HOCKEY/World Cup eliminator/Ireland - 1 Japan - 2: "We had enough chances to win that game," was the lament of Irish captain Paddy Brown as his team bowed out of contention for a World Hockey Cup place yesterday morning with a 2-1 defeat by Japan in Changzhou.
With one goal from six attempts Ireland failed miserably at penalty corners. However, their opponents strike rate of one from three was more up to speed.
Japan's set-piece breakthrough came on 12 minutes, by which time Stephen Butler had already failed to convert Ireland's first corner.
Takahiko Yamabori showed the big Glenanne midfielder how it should be done on 12 minutes, putting his drag high and out of reach of Charlie Henderson's left hand.
Two minutes from half-time, John Jermyn showed the Irish were, in fact, capable of cashing in on a corner as they were awarded two in succession.
The Corkman took the high route with his first attempt and then deceived keeper Hirofumi Miyoshi by going low with the second.
The Japanese resumed after the break with a flurry of chances but great work by Henderson kept them at bay. Having weathered the storm, Ireland then took command, only to falter on their Achilles heel, short corners.
Corner number four brought out the best in the Japanese goalie as he not only saved from Jermyn but then recovered to take out the shot on the rebound from Jason Black.
Number five, won when Justin Sherriff was halted in full flow, was the turn of Stephen Butler to strike but he sent his flick sizzling the wrong side of Miyoshi's right-hand post.
Then, on 59 minutes, the Japanese broke down the right and the ball was scuffed across to Akiro Ito, who had time to pick his spot behind Henderson.
The Irish responded instantly by carving out a number of half chances in the concluding 10 minutes. Inevitably, one of the spurned openings was a corner, when Jermyn's shot was well blocked. Mark Gleghorne could also have have snatched a brace.
Right at the death, Sherriff essayed a reverse stick shot that ricocheted off a defender's stick and harmlessly over the end line.
Ireland can take some comfort from the fact that they have almost certainly earned an invitation to participate in the Olympic qualifier in 2008; offering a chance to return to China.
Japan play France tomorrow for the right to contest the World Cup in Germany next September, the final slot on offer at Changzhou. England, Korea, Pakistan and New Zealand took the top four positions.
Ireland complete their programme by tackling Belgium today, looking for the honour of finishing seventh in the current tournament and for a few more world ranking points to further boost their rise from the lowly 22nd spot they occupied at the outset.
IRELAND: C Henderson, P Brown, J Black, K Burns, S Butler, M Gleghorne, M Irwin, G Shaw, A Barbour, M Black, I Lewers. Subs: R Gormley, J Jermyn, J Sherriff, P Maguire.
JAPAN: H Miyoshi, K Yoshica, M Ito, Y Bito, K Katayama, K Ozawa, K Tsubouchi, T Yamabori, Y Chaki, N Tobita. Subs: K Kawakami, K Maeda, Y Anai, H Sakamoto.
Umpires: M Grime (Australia), J Wright (RSA).
