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Superior Japan Hit New Zealand For Six
by Jeremy Ruane
Japan's national women's soccer team gave New Zealand a bit of a lesson in the finer arts of passing and movement on and off the ball at Tokyo's Nishigaoka Stadium on May 21, in recording a 6-0 win over the battling Kiwi combination in a classic clash of the "haves" and the "have nots".
The visitors tried hard, and created a couple of openings of their own, but found themselves up against superior opponents, who, as a measure of their standing compared with New Zealand, have drawn three of their last four encounters with the Kiwis' last opponents, the Olympic gold medal-winning USA team.
Another example of the gulf between the sides is evident in the appearances tally of Japan's superstar striker, Homare Sawa. This was her 93rd cap for the Japanese women's team. It came in New Zealand's 103rd full international appearance on the world stage - and a fixture only made possible by the generosity of the Japanese FA in fully funding the fixture, as part of their entire Kirin Cup promotion, which also involves the national men's squads of Peru and the United Arab Emirates playing a tri-series tournament with Japan throughout this week.
Spurred on by a boisterous crowd numbering 3495 - but not counting the cheerleading group's bass drum! - the home team charged into the task facing them, with debutant Rebecca O'Neill being dumped on her derriere in trying to defend against Japan's fleet-footed debutant, Rumi Utsugi, in the third minute - welcome to the uncompromising, no-holds-barred world of international women's soccer, my dear!
It set the tone of things to come, with Pam Yates saving at the feet of Shinobu Ohno seconds later, after the striker had wriggled in between Maia Jackman and Rebecca Smith. Six minutes later, a poor goal-kick from Yates was pounced on by Ohno, who rattled the post with her shot, with the pint-sized Naoko Kawakami's cross-shot from the rebound being headed off the line by O'Neill.
The Japanese were storming forward in waves early on, and in the fourteenth minute, a lovely move featuring Miyuki Yanagita, Tomoe Sakai and Kozue Ando saw the last-mentioned unleash a piledriver which cannoned off the inside of the far post back into play. Sawa's attempt to turn home the rebound hit the sidenetting.
After O'Neill had cleared a dangerous inswinging corner from Yanagita, and Yates had saved from Ando, Japanese raids twice foundered on Jackman, who gave her all and then some throughout. A timely ball-and-all tackle by the last defender on Yuki Nagasoto, when the striker was clean through on goal in the nineteenth minute, spared New Zealand's blushes, while seconds later, a vital interception broke up another Japanese raid, when Ohno was all but through on goal.
In the 21st minute, a free-kick harshly awarded against the tireless Simone Ferrara was taken nowhere near the place where the offence was deemed to have occurred. The twenty-five-year-old Korea Republic referee allowed play to continue, however, and Utsugi's delivery flew deep to the far post, where Kawakami was lurking. She touched the ball inside for Nagasoto, who cleverly clipped the ball over the advancing Yates but onto the roof of the net.
After Sawa - twice - and Yanagita had thundered shots wide of the mark, the Japanese found their range in the 27th minute. Yanagita's progress was checked by the solidly-performed Sarah Gibbs, forcing her opponent to find another option. She found two, as a quick interchange between Ohno and Sakai saw the latter pick out Sawa, whose late arrival in the penalty area allowed her to sweep the ball home from fifteen yards.
New Zealand went up the other end of the park in search of a swift equaliser, but there was no reward from Rebecca Sowden's free-kick - shame, by the way, on those responsible for producing a shirt sporting the name Sowedn on the back! Instead, there was further reward for Japan, ten minutes before half-time.
Ohno got the better of make-shift right-back, Priscilla Duncan, on the left, and cut inside before wrong-footing Jackman with her pass. Nagasoto was onto it in a flash, and the yard she had stolen on Smith was suffice to allow her to steer the ball beyond Yates - 2-0.
Right on half-time, Duncan was again outfoxed, this time by Utsugi. She whipped in a cross from the left for Ohno, but Yates proved equal to the task. It was Duncan's last contribution to the match, for she was one of two half-time substitutions, the other departure being Amber Hearn, with Melissa Ray and Michele Keinzley adding to their international caps at the start of the second spell.
They were joined in this regard by Kirsty Yallop, Hannah Bromley and Petria Rennie as the match wore on, with the second- and last-mentioned making their New Zealand debuts in the process.
Within one hundred seconds of the resumption, a horror error by Yates was punished mercilessly by Sawa. The 'keeper called to indicate she was coming to gather an angled cross from Sakai, and Jackman duly left it for her. But before Yates got to the ball, Japan's most-capped international swooped - 3-0.
The Kiwis shrugged aside this early setback and enjoyed their best spell of the match in the next ten minutes. A Gibbs interception in the 51st minute saw Marlies Oostdam clip a peach of a ball through for the ever-
 Marlies Oostdam tackles Yasuyo Yamagishi
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 Hayley Moorwood covers the run of Homare Sawa, the superstar of Japanese women's soccer
 Maia Jackman mops up another Japanese raid
 Amber Hearn wins an aerial duel
 Simone Ferrara challenged by Rumi Utsugi
 Priscilla Duncan starts a NZ attack
 Rebecca Smith keeps her eye on the ball
 Sarah Gibbs in full flight
 Rebecca O'Neill gets the better of Kozue Ando
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industrious Hayley Moorwood, who, racing through from midfield, got the better of a defender before firing goalwards from the edge of the penalty area.
But Japanese goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto was already well off her line anticipating the danger, and produced a fine save at virtually point-blank range to thwart New Zealand's captain.
Three minutes later, O'Neill pounced on a stray pass and fed Keinzley, who controlled neatly before squaring to Oostdam. With her wrong foot, the New Zealand midfielder - making her first international appearance since the 2000 Pacific Cup tournament - hit a gorgeous twenty-yard curling effort which had top corner written all over it. Sadly for New Zealand, Fukumoto failed to read the script, producing a quite brilliant save to keep the visitors scoreless.
In between times, Japan's half-time substitute, Aya Miyama, had volleyed over after a neat move down the left featuring Yanagita and Ohno. And on the hour, only a fine one-on-one save from Yates denied Nagasoto, after Miyama and Sawa had prised open New Zealand's rearguard with a neat interchange.
In the 65th minute, Japan extended their advantage to 4-0, punishing New Zealand with a swift counter-attacking raid. Miyama sent Kawakami careering down the right, and her first-time cross was flicked on by Sawa for Nagasoto on the far post, who thundered home her second goal of the game.
Cue a raft of substitutions by both teams as the 28 degree heat began to take its toll - it didn't stop the Japanese from creating more openings, however! Yates smothered a shot from Mio Otani, while fifteen minutes from time, a thumping drive from Sakai crashed against the crossbar, with Miyama blazing the rebound wide of the far post.
Nagasoto, Jackman and Smith then got in a right tangle inside the penalty area, as the Kiwi duo looked to deny the Japanese striker her hat-trick. They succeeded, albeit at the expense of a corner, twelve minutes from time. Utsugi's delivery was scrambled clear, but only to Miyama, whose low shot through a crowded goalmouth arrowed into the net - 5-0, much to the delight of the tub-thumping hordes gathered behind Yates' goal.
Two minutes later, Yates thwarted Nagasoto after Sawa and Otani had weaved some wizardry, but two minutes from time came a goal which sent the New Zealanders' spirits plummeting. A Saiko Takahashi corner was headed clear by Jackman, only for Sawa to swoop on the ball. She cracked a shot goalwards, only for Yates to pull off a fine, parried save low to her left. Unbelievably, her parry cannoned off Akiko Sudo into the net - 6-0.
It was Japan's last shot on goal, but not the last effort of the match, for the visitors finished with a flourish, as they sought to score their first goal in international women's soccer since the 2003 Oceania Women's World Cup qualifying tournament in Canberra.
Bromley battered a free-kick forward from half-way, and rising highest of all was Moorwood, whose flicked header was grabbed by Fukumoto before Japan's line was breached by a team in which the leading toilers were Jackman, Moorwood, Ferrara, Gibbs, Oostdam and, in the second half, Keinzley.
The Japanese now head to Russia for two internationals and a nine-day camp on the back of this 6-0 victory, with further matches scheduled against China, North Korea and Korea Republic in a round-robin tournament in the first week of August.
How New Zealand wish they could plan their international itinerary with such certainty - for all their international teams, not just the women. Instead, after Monday's clash with Japan Universities at the phenomenal J-Village complex in Fukushima, it's back to thrice-weekly training sessions for the bulk of the squad, who are left to wonder when they'll next get the chance to don the white shirt on the international stage again.
"We knew it would be a very difficult task for us today", said coach Mick Leonard to the gathered throngs of Japan's soccer media - and the lone New Zealand representative - afterwards. "We have a long-term strategy to qualify for China 2007, and this was a hurdle on our journey.
"It was a very good exercise for what is a very young team, one which needs to gain experience by playing teams of the calibre of Japan. Today gave us the opportunity to play a few debutants, but we've certainly got a long way to go before we can match teams of the calibre of Japan".
Leonard, who saw Japan's 2-0 victory over Australia in Sydney at Easter, was well placed to compare then with now. "Japan's players are technically very very good, and can move and pass the ball with quality. They are very very close to the USA in terms of quality, in fact, and have a very good future.
"They gave our girls a level to try to strive towards. Our girls gave their best, but they were beaten by a superior team".
Japan: Fukumoto; Kawakami (Yamagishi, 73), Isozaki, Sudo, Utsugi; Ando (Miyama, 46), Sawa, Sakai (Takahashi, 80), Yanagita (Nakaoka, 73); Ohno (Otani, 66), Nagasoto (Kitamoto, 80).
New Zealand: Yates; Duncan (Ray, 46), Jackman, Smith, Gibbs (booked, 37) (Rennie, 85); Ferrara, O'Neill (Yallop, 66), Moorwood, Sowden (Bromley, 78), Oostdam; Hearn (Keinzley, 46).
 Michele Keinzley challenged by Hiromi Isozaki
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