Socceroos Disappointing In Borefest

A toothless performance from the A-League Socceroos in the humid conditions of Jakarta has resulted in a 0-0 draw in our quest for Qatar 2011. Like all underdogs playing at home, the Indonesians were expected to be a confidence team, feeding off the chants of the 90,000 strong crowd. Australian coach Pim Verbeek was wary of nullifying this aspect early on, and his troops didn’t disappoint, opting to bore the crowd into submission with some cagey and messy football in the first half.

Verbeek set the tone by naming two holding midfielders in Matt Mackay and Paul Reid, and indeed Mackay’s energy was an early plus for the Socceroos. However, for all their defensive solidarity, Australia lacked bite in attack, and often forwards Archie Thompson and Danny Allsop were left to create for themselves without help from wide players.

In a first half lacking any true highlights, the Indonesians looked to have the better finish, and carried on this trait early in the second half with some nice little passes which caught our defenders flat footed on several occasions. The introduction of the pacey Elie Aiboy caused problems for debutant Scott Jamieson down the right flank, and along with the livewire Budi Sudarsono managed to pen the Socceroos on the back foot for a fifteen minute spell.

In response, Verbeek – instructing from the stands due to the carry over suspension he faced from his time coaching South Korea – sent on the attacking trio of Matt Simon, Billy Celeski and Michael Zullo. It was a positive move, and Simon was full of running and determination. He added height and strength up front, something Allsop and Thompson failed to provide.

Nearing the end of the match, the Socceroos had several half chances as the home side tired. Simon came closest to scoring, when he guided a Celeski cross into the net only to be flagged for offside. Paul Reid also sent a free-kick agonisingly over the bar. However, aside from these brief moments of hope, the team as a whole lacked width and creativity, and looked rather lethargic at times.

Post match, commentators Simon Hill and Robbie Slater repeatedly stressed on the result being a success for us, citing the difficult conditions and the short preparation time as reasons why we couldn’t bag three points. The validity of their argument is debatable, considering the Indonesians were ranked over 100 spots below us. Inexperienced or not, I believe the Socceroos should have been too much for their counterparts.

A second scoreless draw in a row leaves Indonesia on top of the Group B ladder with two points, ahead of the Socceroos and Oman who have one point each. The Kuwaitis, yet to play a match, round out the group.

The Socceroos’ next match in Asian Cup qualifying is on March 7th against Kuwait in Canberra. Of course, prior to that, we have the all-important clash with Japan, and from the looks of things tonight, not one of the players in this squad will travel to Tokyo.