Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Kolkata, January 21: The lightning speed of Japan proved quite a handful for Jordan as the Asian champions stormed into the semifinals with a convincing 4-0 victory at the Yuba Bharti Krirangan on Sunday.
Fijita opened the floodgates in the 32nd minute when his scorching 25-yard-long-ranger kissed the flailing arms of Jordan goalkeeper Ahmad Al-Khazaleh and nestled into the net. After the change of ends, the winners pumped in three more — two of them coming in the space of two minutes — to notch up an outstanding win over the West Asians.
Japan take on Yugoslavia in the second semi-final on Tuesday.
Lanky striker Ota Keisuke headed home a neatly struck corner by Mikami in the 55th minute. Two minutes later Yoshimura consolidated the lead with a fine placement and in the 69th minute Sekine, who replaced Fijita, completed the rout. Japan could have added another to the list but Ota failed to connect a measured cross from skipper Hirakawa.
It was a tentative beginning for the winners, who didn’t really exert themselves in the first quarter of the match. But the speed merchants gradually settled down to weave patterns which had the rival defence in all sorts of trouble. Yamane-Ota combination upfront was supported by an ever enterprising mid-field, which completely outpaced their counterparts. And despite the absence of talented Fukai Masaki in the attacking third, Japan was in full flow. The first goal, in fact, completely demoralised the West Asians, particularly after their half-hearted attempts in the first 15 minutes of the match.
The winners played with a determination that not only gave them an astonishing domination throughout the match but allowed them to reinvent themselves as one of the title-contenders here. The only time when Jordan had a clear look at the rival goal was a minute before the interval. Muhanned Mahadeen’s powerful shot from top of the box, however, was punched out in the nick of time by an agile Japanese goalkeeper. But after the second-half blitzkrieg, Jordan, who were reduced to 10-men early in the second half after Hassouneh Sheikh Qasem earned his second bookable offence, never really came back into the match.
Teams:
Japan:Takahara (Sugiyama); Kobayashi, Chiyotanda, Hirakawa, Mikami, Horinouchi, Hanyu, Fijita (Sekine), Yoshimura, Yamane, Ota.
Jordan: Ahmad Al-Khazaleh; Jamal Abed, Adnan Al-Shuabat, Hassouneh Sheikh Qasem, Hatem Aqel, Rafat Ali Jaber, Haitham H Semrin, Faisal Suleiman, Haitham Al-Shboul, Muhanned Mahadeen, Badran Al-Shaqran (Muyed Mansour).
Referee: BK Singh (India).
