Asian Cup 2015: Socceroo Mathew Leckie desperate to join the long list of Australian goalscorers
MATHEW Leckie always knew the Socceroos had goalscorers other than Tim Cahill. Now he wants to join them.
MATHEW Leckie always knew the Socceroos had goalscorers other than Tim Cahill. Now he wants to join them.
Having gone into the Asian Cup being constantly reminded of their reliance on talisman Cahill to score their goals, the Socceroos have responded in style, with Australia’s eight goals in their opening two matches of the tournament coming from eight different players.
Leckie saw it coming back in November, when Australia lost 2-1 to Japan in Osaka, where Cahill came on late to score a consolation goal.
“I don’t think it’s a worry because we are getting in (good) positions. The ball’s just not going in. The luck will have to change sooner or later,” he said.
And much to the Socceroos’ relief, he was right.
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“There was a stage where Timmy was really the only one scoring, so obviously there’s going to be talk about it,” Leckie said.
“But we knew that there are a lot of players here that have got very good shooting ability to put away a goal and it was only a matter of time.
“To have eight different scorers already in two games is quite incredible. Our midfielders are scoring, our attackers are scoring as well, and also players coming off the bench, so everyone’s having an input in the game.”
And that includes attacking weapon Leckie, who despite not having scored in tournament, has tormented the Kuwait and Oman defences, and plans to do the same — hopefully with the addition of a goal — when the Socceroos meet South Korea in Saturday night’s Group A showdown at Suncorp Stadium.
“Of course I would love to score. I had a good chance the other night (against Oman) and also in the first game (against Kuwait) I hit the crossbar, so at the end of the day, I will want to score — but I’m happy just to work hard for the team,” said the FC Ingolstadt 04 attacker, who has found the back of the net just once in 18 appearances for the Socceroos.
“We all know that it’s all working. I got an assist the other day for Tomi (Juric) — being part of the attack and causing the defence problems, I’m happy as well.
“We’ve come off two great results. We’re creating a lot of chances and we’re having a lot of joy in the front third, which is always exciting for me.”
The Socceroos face their toughest Group A challenge in South Korea, who are yet to concede a goal in the tournament.
“They’ll have more motivation against us.” Leckie said of the Socceroos’ next opponents, who need a win to top Group A.
Robbie Kruse, man of the match in the Socceroos’ 4-0 win over Oman, joins the Fox Football Podcast to reflect on the performance. Adam Peacock is joined in studio by Sasa Ognenovski and The Daily Telegraph’s Tom Smithies, and on the phone by Ned Zelic, to dissect the game, and the tournament thus far, from all angles.
Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Socceroo Mathew Leckie desperate to join the long list of Australian goalscorers
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