NEWS

Japan beat Hong Kong 3-0 in their second match of the East Asian Championship on Thursday night at the National Stadium in Tokyo to keep alive their hopes of a first title in the tournament.

With the win, the hosts joined China at the top of the standings with four points, followed by Korea Republic (three) and Hong Kong (zero).
　In Sunday’s final matches, Japan will meet Korea Republic while China will play Hong Kong.
　Japan, who beat Hong Kong 6-0 in October in Shizuoka and 4-0 in Hong Kong in November in Asian Cup qualifiers, dominated the game but struggled to find the target on a cold and rainy evening.
The Samurai Blue came close early on with efforts from defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka and forward Yoshito Okubo, while midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara tried from outside the box in the 32nd and 37th minutes.
Japan broke the deadlock in the 41st minute when Tamada latched on to a poor clearance and steered in a left-foot shot from a tight angle.
It was Japan’s first goal after two scoreless draws – against Venezuela in a Kirin Challenge match on February 2 and against China in the first match of the tournament on Saturday.
Japan coach Takeshi Okada brought on forward Sota Hirayama to start the second half, and 15 minutes later sent defensive midfielder Junichi Inamoto in to give Yasuhito Endo a more attacking role in the middle. That helped the home team create more chances.
　The Samurai Blue made it 2-0 in the 65th minute when Tulio headed in an Endo corner.
　Hirayama hit a shot wide, while a mid-range effort by Tamada was saved by Hong Kong goalkeeper Yapp Hung Fai.
　Tamada then produced Japan’s third goal in the 82nd minute when he prodded in a loose ball from close range.
　Hong Kong’s best chance came early in the second half with midfielder Xu Deshuai’s mid-range free-kick, but his attempt failed to trouble Japan goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki.
“As I was expecting more goals, it’s disappointing to see this outcome,” Japan boss Okada commented. “We tried to get our good tempo back today, but we lacked determination up front. We started playing better from halfway through the second half after Endo joined the attack.”
　Okada added, “I have been able to check various players in the last three matches, and I would like to have the best available players for our next game against Korea.”
Depending on the China-Hong Kong result, Japan could still win the tournament for the first time with a victory over Korea Republic. In the three previous editions of the tournament, Japan finished second each time.
　Hong Kong’s Korean coach Kim Pan Gon commented, “We reduced the number of goals we gave away to Japan [compared to the last two matches] but are still too far behind Japan.”
“Today, we gave some young players a chance, but we gave up goals on set pieces. It was hard to play in these conditions – rainy, windy and cold – but today’s game was a good experience for us.”

Teams:
Japan—Seigo Narazaki, Yuichi Komano, Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Atsuto Uchida, Yasuyuki Konno (Sota Hirayama, ht), Yuji Nakazawa, Yasuhito Endo, Kengo Nakamura, Yoshito Okubo (Shinji Kagawa, 76th), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Junichi Inamoto, 62nd), Keiji Tamada. Coach, Takeshi Okada
Subs not used—Eiji Kawashima, Shusaku Nishikawa, Daiki Iwamasa, Yuhei Tokunaga, Yuki Abe, Mu Kanazaki, Hisato Sato.
Hong Kong—Yapp Hung-Fai, Lee Chi-Ho, Ng Wai-Chiu (Ambassa Guy Gerard, 75th), Wong Chin-Hung, Chan Wai-Ho, Xu Deshuai (Lee Hong Lim, 83rd), Au Yeung Yiu Chung, Leung Chun-Pong, Kwok Kin-Pong (Lee Wai-Lim, 69th), Bai He, Chao Pengfei. Coach, Kim Pan Gon (Korea Republic)
Subs not used—Ho Kwok-Chuen, Zhang Chunhui, Lee Wai-Lun, Poon Yiu Cheuk, Li Haiqiang, Leung Tsz-Chun, Man Pei-Tak, Chang Siu-Ki, Cheng Lai-Hin.
Goals—Keiji Tamada (Japan, 41st and 82nd), Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Japan, 65th)
Cautions—Chan Wai-Ho (Hong Kong, 32nd), Yoshito Okubo (Japan, 44th), Mitsuo Ogasawara (Japan, 55th)
Expulsions—none
Attendance—16,368
Referee—Zhao Liang (China)