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For Japan this was always likely to be little more than a warm up for bigger things to come, and so it proved, but for the Palestine there was a bigger game at play, the opportunity to represent their people and the cause of their people.
As one of their fan summarised as the Palestinians danced and celebrated outside Hunter Stadium after the game, “our victory was being here”.
Irrespective of what you think of their cause and their fight for freedom, this was a night to remember and a sight to behold.
Chanting “free Palestine” in English and “Palestine, Palestine, we love you Palestine” in Arabic, they came with their derbekkeh drums, shepard flutes and flags, and dressed in the traditional keffiyeh, the symbol of Palestine nationalism.
They gathered outside the stadium from Sydney and afar as TV crews from across the Middle East conducted countless interviews and shot footage pre-game of supporters singing and dancing.
There weren’t too many western crews among the throng.
When representatives of the Palestine FA turned up with a couple of boxes of supplies of flags and scarves, anyone who wasn’t covered in black and white from head to toe soon had no excuse.
A first time at the Asian Cup, a first time on the international stage, this was a coming out party for the Palestine people of Australia, and they were intent on enjoying every moment.
Once inside the stadium they danced the traditional dabke, with the 50-something capo leading them via traditional flute and drum. There was a beautiful rhythm to their music if not always to the forward flow of their football team.
While a heavy shower just before kick-off might have sent a few into the western grandstand, the majority remained in the terrace, singing, dancing, embracing and waving their flags throughout.
Samurai Blue‘s two early goals may have rocked them and brought the music to a stop for a little while, but they quickly remembered the bigger picture, and the hafele was back on.
It took the Palestine team more than 30 mins to construct their first meaningful retainment of possession, and by then they were already two down, but this was about more than just football.
In truth there was always likely to be a gulf in quality against the likes of Yasuhito Endo, Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kawaga and Shinji Okazaki, but after the opening two goals Palestine were much more organised and in tune with their game plan, which was essentially to sit deep with two banks of four and try and counter.
Even if Ahmad Alhasan’s men didn’t keep the ball as well as he would have liked, the amount of work from the tireless front-man Mahmoud Dhadha and wide left flyer Ashraf Alfawaghra was to be admired.
There was no giving up or dropping of heads after each Japan goal. Instead, the team that qualified last for the tournament through a victory over the Philippines in the AFC Challenge Cup, worked even harder.
Sprinkled in among this industry and effort were a few touches of quality from right sided midfielder Ismail Alamour. If he’s not already the Palestine Messi, then I’m giving him the title.
The fans craved a goal, and when Abdallatif Albahdari climbed high and won a header from an Alamour set piece in the 80th minute it looked like it might give Eiji Kawashima something to do, but the powerful header went just wide.
Alas, there was no goal on the pitch, but the Palestine people scored off it, sending their message not only to the 15,497 that flocked to Hunter Stadium in a wet and windy conditions, but to countless more around Australia and the world.
There was much to be admired about the way they went about things, on and off the pitch. Early on the scoreline looked like it might blow out to anything, but the Palestine team regrouped and battled hard, with a spirit and resilience to be admired.
That spirit lived on after the game as fans of both Japan and the Palestine spilled out of the stadium and sang and posed for photos with each other.
It was symbolic of the harmonious mood that is running through the tournament.
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