Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou cautiously positive after victory over Kuwait

ANGE Postecoglou said the positives far outweighed the negatives from the Socceroos resounding 4-1 win over Kuwait in their opening Asian Cup clash.

Socceroos v Kuwait

COACH Ange Postecoglou said the positives far outweighed the negatives from the Socceroos resounding 4-1 win over Kuwait in their opening Asian Cup clash in Melbourne.

After what he described as a “very disappointing start” having conceded a sloppy goal from an eighth minute Kuwaiti corner, Postecoglou said the resolve shown by his players to regroup and respond was impressive.

Played in front of 25,231 fans at AAMI Park, Postecoglou said the result was a “great reward” for his players after a solid two-week pre-tournament camp.

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Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou thanks the fans after the game.

“At the end of a 4-1 victory I’m pretty sure that most of the emphasis will be on the positives out of the game,” Postecoglou said.

“Certainly the players were told in no uncertain terms that that kind of goal is unacceptable, they were pretty disappointed in themselves and I guess from our perspective we need to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

“But conceding a goal that was really self-inflicted in amongst 90 minutes of pretty good football, four goals and what could have been two or three more, as I said, the positives far outweighed the negatives.”

Captain Mile Jedinak sent a scare through the Aussie camp late in the first half when he went down clutching at his left ankle.

The Crystal Palace midfielder clearly rolled his ankle in contesting a corner, but Postecoglou said he, and the rest of his players, had emerged unscathed.

“Mile twisted his ankle a little bit, he was able to play out the game,” he said.

“We’ll let the medicos have a look at it and hopefully it’s nothing to keep him out (the Oman game).

“The pleasing thing is that we’ve got a few guys on the bench who are pretty experienced and good footballers who are going to be ready to go on Tuesday night, so if anyone can’t back up we’ve got some real options.”

Ange Postecoglou knows there are still issues for the Socceroos to fix.

Kuwait coach Nabil Maaloul said the match was “difficult as expected” for his team.

He also defended a cautious selection policy that saw Bader Almotawaa and Yousef Naser Alsulaiman left on the bench, saying the star attackers were not fit to start.

“Australia was very strong and was better than our team, physically and with the speed, they deserved to win this game,” Maaloul said.

“We lost too much possession in the middle of the field and we couldn’t make pressure in the forward line.

“The injured players were not ready enough ... but we hope they come back for the next (game) and play for a longer time than they did in this match.”

Man of the match Massimo Luongo described as “amazing” the feeling of scoring in his first international on home soil.

“It’s a dream come true. I couldn’t be more happy,” Luongo said.

Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou cautiously positive after victory over Kuwait