Coach Ange Postecoglou insists World Cup qualification remains in the Socceroos’ hands despite a decidedly poor display against minnows Thailand that leaves Australia on a rocky road to Russia 2018.
Tuesday night’s 2-2 come-from-behind draw was a missed opportunity for Postecoglou’s national side to top Group B, instead slipping to third after allowing themselves to be outdone by a Thailand who were yet to claim a point in Group B.
Two penalty goals from captain Mile Jedinak were the only thing to save the Socceroos from a humiliating defeat at a hot and sweaty Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, where Australia’s usual impetus was replaced by disconnect and profligacy.
It is the Socceroo’s third consecutive draw after also being held by pacesetters Saudi Arabia and Japan last month.
Now out of the automatic qualification zone, the pressure will be on to play-catch-up in next year’s vital fixtures.
Still, a somehow buoyant Postecoglou was loath to call the showing anything other than a hiccup.
“I still think we’re in good shape,” Postecoglou said.
“We’ve got three home games next year and our performances, apart from maybe today, have still been strong.
“We’re halfway, we haven’t lost yet.
“We had a disappointing result tonight but qualification is still in our hands.”
Though Jedinak slotted his first from the spot inside 10 minutes, the Socceroos’ rare 10-day training camp counted for little against an enthusiastic Thai team backed by an even more zealous home crowd.
Opportunities galore gave early indications the scoreline could easily have blown out but the hosts capitalised on the little possession they had and, out of nothing, drew level with worrying ease.
They stroked the ball around before charging through the middle, exposing the otherwise well-performing Brad Smith with a through-ball that allowed Teerasil Dangda to slot home off a neat cross.
That changed the complexion of the game.
Thailand started penetrating Australia’s defence with regularity, playmaker Chanathip ‘Messi J’ Songkrasin forcing Mat Ryan into one of numerous fine saves.
The Socceroos, meanwhile, failed to turn their possession into anything meaningful, their Jamie Maclaren-led line seemed to be on different wavelengths, simple passes were miss controlled and offsides were plentiful.
The manner in which Postecoglou stormed off at the break signalled a halftime lashing was coming, yet if it did it made little difference.
It was all one-way traffic in favour of the winless hosts, and one foray forced early goal contender Mathew Leckie into an unnecessary challenge on Thai captain Theeraton Bunmathan.
Almost as soon as Teerasil sent the subsequent penalty past Ryan for the lead, Postecoglou switched to a diamond formation, substituting Maclaren and Leckie for veteran Mark Milligan and forward Nathan Burns, who rifled a long-range bullet into the crossbar.
The change brought an almost immediate effect as Siroch Chatthong fouled Jedinak and allowed him to restore parity with a penalty.
But even after the in-form Jackson Irvine was brought on for Matthew Spiranovic, who left the field with a suspected quad strain, the Socceroos could not muster a winner.
“We just didn’t control the game like we wanted to and ended up playing a game that suited them more than us,” Postecoglou said.
“It was hard for us then to gain momentum, particularly on a night when they were up for it.
“We got careless in possession, particularly in the front third.”
j binnie
Guest
Nemesis - "Getting behind a defence" is only one part of a strategy,the other,more important part, is what you do when you get there and in this case, needing 2 penalty kicks as a way to register a score, is not very heartening. Remember "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and there are still people around who measure "success" in our game as to how many times your play,or strategy, results n a ball being dispatched into a net. If that is not happening then one has to ask,---- why???? Cheers jb.
Amrit
Roar Guru
Ha, punctured arithmetic I guess. It's more than a scrap.
Amrit
Roar Guru
But it puts added pressure to secure 2018 qualification.
Amrit
Roar Guru
Spot on, mate. The refereeing was dismal. 3 out of 3, though not too bad
Waz
Guest
I have no idea why you bring Brisbane Roar into the debate - the side that has won more A League games than any other team hardly supports the point you are making lol?
Waz
Guest
Enough said really. But just for clarity - if you want association football you'll find it on the tab marked "football" ?????????
Waz
Guest
Agreed it stretches back. It was there in the Greece games as well.
Waz
Guest
Burns should have come on for Kruse, not Maclaren. Burns ended up trying to be a singer and a striker. Not sure what Kruse was doing in Anges eyes to stay in?
Realfootball
Guest
You are completely, and wilfully, missing the point.
AGO74
Guest
Perhaps walk in park is strong a term but in earlier years there was an almost reverential respect of Australia by a lot of Asian teams. Almost as if they didn't believe they could win. As for Ange he did win a major tournament in 2015 Asian cup and until last 2 games had been running pretty smoothly for cup qualification so I'd say he's done ok. His reaction to these last two games is arguably his toughest test to date.
Nemesis
Guest
If there were no penalties, Australia could've made the Quarter Finals of the 2006 World Cup. If there weren't penalties, the sport wouldn't be football. It would be some other crash & bash name.
Cool and Cold
Guest
If there were no penalties, socceroos lost 2 matches. The luck cannot last forever.
Cool and Cold
Guest
Same as Brisbane Roar, they think 4 good defenders are good enough. They forgot the importance of the mid-field-players. Secondly, the last four could not cover the mid-fielders. Occasionally, the centre backs have to run out to cover the middle players.
Nemesis
Guest
j binnie, I don't disagree with what you saying but we must also recognise the fact the boys got in behind the Thai defence multiple times - particularly in the opening 20 minutes. Now, if Australia did have a problem with organised defences, we would not get behind them. The ball would remain stuck in the midfield. The only reason Australia didn't score multiple goals before 20 minutes was not due to the Thai players. It was due to poor decisions and poor final passes - particularly poor cut backs from players who had made it to the goal line
Cool and Cold
Guest
Mooy play no match last night. Could not defend nor attack.
j binnie
Guest
tezza - A good question.Jamie McLaren showed great promise,firstly at Perth,when, playing off a strong experienced "tront man" in Keogh, he came on late and scored some spectacular goals. His move to Brisbane came as a surprise but in a team gifted with keeping possession he continued his goal scoring feats early in the season but as the season progressed it became obvious that opponents were beginning to get wise to his lack of physique so that with good positioning and communication the two, usuallty rugged cemtral defenders,began to move him wider in his runs, making it harder for him to hit the target with his former regularity. His use last night in the top Socceroo team came as a surprise to me, for apparently the Socceroos were using 2 recognised wingers and one must assume with orders to get behind the defence and supply crosses but to me that was strange for "heading" a ball is not one of Jamie's string suits and didn't it show,cross after cross ,those that could be termed "good", cleared away easily by the Thai defence. So in answer to your question I think Jamie is a player who works better with a strong physical striker beside him, who can take the weight of the central defenders, allowing McLaren to make his telling runs with much more frequency and success.Hope this makes sense. Cheers jb.
j binnie
Guest
Nemesis- What might have been is not really important when assessing a team's performance mainly because a game does last for 90 minutes. Perth could have made the same statement last weekend when playing the league leaders but ended up losing 1-4 so does that mean K. Lowe just puts it down to a bad day, or should he look at ways to cure what happened, which in reality is part and parcel of a coach's job. The Socceroos have a problem when facing an organised retreating defence and it is in this area of operation vast improvement is needed if the success we all desire has to come about. Last night the time taken to instigate and complete a transition from defence to attack was abysmal with players taking 2 or 3 touches to control a ball and then take a look to see where or who they could pass the ball to.That type of performance is fatal to AP's master- plan of how he would like to see our team play Now we don't have players like Puyel,Valdes,Messi , Xavi or Iniesta in our squad so can we really expect our lads to perform to the same tactical plan?, of course we can't, and probably more importantly we shouldn't expect them to achieve such high standards. We and AP have to get back to the basics of the game and instruct the players accordingly.Speed is the name of the game,not running the 100 metres like Bolt ,but moving a ball quickly and accurately to teammates who have to be constantly on the move creating targets and options for the ball player. This is not a new idea, it is a basic first noted in Russia of all places years before Barca FC. Their mantra was teaching players that a ball ,if used quickly and accurately., could travel the length of the field in 5 passes and result in a shot at goal..Think about that observation and apply it to the way we are playing,you'll get a surprise. Cheers jb.
Realfootball
Guest
Ah... thank you, MF.
Realfootball
Guest
Good lord, you really are delusional, aren't you?
bobbym
Guest
Time for Postanoclue to pull his finger out- one size does not fit all.