What an effort. It was a victory and an extremely good one. The Socceroos may be out of the World Cup and we all love a winner, but we couldn’t have asked for more from Pim Verbeek’s men in the final group game against Serbia.
Outplayed in a technical way by a large margin, the Socceroos outfit came out of their shell in the second half.
Unfortunately, German didn’t hold up its part of the deal that would have seen Australia progress to the round of 16.
It was another Luke Wilkshire cross from the right that appeared to be headed home by substitute Scott Chipperfield, but rather it was Socceroo favourite Tim Cahill.
Who else did we expect it to be?
He popped up, outdoing Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic to give the Socceroos some energy.
Then, it was another substitute, Brett Holman, who is quickly becoming a fan favourite, who made an enormous impact with his second goal of the tournament.
He moved into space with the ball before unleashing a wonderful 30-yard strike into the corner of the net.
It was a superb strike and one of the better goals seen in South Africa.
A late error from Mark Schwarzer gave Marko Pantelic what proved to be a consolation goal.
The Serbians appealed for a late penalty for a Cahill handball, but it wasn’t to be – and nor should it have been.
If the tournament had been officiated in this way throughout, some common sense, the Socceroos may have been better off.
Meanwhile, German captain Philipp Lahm escaped without punishment for committing the same crime as Harry Kewell against Ghana.
The opening 4-0 loss to Germany has cost the Socceroos, but the effort, spirit and desire from then on has been exceptional.
It cannot be questioned.
It’s a shame it went horribly wrong first up, but the players have been superb since.
The 10-man effort against Ghana should have brought three points, but unfortunately it didn’t.
A win against Serbia was an exceptional effort and with a bit of luck, something the Socceroos have not had this tournament, it could have been better.
But to finish the tournament, we couldn’t have asked for more.
Football Person 2
Roar Pro
Both Aus and Serb were better quality to get out of the group then Ghana. They scored both there goals from penalties for gods sake :( !!!!!!!!!!!!
The Bear
Guest
Sick and twisted you ; (
betty b
Guest
sure does - a bit scary really. Looks like they've wiped the German game, probably best as that might be too much right now.
Dejan Kalinic
Roar Guru
Nice link! Highlights how good Vidic was really - yet Socceroos still scored twice.
betty b
Guest
Yes - well done Socceroos. Our whingeing looks pretty mild now. I don't know if you've seen it before, but the NY Times uses a pretty cool program for match analysis. If this link doesn't work, go to NY Times - sports - results - match recap http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/23/world-cup-live-australia-vs-serbia/ you can use both the pitch map to view minute by minute passes, position - or on the right, rankings for touches, passes etc. I like it.
Roger
Guest
I was surprised they didn't give it, but finally an important call went our way. I don't pretend to be nuetral, but I think the ref made the right call. Clearly an accidental deflection onto the hand.
Davstar
Guest
Very proud of the Socceroos! this ref was probably the best ref we have ever had in a WC match to be fair
Dejan Kalinic
Roar Guru
They were unhappy post-game. Conceded penalties against Ghana and Germany. It seems the Ghanaians came out best - a penalty in two games converted as their only goals of the tournament so far.
dasilva
Roar Guru
I thought that was accidental. Nevertheless, I was surprised the referee didn't give it a penalty considering our luck in this tournament.
Dejan Kalinic
Roar Guru
It has been enough for some. But not with a goal difference in the red.
Dejan Kalinic
Roar Guru
What did everyone think of the Vidic-Cahill ball to hand incident? Would've been another cruel turn of luck if he called it..
Greg
Guest
Sounds like you might be happier if Serbia had put 2 or 3 in by the half. That would have been the icing on your "I hate Pim" agenda. Bad luck.
The Bear
Guest
I still can't believe that Serbia did not put two or three in by half time, well done Schwarzer. Stirring second half performance from all the lads. Bye bye Pim, I hope FFA would say "no thanks" even if you weren't on to the "greener deserts" of Morroco.
Tyson
Guest
Overall - fantastic effort.
katzilla
Roar Guru
Now that was what was expected from the socceroos from the get go. Both congratulations and commiserations. Some higher ranked teams then the socceroos aren't making it out of their group, possibly even the world champs ;) Looks like Serbia has taken a 3-1 hiding from Australasia this year :) good on ya socceroos, pride restored.
Alders
Guest
Shame, it used to be that a win, a loss and a draw was enough.
Al
Guest
Bittersweet, the best game we have played in years, a gallant, heroic effort against a mighty good team yet still the sadness of being eliminated overwhelms. If only we could turn back time and play at Durban again with a proper setup, it could all be different. Brett Holman has arrived, a beautiful strike. Onto the Asian Cup!
MVDave
Guest
:) Copacabana Beach!
punter
Guest
MVDave, definately, see you there in Brazil, we can have a beer & discuss SFC dominance over MV in the preceding 4 years.
punter
Guest
This is exactly how I feel Sheek, very proud of the boys, true Aussie spirit, but there is that hollow feeling of just not good enough.