NEWS

The Japan Olympic team came from behind to beat Australia 2-1 at Homes Stadium in Kobe on Thursday night in a warm-up friendly ahead of the Beijing Games.

Australia, who, unlike Japan, have opted to use over-age players for the Olympics, went ahead in the 34th minute. Nikita Rukavytsya pressured Japan defender Maya Yoshida, stole the ball from him and fed Archie Thompson. The 29-year-old Melbourne Victory forward calmly slotted the ball home from 18 meters for the opener.

But Japan responded quickly. Within two minutes, Kashiwa Reysol forward Tadanari Lee came close with a mid-range attempt, before Cerezo Osaka midfielder Shinji Kagawa moved forward to fire home from a neat setup in the box by Catania forward Takayuki Morimoto.

Kagawa also threatened the Aussie goal before and after the break.

Japan coach Yasuharu Sorimachi made substitutions in the second half, including Shimizu S-Pulse forward Shinji Okazaki, to accelerate their attack. In the 69th minute, Kashima Antlers right-back Atsuto Uchida, who had a good game, took a pass from substitute midfielder Hiroyuki Taniguchi of Kawasaki Frontale and hit slightly wide.

But Japan's attacking efforts paid off. With a minute left on the clock, Taniguchi sent in a cross from the left for Okazaki. The S-Pulse forward stooped to head the ball, which hit the bottom of the post and went in.

"It was a very good game," Sorimachi said. "We were able to beat them in a close match, which can bring our team confidence. Especially after having been winless for the last few games, I'm happy that we scored an ugly goal to win it."

It was the first time that the young Boys in Blue had won a game after coming from behind.

Sorimachi added: "It's good that this will give us some momentum. But we played at home in the heat, which we are more used to than Australia. We kept our mobility to the end, but I think we should score first and win."

Australia coach Graham Arnold, whose side will play Ivory Coast, Argentina and Serbia in Group A in the Olympics, said: "It was a good game and a good work out for both teams. The most important thing is that both teams had no injuries. For us especially, it was a very good opportunity to try some things after I made changes to my players against China last week and play in the heat to get acclimatized."

Japan will have a warm-up with Argentina on July 29 at the National Stadium in Tokyo before moving to China for the Olympics, where they will play the United States, Nigeria and the Netherlands in Group B.

Teams:
Japan — Kaito Yamamoto, Hiroki Mizumoto, Yuto Nagatomo,
Atsuto Uchida (Michihiro Yasuda, 83rd), Maya Yoshida, Takuya Honda,
Hajime Hosogai (Yohei Kajiyama, 53rd), Keisuke Honda (Shinji Okazaki, 74th),
Shinji Kagawa, Tadanari Lee (Hiroyuki Taniguchi, ht),
Takayuki Morimoto (Yohei Toyoda, 64th). Coach, Yasuharu Sorimachi

Australia — Adam Federici, Trent McClenahan, Mark Milligan, Matthew Spiranovic,
Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Jade North (Adrian Leijer, 72nd), Billy Celeski (Ruben Zadkovich,
80th), Stuart Musialik (Neil Kilkenny, 68th), Kristian Sarkies (James Troisi, 62nd),
Nikita Rukavytsya, Archie Thompson (Mark Bridge, 80th). Coach, Graham Arnold

Goals — Archie Thompson (34th min) for Australia. Shinji Kagawa (41st min) and
Shinji Okazaki (89th min) for Japan

Cautions — Mark Milligan (Australia), Keisuke Honda (Japan), Hiroyuki Taniguchi (Japan)

Expulsions — None

Attendance — 17,185

Referee — Lee Min Hu (Korea Republic)