Japan struggled against a resilient Malaysia despite running out 4-0 winners admitted Japan coach Ikeuchi Yutaka.TASHKENT – Japan coach Ikeuchi Yutaka admitted that his side had a hard time against Malaysia despite their emphatic 4-0 win in their opening Group D at the AFC U-16 Championship on Sunday.
Midfielder Takashi Usami scored a goal in each half at MHSK Stadium while Gaku Shibasaki and substitute Takumi Miyayoshi notched one each to give the defending champions the perfect start.
But Yutaka said that it was no easy task for his side especially early on when the Malaysians kept them at bay.
"The beginning of the game was difficult because Malaysia had a good start and it wasn't easy to control the game," he said.
"That's why we had to wait until the 32nd minute open the scoring.
"We couldn't control the game very well in the early minutes and that gave Malaysia a chance to have a good game.
“We could only keep the ball in our half and that was not useful.
"However, we won the game at the end and that is the most important thing for us.
“We showed our strength in the game but to be honest we struggled until the end."
Malaysia coach Lim Kim Chon praised the performance of his team in their first international match since July but felt that Japanese experience was the key factor in the final result.
"This was our first international match since July as we didn't play any international matches in the last two months," said Lim.
"Our players managed to contain Japan in the first 30 minutes and they had a good performance.
"We gave Japan a scare most of the time but I think that their experience played a big part to help them for this win.
"We had some chances and the result would have been different if we had scored first.
"The boys don't have enough experience but they performed well to my expectations," he added.
"The match was good experience for them and they struggled also in the heat.
"There were some moments when our players lost concentration and that's why Japan scored two goals in three minutes in the first half and another two in five minutes in the second period," Lim concluded.
Source:The AFC.com
