Urawa Reds Ladies produced a dominant performance in to claim the AFC Women’s Club Championship title with a 2-1 win over Hyundai Steel Red Angels, the Saitama outfit coming from behind to claim the title of Asia’s best club in women’s football.
The game proved to be an intriguing contest between two sides of differing styles. This sort of matchup is a rarity in Asian women’s club football given the lack of club competition in the women’s game. All that will change later this year, with this event serving the precursor for the coming AFC Women’s Champions League set to launch in August.
From the start Hyundai looked the more comfortable of the two sides. Reds struggled to forge a path through the Korean’s defensive structure and were often disposed by their collective pressing and off-the-ball movements. The hosts appeared slightly stunned with this approach as most of their domestic WE League opponents adopt a more front-footed, possession-based style.
Hyundai’s efforts paid off at the 13-minute mark as they capitalised on poor decision making by Reds’ defender Reina Nagashima while under pressure close to her penalty area. Instead of going back to the keeper or launching the ball clear, the Reds’ homegrown talent played a risky short pass which Hyundai attacker Lee So-hee latched onto before pulling the trigger and firing past keeper Sakiko Ikeda from range.
Despite their domestic dominance in recent times, it seemed Reds had been presented with a very new and unfamiliar challenge; Hyundai were soundly organised defensively and their counter-attacking sequences appeared well rehearsed.
But it did not take long for the hosts to rejig their game plan and settle into the game. On 22 minutes, tenacious forward Kiko Seiko, currently leading the pack for the WE League golden boot, applied the final touch to an incisive sequence of passes and thumped a powerful shot into the roof of the net. Reds had drawn level and were in the ascendancy from this point.
A textbook corner-kick routine bore fruit at 26 minutes as striker Mei Shimada converted Yuzuho Shiokoshi’s delivery to double Reds’ lead. From here the visitors would take a more proactive approach to the game, but it was all too clear that the hosts had their game plan figured out. The first half came to a close with Urawa sitting pretty on a 2-1 lead.
The second half offered much of the same. Hyundai looked a little more assertive but struggled to impose themselves on the game. Reds’ midfield pairing of Hanae Shibata and Akari Kurishima were excellent in recovery and were rapid in redistributing the ball to the forward lines.
A chance came for Reds to put the game beyond doubt late on as Seike found herself open in the area. The Koreans breathed a sigh of relief as she sent a volleyed shot skyward. Nevertheless, the Urawa attacks kept coming with the game played almost entirely in the Hyundai half. The final whistle went with the hosts deserving winners of Asia’s finest prize in women’s club football.
After the game Urawa boss Naoki Kusunose was content with how the evening panned out:
“First of all, I want to thank everyone who worked hard in getting this game to go ahead,” Urawa coach Naoki Kusunose said after the game.
“About the game, this was an opponent that challenged is in various ways. Overall, we created a lot of chances but we fell behind early on as a result of just one misplaced pass. That was the kind of team we were up against today.”
Meanwhile, Hyundai head coach Kim Eun-sook appeared to have had a slightly tougher evening at the office.
“This was the first time for me to take part in this kind of a competition as a coach,” he offered afterwards.
“Urawa Reds played a very good game and were a difficult opponent for us. Conditioning wise we were also not at 100% tonight and I am hoping that this fixture comes around again in the future”
Urawa’s impressive performance on the pitch was accentuated by a vibrant and passionate showing from their home crowd. The Reds faithful turned out in numbers and were all present and correct with many of their elaborate banners displaying messages of support.
A crowd of 5,271 were present at Komaba Stadium, much more than is usually expected for domestic league fixtures. They were in full voice throughout the game and played an integral part in enhancing the events entertainment value.
All in all, the fixture can be considered a success and highlights the growth potential of women’s football in Asia.
Photo: X/REDSLADIES
Listen to The Asian Game Podcast as we preview the AFC Champions League Final
