China denied East Asian Cup after Japan pip Korea

SEOUL: Japan claimed the East Asian Cup for the first time yesterday with a 2-1 win for the men’s team over hosts South Korea, crushing China’s hopes of taking home some silverware.

At the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul, Yoichiro Kakitani grabbed a brace for the champions, including the vital clincher in injury time, which gave Japan seven points at the end of the tournament, two ahead of China.

Earlier yesterday, China had defeated Australia 4-3 but had to wait for the final tournament game to know whether they had won overall.

South Korea and China have each won two East Asian Cups, while Japan has been the runner-up three times.

South Korea, without a goal in their two previous matches, appeared intent on ending the drought from the onset, but they dominated the ball to no avail in the opening 20 minutes.

Japan then surprised South Korea with Kakitani’s breakaway goal in the 24th. Toshihiro Aoyama delivered a looping pass from his own zone to send Kakitani in alone on the South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryong and the Cerezo Osaka striker rolled it into the net.

Japan’s advantage, however, lasted only eight minutes. Yun Il-Lok, after an accomplished give-and-go with Lee Seung-Gi, struck the ball into the top right corner, out of keeper Shusaku Nishikawa’s reach.

The teams engaged in some backand-forth action in the second half, though neither mounted much pressure until Kakitani finally broke the deadlock.

The 23-year-old forward found himself at the right place at the right time, as he banged home a rebound after Jung made a stop on Genki Haraguchi.

China squeezed past Australia 4-3 in the earlier match yesterday to earn their first match victory at the East Asian Cup.

China finished impressively, pouring in three second-half goals, and fended off a last-minute charge by the Socceroos to secure all three points from the match.