Aussie Sharks handed shock loss by Japan ahead of historic Paris Olympics quarter final

It was the game many expected the Sharks to win, but Japan registered their first win of the Olympics. Now, Australia’s attention turns to the knockouts where history awaits.

The Aussie Sharks are adamant their momentum hasn’t been halted after being handed a shock loss by Japan in their final group match ahead of a historic quarter final.

The Sharks were on fire during their opening week of the Olympics, knocking off Serbia, France and Hungary during the group stage. However, they fell to a surprise one-goal defeat to Japan on Monday, a side they had only lost to once in their previous 13 attempts.

Australia took a commanding 7-3 lead early in the game but took the foot off the pedal and Japan eventually made them pay, winning their first match of these Olympics, 14-13.

“It definitely brings us back to Earth a bit,” Lachlan Edwards said.

“We didn’t think it was going to be easy, maybe it is the monkey off our back. We didn’t stick to our systems. They were a great team and fair play to them, they brought it, we didn’t.”

Edwards in a tussle with Japan’s Kenta Araki. Picture: Al Bello/Getty Images

Japan are renowned for their relentless pressure with and without the ball. Once they found their footing in the game, they never allowed the Sharks to settle. Despite having the best defensive record in the tournament, the Aussies were regularly hit on the counter and struggled to respond.

The Sharks also missed two crucial penalty shots, one, in particular, left Luke Pavillard puzzled by the instructions from the referee.

“I’ll be polite here, I’m not sure of a few things that happened that I saw from the side today,” captain Nathan Power said. “We just have to move forward and look forward to what happens in the finals.”

There was visible frustration from the Aussies that they weren’t able to get the job done against Japan, a team they face more regularly than anyone else on the international circuit.

There is still a sense of calm from the Sharks ahead of their first quarterfinal since London 2012. Picture: Sarah Stier/Getty Images

But it hasn’t dented their belief. The past week has shown that their best stacks up against the top European teams. The task now turns to preparing for their first Olympic quarterfinal in more than a decade, and then potentially, a maiden medal.

“We take a lot of good momentum going to the finals,” Power said. “(Japan’s) style of play is very different to the opposition we play in the finals. So, that doesn’t take away from the game plan we have going into the quarterfinal.

“I don’t know if maybe we were (too) comfortable, whatever it was, it just sort of went away for a little bit there. Once you’re fighting to get back into the game, it then becomes a very different atmosphere.

“If we can take a lesson it’s make sure we’re mentally applied throughout. At the same time, we’re still incredibly confident and looking forward to when we go and match up with some European opposition in two days.”