Goal-line scramble gives Japan win over Australia, semifinal berth
Mana Iwabuchi conjured a goal from a scramble in the penalty area with three minutes of normal time remaining to send defending champion Japan into the Women's World Cup semifinals after they prevailed 1-0 over Australia in a dour, grinding struggle in Edmonton Saturday afternoon.
Japan will face the winner of tonight's Canada-England match in the Wednesday night semifinal in Vancouver as they continue the defense of the 2011 crown they won in Germany.
Saturday's match was played in hot conditions at sun-baked Commonwealth Stadium and never really came to life. Iwabuchi's goal came with a finish at the far post after a corner was never effectively cleared by the Australian defense. The ball was kept alive by Azusa Iwashimizu, and the goal made Japan deserved winners based on their territorial dominance.
The Matildas' defense managed their game plan extremely well until finally yielding, but Australia showed no ability to attack and spent most of the afternoon trying to sustain any form of possession against their Asian Confederation rivals.
In fact, the spectre of extra time and perhaps penalty kicks was staring the players in the face before Japan finally fashioned the breakthrough.
Japan quickly established its passing game, pinning Australia in its own half and looking to spring players forward with a variety of attacks from wide. Shinobu Ohno had a chance in the 7th minute when her quickly-taken shot went over the bar, but it was a sign of things to come as few attempts all day were on target.
Ohno had another opportunity in the 22nd minute but flashed her first-time shot over and wide of the near right post from another successful Japanese raid down the right flank. When Australia obtained a dangerous set piece,Alanna Kennedy drove her attempt past the wall only to see it curl well wide of the near post in the 27th minute,
Australia's Lydia Williams did not have to make her first real save until the 33rd minute when she two-handed Aya Miyama's long-range attempt over the bar at the left corner.
Australia was not wasting energy chasing the Japanese' passes, instead staying well-organized at the back and relying on the occasional counterattack. In the conditions the approach made sense and it allowed the Aussies to maintain a match tempo which suited their defensive style. But it also left them with virtually no opportunities to bother the Japanese backline.
With the defenses very much on top and chances almost nonexistent the teamsappeared headed for extra time until the Australians failed to maintain their concentration against Miyama's corner kick, chaos ensued and Iwabuchi scored the winner.
