JAPANESE FIGHT BACK FOILS FOOTBALL FERNS

AUCKLAND – The Football Ferns were just four minutes away from an upset victory over world number ten Japan in Qinhuangdao on Wednesday night but were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw in their Group G Olympic opener.

New Zealand lead 2-0 with 20 minutes remaining thanks to a first-half tap-in from Kirsty Yallop against the run of play and a second half Amber Hearn penalty but conceded twice in 18 minutes in a Japanese late show that leaves the Ferns needing a win against heavyweights Norway or USA to claim a place in the knock-out stages.

Having been minutes away from an upset victory over the more-fancied Japanese, New Zealand coach John Herdman had mixed emotions about claiming a point.

It’s bittersweet. Sweet in that we’ve got a draw in our first game and are still in the competition, but it’s disappointing that it wasn’t our best performance as a New Zealand team,” Herdman said. 

“We’re better than that, we’ve played better than that, and the players know it. Three points were there for the taking tonight.

“But we’ve come away with a crucial point to start the campaign and in the scheme of things secured a pretty significant result for a New Zealand team.”

Yallop took advantage of hesitancy from fullback Yukari Kinga to tap home at the back post after Ali Riley slipped past Miyuki Yanagita and played a ball across the face of goal in the 37th minute.

Two contentious penalties followed in the second half with Hearn converting from the spot after South African referee Deidre Mitchell saw a push on Emma Kete at a New Zealand corner just before the hour mark.

The match official then evened up the ledger with 18 minutes remaining by penalising Abby Erceg for a similar offence at the other end.

Influential Japanese captain Aya Miyama made no mistake from 12 yards to setting up a tense finish that was finally capped by Homare Sawa’s near-post touch to an 86th minute free-kick just as the Japanese were beginning to face the possibility of their campaign ending before the Olympics had officially begun.

New Zealand started the game brightly, with the pace of Emma Kete causing problems for the Japanese back four and Katie Hoyle stifling any Japanese forays through midfield.

It took 15 minutes for the Japanese to fashion their first chance – a wayward effort from distance that sailed well wide – but it signalled a gear change as Japan began to take control of the match.

Barely a minute later, neat interplay within the New Zealand penalty area between Shinobu Ohno and Yuki Nagasato sent Ohno free on goal but her angled shot towards the far post was kept out by Jenny Bindon at full stretch.

Ohno would’ve been cursing the left hand of Bindon at halftime match as a second world class save denied the Japanese striker one-on-one after 33 minutes.

In between, New Zealand weathered a storm from Japan and survived two scares – a penalty claim awarded as a free-kick just outside the area and a dangerous pass into the six-yard box by Kozue Ando cut out by Rebecca Smith – before finding their feet again and heading into halftime a goal up.

Ali Riley – who passed a late fitness test to take her place in the starting eleven – had a shot blocked by Miho Fukumoto just after the restart before Hearn sent the New Zealand bench into rapture with what looked like a match sealing penalty before Miyama’s and Sawa’s late heroics.

The ‘must-win’ tag now passes to even tougher matches against group favourites Norway and USA on August 9 and 12 respectively as New Zealand hunts for three points to progress as one of the top eight teams in the 12-team tournament.

Norway stunned worldnumber one USA with the two fastest Olympic ggoals in history to claim a 2-0 win and the outright lead of the Qinhuangdao-based Group G immediately after New Zealand’s match against Japan.

Women’s Olympic Football Tournament: Group G

Wednesday 6 August

New Zealand 2 (Kirsty Yallop 37, Amber Hearn 56-pen) Japan 2 (Aya Miyama 72-pen, Homare Sawa 86)

New Zealand: 1-Jenny BINDON (GK), 2-Ria PERCIVAL, 5-Abby ERCEG, 6-Rebecca SMITH, 17-Marlies OOSTDAM, 7-Alexandra RILEY, 4-Katie HOYLE (10-Emily McCOLL 79), 8-Hayley MOORWOOD (Captain), 11-Kirsty YALLOP, 9-Amber HEARN (13-Rebecca TEGG 86), 15-Emma KETE (16-Renee LEOTA 70).

Substitutes not used: 3-Anna GREEN, 12-Merissa SMITH, 14-Kristy HILL, 18-Rachel HOWARD (RGK).

Cautions: Moorwood (30)

Japan: 1-Miho FUKUMOTO (GK), 2-Yukari KINGA, 4-Azusa IWASHIMIZU, 14-Kyoko YANO, 5-Miyuki YANAGITA, 7-Kozue ANDO (12-Karina MARUYAMA 82), 15-Mizuho SAKAGUCHI, 10-Homare SAWA (Captain), 8-Aya MIYAMA, 11-Shinobu OHNO (9-Eriko ARAKAWA 79), 17-Yuki NAGASATO.

Substitutes not used: 3-Hiromi IKEDA, 6-Tomoe KATO, 13-Ayumi HARA, 16-Rumi UTSUGI, 18-Ayumi KAIHORI (RGK).

Cautions: Sakaguchi (54), Iwashimizu (55)

Standings

Story Provided by NZF Media. For full story visit www.nzsoccer.com

Photos courtesy of FIFA Media. For more visit www.fifa.com