Japan starts campaign in style

By Amitabha Das Sharma

KOLKATA, JAN. 10. Japan beat Uzbekistan 2-0 in the Group IV league match to set in motion the Sahara Cup football. With repeated alterations and adjustments coercing the tournament to a possible non-starter, the inauguration of the meet at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday came as a welcome relief. But the organisers could not complete the fixture which remained partial with only one out of the scheduled two matches materialising.

Chile will play Japan on Saturday in its first appearance in the city.

The match on Wednesday reached a decent level as Japan, presently the Asian powerhouse with the continental title under its belt, began its campaign in style with two late goals in each half. Uzbekistan, the strongest of the five former CIS states to join the Asian Football Confederation, came with a fair show but lacked that knack to convert opportunities into goal. With neither of the teams showing an high level of preparedness, the first match thus did not touch the presumed heights. But both the teams showed lot of sincerity to make it a good, though at times slackened, contest.

Japan, presenting a combined universities' side that is being readied for the ensuing World universities' meet, gave an allround show. But the man who really enthralled the crowds was the diminutive striker Fukai Masaki. The 19-year-old Komazawa University showed electric reflexes and became the biggest challenge for the opposition defence with his dribbling abilities. Masaki's agility saw the player repeatedly breaching the opposition bulwark as his colleagues aimed their provisions straight to him for the most of the match.

Japan played the role of an aggressor right from the beginning packing the attack with four men and utilised the flanks well to mount pressure on the Uzbeks, who adopted the traditional defensive ploy with a crowding midfield and defence.

The first opportunity of a goal came in the 13th minute when Masaki saw his attacking colleague Ota Keisuke fumble on a minus. Next it was the turn of central midfielder Keiji Yoshimura who shot wide another Masaki creation.

Japan stepped up its efforts for an opening but could realise its aim only in the last minute of the first session when Masaki saw his left footer, following a solo effort, coming off the crosspiece. Keisuke availed the opportunity to place the rebound into the goal. The uzbeks, led in the attack by Zhdanov Alaksey and Usmankhodjaev Oybek, succeeded in occasional counter- offensives.

With the two centre-halves - captain Primatov Oynek and Klikunov Aleksey - doing a fair job, Uzbekistan found the openings in the 16th and 41st minutes but the goal remained a dream as the finishing remained wayward.

The Uzbeks got the best chance of equalising in the second minute after the break, but the Japan goal remained unconquered as both Alaksey and Oybek banged their shots straight on the Japan custodian, Toshiyasu Takahara, after being reached by a through from Klikunov. The match passed to relative doldrums before the Japan medio Satochi Horinouchi scored the second goal off an indirect freekick by Kobayshi in the 87th minute to ensure the match for his team.

Revised fixtures: Jan. 12 - Uzbekistan vs Bahrain (3.30 p.m); Jan. 13 - Chile vs Japan (7 p.m); Jan. 15 - Chile vs Bahrain (3 p.m); Jan. 17 - Chile vs Uzbekistan (5 p.m), Bahrain vs Japan (7 p.m).

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