A disappointed Alen Stajcic expressed his pride in Australiaâs performance, after his side suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Japan in the AFC Womenâs Asian Cup 2018 Final.
In the tournament decider somewhat emblematic of a campaign where the Matildas arguably had the better of all five of their matches, but often failed to find the finishing edge, Kumi Yokoyamaâs 84th minute wonder-strike sealed victory for Japan.
Head coach Stajcic praised his sideâs effort in the showpiece match, but rued their inability to find the back of the net
âI thought that was our best performance of the tournament. Itâs probably the best weâve played in quite a long time,â he said.
âUnfortunately we didnât get the rewards that probably the performance justified. Itâs almost the exact opposite to the semi-final where we didnât play our best and got a winner.
âI thought the performance was fantastic. All the players dominated within their positions, wherever that was. The back four, the middle three, the front three, we dominated all over the field.
âWe created a number of chances and unfortunately we just couldnât execute on the chance. The one, or two, chances that Japan had, they scored one of them. Unfortunately, sometimes football is a cruel game.
âIt was a wonderful goal and that was enough to win Japan the competition. I congratulate them on their win â it was a fantastic goal.
âFor us – a lot of positives to take away from the match and I couldnât be any happier or prouder of the way we played today.â
The Matildas came out firing in the final, creating a number of solid chances in the early stages; the best falling to Elise Kellond-Knight, who was denied from the penalty spot by Ayuka Yamashita in the 15th minute.
Australiaâs loss means that all three of their major tournament appearances under Stajcic have ended in elimination by a single Japanese goal.
