U-20s miss their chances and Japan cash in
Tshepo Ntsoelengoe
Thabo Senong’s Amajita wasted a number of goalscoring opportunities which saw them lose their opening Group D match at the Fifa Under-20 World Cup 2-1 to Japan after taking an early lead at the Suwon World Cup Stadium yesterday.
Amajita started well with Grant Magerman’s goal early in the first half, but the team wasted a number of chances, which eventually allowed the Japanese to come back into the game and score twice in the second half through Kiko Ogawa and Riju Doan.
The loss placed Amajita in third place in Group D with no points, while Japan are on top with three points, followed by Uruguay who are also on three points after beating Italy 1-0 in the other group fixture.
Senong’s team had a perfect start when Magerman’s shot was deflected into the net by a Japanese defender in just the seventh minute.
Amajita played with so much confidence on the ball and they could have doubled the score in the 12th minute, but Luther Singh’s shot flew wide.
At the other end, Japan also saw their chances go begging.
Striker Koki Ogawa hit the woodwork in the 19th minute and he had another opportunity to level the scores but his header missed on the half-hour mark.
Having missed a number of chances in the first half, Ogawa finally redeemed himself with a finish in the opening four minutes of the second half.
The goal injected some confidence into the Japanese team and they were only denied by some fine saves from Mondli Mpoto.
A good build-up by Thabo Cele from midfield gave Singh another chance to put Amajita back into the lead, but his attempt was blocked in the 67th minute.
A lovely interchange of passes by 15-year-old substitute Takifusa Kubo and Doan sealed the game courtesy of a cool finish by Doan.
Amajita’s next game is against Italy at the same venue on Wednesday.