Japan sees off Joeys in final

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9 June 2012-SBS

Two goals in the last 11 minutes helped Japan to a 3-1 win over Australia in the final of the AFF Under-16 Preparatory Tournament title at the Laos National Stadium.

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"We created a lot of chances and I felt that we did not deserve to lose tonight," Australia coach Alistair Edwards told www.aseanfootball.org afterwards. "But we had a great match and I think that the game against Japan was our best in four matches."

The Joeys took the lead early on through Daniel Da Silva, but Japan made it 1-1 in the 16th minute when Miyamoto Kota converted from the penalty spot after Darcy Madden had been penalised for a trip on Nakajo Masayoshi.

"We just need to work on countering the counter attack and be more concentrated in defence when we have control of the game," he said.

With 11 minutes remaining Japan went ahead through Kawata Kento, and Miyoshi Koji added a third for Japan deep into injury-time to claim the title.

"In last night game we conceded a soft goal from a frantic long ball clearance from a Japanese defender, completely against the run of play," said Edwards.

"The boys have been great and we have all come away from this tournament with some important learning moments plus a great deal of positives to build on."

"We played against a strong team and we conceded the early goal," said Japan coach Ejiri Atsuhiko. "But we had a lot of heart and we never lost focus for the win."