Japan have taken a 1-0 lead into half-time of their Olympic quarter-final against Egypt this afternoon.
Japan dominated possession in the opening stages of the game and had the first chance of the match when Kensuke Nagai met a cross inside the box, only to divert his header wide.
The opening goal came after 14 minutes, and it went with the run of play as Japan took the lead. Kiyotake found Nagai who, after missing that earlier chance, made no mistake this time by rounding the goalkeeper before slotting home.
Egypt began to ease themselves back into the match, and had their first real opening after 38 minutes as Ahmed Fathi's low ball into the box caused Hiroki Sakai to slice his clearance just over the bar.
However, the African side were soon struck a blow when Saadeldin Saad was shown a red card for a last man tackle on Manabu Saito, leaving Egypt with a mountain to climb in the second half.
Should the result stay the same, Japan would go on to meet either Mexico or Senegal in the semi-finals.
Barney Corkhill
