Admittedly, Australia was missing Kewell, Neill and Cahill, but for a team ranked 14th in the world, and 35 positions above the Koreans, they should have done better. Worringly, it again showed the lack of depth and that without some of the big guns in the team, the other members of the socceroos failed to step up and take the lead required to push through against the Koreans.
The Koreans are very strong at present, having not lost in 25 matches, but similarly Australia had not lost in over a year, so the scoreline and the socceroo's play play highlighted that there is still some serious work to be done before the before heading to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Australia was sloppy and inconsistent last night and the Koreans took full advantage of that. The second Korean goal was painful to watch as the ball bobbled over the goal line after having been deflected and touched by numerous Australian defenders. Benny Hill would have been proud of the goal and all you needed was his trademark music to make it seem like it was a staged event.
Game performances: McDonald again struggled to break his international duck, Grella proved that he possesses as much finesse as John Howard bowling a cricket ball, Carle showed flashes of skill but footwork probably more suited to Dancing with the Stars, Schwarzer is like a fine wine, but sadly the defence in front of him was more like a cheap goone bag.
The game itself brought back the ghosts of the 2007 Asian Cup campaign and reaffirmed that Australia will be much more confident and representative of their high world ranking against European opposition in South Africa next year.
www.smh.com.au
www.foxsports.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment