It was a potential game-changing moment for the Socceroos.
Level at 2-2 Mathew Leckie had a perfect chance to put Australia ahead in the 67th minute when Tommy Oar off-loaded a cross to him just outside the box.
But falling to him in an awkward position Leckie couldn’t get enough power on the ball to really trouble Dutch gloveman Jasper Cillessen.
Unmarked and one-on-one with the keeper, Oar perhaps should have taken the shot himself.
Instead only a minute later with a blistering counterattack the Dutch found a winner – a 30-metre missile from Memphis Depay.
Leckie admits he’s replayed the moment in his head.
“The ball just came to me in a difficult situation, it wasn’t really at my feet or at my head so I tried to push it in with my chest but it wasn’t enough power,” he said.
“I tried to look back at it to see if I could have done anything better but in that split second the instinct was the only thing I could really do was get my chest on it.
“So it’s really disappointing.”
Leckie had yet another standout performance for the Socceroos, backing up his impressive display against Chile.
The 23-year-old German-based forward says he was pleased with his World Cup performances but admits they were overshadowed with the sting of back-to-back defeats.
“For me it’s definitely good on a personal note but it’s a little bit upsetting that we all worked really … but we’ve come away with nothing in these two games,” he said.
“It’s hard to take.”
Leckie, who was one of several players in the Socceroos squad playing in their first World Cup, said Australia had proven their doubters wrong with strong performances against Chile and Holland.
While disappointed to walk away with no points to show for both displays, Leckie is hoping Australia can end their campaign on a high and upset world champions Spain on Monday (Tuesday AEST).
“The last two games we’ve deserved more than what we’ve got,” he said.
“Holland is one of the best teams in the world, they showed that against Spain, and they really had no answers against us in the first half.
“It proves Australia has really taken a step forward over the last few months and we’ve shown everyone across the world that we’re good enough to play at this level against all these quality countries.
“Hopefully we can put in another good performance against Spain and get a win or at least a draw.”
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