Beach Soccer Japan National Team    Asian Beach Games 2nd Game
Tue. 18 November 2014   Kickoff 12:15     Playing time: 12min x 3 periods
Saphan Hin Sports Center(Phuket/Thailand)

Beach Soccer Japan National Team     0-0(1st0-0, 2nd0-0, 3rd0-0, Extra0-0) PSO 0-2    Beach Soccer UAE National Team
*PSO (Penalty Shoot-Out/PK)

Starters
GK：  TERUKINA Shingo
FP：  TOMA Masahito、 MOREIRA Ozu、GOTO Takasuke、MATSUO Naoya

Substitutes
GK：SUGITA Tetsuji
FP： ODA Hirofumi、TAKIGUCHI Takashi、AKAGUMA Takuya、OBA Takaaki
*All the players played as substitution except GK Sugita

Match Report

On the forth day of the Asian Beach Games, the Beach Soccer Japan National Team played their second game in the group stage against the United Arab Emirates national team. Although there was grey sky in the morning, the sun came out by the time the teams arrived the site and the match kicked off in the intense heat.
Japan were eager to avenge the defeat against the UAE in the previous Intercontinental Cup. The players started the game focusing on defence, which Japan were currently working on. The UAE reacted calmly, passing the ball around, against Japan’s pressure up front and support from the defence.

Despite both teams showing their skills, neither of them could find the back of the net in the first and second period. The game went into the third period without any goals and the players continued to play a game of endurance.
Such a situation tends to change in the third period, and Japan made their move first. The players created opportunities up front, using substitutions efficiently, while the UAE were losing their stamina. Japan had several corner kicks and throw-ins near the opponent’s goal. Although Akaguma Takuya, Moreira Ozu and Ooba Takaaki consecutively aimed at the goal, they just missed their opportunities and could not score. Once Japan almost conceded a goal from their mistakes, but they defended well.
The 36-minute game ended scoreless and went into extra time, but the players could not decide the game in three minutes. The match went to a penalty shootout, which is exceptionally rare in beach soccer.

Japan started first. Moreira, the captain, couldn’t score because of a superb save by the opponent’s goalkeeper and Akaguma also missed, while the UAE scored two goals in a row. Japan lost the game 2-0, which was their second consecutive defeat after the Intercontinental Cup.
Japan was sitting in second place in group D and got through to the knockout stage. They will play against China, who topped group C, in their quarterfinal.

The quarterfinal will kick-off at 12:15 (at 14:15 Japan Time) on Wednesday 19 November.

Comments

Marcelo MENDES Head Coach
All we were missing was a goal in order to make today’s match perfect. There were risky mistakes, but all the players fulfilled their roles and prevented conceding a goal. I’d say it was a great game. The players, who came off the bench, had some excellent performances as well. I believe we can beat China tomorrow, if the players continue to play just like today. Having said that, we need to score goals. I was shocked that we lost the game today, because the content of the game was very good. We’re building up our positive momentum since the Intercontinental Cup. All we need is to get a good result. So we’d like to win against China at any cost tomorrow in order to advance to the semifinal.

ODA Hirofumi (TOKYO LEQUIOS BS)
We played against the same opponent before in the Intercontinental Cup. The game ended scoreless and we lost on penalty kicks. We managed to prevent conceding a goal, if I look back at the game positively. However, we did need a goal. Since we’re in the knock out stage and losing means going home, I’d like to play to win.

TOMA Masahito (SOL MAR PRAIA)
I struggled a bit with the depth of the sand in this championship and couldn’t start well due to the time difference and the heat. I’d like to refresh my mind and focus again, as we’ve advanced to the second round. If we play just like today, I don’t think we can go any further. I’d like to score when it’s needed and control the game. Having said that, we did well in defence, preventing goals. We’ll play against China and I expect they will press us from the front. So I’d like to pass the ball casually to the goalkeeper once and he can throw it to a pivot. If it’s a good one, I believe we can score. I’d like to win the game and play against the UAE once more in the final to win the championship.

Schedule