Maika Hamano scored the only goal as a formidable Japan battled past Australia to clinch a third Women’s Asian Cup title on Saturday in front of a record-breaking crowd in Sydney.<\/p>\n
The Tottenham star hit a stunning long-range strike in the 17th minute at Stadium Australia to break Australian hearts and add to their continental crowns from 2014 and 2018.<\/p>\n
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Those finals were also against Australia and also ended 1-0.<\/p>\n
“I feel relieved, I think it was a 50-50 game just as I predicted,” Japan’s Greenlander coach Nils Nielsen said.<\/p>\n
“It’s very difficult to play Australia in Australia and I have to say they made themselves proud.<\/p>\n
“In the end, I’m just happy. The girls fought with everything they had.”<\/p>\n
The edge-of-the-seat decider culminated a landmark tournament with more than 350,000 fans through the turnstiles, reinforcing the growth in popularity of the women’s game.<\/p>\n
This was around\u00a0six times as many as the\u00a0previous\u00a0record set in 2010 in China, with the 74,397 fans at the final setting a new attendance mark for a single game in tournament history.<\/p>\n
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The Asian Cup doubled as qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil next year, with Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, North Korea and the Philippines all punching their tickets.<\/p>\n
The Japanese team stacked with English-based players were invincible in their run to the final, fluid across the park and defending well to steamroll everyone in front of them.<\/p>\n
While Australia proved a much tougher test, nothing could stop them as they accumulated 29 goals and conceded just one through their six games to reinforce their status as Asia’s number one team.<\/p>\n
“We had opportunities and they had a couple of opportunities too, it was a tight game,” said dejected Australia coach Joe Montemurro.<\/p>\n
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“But we were competing with the number six team in the world. Credit to the girls for their performance. It just wasn’t our night.”<\/p>\n
– Threat –<\/p>\n
Japan fielded an unchanged line-up from their 4-1 semi-final thumping of South Korea.<\/p>\n
Australia made one change from their 2-1 defeat of defending champions China with Wini Heatley preferred in central defence to Clare Hunt.<\/p>\n
The hosts were composed at the start, looking to dictate, and Caitlin Foord should have scored on 11 minutes when Mary Fowler threaded a pass through inside the box.<\/p>\n
But the unmarked Arsenal striker sent her shot into the arms of Japan keeper Ayaka Yamashita to miss a golden opportunity.<\/p>\n
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It proved costly with Japan breaking the deadlock six minutes later when Hamano collected the ball outside the penalty area and unleashed a 25-yard rocket that found the top corner.<\/p>\n
Foord had another chance when she pounced on a sloppy clearance from Yamashita, but failed to find the target from a tight angle, then scuffed another wide just before the break.<\/p>\n
Japan were always a threat\u00a0and West Ham’s Riko Ueki went close twice in as many minutes soon after the restart.<\/p>\n
With the game on a knife-edge, Australia threw everything they had at Japan in a desperate attempt to find an equaliser as the crowd noise reached fever pitch.<\/p>\n
Alanna Kennedy almost pulled off a late equaliser in the 88th minute, but despite intense pressure Japan were rock solid and absorbed the pressure to cling on for the win.<\/p>\n
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