Defending champions Great Britain claimed the bronze medal for the first time in 10 editions of the Sultan of Johor Cup International Invitational tournament at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium today.
The 2015, 2018 and 2019 champions overcame a tenacious and gritty fightback from Japan to emerge 3-1 victorious in the third and fourth placing classification match.
England finished in fourth place at the 2016 edition, losing 4-1 in penalty shootout to Japan after both teams played to a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
Japan’s history in the SOJC has been impressive. They finished third in 2016, defeating England 4-2 on penalty shootout after being held 2-2 in regulation time. And in 2018 were beaten 6-1 by Australia, and 3-2 by Malaysia in 2019 to finish in fourth position on both occasions.
The Britons continued to play positively at the start of the game. Fraser Heigh sounded the board in the second minute and James Vallely extended the lead three minutes later via a field goal as Great Briton grabbed a 2-0 lead
Japan coach Hiroki Watanabe said he is disappointed with the outcome of this match as he expected his players to win against Great Britain.
“We were in a good position to score more goals. It was a better match than when we lost 3-1 to GB in the group stage. I am not satisfied with our fourth-place finish.”
Although the Japanese were a little subdued today, far from the side that rocked the form book by defeating Great Britain 2-1 in the group stage for a sensational victory, they nevertheless still possessed the lethal machinery to unsettle their opponents.
They had four penalty corners in the first half against none by Great Britain. Shota Homura’s field goal in the 35th minute was ruled out for an infringement but team captain Ikumi Saeki pulled one back for Japan in the 49th minute from a penalty corner conversion. Great Britain 2 Japan 1.
Forward Jamie Golden, who featured in the 2019 SOJC together with Williamson Conor, extended Great Britain lead 3-1 with a field goal in the 50th minute.