A hat-trick from Jason Hoffman has seen Australia advance to the next phase of Olympic qualification with an emphatic 4-0 win over Yemen in Newcastle on Thursday night.
Newcastle-born Hoffman bagged a first-half brace with two superb headers, the first coming after a Rocco Visconte free kick on 18 minutes.
Aaron Mooy was the provider for Hoffman’s second goal on the half hour, chipping Yemen’s goalkeeper Shukri Abdullah for Hoffman to head home.
Hoffman, having only scored twice in the A-League, scored again in the second half to take his Olyroo tally to five after twice finding the back of the net in Gosford.
The Olyroos claimed the two-legged tie 7-0 on aggregate after beating Yemen 3-0 at Gosford’s Bluetongue Stadium on Sunday in the first leg.
“The objective was to get to the next stage so we’re pleased with that,” said Olyroos coach Aurelio Vidmar.
“Once the first goal came in it was really all over, we controlled the game again, but we could have had a few more.”
Vidmar made two changes to his starting side from Sunday’s match, bringing in midfielder Mooy for Isaka Cernak and shot-stopper Dean Bouzanis for Andrew Redmayne.
Mooy, who has played 14 times in the Scottish Premier League for St Mirren, extended Australia’s advantage to 4-0 in the 68th minute with a left-foot drive from halftime substitute Cernak’s cross.
The Olyroos dominated the game and could have had at least another two goals before the break with Marko Jesic twice spraying his shot wide at the near post.
Australia, South Korea and Japan have been seeded into the next round and will head up the three groups of four to play a home-and-away series.
The winners of each group will head to London for the 2012 Olympics while the second-placed teams get another chance through a playoff system.
Player availability is likely to be a key challenge for Australia in the next round.
“We are in a situation where they are all non FIFA dates,” said Vidmar.
“So the majority of the players will be A-League (players) because they can be released but the boys playing overseas, that’s going to be touch and go.”
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The lengthy tenures of two respected coaches have come to an end. In the early hours of the morning (Australian time), Jürgen Klopp was…
Try telling the thousands of die-hard Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur fans who flocked to Melbourne on Wednesday evening that this was a meaningless…
Bayern Munich are close to appointing Burnley boss Vincent Kompany as their new manager, according to reports. The German giants have endured frustration in…
The game at the MCG finished at 1-1 and while Ange Postecoglou went to shake hands, his Newcastle counterpart informed him the game was…
Ademola Lookman scored three goals as Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten streak of 51 games came to an end in the Europa League final.
All good things come to an end - and that includes Bayern Leverkusen's epic unbeaten run, which is over after 51 games following a…
