki then laid the ball off to Nagasawa, who had made a forward run on the same side. Nagasawa used his signature dribbling to advance vertically and sent a low ball from a deep position into the center. Watanabe, just after coming on, collapsed while pushing the ball in with his right foot to score the opening goal, putting Tokyo ahead 1-0!! The players rushed over to celebrate with the scorer Watanabe and the assister Nagasawa.

The score changed, and G Osaka also applied pressure up front to score a goal. Tokyo took advantage of this by intercepting and launching attacks behind the opponent’s defense but could not add another goal. With less than 15 minutes remaining, at the 76th minute, Tokyo conceded an equalizing goal to G Osaka. A cross from the right side was finished with the right foot by a central player, making it 1-1. After that, G Osaka regained their rhythm and aimed for a go-ahead goal, but Tokyo defended with determination and pushed forward to score the winning goal. Just before the end of the match at the 90th minute, when it seemed the game would go into extra time at 1-1, Tokyo allowed two vertical passes through the center, creating a one-on-one situation between goalkeeper Ito and the opposing forward, resulting in a conceded goal... There were 4 minutes of stoppage time. Trailing, Tokyo pushed forward to score in the short remaining time, but the match ended as it was.

Players collapsed on the pitch. Tears filled the eyes of the third-year students for whom this was the last game as FC Tokyo U-18, having missed out on the ultimate goal of the national title. In the locker room after the match, Coach Sato expressed his gratitude to the players, saying, "Thank you. Today, you showed the kind of soccer that is true to yourselves. I wanted to deliver a result for you, but it was due to my own shortcomings... There is no need to hang your heads; hold your heads high and return to Tokyo with pride."

Thank you very much for coming all the way to YANMAR STADIUM NAGAI to support us today as well. We appreciate your continued support for FC Tokyo U-18.