Today, we will play in the 5th-8th place playoff tournament.
After finishing morning exercises as a team, we moved to the breakfast area.
Although the match was in the afternoon, at 9 AM, we conducted a 30-minute training session for players who had less playing time in yesterday's match.
The tournament venue is the host club's facility, which includes two natural grass fields, four artificial turf fields, and other futsal courts.
We used the futsal court for our training.
For the afternoon match, we had lunch from 11:15 AM and a meeting from 1 PM.
After the meeting, we walked to the match venue and started warming up.
[Tournament Day 4: Final Tournament 5th-8th Place Playoff vs. Musan Middle School (Korea) Kick-off at 2:30 PM]
First half 0-0
Second half 1-0
Total 1-0
Scorer: Sato
Starting lineup
GK: Shigaki
FP: Kohari, Kawano, Gorai, Shinbo, Ogura, Otsuka, Hayashi, Sato, Suehara, Kinoshita
Substitutes
Ito, Nagayama, Oyama, Shiraishi
Our opponent in this match, Musan Middle School from Korea, is a team that won the national tournament in Korea.
Against their unusual system of a 5-back with a sweeper in defense, we were able to advance the ball to the front of the goal but couldn't create clear scoring chances. In defense, we struggled with the opponent's speed and intense challenges, but we held strong and kept a clean sheet.
The first half ended with neither team creating a decisive opportunity.
In the second half, Antlers stepped up their offensive intensity and pressed towards the opponent's goal.
Then, in the 13th minute of the second half, substitute Ito received the ball with his back to the defender in the left space and held possession. From that position, he turned around, penetrated close to the penalty area, and passed the ball to Ogura, who had circled to the left side.
Ogura cut back instead of crossing, passed the ball to Shinbo, who was running in from behind, and Shinbo delivered a direct cross.
Ito, who was waiting in the center, headed the ball on, and Sato, who had run in unmarked, controlled the ball and shot, scoring the opening goal.
We continued to press for an additional goal, but couldn't convert.
Towards the end of the match, we were awarded a penalty kick, but unfortunately, the goalkeeper saved it, leading to a counter-attack and a free kick against us.
The opponent, in their last attack of the match, even had their goalkeeper join the set piece, but we managed to defend and secure the victory.
Before the match, we presented a pennant and a commemorative plate to the owner of ZHONGNAN CODION FC, the host club of this tournament. They have been incredibly helpful in many aspects, including accommodation, meals, interpreters, and arranging football courts, providing an environment where our players and staff can focus on the matches.
What particularly surprised us was that all matches during the period were videotaped, and edited highlight reels were shown on the big screen in the dining hall. We were also provided with requested match footage, which we used in our team meetings.
Tomorrow, the 8th day of the expedition, is the final day of the tournament. Antlers' last match will be against Frankfurt (Germany) in the 5th/6th place decider.
