Beaten By Great Ball Of China
The Age
Monday June 23, 2008
AUSTRALIA'S hopes of finishing the first stage of their World Cup qualifying campaign on a high note were dashed by an enterprising and disciplined Chinese team at ANZ Stadium last night.
Fielding a side stacked full of under-age and second-string talent, the Australians lacked nothing in the way of endeavour or enthusiasm, but couldn't quite put the finishing touches on the multitude of opportunities that came their way as the visitors earned a 1-0 win.While the result was far from ideal, the bumper crowd of 70,054 - the biggest at the venue this year - would have walked away pleased with the entertainment on offer, which belied the match's dead-rubber status. That qualification had already been secured was evident throughout the week at training and there was a clear feeling that the evening, while important, was more about trying out new things with a view to short-term Olympic success and long-term Socceroos solutions. Like the fans, both Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek and Olyroos boss Graham Arnold would have found something from the game which caught their fancy. Verbeek said it was frustrating to see the visitors walk away with all three points after Australia did the bulk of the attacking. "For me it was an interesting game, but it should have been at least a draw, and that would have been better for the fans," he said. "I learnt a lot (about the young players). I know they are good, but it was more about making the right decisions at the right moment."Football-wise, they are good players, but playing together (they were) not always that good."It's all about making decisions. Sometimes the decisions they made were not the best decisions." One of Verbeek's main goals appears to have the Socceroos groomed into playing his 4-2-3-1 formation, regardless of which players are available. As such, Turkey-bound striker Bruce Djite tried his hand at Mark Viduka's traditional holding role, with the lively trio of James Troisi, Harry Kewell and James Holland given licence to run from just a fraction deeper. But, despite the youth and energy on offer, the crowd was silenced after just 11 minutes when the Chinese opened the scoring through Sun Xiang, who smashed a swerving volley past Michael Petkovic from just outside the box after a headed clearance from Ruben Zadkovich. Playing in just his seventh international match, Petkovic was not to blame for the goal but his record in the Socceroo guernsey remains one he won't be proud of. As the only regular senior player in the team, much of the responsibility again fell to Kewell for the required attacking initiative and he appeared lively, but short of lethal. Playing solely as a creator rather than a finisher, he conjured at least four good chances. As the Chinese continued to stack their defensive lines, chances appeared to be thin but with the match appearing to be winding down to a quiet finish, things sprang to life after a penalty was awarded to China after a slight foul by Ruben Zadkovich on Gao Lin, which incensed the massive crowd. Up stepped national star Zheng Zhi - who began the game as a substitute - to seal the result, but he casually flopped the penalty wide after being ordered to retake his successful first kick by referee Khalil Ibrahim al-Ghamdi. Sensing a feeling of justice, the crowd roared to life and the Australians responded, immediately winning a corner and sending a pulse back into the contest, but again, they couldn't find an equaliser.
© 2008 The Age