Asian Cup 2015: Mathew Leckie believes Socceroos lost control in second-half against UAE

ATTACKER Mathew Leckie conceded the Socceroos shot themselves in foot by losing control of the semi-final against UAE.

Australia v UAE: Semi Final - 2015 Asian Cup - Newcastle

ATTACKER Mathew Leckie conceded the Socceroos shot themselves in foot by losing control of the semi-final against UAE.

The Socceroos won 2-0 at Hunter Stadium on Tuesday night to secure a rematch with Group A nemesis South Korea in Saturday’s Asian Cup final.

March 2014 was Australia’s greatest capitulation in the Ange Postecoglou era, when they let a three-goal lead slip to lose 4-3 in London.

While they didn’t concede against UAE after scoring two inside 14 minutes, their inability to vary the tempo was evident.

“They’re all pretty taxing, but that was one of my toughest games,’’ Leckie said.

“It was tough because we didn’t have so much control of the game.

“UAE had time to hold the ball and go forward and the full-backs were overlapping which meant I had to drop off.

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“We were winning the ball but 10-20 seconds later losing it again. At half-time we said once we win it, don’t just bomb on all the time, try and hold onto the ball more to try and get them running.

“It didn’t work as well probably planned, but we ground out the result.’’

Leckie said Trent Sainsbury and Jason Davidson’s early goals changed the dynamics of the match at Hunter Stadium.

“Every game we’ve played so far we’ve created enough chances to score two goals early but this was the day they went in,’’ he said.

“It was a bit of a shock, UAE changed their gameplan very quick and it was an up and down, counter-attacking game.

“We tried to slow the game down in the second half, it didn’t work as well as we wanted.

“Our main objective was to try and keep the ball and make sure the opposition were running.’’

Leckie, who was a constant threat in the 90 minutes, said it was ugly at times, but it would soon be forgotten.

“We’re in the final and we’re one step away from making history,’’ Leckie said.

“It wasn’t the best game for us but we ground out the result.

“Sometimes games can’t be as pretty as you want them to be, but we were able to hold on and be dangerous at times.’’

Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Mathew Leckie believes Socceroos lost control in second-half against UAE