15 Mar 2007(Thu)

March 13, 2007: Three-nil would have been perfect, but no one can complain about Japan's 2-0 victory over Mexico in the women's World Cup qualifier at National Stadium on Saturday.

On the balance of play over 90 minutes, and considering Mexico looked extremely dangerous on occasions, Japan escaped with an excellent result from the first leg.

This two-leg play-off is far from over, though, and Japan will have to play as well, if not better, at Toluca on Saturday to stay in front.

This means cutting out the careless individual mistakes in midfield, such as the one by Miyamoto on halfway which almost allowed Mexico to take the lead, and the panic attacks in defence, when Japan failed to clear the ball cleanly.

A Mexico goal looked likely on several occasions, but keeper Fukumoto was in fine form for Japan and visiting captain Dominguez was extremely unlucky to see her long-range lob hit the top of the crossbar when it seemed certain to drop in.

A 2-0 win, then, was about as much as Japan could have hoped for, but not nearly enough to render the second leg a formality.

Japan's two goals were excellent in their creation and execution, with Sawa scoring the first and making the second for Miyama.

The first goal was a stunner, Utsugi overlapping on the left flank and sending over a perfect cross into the middle. Sawa, near the penalty spot, met the ball at the peak of her jump, and expertly directed a header into the far corner.

For the second goal, Sawa herself did all the hard work on the left, beating her man -- woman? -- on the outside and crossing invitingly for Miyama to dash in and head firmly into the net. You don't have to be a Crouch or a Hirayama to be a danger in the air, as Sawa (1.64 metres) and Miyama (1.57 metres) both proved triumphantly.

Overall it was an entertaining game to watch, with plenty of action at both ends and free-flowing play. There was no stoppage time at the end of the first half, and only two minutes at the end of the second half, after the referee had allowed a trainer to enter the pitch for the first time as late as the 87th minute. No, it was not to attend to an "injured" Japanese player wasting time with a 2-0 lead, but to a Mexican player with a twisted left ankle.

Fair play does still exist at the highest level in the modern game -- at least in women's football.

ends