Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos keeper Mat Ryan admits fingertip save against Kuwait boosted his belief

SOCCEROOS goalkeeper Mathew Ryan admits even he was surprised with the fingertip save that preserved Australia’s two-goal lead over Kuwait.

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SOCCEROOS goalkeeper Mathew Ryan admits he surprised even himself with the fingertip save that preserved Australia’s two-goal lead at a crucial point of Friday’s opening Asian Cup victory over Kuwait — a save that pushes his World Cup misery a little further into history.

With the score at 3-1 in the 71st minute, Ryan leapt to tip a searing shot from Kuwait’s Fahed Al Ebrahim onto the crossbar, denying the visitors a foothold back in the game and allowing Australia to emphasise their superiority with a late fourth goal.

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Mat Ryan pulls off his stunning fingertip save.

His obvious pleasure at a strong display was the polar opposite of the distraught Ryan who could barely speak after allowing Holland a winner in the Socceroos’ second World Cup game in Brazil. Since that moment the Club Brugges custodian has enjoyed a remarkable run of form for club and country, and Ryan drew the contrast between the two key moments of his last seven months.

“They really were two opposites ends of the spectrum, and being an athlete and a goalkeeper it’s not easy when you make a mistake — especially at the highest level of the game,” Ryan said.

“So when you pull off a save that you didn’t even expect yourself, you get a bit of a good feeling.

“Even at the World Cup, I still took it as the learning experience that it was. It taught me so much, more than anything else in football. Since then I’ve tried to improve consistently and I feel I’ve done that.

“I probably surprised myself with that save [against Kuwait], but I’m just trying to do my part for the team. I was a bit surprised at the way he got the shot away — it had come from a wide position and he hit it with the outside of his foot. It came of Trent Sainsbury’s shoulder as well but I guess instinct took over and I was lucky enough to reach it.

“I have enjoyed a bit of a purple patch the last couple of months, I guess you could say. In Bruges I’m getting a lot of games, but after the World Cup it was nice to put in a performance like that in front of the Australian public — and give them a win, most of all.”

Ryan admitted his frustration at the Socceroos conceding a sloppy opener against Kuwait.

But Ryan was also keen to make clear his displeasure at the defensive disorganisation that forced him into a string of saves, after Kuwait had taken the lead through a corner converted by Ali Hussain Fadhel.

“Early on the team had a few nerves, everyone wanting to do so well at home,” he said. “Everyone knows what a big tournament this is, and even myself, my first clearance was a bit off target. Technically there were a few mistakes in the first 25 minutes, until we found our ryhtmn. But even then Kuwait created too many chances for our liking and got in behind us a couple of times.

“We need to work on that and fix the setpiece situation as well. The last two games we could have had two clean sheets if we didn’t concede from setpieces. All in all the result was the main thing, we just have to work on a few things.”

Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos keeper Mat Ryan admits fingertip save against Kuwait boosted his belief