to hit the woodwork

歴史的な勝利へあと一歩でした。hit the woodworkは「ポストに当たる」という意味です。勝利の女神は冷徹です。（GP）

An absolutely incredible evening in Recife as one of the most incredible games in Confeds history ended in a win for Gli Azzurri. Italy battled back from two goals down to lead 3-2 but were pegged back by a resilient Japan. There were disallowed goals and Japan hit the woodwork in a frenzied finish but Sebastian Giovinco's tap-in from Claudio Marchisio's cross has seen Italy into the Confeds semi-finals along with hosts Brazil. An utterly remarkable match.

http://www.fifa.com/confederationscup/matches/round=255199/match=300222456/liveblog.html