Japan thrash SA Under-17s

Tshepo Ntsoelengoe

South African national Under-17 team suffered a heavy blow after a 6-0 loss to Japan in their second game of the group stages in the Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay last night.

This was the first loss for Bantwana having managed to hold Mexico to a goalless draw in the opening game of the competition last Tuesday.

Against the Mexicans, Simphiwe Dludlu’s charges looked solid and whenever they cracked, goalkeeper Kay-dee Windvogel made some incredible saves, but it wasn’t to be against the Japanese.

The Asians were in the lead as early as the fourth minute after Haruka Osawa capitalised from a failed clearance by Bantwana.

Oshawa registered her second goal to make it 2-0 in the 23rd minute, before Tanaka Tomoto made it 3-0 in the 35th minute through a penalty.

Bantwana tried to push upfront in a quest to get themselves back into the game, but their attempts went astray.

Just before going into the break, Japan made it 4-0 through skipper Sara Ito.

There wasn’t much of a differences in the second half as Japan enjoyed much of the possession, while the South Africans continued to struggle to unlock the strong Japanese defence.

The Asians added more salt to the wounded SA side by getting their fifth goal through another penalty which was converted by the captain Ito, registering her second goal in the 55th minute.

Bantwana looked better in the closing stages of the game, but it was already too late for them to bounced back into the game as the Japanese as Yuzuki Yamamoto made it 6-0 to seal the victory for the Asians.

Dludlu’s team will be looking for a better performance when they face Brazil in their last group stage game.