By Hiroki Noda,
Japan scored three goals within six minutes in the second half to beat North Korea 4-1 in the women's football final at the Asian Games on Friday.
Japan's women won their second consecutive Asian Games football gold medal and third in four meets. Second-half substitute Haruka Osawa gave Japan the lead for good at 2-1 in the 66th minute with a header off a corner kick off the boot of Momoko Tanikawa.
"What a great ball that was," Osawa said. "All I had to do was connect with it."
Tanikawa scored a goal of her own three minutes later, and Remina Chiba followed with Japan's fourth three minutes after that.
In a 1-1 first half, North Korea created more chances to score at Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou, China, where the entire crowd was behind them as if the game were played in Pyongyang.
"It definitely felt like an away game, and I was tense at the start, especially amid all the booing," Osawa said. "But then I thought, 'Let's just go for it.'"
Japan defended well and turned the match in their favor after halftime.
Yoshino Nakashima opened the scoring in the 10th minute before North Korea equalized with a strike from Kim Kyong Yong in the 38th minute.
A long ball set Nakashima up for a one-on-one with keeper Kim Unhui for the opening goal.
"We thought there would be space behind their backline, and the ball was there right on target," Nakashima said.
"We've only been together for three weeks, and I just love my team."
In their previous Asian Games final encounter, North Korea defeated Japan 3-1 in 2014 in Incheon, South Korea.
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