By Tan Boon Piaw SINGAPORE: Super-sub Hiroki Kawano netted a brace in the final seven minutes as Japan defeated DPR Korea 4-2 in extra time to win the AFC U-17 Championship title for the second time at the Jalan Besar Stadium here on Sunday. It was second time unlucky for DPR Korea, who lost to China 1-0 in the Final of the previous edition, as they blew an early two-goal lead and proved to be helpless in shutting out their determined archrivals who mounted a great fightback to maintain their unbeaten record in the tournament. Both teams were locked 2-2 after regulation time. O Jin Hyok fired Korea into the lead as early as the sixth minute and Kim Mun Chol’s lads looked to be in cruise control after Ri Sang Chol had doubled the advantage on 24 minutes. But the match turned on its head in the second half when Cerezo Osaka pin-up Yoichiro Kakitani pulled one back 12 minutes into the restart before Jin Hanato made it 2-2 in the 78th minute, forcing the game into extra time in which Kawano scored the winner on 113 minutes and put the victory beyond a shred of doubt with his second goal seven minutes later. The win ended Japan’s 12-year-long title drought in the teenage segment after their first win in 1994 over Qatar.

The determined and hard-working DPR Koreans stormed into a shocking two-goal lead in the opening 25 minutes and were firmly in the driver’s seat in the first half. The scoreline was totally unexpected considering that Japan, who paraded their best line-up, had only conceded four goals in the past five games prior to the Final. DPR Korea’s first goal was fortuitous with playmaker O Jin Hyok’s 20-yard goal-bound drive taking a cruel deflection off a Japanese defender which left custodian Ryotaro Hironaga stranded. But luck had no role to play in the second goal as Ri Sang Chol picked his way past several Japanese defenders before unleashing a sizzling low shot past Hironaga. Japan, by then shaken to a man by the early blitz, lost little time in recouping and went hammer and tongs at the Koreans whose defence, however, held tight, utterly frustrating Japan coach Hiroshi Jofuku and his charges.

The Japanese midfield quartet of Kakitani, Tomotaka Okamoto, Naoki Yamada and skipper Kota Mizunuma, so effective in past games, were totally isolated while super-fit DPR Korea, with captain An Il Bom, Ri Sang Chol, Ri Myong Jun and O Jin Hyok, who scored three goals each before the final, ran the show with an iron hand. However, Japan changed tack after the restart and a moment of pure magic from Kakitani saw the arrears being reduced. After receiving a long ball from Yamada, Kakitani burst into the box and despite being shadowed by Korean defenders let fly with his lethal left foot and the curler eluded DPR Korean custodian O Mun Sung, marking Kakitani’s fourth goal of the competition. In an attempt to preserve their lead, DPR Korea switched to attacking on the break and this gave their opponents more chances of making inroads though Kakitani & Co failed to get past the compact rear-guard any time soon. After collecting a yellow card for diving five minutes after his wonder goal, Kakitani delivered a perfectly weighted cross into the middle, leaving substitute Jin Hanato to level matters with his clean header. Japan were back in the running and the match was far from over. In extra time DPR Korea should have retaken the lead in the 97th minute but An Il Bom’s powerful strike was parried by Hironaga and eight minutes later Ri Myong Jun dragged wide a sitter with the gaping goal at his mercy. The twin misses were punished by Japan in the 113th minute when Hanato and Kawano, both substitutes, showed perfect understanding and started a move which involved four passes between them before the latter hit a superb 10-yard shot to make it 3-2.

Seeing the game slip out of their grasp, Kim’s lads went flat out for the equaliser but it was Kawano who made the most of this eagerness by dancing through the entire Korean defence for a solo goal which left the packed stadium in raptures. Delighted Japan coach Jofuku said Kakitani’s goal was the turning point. “I told my players not to give up despite being two goals down at half time. I told them to play their own game and not worry about the result. If we could get an early goal, we would have a chance to draw or even win the game,” said Jofuku. “When Kakitani broke the duck early in the second half, I knew things would change. Having said that,one Kakitani can’t make a team. This win is the result of team effort.” Jofuku, who earned reputation for himself as the tournament’s tinkerman, gave full points to his team. “We just got better and better with each passing game and we are developing and progressing well as a team. I am very proud of my team’s achievement throughout this tournament.” But the coach also sounded a note of caution. “We are still a raw team, and we still need to improve on many aspects, in order to play well in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea Republic next year. The core of the Japan World Cup squad will come from this team but I will keep looking for new talent to put up an even better team for the world challenge.” “We want to play the game the Japanese way and we will play our hearts out to make Japan and Asia proud in next year’s world meet.” Japan swept almost all the awards on offer, starting with the Fair Play Award while Kakitani was deservingly named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Syrian striker Mohamed Jaafar wno the Golden Boot award for his tournament-topping tally of six goals.