Late Goal Downs Young Roos

The youngsters went into their final match of the tournament without the services of James Virgili and Kofi Danning, due to both players sustaining fractures in the previous match against Indonesia. 

Virgili sustained a fractured wrist and has already returned to Australia for a cast to be placed. He is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks. Danning has a small fracture of the metacarpal in his left hand and was rested for this match.

Although both teams had already qualified for next year's the AFC U19 Championship, national pride was on the line and a fantastic, high paced, game with plenty of chances was guaranteed from the opening whistle.

The Qantas Young Socceroos broke the deadlock in the 40^th minute when a corner from Kliment Taseski found Dylan McGowan in the middle of the box who headed in giving the diving Japanese goalkeeper Nakamura Hayato little chance of making a save.

Japan equalised three minutes into the second half following a turnover in midfield by the Young Socceroos. Nagai Ryo capitalised by attacking down the left side with pace, then sent a cracking strike past goalkeeper Mark Birighitti into the top right corner of the goal.

Two minutes later Japan took the lead after Sam Gallagher fouled a Japanese player in the box and conceded a penalty. Kikuchi Daisuke converted the resulting spot kick.

On the hour mark, the Young Socceroos equalised when Karem Bulut received the ball at half way on the left side of the field.

Bulut worked his way down the side-line, cut into the box, then laid a great pass to an unmarked Tom Oar in the six yard box. Oar controlled well and then neatly placed the ball past the Japanese goalkeeper.

The Young Socceroos dominated the last 20 minutes of the match, applying plenty of pressure, creating a number of chances, but unfortunately couldn't find the back of the net.

With the match seeming destined for a draw, deep into additional time, a deflection off a Young Socceroos defender landed at the feet of Japanese forward Nagai Ryo who hit a blistering first time shot past Birighitti to secure a last-gasp victory for his team.

Head coach Jan Versleijen was disappointed to see his team lose the match so late in the game, but was very happy with their performance over the entire tournament.

"After a good start, we conceded two quick goals after half time which you just cannot allow at this level against opposition such as Japan," said Versleijen. "The good thing was that we came back and controlled the majority of the second half.

"Unfortunately a loss of concentration late allowed Japan to get the late winner and these are the small differences which can have an effect in international football.

"This match (against Japan) was most interesting because it is an indicator for the standard of opposition that will face next year at the AFC U-19 Championship.

"As for the tournament overall, it was very beneficial for us to not just get the results but also to get valuable experience together as a team during the two and a half weeks."

In the other matches, Indonesia defeated Hong Kong 4-1 and Singapore were 3-1 winners over Chinese Taipei.

Having finished first and second in the group, the Young Socceroos and Japan have qualified, and will now begin their preparations for the AFC U-19 Championship 2010 which will be held from 1-16 November.

The host nation for the tournament will be determined by the AFC Youth Competitions Committee at their meeting on 20 November 2009 where they will consider hosting bids from China, Thailand and Indonesia.

The AFC U19 Championship 2010 will also serve as a qualifier for the FIFA U20 World Cup 2011 which will be held in Colombia.

 Match Details

Australia         2 (Dylan McGowan 40', Tom Oar 67')
Japan                                       3 (Nagai Ryo 48'/95+', Kikuchi Daisuke 50' (pen))

Qantas Young Socceroos line-up: Mark Birighitti (gk), Nikola Stanojevic, Dylan McGowan, Sam Gallagher, Rhyan Grant, Ben Kantarovski (c), Steve Lustica, Tom Oar, Kliment Taseski (Karem Bulut 60'), Josh McVey (Jared Lum 60'), Eli Babalj

Substitutes Not Used: Jason Davidson, Daniel Bowles, Brendan Hamill, Chris Bush, Petar Franjic, Robbie Kolak (gk), Lawrence Thomas (gk), Dimitrios Petratos.

Japan line-up: Nakamura Hayato (gk), Tanaka Masaki, Sakai Gotoku, Kikuchi Daisuke, Shigematsu Kentaro ( Takagi Toshiyuki 79'), Musaka Mitsunari, Ohgihara Takahiro, Abe Takumi, Kato Masaru, Nagai Ryo, Teraoka Masahiro (Takahashi Shohei 87'),

Substitutes Not Used: Sumida Takahiko, Kobayashi Shota, Hiraide Ryo, Osaki Junya, Barada Akimi, Furuta Hiroyuki, Kawanami Goro (gk), Yamazaki Naoyuki, Iwata Shuhei, Ogino Kenjiro (gk),

AFC U-19 Championship 2010 Qualifiers

Official Standings and Match Schedule - Group F