Academy Report

On the 26th, we played our third preliminary league match.

Match Result
2016 K LEAGUE U17 CHAMPIONSHIP Preliminary League Group C
Kashima Antlers Youth vs Busan Ipark U17
First Half 0-1, Second Half 0-0, Total 0-1

Both teams had already secured their advancement to the knockout stage.
Overall record: 2 wins, 1 loss, 6 points, 7 goals scored, 4 goals conceded, goal difference +3
Rank: 2nd
The top two teams advance to the knockout stage. Since there are 4 groups from A to D, 8 teams will advance to the knockout stage.
The draw for the matchups will take place on July 28th. Teams from the same group will not be drawn against each other.

The 26th was a clear and very hot day from the morning. After breakfast, the players had a meeting at 10 AM. They watched a video reviewing the second preliminary league match and discussed adjustments to be made.After the meeting, they had lunch at 12 PM and then watched a video of their opponent, Busan Ipark, from 2 PM. Afterwards, they prepared with a walk and calisthenics, boosting their fighting spirit. They had another meeting at 6:30 PM and then headed to the match venue.Upon arriving at the venue, a match between Bucheon and Anyang was being played, with Bucheon winning 3-0. As a result of this outcome, Antlers Youth and Busan secured their top two positions and their advancement to the knockout stage.

Antlers Youth Starting Lineup
GK 16 Tsuneyoda
DF 11 Kanazawa 4 Sato 3 Yamamoto 2 Shirai
MF 5 Asuma 7 Takezawa 8 Kawashima 10 Watanabe
FW 9 Ishizu 13 Fujieda

Although both teams had already progressed through the preliminary league, looking at the opponent's lineup, they came with their best players.

Despite issues such as refereeing, it became a difficult match. Unable to regain composure, we conceded a goal in the 11th minute of the first half from a right corner kick, where the ball was met at the near post. In the 32nd minute of the first half, we had a decisive chance, but Fujieda's shot from a scramble in front of the goal hit the crossbar and didn't result in a goal.

In the second half, we played more aggressively for possession, even receiving a yellow card, but we were able to pick up second balls and create many chances. While we struggled with challenges from the opponent's strong wing play, we fought tenaciously and managed to keep them from scoring in the second half. Towards the end of the match, as the opponent's stamina dropped, we advanced the game into their half.
In the 37th minute of the second half, Asuma's mid-range shot hit the crossbar, and in the final moments of the match, Shirai had a free header from a corner kick on the far side, but unfortunately, it just missed the target, and we narrowly lost.Since no substitutions were made in this match, the remaining players performed a physical training session after the game, consisting of 3 sets of 6x 50m sprints.