Socceroos hit Uzbeks for six to reach Asian Cup final

Aaron Ray Baartz what a player and would along with H and Duke be the first chosen .. Sad in many ways the history of this great player along with Joe Marsden are not well understood... our history was badly handled by those in charge in yester year... The other codes have great respect for their greats and the stories of their greatness is handed down as I am sure H's will .... but Ray Baartz was a very very very gifted player and I am H's biggest fan but would not like to choose between them ... he was that good...

The people who saw Ray Baartz play might disagree with you

Kruse was excellent in his role, which was to play on the Uzbek defensive line and stretch the opposition backs so they couldn't press up into our half. In turn, that created the space in the front half that we used so well. I very much doubt Osieck would hesitate before putting him on again should we lead in the second half against Japan.

I am pretty sure most of the Brisbane squad is signed to multi year deals. They will find it easier to keep the spine of the team together than Newcastle did.

I'm sick of them talking about the Blue Samurai instead of Samurai Blue. Really, how hard is it to get it right? They're being paid FFS.

I agree it wasn't direct counter-attacking as such, it's just that as soon as we had possession we went forward and quickly so.

It's difficult to compare the games fussball. Against India they whilst not parking the bus still where he'll bent on not conceding goals. Against Uzbeks they still pushed forward as they tried to jag a goal and change the game. Led to alot more space in behind the Uzbeks than the Indians. We have all seen headline strikers miss one on ones. The difference I feel is that a good striker is able to dust himself off and take the next opportunity that comes. I felt that after the first two misses kruze put his head down and the end result was the pass to emerton when it was possibly easier to score the goal himself. The pass to emerton whilst leading to the goal was nearly intercepted. Of course that is a learning experience and I feel kruze would play better a little wider as part of front 3. The comment about him looking like a deer in headlight was so true. Love it. Finally I am getting sick of mr's Harper and hill constantly trumping the a-league in their telecasts. It worries me that the consistent comments could actually have a negative effect on the future. In 06 the majority of the squad was playing in big leagues in Europe. Now we seems to have championship and serie b players. Valeri and Kilkenny especially need to look to move asap. They are so much better than the competitions they play in. And that goes for alot of the a-league players in the squad -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.

Just read Kagawa's out of the final with a suspected broken foot. Big blow for Japan and his club, Borussia Dortmund. In regards to the game, Kewell's early goal determined the pattern of play. We've got the lead, give the ball to Uzbeks, they can't break us down and let them self destruct. Assistant referees did their best to keep the game close by getting every offside decision wrong.

Why are you getting so defensive? This is a debate on a very worthwhile football topic and, in civilised debates, the format is for each party to put his/her side of the story and provide evidence, precedent, similar events to add weight to his/her opinion. Then, the other party rebuts with his/her opinion. And, the debate moves back and forth, with each side making his point and, hopefully, we learn from the points raised during the debate. No one has to be ultimately right or wrong. I've put my point of view and added precedent and similar events to add weight to my point of view. I guess, I'm assuming most people have engaged in formal debating events ... I must learn never to assume. PS: What are "non sequesters" ... I've never before heard of such a term?

Exactly my thoughts, Roarchild.

Surely if you believed he was the second coming of Jesus you would want him to start? If you don't want him to start against Japan then what exactly are you arguing about? Why are you being all defensive and talking rubbish full of non sequesters....when it seems you agree with the conclusion??? Next time just say “your wrong Roarchild I disagree” and we can save ourselves a lot of time as I will just take your word for it.

What makes you think I want Kruse to start against Japan? I wouldn't change the starting line-up at all. So, you thought: * Kruse missed one-on-ones: I guess you've missed the one-on-ones missed by Kewell, Cahill, McKay, Carney, Emerton, experienced Sth Koreans, experienced Japanese players. Have you never seen Messi, Ronaldo, Villa, Torres, etc. miss one-on-ones? * One woefully underdone pass ... you're kidding right? I reckon in the Group Stage, 50% of Australia's passes were "underdone" - it doesn't excuse Kruse, but if you've only got that one example, I reckon Kruse's passing is better than most. It's interesting to draw a parallel b/w the Uzbekistan match and the opening game against India. Against India, also, we were 3-0, and the game was won, when Osieck made his substitutions of McKay, McDonald & Burns. I certainly think Robbie K had a bigger impact against Uzbekistan - in a SEMI-FINAL; than McKay, McDonald & Burns against India - in a Group Match ... when goal difference was vital and we desperately needed more goals!

What I liked was when he was ready to tear the referees throat out after his third or forth amateur-hour whistle. Aurelio Vidmar had to restrain him. Never been so pumped up for a German coach!

Good result, great to see the goals piling up, especially the first finish by Harry which was very classy. But I have to say I'll tell the Uzbek coach what happened - tactics. The Uzbeks were woeful in defence, which greatly assisted the scoreline, and I couldn't understand why they didn't become more defensive after the early goals, they didnt adjust at all, at least it looked that way from my couch. I'm amazed the Uzbek coach was so bewildered for answers, my small mind could even see it. It's good to get excited with such a score line, but I wouldn't get too excited. The final should be a good game, but Japan are starting to look rather good. Their match was an excellent display of football.

Where do you pull anti MV from? I have a history of praising them when they deserve it…this year they don’t. But back to Kruise, I nearly woke the whole neighborhood (I always cheer for A league boys) when he scored but that doesn’t mean I want him to start against Japan. Missed one on ones, looked like a dear in head lights when he first came on. Coughed up the ball a few times (part of being a forward) but one (not the only one) that stuck out was a woefully underdone pass. Thankfully the Uzbeks were falling apart so he got many chances to redeem himself and settle but it gave us no indication of what it would be like in a normal fixture where it would be a light tighter. James Meyer has 3 goals in 2 games but he’s also done some things that are rubbish which make me hesitant to back him. In regards to Mackay’s corners, yes they were rubbish but corners are an optional extra. There are other players on the field who should take them if their better at it. It’s not a category that makes or breaks a player because the question has to be asked why doesn’t someone else take them? Edit: You should send your Killkenny rating to Goal because they didn't give him a rating either.

About the best photo shot of the night was the smile on Kruse's face after he scored ...

Fair enough. So, I guess, you also cannot rate the performance of either Kilkenny & Emerton - since they both came on AFTER Kruse ... or, is it just an anti-MVFC stance that is clouding your assessment of Kruse? PS: Can you identify a few of the "pretty ordinary things" Kruse did? Did McKay make any mistakes during the 90' or are Brisbane players infallible? In my opinion, 90% of McKay's corners are absolutely rubbish ... and, you can tell by McKay's reaction after these corners that he knows they are rubbish.

I didn’t see the game, and it was a great surprise to hear the scoreline. Well done to the Socceroos. It sounds like an amazing game, especailly in light of the fact that Uzebekistan supposedly had 65% possession, which is an enormous disparity. Direct counter-attacking game? Pretty much, the ball was quickly turned into a scoring oppurtunity nearly as soon as they got it. Just saying it was direct counter attacking doesn't quite paint the picture though. It may not have been the plan but the Uzbeks while fancying themselves to play out from the back would cough the ball up all over the field and so the Roos were often getting the ball in broken play with an immediate chance to turn it into a 2 on 2 or such. Game was quite balanced for a while as when the Roos were 1 nil up Wilkshire was lucky to avoid a second yellow. Still think Australia would have won though.

I watched the game and agree with Vesh. He came on when the game was no longer a contest some things he did were great and some pretty ordinary. I wouldn't judge him one way or the other on that performance.

You both make valid points; I guess prefer to focus on the positives and, by all accounts, so does Holger. The fact that Kruse got himself into 2 one-on-ones with the Usbek GK, in my opinion, would have been the thing that any manager wants to see. If you create the chances eventually you'll get one. If you're not creating the chances you've got no hope. I've lost count of the number of one-on-ones that have been missed by experienced players, including - Harry, Timmy, Carney, Emo, Holman. Every team I've watched at this Asian cup have had experienced players fluff their one-on-ones. The Sth Koreans missed one-on-ones; so did the Japanese ... heck Honda missed the ultimate one-on-one - he missed a penalty. I've seen Ronaldo (both the Brasilien & Portuguese versions), Messi, Berbatov, Podolski, etc. etc. miss one-on-one opportunities, so I'm willing to cut Robbie K a bit of slack in his 2nd international - at the Semi-final of an Asian Cup. And, it seems you both missed Robbie K's backheel that set up the 5th goal ... it was a beauty.