Jillaroos gain valuable experience against Japan on Gold Coast

Australia’s Under 21 Women’s Team, the Jillaroos have completed a tough four-match series against Japan’s Under 21 Team on the Gold Coast.

Held at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre, the series proved invaluable as the Jillaroos gear up for the 2023 Junior World Cup in December.

All four matches were evenly contested, highly competitive hit outs, with Japan victorious in three of the four matches.

The Jillaroos had a dream start to the opening match of the series when Makayla Jones scored in the 4th minute.

Japan levelled and then went ahead in the second quarter courtesy of Wakana Koundou and Maho Ueno, both goals coming from penalty corners.

Despite 16 penalty corners in total, neither side was able to break through in the second half as Japan prevailed 2-1.

The second match of the series was hotly contested with both nations having plenty of chances early on.

It was Japan who eventually broke the deadlock through Risa Sasaki in the 35th minute. The lead only lasted seven minutes as Josie Lawton produced a swift reply, scoring from a penalty corner. That was how the score remained to full time.

In Match 3, Japan stormed out of the blocks as they were awarded seven penalty corners in the first quarter alone. However, the Jillaroos defence held firm to ensure it was still nil-all after the opening 15 minutes.

The Jillaroos’ resistance ended two minutes into the second quarter when Japan captain Haruka Kawaguchi gave the visitors the lead. As both teams continued to create chances, it was Japan who would score the sealer in the final minute through Sasaki.

The final match followed a similar score line as Japan again ran out 2-0 winners. Sasaki scored her third goal of the series late in the first quarter before Maiko Mikami scored late on from a penalty corner to put the result beyond doubt.

The series was proudly supported by the City of Gold Coast.

Match Details
11 February 2022
Jillaroos 1 (Jones 4’)
Japan 2 (Koundou 19’, Ueno 28’)
Match details and team line-ups

13 February 2022
Jillaroos 1 (Lawton 42’)
Japan 1 (Sasaki 35’)
Match details and team line-ups

14 February 2022
Jillaroos 0
Japan 2 (Kawaguchi 17’, Sasaki 60’)
Match details and team line-ups

16 February 2022
Jillaroos 0
Japan 2 (Sasaki 14’, Mikami 57’)
Match details and team line-ups