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SWANZ Beaten By Last Kick Of Match Again
by Jeremy Ruane
The SWANZ, New Zealand's women's soccer team, suffered another agonising defeat in the inaugural Pacific Cup women's soccer tournament at the Sydney Football Stadium on June 2, going down to a Golden Goal defeat at the hands of Japan, 2-1 the final score.
The Kiwis started brightly, the lively Simone Ferrara linking well with Wendi Henderson on the left to engineer the first opening, which Japan eventually cleared.
The Asians, who finished eleventh at the 1999 Women's World Cup Finals, came back strongly, and after Michelle Hodge had easily dealt with Mio Otani's twelfth minute effort, watched with relief as a headed attempt from the same player flew past the post two minutes later, following good approach play featuring Megumi Torigoe and Mito Isaka.
After Kozue Ando had sent a twenty-five yarder flying past the post in the 26th minute, the SWANZ took the game by the scruff of the neck, inspired by Ferrara's pursuit of a seemingly lost cause in the 27th minute.
All the odds favoured Yuka Yamazaki as the ball ran towards the corner line for a goal kick, but Ferrara's dogged pursuit paid off, as she robbed the defender before whipping over a cross for Zarnia Cogle. Yoshie Kasajima cleared on this occasion, but played a key role in New Zealand's goal six minutes later.
Its instigator was Maia Jackman, who bisected the Japanese defence with a diagonal through-ball for the overlapping Jane Simpson. After dodging one challenge, she crossed for Cogle, only for Kasajima to win the aerial duel once more. This time, her header was wayward, much to Amanda Crawford's delight, the striker swooping to head home from close range, the despairing efforts of Shiho Onodera to keep the ball out notwithstanding.
The 'keeper was almost beaten again by Crawford five minutes later, her teasing cross-shot being tipped round the post at the last moment by Onodera, as the SWANZ relished the chance to dictate terms to their opponents.
Hodge dealt easily with Ando's tame finish just before the break, after the striker had left Terry McCahill and Melissa Ruscoe trailing in her wake, but this effort apart, it was all one-way traffic until the 62nd minute mark.
In the 54th minute, Japan were reeling from another Ferrara-inspired raid, the silky-skilled midfielder orchestrating a variation on the SWANZ standard free-kick routine to carve a path to the byline, from where she delivered another telling cross into the danger zone.
Somehow the Japanese survived the ensuing goalmouth scramble, and another Ferrara-induced raid two minutes later, the US-educated midfielder switching play to McCahill, who was still in the attack following a SWANZ corner. The defender's cross was met by Jackman, who beat Onodera all ends up in the air, but whose header sizzled over the crossbar.
Debutant Tarah Cox had been fulfilling the midfield anchor role more than satisfactorily, but coach Doug Moore, sensing a degree of tiredness creeping into her game, opted to replace her in the 62nd minute with another debutant in striker Vicki Ormond.
The change in tactics was quickly seized upon by Japan, who levelled matters against the run of play just seven minutes after the substitution.
Pint-sized striker Mito Isaka made the initial breakthrough, before squaring the ball to Ando. Her shot was blocked by Ruscoe, but the ball fell kindly to substitute Kae Nishina, who clipped the ball into the top far corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area past an initially unsighted Hodge.
Jackman sought to restore the SWANZ advantage soon after, heading Henderson's cross over the top, but the tide was definitely turning, as evidenced by Isaka squandering a golden opportunity in the 74th minute. Yumi Obe's cross from the right found the striker with just Hodge to beat, but her sidefooted volley skewed wide of the target.
Back came the SWANZ, desperate for a victory they certainly deserved. Henderson sent a volley thundering wide with ten minutes to go, while Ruscoe was somehow denied by Onodera at close range two minutes later, following a corner from the well-performed Rachel Oliver delivered right into the goalmouth.
A splendid save by Hodge at her near post two minutes from time thwarted Tomomi Fujimura, and the 'keeper's efforts to deny both Ando and Isaka before the final whistle brought about extra-time, one of the quirks of this particular tournament.
Crawford and another SWANZ debutant, Meisha Pyke, were both thwarted by Onodera in the first half of extra-time, while at the other end, Yasuyo Yamagishi's twenty-five yard free-kick whistled over the crossbar to the relief of Hodge and company in the 95th minute.
Come the first minute of the second half of extra-time, however, the game was brought to an end by Yamagishi. Jill Corner's failure to decisively clear a loose ball near the corner flag allowed Ayumi Hara the chance to cross, and the ball fell to Nishina.
Ruscoe blocked her shot, but the rebound fell to Yamagishi, who neatly turned past Ormond before unleashing a twenty-yard chip which dropped into the net just under the angle of the crossbar and far post to secure Japan their win.
The SWANZ, in stark contrast to the delighted Japanese, were crestfallen. To lose their first match to the last kick of the game was a hard enough hurdle to overcome, but for the situation to be repeated so soon afterwards was a bitter pill which they scarcely deserved to have served to them, let alone be forced to swallow.
A couple of players sank to the ground in despair at the final whistle, while others stood hands on hips, struggling to come to terms with how cruel, at times, this game can be.
Still, it's highly unlikely that lightning will strike a third time - taking on the World and Olympic champions, the USA, is next on the SWANZ agenda, and even with the greatest will in the world, it's hard to envisage this match being decided by a last-gasp winner!
SWANZ: Hodge; Simpson, McCahill (Corner, 78), Ruscoe, Oliver; Cogle (Oostdam, 58 (booked, 87)), Cox (Ormond, 62), Henderson, Ferrara (Pyke, 90); Crawford (booked, 45), Jackman.
Japan: Onodera; Torigoe (Nishina, 62), Kasajima, Yamazaki, Fujimura; Obe, Yamagishi, Otani (Hara, 62), Kimura; Isaka, Ando (booked, 76).
Referee: Krystina Szokolai.
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