Tokyo Lequios BS capture second consecutive title at national beach football championship

Tue, 16 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0900

The semifinals and championship match were played on the final day of the 9th national beach football championship on 15th September and the fighters on the sands fully entertained the fans that assembled to the site. Before the final, the members of ''Uraja'' livened up the tournament by exhibiting their traditional dances of Okayama Prefecture. Also, during halftime, there were some freestyle performances were showcased while Marcelo Mendes, the national beach football head coach, appeared at the commentary booth. ''The Shibukawa Beach looks similar to a Brazilian beach and I love it so much,'' Mendes said.

Both semifinal matches kicked off at the same time. In the game between Sol Mar Praia (Kyushu 2/Okinawa) and Avante Osaka (Kansai/Osaka), the reigning runner-up Sol Mar Praia struck first on 3rd minute, made it to 2-1 at the end of the first period and then 4-2 at the end of the second before they entered the final period. As the clock was ticking and Avante tried to start their rallies, the Kansai team struggled to get Sol Mar Praia's defense off balance. And then, Sol Mar Praia made it to 5-2 as TOMA Takefumi netted his third goal of the game. Later, MINAMI Yosuke, who played with a broken nose, gave one goal to Avante, but Sol Mar Praia went on to win it to clinch the final contest.

In the other semifinal matches, Tokyo Lequios BS (Kanto 1/Tokyo) took on Leon Fukuoka (Kyushu 1/Fukuoka). In the first period, Lequios goalkeeper GINOZA Hiroya stopped a penalty kick by a Leon player, and minutes later, Leon goalkeeper IWASHITA Takeshi saved a blazing shot by Lequios' MOREIRA Ozu. Yet Lequios, who looked for their second consecutive championships, got on the scoreboard with a Moreira goal and started playing their brand of game and extended the lead to 4-0. Leon rallied back as MAKINO Shinji with his free kick, but they were silenced afterwards. Lequios kept scoring using their bench players as well and ended up advancing to the final with a 8-1 rout win.

The championship match between Sol Mar Praia and Lequios drew 950 spectators and kicked off at 1 p.m. in a breezing but hot condition. The first goal came in right before the first period ended, when KAWAHARAZUKA Tsuyoshi netted one for Sol Mar Praia. But two minutes into the second period, Lequios tied it with a free kick by Moreira, who exploded with his both arms pumping up in the air in the reaction to his scoring. And then Moreira again made a free kick to give Lequios a lead before the second period was about to close. Both sides showed acrobatic plays, livening up the fans, yet the contest ended with a 2-1 score and Lequios completed the second straight title.

Game Results

Final Match detail (Japanese version only)
SOL MAR PRAIA (Kyushu 2/Okinawa) 1-2 TOKYO LEQUIOS BS(Kanto1/Tokyo)

Semi-Finals
SOL MAR PRAIA (Kyushu 2/Okinawa) 5-3 AVANTE OSAKA(Kansai/Osaka)
Match detail (Japanese version only)
TOKYO LEQUIOS BS(Kanto1/Tokyo) 8-1 LEON FUKUOKA(Kyushu1/Fukuoka)
Match detail (Japanese version only)

Comments

MATSUDA Keisuke (AVANTE OSAKA)
We wanted to win one more, but since we didn't have many offensive patterns, we lacked shooting chances and it made the difference. The opponents were better in any aspects. We want to discuss with the whole team so we will be able to attack on our own plays. We were fortunate to play against a very good team in the final four, so we don't waste this experience and want to advance to the final next time to avenge ourselves.

MAKINO Shinji (LEON FUKUOKA)
In the final round, we couldn't do what we were easily able to do in the first round, because we lacked our offensive patterns and we barely scored on free kicks. On free kicks, I've always been practicing against Ginoza Hiroya (Tokyo Lequios BS), so we were reading our opponents mind with each other. We came up with the minimum outcome as we advanced to the semifinals, but it's not our goal. We want to establish our team to be able to battle in the semis and final.

Toma Masahito (SOL MAR PRAIA)
We finished our semifinal game in a favorable fashion and entered the final likewise. Each player on Lequios is a national team caliber player and they also have a star player like Moreira Ozu. They've got power and we had to deal with it. It was as if we were the ants and they were the lions. Yet we were the ants but played as best as the ants. The opponents scored on free kicks, and we scored from a team play. I think that it was the final that gave us some hope for our future.

MOREIRA Ozu (TOKYO LEQUIOS BS)
Every championship game we play against Sol Mar Praia, it's not easy. They scored first and I helped our team with my free kick. Our team kept our concentration from the beginning til the end and went mistake-less, and it was so great. While we have the mind-set to be desperate for a win, we want to show some fashionable plays. I didn't really have chances for over-head shots, but I was still happy that I could score a couple from free kicks, which is what I am best at. We want to win the title next year as well.

JFA-TV

The 9th Japan Beach Soccer Championship

Saturday 13 September 2014 to Monday 15 September 2014
OKAYAMA／Shiukawa Beach
Information