Socceroos v Oman: the key moments as Australia win 4-0 at Stadium Australia

FOUR key goal scorers, a gun save from Mat Ryan, a crazy tackle on Tim Cahill. Watch the vital moments in Australia’s 4-0 win over Oman.

Oman v Australia - 2015 Asian Cup

AUSTRALIA’S 4-0 win over Oman was full of highlights in the Asian Cup’s most impressive performance thus far.

Here are the key moments.

MATCH REPORT: Socceroos roar into the final eight

BIG SAVE

3rd minute

Mat Ryan pulled off an outstanding save in the opening minutes of the game. Raed Saleh took his chance brilliantly on the volley, but Ryan leapt to tip the ball around the post. Given the Socceroos have frequently conceded early goals recently, Ryan provided his teammates with a massive boost of confidence. The match could have turned out very differently had the ball gone in.

THE BREAKTHROUGH

27th minute

Matt McKay has his critics, but the midfielder made no mistake with the opening goal. Mind you, he would have copped some flack had he missed it. Trent Sainsbury rose to meet a corner kick and his header fell sweetly at the feet of McKay, who couldn’t miss from right in front of a gaping net.

MASS HYSTERIA

30th minute

As Tim Cahill rightly said, it’s better to nurture young players rather than build them up. But it’s hard not to get carried away with the superb skill Massimo Luongo has shown in the opening two games. His through ball to set up Robbie Kruse for the Socceroos’ second goal was simply a thing of beauty. Swindon Town are going to struggle to keep hold of the boy during this transfer window.

LUCKY AHMED MUBARAK

36th minute

When referee Ryuji Sato has a look at the replay, he’ll have to admit he got it very wrong. Tim Cahill was clearly targeted by the Omani players throughout the game, but he came close to suffering a serious injury when Ahmed Mubarak flew into his leg, two footed, studs up and off the ground. Fortunately for Cahill, he managed to jump just clear of serious danger. It should have been a straight red, but Mubarak escaped with a yellow.

LOOK AT ALL THE GOALSCORERS

71s minute

There was genuine concern heading into the Asian Cup that the Socceroos wouldn’t have any goalscorers besides Tim Cahill and Mile Jedinak (who takes the penalties). But by the end of the night the Socceroos had scored eight goals across their two games, and they have come from eight different goalscorers.

Cahill, Jedinak, Luongo and James Troisi against Kuwait, and McKay, Kruse, Mark Milligan and Tomi Juric against Oman.

Originally published as Socceroos v Oman: the key moments as Australia win 4-0 at Stadium Australia