Following on from the East Asian Women’s Football Championships 2010 Finals Competition, hosts Japan won their second consecutive title by winning every match. On the 13th in the final day of the East Asian Women’s Football Championships 2010 Finals Competition leaders Japan on 2 wins clashed with 2nd placed Korea Rep. on 1 win, 1 loss. Japan FW OHNO Shinobu and FW YAMAGUCHI Mami each scored to win 2-1 and be crowned queens of East Asia. Champions Japan MF SAWA Homare was once again named tournament MVP as she was in 2008.

SAWA said “It was great to win in front of so many Japanese supporters” and head coach SASAKI Norio also had a message for the fans that came out to support her team for a match played in the snow “Thank you for your support of Nadeshiko”. Following on from the previous tournament they have now won 6 in a row and the happiness was clear on the faces of the Japanese team also known as “Nadeshiko Japan”.

In the 7th minute the Japan number 11 was all alone in attacking the Korea Rep. defence. From the left touch line MF MIYAMA Aya played the ball sideways for OHNO who received it near the halfway line and then ran on by herself. Korea Rep. are good at cutting out passes but not so good at dealing with dribbling runs and OHNO broke all the way into the box and beat a charging goalkeeper with her right foot.

OHNO said “(MIYAMA) Aya did well to see me, and I’m glad I could finish it off after that. It was an ideal goal.” On the other side of that happiness was the burden an early goal placed on Korea Rep. Head coach LEE Sang Yup regretted saying “We gave up an unimaginable goal and that affected the players.” Korea Rep. were unable to bounce back and Japan continued to push forward including a shot from YAMAGUCHI and then in the 17th minute MF UTSUGI Rumi’s pass found OHNO who once more dribbled forwards. Then her through pass was well placed for YAMAGUCHI who reacted well and scored with a first time, left footed shot to double their advantage.

Japan had struck twice before Korea Rep. had even got their engine going. However, Korea Rep. who had to win this match to claim the title threw everything into attack and their disappointments just spurred them more into offense. They played physically and fought for the second ball as they increasingly moved into the attacking zone and in the 24th minute MF CHO So Hyun had a mid-range shot. In the 28th minute FW JI So Yun dribbled past a defender and took a right footed shot. Then just before half time in the 44th minute MF KIM Soo Yun cut in from the left wing to shoot inside the box with her right foot and almost scored from a deflection to claw one back. Japan GK YAMAGO Nozomi stuck out a hand but the course had been completely changed.

Korea Rep. continued to push for goals in the second half but they couldn’t seem to break down Japan’s defence. Trying a different approach they had several chances from counter attacks. In the 71st minute a rebound from a right sided FK fell to MF LEE Jang Mi who had a good chance with her right foot from close range but couldn’t keep it on target. Then in the 75th minute CHO So Hyun played a through ball for MF YOO Young A who beat the offside trap and controlled it well to score with her right foot and cut the lead to one goal.

Korea Rep. had turned up the heat and immediately afterwards, substitute MF JEON Ga Eul won the ball just outside the penalty area and set up JI So Yun to shoot right footed. However Japan GK YAMAGO saved well and then in the 84th minute DF KIM Yoo Mi latched on to a loose ball in front of goal but this was blocked by an opposition DF. Korea Rep. had seven shots in the second half, almost twice as many as their opponents and got a goal back but couldn’t stop Japan from winning in the end.

After nearly 4 minutes of extra time Japan emerged as champions and head coach SASAKI Norio said “Our defence passed the test. But we need to press out towards them more. Also, our attackers who have been playing well since November weren’t effective. We need to fix this ahead of the Asian Cup (in May, with a qualification place at the FIFA Women’s World Cup at stake)”. Japan won all of their matches and earned the title of East Asia’s best and we look forward to their progress and performances on the Asian and world stage to come.