Oikawa strike earns Japan a 1-1 draw in Asia derby match
The re-match of the Asia Cup final ended with the scores locked together as Asian champions Japan claimed their first point of the tournament with a deserved 1-1 draw against Korea. Goals either side of half time from Korea captain Kim Jongeun and Cherry Blossoms’ Shihori Oikawa ensured that the honours were even in the Pool A contest.
Korean started the brighter of the two teams and almost opened the scoring inside the first three minutes of the match when Park Mihyun’s penalty corner deflection flew fractionally wide of the right post. It proved to be a wake-up call for the Cherry Blossoms, snapping them into game-mode ahead of what proved to be a fairly even first half hour. Korea’s Oh Sunsoon brought a solid save from shot-stopper Yuka Yoshikawa with a penalty corner drag-flick, while Japan went close when a defence-splitting pass found Akake Shibata, who failed to connect with her attempted shot from seven metres out.
Korea stepped up the pressure in the final five minutes of the half and were fully rewarded for their efforts with the game’s opening goal. Team captain Kim Jongeun was the scorer, pouncing on a loose ball in the Japan circle before firing home a 32nd minute field goal to give her side the lead at the break.
Japan totally dominated the early stages of the second half and needed just two minutes to force an equaliser, with Shihori Oikawa burying Japan’s first penalty corner of the game in the 37th minute. The final 20 minutes of the match were fiercely contested, with Korea’s Kim Darae seeing her powerful high-shot batted away to safety by Yoshikawa’s left hand moments before Mazuki Arai and Kana Nomura both had air-shots in quick succession. Park Mihyun also close to re-establishing Korea’s lead with a cracking back-hand effort that flashed wide of the right post, while at the other end Shibata came within millimetres of getting a crucial touch on pass drilled into the Korea circle.
Both sides went for the kill in the dying stages of the match, with Japan’s Shiho Otsuka almost stealing all three points with a late deflection before the sound of the full-time hooter brought an end to the contest. The scoreline was a fair reflection on the match, with both sides well worth a share of the spoils.
“It is a pity that in the second half we could not take our chances, but we had a good game and we will hope for an even better next game”, said Japan captain Miyuki Nakagawa immediately after the contest. “We really wanted the point and are happy, but we are hoping to get better every game.”