NEWS

DOHA – Japan overcame the loss of goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima to a red card and beat Syria 2-1 in their second Group B match of the AFC Asian Cup on Thursday night at Qatar Sports Club in Doha.
Japan went ahead through Makoto Hasebe in the 35th minute, but Syria drew level after Kawashima conceded a penalty midway through the second half. Japan were awarded a penalty of their own in the 82nd minute, which was converted by Keisuke Honda.

Japan now sits at the top of Group B on four points, the same as Jordan, who beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in Thursday’s earlier match. Japan leads Jordan on the number of goals scored. Syria are third with three points, while Saudi Arabia have no points after two straight losses.
After being held to a 1-1 draw by Jordan in their opening match four days ago, Japan were in need of a win to help them qualify for the next stage.

Syria, who looked confident after scoring a 1-0 upset win over three-time Asian champions Saudi Arabia on Sunday, played a tight game in the middle of the park as they tried to stifle Japan’s attacks.
Their plan worked well for most of the first half, but the Samurai Blue held firm and the Syrians wasted the chances they had.

Japan tried to attack with pace and had a good chance in the 11th minute but Ryoichi Maeda put his header wide from Atsuto Uchida’s cross.
Japan started to combine better after the 30-minute mark and defender Yasuyuki Konno saw his header from a Yasuhito Endo corner just miss the target in the 34th minute.
But moments later, Japan went ahead. CSKA Moscow midfielder Honda surged down the right and set up a chance for Shinji Kagawa. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder cut inside, but his shot was well-saved by Syria goalkeeper Mosab Balhous. As the ball ran free, Daisuke Matsui guided it into the path of Hasebe, who picked his spot and hit a low shot into the right corner, putting Japan 1-0 up.
Japan had further chances before half-time through Maeda and Honda, but Maeda struggled to find the target, while Honda’s effort was blocked by Syrian goalkeeper Mosab Balhous.

After the break, Syria went on the attack and in the 70th minute created confusion in the Japanese defence. Kawashima tried to prevent a goal by Sanharib Malki but brought the Syrian down and the referee awarded a penalty and sent Japan’s keeper off.
Japan boss Alberto Zaccheroni took off Maeda and brought on Shusaku Nishikawa, but the Sanfrecce Hiroshima goalkeeper couldn’t stop Firas Al Khatib’s spot kick in the 75th minute.

Despite going down to 10 men, Japan continued to attack and fought hard to try and get the winning goal.
Honda came close in the 79th minute with a shot from the right side of the box and two minutes later Okazaki had a chance in the box but was brought down by Syria defender Ali Dyab.
Honda sent the penalty down the middle to put Japan 2-1 up.

Syria went down to 10 men during stoppage time after Nadim Sabag collected two bookings in the space of a couple of minutes.
Despite more than six minutes of additional time, neither side could score again.

Japan will next play Saudi Arabia on January 17.