AFC Women's Futsal Championship Malaysia 2015 vs Thailand Women's Futsal National Team
2015-9-22 (Tue.) - 14:00   Playing Time 20min.×2
Nilai Indoor Stadium (Negri Sembilan, Malaysia)

Japan Women's Futsal National Team   3-2 (2-0, 1-2)   Thailand Women's Futsal National Team

Scores
6'   SAKATA Mutsumi (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
20'   KICHIBAYASHI Chikage (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
31'   KICHIBAYASHI Chikage (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
36'   Goal against (Thailand Women's Futsal National Team)
38'   Goal against (Thailand Women's Futsal National Team)

Line-ups
GK: YAMASHITA Miyuki
FP: KICHIBAYASHI Chikage, SEKINADA Minako, NAKAJIMA Shiori, KITAGAWA Kana

Substitutes
GK: YAMAMOTO Ayaka
FP: HOTTA Eriko,  KATO Saori, AMISHIRO Anna, HIGASHIYAMA Maiko, SAKATA Mutsumi, TAKAO Akari, SEKI Kaori, UEMOTO Yuna

All players except for GK YAMAMOTO Ayaka, FP FUJITA Yasuka, FP SEKI Kaori,FP HIGASHIYAMA Maiko played in the match.

Match Report

Japan’s opponents were Thailand at the second group stage match of the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship Malaysia 2015.

Japan started it off composedly dominating the possession. While creating a few opportunities to score, in the 6th minute KITAGAWA Kana calmly sent a feed right to the foot of SAKATA Mutsumi who rushed in from the left side to the middle and put the ball into net for the opening goal. As Japan kept up stable defence not to allow any critical chances for the opponents, KICHIBAYASHI Chikage beat the buzzer with her goal out of a scramble to give her side a two-goal lead before the end the first half.

With maintaining the concentration from the previous half, Japan kept dominating the match in the second half. In the 31st minute, NAKAJIMA Shiori picked up the ball in front of the Thailand goal and sent it out to the left to TAKAO Akari. Then Takao fed Kichibayashi, who scored the team’s third goal of the day.

Then Thailand started employing power play. Although tried to defend collectively, Japan allowed a goal in the 36th minute after the ball reached the Thai player right at the left side of the goal. Two minutes later, Thailand’s sixth foul gave Japan a penalty, but Japan failed to convert it. Thailand’s power play again succeeded in scoring right after that. Japan’s lead was then slimmed down to only one goal.

With two minutes remaining in the match, the match suddenly became more thrilling for the audience and at the same time demanding for the Japan squad. But finally Japan heard the last whistle to signal their 3-2 win, the second victory in the group stage.

Following Kichibayashi who received the same honour on the previous day, Sakata was awarded with the Player of the Match recognition. The third match of the group stage is held on 23 September, where Japan take on China Women’s Futsal National Team.

Coach and Players' Comments

ARIHARA Masaaki, Coach
Thailand are one of our rivals in Asia and against them we could control the match very well and got the three points we needed, so it was very good. To attack their zone defence, which we had been struggling to play against, we slowed our pace down intentionally to make it difficult for them to keep up with it. I think that led to our win today.

When the power play was on, we conceded multiple goals, and I think that made people watching worried. But we are a team that improve day in and day out in a limited amount of time, so I take it positively. The lessons we learned today are important for our matches tomorrow and after. To get out of the first round at first place, tomorrow we will play for another win and play together as a team.

AMISHIRO Anna (SWH Ladies Futsal Club)
In this match, we again scored the opening goal in the first half and were able to play the rest of the match in our favour. In the second half, their power play put us on our heels. But it was good that we grabbed three points even after that. Tomorrow we will have the last match in the group stage. We will make sure to win and advance as the group leaders.

NAKAJIMA Shiori (Burela Pescados Ruben/Spain)
I am very happy that we again got three points after the first match against Vietnam yesterday. It was important for us to score first, hold on to it during tough stretches later, and close it out in the end in both matches. As we play each match, our chemistry gets better. We want to play the last match in the group stage tomorrow with putting everyone’s best effort together.

UEMOTO Yuna (LEOGRASTA)
In today’s match, we were able to score the opening goal just like yesterday, and we started it off well. We were more vocal both on the pitch and on the bench, and the mood among the team was better. We allowed two goals in the second half, but we didn’t give up, kept focusing and defended. Also thanks to a lot of supports from the stands, we could get three points. By tomorrow, we get ourselves ready for the last match in the group stage.

2nd Match vs Thailand　Highlight

Internet Live Distribution

The group stage third match of the “AFC Women's Futsal Championship Malaysia 2015” between the Japan Women's Futsal National Team and the China Women’s Futsal National Team, which will kick-off at 14:00 on Wednesday 23 September (at 15:00 on Wednesday 23 September Japan Time), will be broadcast live on the Internet by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
*The broadcasting image cannot be guaranteed and depends on the condition of the Internet or the viewing environment.

Schedule

*Local Time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condtion, the weather, etc.

AFC Women's Futsal Championship Malaysia 2015 Group Rosters
GroupＡ Iran, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong
GroupＢ Japan, China PR, Thailand, Vietnam