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The Australian team began the game aggressively, totally overwhelming their opponents. For the first few minutes, Japan could barely get into the game so it came as no surprise that Australia were able to find their first goal with just 6 minutes on the clock, McCann guiding in a deflection from the goal keeper. Australia kept Japan on the back foot, pinning them into their own half for quite some time. The second goal was the natural result to the pressure the Ozzys were putting on Japan – Elder with an unstoppable goal from a short corner.
Suddenly the Japanese found their way, unexpectedly, to the Australian goal, scoring after a lovely combination between Kawakami and Fukuda. They could have equalized just 2 minutes later, had Tsubuchi been able to convert the short corner.
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The difference in class between the two sides that had been evident up to this point was now nowhere to be seen. A strong performance by Japan leading up to half time kept Australia from dominating the game the way they would have liked.
The second half began just as the first, with Australia pressuring the Japanese side and keeping them well within their own half. A shot by Brooks on goal was kept out by Miyoshu, only to be fired in by Ford with the keeper way out of position. After the third goal, Australia eased off the pace again. Though the Japanese found some strength, they were unable to convert it into goals.
The Australian win is as expected and had they put yet more pressure on the Japanese it could have been greater still.
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