NEWS

Nadeshiko Japan top guns Eriko Arakawa and Shinobu Ohno scored to help the Japan women's team down Korea Republic 2-0 in the East Asian Women's Championship on Thursday at Yongchuan Stadium in Chongqing, China.

The Nadeshiko improved their record over Korea to 12 wins, seven draws and one loss while extending their points total in the four-nation tournament to six from two wins. Japan will play hosts China in their final match on Sunday as they seek their first title in the tournament.

China drew 1-1 with DPR Korea on Thursday night.

The Ladies in Blue started the game well with good focus and well-balanced play. Yukari Kinga shifted her position to right midfield from right side-back and inspired her team with aggressive attacks, while Tomoe Kato dictated the pace in the middle of the park.

In the 16th minute, Kinga drove up the right flank, beat two Korean defenders and sent over a cross for Arakawa. The Nippon TV Beleza forward, unguarded in the box, comfortably headed home the opening goal.

The Koreans, who won the tournament in 2005, rallied hard, with their offense centered around forward Park Hee Young. But the Japanese players held firm to hold on to their 1-0 lead at halftime.

Soon after the break, midfielder Homare Sawa came close with a mid-range attempt and Ohno forced Korea goalkeeper Kim Jung Mi to punch out a close-range effort in the 55th minute.
Korea, seeking their first win in the tournament following their 3-2 loss to China on Monday, threatened Japan with Park’s close-range attempt a minute later.

But it was Japan who scored again when Ohno latched on to a long through ball and cut into the box before firing into the back of the net in the 57th minute.

The Nadeshiko then took control of the game with good possession over the rest of the game while coming close to adding another goal through Ohno, Aya Miyama and Kinga.

"We've worked on things that we learned from our previous game against DPR Korea, and that brought us this win," said Nadeshiko Japan coach Norio Sasaki.

"Thanks to our individual quality and team discipline, we were able to compete against the way the Korean side played. After our opponents lost their power in the second half, we won many balls."

Arakawa said, "I'm glad that I was able to score the goal when we wanted it. The cross was so good that I had to do nothing but knock it into the net."

Teams:
Japan—Nozomi Yamago, Mai Nakachi, Azusa Iwashimizu, Nayuha Toyoda, Kyoko Yano (Miyuki Yanagita, 53rd), Tomoe Kato, Homare Sawa, Yukari Kinga, Aya Miyama, Eriko Arakawa (Karina Maruyama, 78th), Shinobu Ohno (Kozue Ando, 83rd). Coach, Norio Sasaki

Korea Republic—Kim Jung Mi, Lee Jin Hwa (Kim Do Yeon, 18th), Kim Yoo Mi, Yu Ji Eun, Hong Kyung Suk, Yoo Young Sil, Kwon Hah Nul, Cho So Hyun, Han Song I (Jung Hae In, 59th), Park Hee Young, Cha Yun Hee (Jeon Ga Eul, 70th). Coach, An Ik Soo

Goals—Eriko Arakawa (16th min.) and Shinobu Ohno (57th min.) for Japan

Cautions—Yoo Young Sil (Korea Republic)

Expulsions—None

Referee—Shen Huangying (China)

Attendance—not announced