Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos beat Kuwait 4-1 after fighting back from a goal down
THE Socceroos overcame another bout of major tournament stage-fright, to secure a merited 4-1 win in their Asian Cup opener against Kuwait.
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THE Socceroos overcame another bout of major tournament stage-fright, to secure a merited 4-1 win in their Asian Cup opener against Kuwait in Melbourne.
Coach Ange Postecoglou and his team had flashbacks to Chile when Kuwait opened the scoring inside eight minutes, before an inspired fightback led by talisman Tim Cahill and impressive newcomer Massimo Luongo.
Silky work from Luongo created Cahill’s opener late in the half before the former headed home right on half-time, leaving captain Mile Jedinak and James Troisi to top the icing in the second half.
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But it was tense early as Kuwait came out with aggression and intensity, catching inexperienced Socceroos by surprise at AAMI Park.
Ali Hussain Fadhel opened the scoring when he slipped Aussie defenders Trent Sainsbury and Matthew Spiranovic to meet Abdulaziz Alenezi’s corner with a brilliant diving header.
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Coach Nabil Maaloul put a lid on celebrations as the Kuwaiti bench prepared to explode, and the players heeded the message as they continued to bite at Australia’s heels.
It was a recipe for disaster for the Socceroos, with Kuwait starting key attackers Bader Al Almotawaa and Yousef Naser Alsulaimain on the bench.
Australia struggled to penetrate Kuwait’s defensive 4-5-1 formation, though they slowly wrestled ascendancy back.
Edging closer to half-time, the Socceroos found the crucial breakthrough.
Quick thinking saw Ivan Franjic throw in to Luongo, who combined skill and League One physicality to outmanouvere two defenders and drive into the box.
Luongo kept his composure, spotted Cahill and cut the ball back for the veteran to tap in one of his easier but yet another crucial goal just 12 minutes before the break.
Australia began fighting fire with fire physically, as the Jedinak-led midfield started winning duels, then Mathew Leckie and Luongo then had half-decent penalty appeals but referee Ravshan Irmaton was unmoved.
It didn’t matter, as Franjic turned his opponent inside and delivered a floating cross that had Cahill’s name all over it.
He was there, but beating him to the punch was Luongo, who showed Cahill-esque timing with his leap, arching his back and cushioning the ball over the head of keeper Hameed Youssef.
Cahill — who was ready to pounce — pointed to the head of his young teammate during celebrations as if to emphasise to the 25,231 crowd that someone else in fact scored with their head.
And in one fell swoop Postecoglou’s selection gambles were justified, with scorer and provider Franjic two of the riskier selections due to inexperience and lack of game-time respectively.
The break changed little as Australia dominated possession in the second half and chances soon came.
Cahill had his 59th minute shot palmed away by Hameed after Leckie forced a turnover, and the latter struck the underside of the crossbar a minute later with a thunderous left-foot strike.
Seconds later Australia was awarded a penalty when Kruse was felled by Sultan Alenezi after a Franjic centre.
Captain Jedinak stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way for a third.
Socceroos keeper Mat Ryan made a spectacular save to deny Kuwait’s Fahed Al Ebrahim, fingertipping his long-range strike onto the bar.
Brimming with confidence, A-League top scorer Nathan Burns was denied a goal within three minutes of replacing Kruse by the crossbar after a delightful glancing header from Aziz Behich’s cross.
Burns and Juric had late chances to extend the scoreline, before a sharp Troisi pounced to blast home a loose ball from Leckie’s shot.
Davutovic’s man of the match: Massimo Luongo (Australia)
Age 22, Luongo showed he has a far brighter future than England’s third tier. The fleet-footed midfielder was creative and direct, assisting the first and scoring the second goal.
AUSTRALIA 4 (T. Cahill (33’), M. Luongo (44’), M. Jedinak (62’ P), J. Troisi (90’ +2’) KUWAIT 1 (Hussain F ‘8)
2015 Asian Cup – Group A
Crowd: 30,000 at AAMI Park
Australia (4-3-3): Ryan; Franjic, Spiranovic, Sainsbury, Behich; Jedinak, Luongo, Troisi; Kruse, Leckie, Cahill.
Kuwait (4-5-1): Hameed Y; F Alhajeri, A Almaqseed, M Alenzi, Kh. Alqahtani; Hussain F, Saleh, F. Alebrahim, Sultan, Faisal Z; Aziz.
Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (UZB)
Yellow cards:
AUS: NIL.
KUW: A. Fadhel 18’; F. Alharbi 47
Red cards: Nil
Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos beat Kuwait 4-1 after fighting back from a goal down
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