Australia brushed past an ordinary Oman with ease in their second Asian Cup match, securing a 4-0 win to go top of Group A.
With no Mile Jedinak, the Socceroos did the damage in the first half, racking up three goals against a lacklustre opponent.
Apart from an expert early save from Mat Ryan, the Aussies were hardly troubled in defence. With Mark Milligan and Matt McKay in, and Jedinak out injured, the Socceroos midfield had a different shape from its win over Kuwait.
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James Troisi was rested, along with Aziz Behich with Jason Davidson coming in. Tim Cahill was made captain.
Australia’s first chance came in the 11th minute but the match struggled to gain any flow in the early stages, with a whistle-happy ref.
On 22 minutes Cahill put a header wide of the bar, which had Ali Al-Habsi scrambling, then the veteran had another header just wide two minutes later.
The Socceroos were starting to exert some power, dominating midfield.
Matt McKay, somewhat of a surprise choice to start, got the opener on 26 minutes. The Roar man got on the end of a nice header from Trent Sainsbury from a corner and the green and gold were on their way.
The second goal was a peach. A team effort, with a quick free-kick finding Massimo Luongo, who pulled off a nice turn-and-flick through to Robbie Kruse. The winger did very well to bring it under control and beat the keeper. 2-0 Australia.
It was a goal that reminded of the halcyon days of Ange Postecoglou’s Brisbane Roar.
Oman were looking tame, completely out of their depth and showing little fight, which was suprising considering their tournament survival was at stake.
Ahmed Mubarak should have been sent off for a terrible lunge on Cahill on 35 minutes, then on the stroke of half-time Australia had its third, this time from the spot after Milligan was pulled down in the box.
The Socceroos were cruising as they went to the break.
On came Tomi Juric and Mark Bresciano on 50 minutes, with Cahill and Luongo put in cotton wool, one eye clearly on the next game against Korea.
Oman managed to keep Australia out for 25 minutes. Juric tested Al-Habsi with a drive in the 68th minute but the Wigan custodian pushed it wide. However, the striker wouldn’t be denied. Matt Leckie went on a fantastic scarper down the left flank and whipped in an exquisite ball. Leckie was there to finish it with class. 4-0, job well and truly done.
On 76 minutes Tommy Oar came on and Leckie went off, just before Al-Habsi stopped Australia scoring twice in quick succession.
The Socceroos pushed for their fifth but it wasn’t to be.
Overall, this was a quality performance from the Socceroos and a rare clean sheet. Full of nice touches, good ball movement and inter-linking wide play, Postecoglou’s men were in fine form.
All eyes go to the Korea game in Brisbane now. Win or even draw there and an easier path to the quarter-finals is achieved. South Korea are a much better team than Kuwait or Oman, but haven’t excelled yet, with 1-0 wins in their first two games. In contrast the Socceroos have scored eight goals from eight different players, a fantastic result.
If Australia can maintain this fast-paced attack, I can see victory at Suncorp Stadium.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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