Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos sparked by Massimo Luongo but warned by Kuwait’s competitiveness

IT was a gutsy move to start Massimo Luongo ahead of Mark Bresciano — and it paid off for Ange Postecoglou. But the Socceroos didn’t have it all their own way.

Australia's Massimo Luongo (R) is congratulated by teammate Tim Cahill (L) after scoring against Kuwait during the opening football match of the AFC Asian Cup in Melbourne on January 9, 2015. AFP PHOTO / William WEST --IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE--

WELL done Massimo Luongo.

It was a gutsy move by coach Ange Postecoglou to start him in front of Mark Bresciano, a home town hero and one of Australia’s all-time greats.

And, if we’re being honest, the 22-year-old won’t look back too fondly on his first 20 minutes.

He was nervy, turned the ball over on several occasions and was poor from set pieces.

But credit to the Swindon Town midfielder, because he didn’t drop his head.

And playing in his first international on home soil — and just his fifth overall — he proved to be the spark of the Socceroos’ turnaround, setting up Tim Cahill for the equaliser and darting in front of him to nod home the go-ahead goal.

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Massimo Luongo finds the space to give Australia the lead.

To be fair, Luongo’s opening mirrored that of the entire team.

And if you remember back almost six months to the day, it was a start that was eerily similar to that of against Chile at the World Cup.

Spurred on by a raucous AAMI Park crowd, it wasn’t quite deer in the headlights stuff — although the goal conceded probably was — but it was erratic and lacking in direction.

And above all else the worry was that, panicked after falling behind in the eighth minute, the hosts reverted to the hit-it-to-Cahill-and-hope plan.

Kuwait fully deserved their early lead after pressuring the Socceroos into mistakes.

About 15 minutes in Mathew Leckie had James Troisi and Luongo as short outlets available on the right flank, but he instead went long across the box in search of Cahill, who was well marked by two Kuwaiti defenders and easily dealt with.

The crowd rose in anticipation for the first time in the match, but in truth it was a concern.

Even captain Mile Jedinak was guilty of it eight minutes later when he played a low percentage ball in the direction of the New York Red Bulls star which was calmly snaffled by Kuwaiti keeper Hameed Youssef.

The best thing for the Aussies, as it almost always is in this game, was the goal.

James Troisi puts the icing on the cake.

It settled them. They were cohesive from that point on. Patient in attack and relentless in pursuit of the ball when not in possession.

After the third goal the contest was as good as done, the game open, end-to-end and frantic.

But we must not forget the opening 25 minutes of Asian Cup 2015.

It is a cautionary tale and a reminder that the Socceroos are not going to have it all their own way in this tournament, despite having the distinctive advantage of playing on home soil and in front of huge support.

Ali Hussain Fadhel’s goal is a warning against complacency for the Socceroos.

It must also be pointed out that Kuwait is, on paper at least, by far the weakest team in Group A.

But Al-Azraq was good for its lead early doors and still possessed a threat on the break in the second half.

Things are going to get far harder from here, starting with Tuesday’s clash with bogy side Oman at ANZ Stadium before the mouth-watering showdown with South Korea in Brisbane four days later.

Still, with three points secured after game one, the Socceroos have already won as many matches as they did for the whole of 2014.

Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Socceroos sparked by Massimo Luongo but warned by Kuwait’s competitiveness