Socceroos defenders Lucas Neill and Sasa Ognenovski reckon they’ve heard the last of talk they’re too slow and too old to carry Australia to glory at the Asian Cup.
The pair’s ability to contain South Korea’s speedy and mobile attackers was questioned by coach Cho Kwang-Rae in the lead-up to Friday’s 1-1 draw in Doha.
But while both were at fault in conceding an early goal at Al Gharafa Stadium, they were otherwise solid at the back, limiting their opponents to only a handful of chances.
Ognenovski, who plays in Korea’s domestic league with Seongnam Ilwha, felt he and Neill may be treated with more respect if the tournament heavyweights meet again in the knockout stage.
“Yeah I think if we do meet them again, I don’t think they’ll be talking it up next time,” the 31-year-old said.
“… I think if it comes to a physical contest our boys are a bit physically stronger and can hit a bit harder than what the Koreans do.
“They move the ball around well, but probably didn’t penetrate as much as they like.”
Neill, 32, was also cleary irked at talk the pair could prove a weak link.
“I don’t have to prove myself or answer to opinion of people from Korea but certainly if we needed the motivation, it certainly helped,” Neill said.
“It was their young team against a supposedly old team and not once did we look out of our depth or outrun stamina-wise.
“We punched on ’til the end. It’s great for confidence and we might need that later on.”
Ognenovski said he would enjoy the chance to face Korea again in the later stages of the tournament, a view shared by many of his team-mates after one of the best games of the Asian Cup so far.
“Yeah we’d all sign a piece of paper now to say that would be the final, it would be fantastic,” Harry Kewell said.
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