Socceroos v Syria World Cup qualifier: Aaron Mooy admits he was “angry” at being benched
A BEMUSED Aaron Mooy admitted he was “angry” at being left on the bench for the Socceroos’ crucial World Cup qualifier, but said every player should feel the same.
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A BEMUSED Aaron Mooy admitted he was “angry” at being left on the bench for the Socceroos’ crucial World Cup qualifier with Syria, but said every player should feel the same.
Mooy’s demotion sparked incredulity among supporters and pundits after his performances in the EPL for Huddersfield Town this season, but he was unexpectedly thrown into the fray after 11 minutes when Brad Smith limped off injured.
Mooy said his first inkling of not starting had come at training, and revealed he had not been told why he wasn’t playing by Ange Postecoglou.
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“You’ve just got to get on with it, I don’t make the decisions,” he said. “I have to try my best when I play. Of course I was angry I wasn’t playing but every player should be angry if they’re not.
“Once the game got started, it was just like another game, I was motivated to win just like every other player on the team.
“The formation was a bit different with three (playmaking) No.10s — I came on as one of them. It’s the boss’s ideas and we all believe in it, go with it 100 per cent.”
Mooy had initially thought the shouts from Socceroos officials of “Azza” to replace Smith were towards substitute leftback Aziz Behich. But once the game was over, he said the Socceroos now had a “big opportunity” to qualify for the World Cup.
“We have to try to be a little bit more clinical with our opportunities, that can make all the difference for our confidence,” he said. “But we hung in there and Timmy (Cahill) came up with two special moments.
“We’re not over the top happy, but we got the job done. We did it the hard way, but now we’ve got a big opportunity to go to the World Cup. It’s obviously going to be difficult in the next round. We’ll go back to our clubs, get on with our lives and it will come around soon.”