Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Osaka: China kept themselves firmly in contention at the AFC Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 qualifiers after goals from Zhang Rui and Gu Yasha saw them edge Japan 2-1 at Kincho Stadium on Friday.
Zhang set Bruno Bini’s side on their way in the 14th minute and Gu put them two ahead in the 58th. Kumi Yokoyama pulled one back for the hosts in the 64th minute but to no avail.
China now have seven points, two behind leaders Australia, and face Korea Republic next, while Japan remain second bottom with just one point and take on Vietnam on Monday.
"My players played a very beautiful game tactically and physically tonight. I am very satisfied with what we did in today’s game. It went exactly as we planned," said China coach Bini.
"For us today there was no such thing as substitutions – everyone was involved in the game. It would also have been a very difficult game to come into as there was a lot of intensity.
"We can only focus on our own team. As you know, the job of coach takes lots of energy so I can only focus on our team. We don’t have time to focus on other teams."
After a cagey start Yuri Kawamura misjudged a pass to centre-back Asuna Tanaka in the 14th minute, allowing China striker Zhang to sneak in between Tanaka and Saki Kumagai before keeping her cool and slotting beyond Japan goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto.
The game continued at a good pace after the opener, as both sides looked to create opportunities. Japan almost pulled level in the 28th minute when Yuki Ogimi threaded a pass through to Kumi Yokoyama, but China midfielder Ren Guixin did superbly to get back and close down the shooting opportunity.
Japan got behind the China back-line again in the 34th minute, but this time keeper Zhao Lina came to the rescue, tearing quickly off her line and smothering the ball before Yokoyama could get the all-important touch.
The next attempt on goal for Japan came from an unlikely source and in an unlikely manner, as 161cm full-back Yukari Kinga – who had just five goals in her previous 98 games for the Nadeshiko – met a corner from the right with a powerful header which flew just wide in the 36th minute.
Japan coach Norio Sasaki was proactive at half-time and threw on Bayern Munich forward Mana Iwabuchi for the unfortunate Kawamura, and Aya Miyama demonstrated the new intent straight away, stinging the fingertips of Zhao Lina with a drive from outside the area in the first minute of the second half.
Ogimi then had another sight on goal in the 57th minute, but sent her effort swerving away from the target.
Just a minute later China doubled their lead. Wang Shuang nudged the ball back to Wang Shanshan on the left, and she switched play to Gu who chested down and made her way inside before curling the ball superbly beyond the despairing grasp of Fukumoto and into the top right corner from the edge of the box.
Japan were handed a lifeline six minutes later as Li Dongna mis-controlled in the penalty area and Yokoyama seized on the loose ball, showing some nice footwork to create space before lashing home.
Both sides continued to look dangerous but couldn’t add to the scoring, with Tanaka coming the closest for Japan with a header from a corner in the 79th minute.
“We had to win today, but we couldn't get the result. If we look at last few matches and also at the World Cup its been difficult to score goals, so that’s one of the things we've tried to fix in training and when we think about the future of the Nadeshiko it’s one area we have to work on," said Japan coach Sasaki.
"We made it to the final at the last three competitions but the situation in Asia and the world is that things are growing and others are getting stronger, as we can see in the results.
"China was a very high level today, better than us, and that’s why we lost. It’s not only because we couldn’t score, it’s not just about a backpass that went wrong, but overall the Chinese team was half a step ahead of us."
Photo: Lagardère Sports