(6.21 Kanto CY Quarterfinals Tokyo V Jr Youth 1-1 (PK5-4) Kashima Jr Youth Maebashi Football Center C)
Tokyo Verdi Junior Youth goalkeeper Makioka Kansuke (3rd year) made a special stop in the penalty shootout 1-1. In the end, he pushed the opponent's kick out of target to lead them to the final four in the Kanto region.
In the second half, there was a time when the players were forced into the Kashima Antlers Junior Youth, but Makioka showed that they avoided conceding goals due to the efforts of each player. In the penalty shootout that progressed, he said, “I was confident because I was practicing both the field and the goalkeeper.” “I was a bit worried, but I thought I was going to do what I had done, and I was proud to be more confident than the opponent, so I just played with confidence,” he said in the final battle.
Both teams were successful with the second player, and the third player in the Tokyo V Jr Youth team who was the first player to take on the first run. Makioka, the third member of the Kashima Jr. Youth Team, was greeted by Makioka, who bounced back the ball that had come to the right from his own perspective with both hands.
A beautiful save
“The moment I got kicked I came over here, so I thought, 'This is here!' All I left was to play outside. I got up right away and made a fist pose, which was really exciting.”
Guts pose
The team then stopped the fifth player's kick, but the sixth opponent's opponent was out of the field and the game ended. He advanced to the semi-finals of the Kanto Club Youth Soccer Aiming (U-15) Championship for the first time since 2022.
Makioka not only achieved his performance in penalty shootouts, but also created a highlight in his pitching. In the first half, he showed a low-trajectory kick into the middle, and in the 28th minute of the second half, he dropped the ball behind the opponent's final line with a punt kick, creating a chance. The team's runner-up forward Numata Akito (3rd year), took the ball with speed and fired a shot that hit the post directly.
However, when warming up, it lacked some detail, as it hit the headquarters tent off the pitch. Makioka gave a wry smile and commented, “I made a mistake, right?”, and commented, “I think I'm the type of person who is strong in the real world, and when it comes to games, I get kicked with good punt kicks and good long feeds.” “I think the relationship with the forwards starting to move is gradually improving,” he said, and plans to improve his accuracy while being conscious of kicks that plunge into space that is “the closest to the score.”
Makioka recognizes that he is not a tall goalkeeper, and has been trained by goalkeeper Oki Yuya (Shimizu) and goalkeeper Kodama Jun (Sapporo), who is a former Tokyo V Youth team, who has been working hard on the “finding for the smallest details that can only be achieved because he is not tall.” He is hoping to demonstrate his strengths in the national tournament in August, with his goalkeeping ability and pitching ability that makes use of his high agility. His goal is to “show children when they become adults that they can do it even if it's small, but that they're okay as a goalkeeper,” and he points to stability as the key to becoming a reliable guardian.
(Interview and text by Kato Naoki)
