All Japan High School Women’s Championship to hold quarters on 6 Jan. #football

Tue, 05 Jan 2016 15:18:05 +0900

The 24th All Japan High School Women's Football Championship is to play its four quarter finals on Wednesday 6 January. They will determine the final four teams to advance to semi-finals.

In this year’s tournament, last year’s two finalist teams have already been eliminated. Hinomoto Gakuen Senior High School (Kansai 2/Hyogo) and Tokiwagi Gakuen High School (Tohoku 1/Miyagi) already went head to head in the first round, which made Hinomoto Gakuen, looking to win the third straight championship, go home with 1-0 loss. Then Tokiwagi Gakuen also had to leave after the second round.

It was Tokoha Gakuen Tachibana High School (Tokai 2/Shizuoka) who beat last year’s runners-up. Although Tokiwagi Gakuen attempted more shots and corner-kicks, Tokoha Gakuen Tachibana survived the regulation period which ended 0-0 and outperformed Tokiwagi in the penalty shootout.

In one of the quarter finals, Tokoha Gakuen Tachibana face two-time champions Kamimura Gakuen High School (Kyushu 1/Kagoshima). Kamimura Gakuen scored four goals in the last two matches through corner-kicks and free-kicks. Set-pieces can be a deciding factor in the contest against Tokoha Gakuen Tachibana who have come out close matches victorious.

Shutoku High School (Kanto 2/Tokyo) also tenaciously won through early rounds to reach the quarter-finals. After finishing the first half of the first round without firing any shots, the winning goal was scored through a corner-kick in the second half. The second round saw them unsuccessfully shoot 14 times and went into a penalty shootout, where all Shutoku’s kickers converted their shots to grab the victory.

Their next opponents Sakuyo High School (Chugoku 1/Okayama) are led by forward KITAKATA Sae who scored five in the last two matches and is expected to still be in great form. It should be interesting to see which side stay focused until the end and defeat the opponents.

The contest between Daisho Gakuen High School (Kansai 1/Osaka) and Takasaki University of Health and Welfare High School (Kanto 5/Gunma) has a good chance to become an offensive showdown, as the former scored the tournament-best 11 goals so far and the latter tallied the second-best 9. Quick vertical attacks are the trademark of Daisho Gakuen, who play many first and second graders on great ongoing momentum.

Their substitute players also have made effective contributions late in the matches, and which is another positive takeaway for Daisho looking at next round. On the other hand, MUKAI Ayaka is the key for how well Takasaki can play. She has been the leader of their offence by making two assists as the corner-kick kicker as well as scoring three goals herself. The exciting battle between two high-scoring teams is definitely a must-see.

Hooh High School (Kyushu 2/Kagoshima)’s captain YONESATO Hinata says "this quarter-final has been our target." The opponents of their big match are last year’s semi-finalists Fujieda Junshin High School (Tokai 1/Shizuoka) who safely cruised through last two rounds. "We may not be the most-skilled players, but we want to play patiently and tenaciously," adds Yonesato.

Keep running based on their outstanding stamina seems to be the Hooh’s game plan. Their set-pieces cannot be unchecked as their dependable weapon as well, because their frequent kicker MASUDA Rena induced the opponents’ own goal from a corner-kick in the first round and also struck precise free-kicks in the next round.

The first matches are scheduled to kick off at 10:30 a.m. and the second ones are at 1:45 p.m. at two different fields in Miki Sogo Bosai Park.