World Cup Qualifier: Australia v Qatar

[hey shorty]

I don't care what his age is, I care about his fitness. He was struggling through that game, probably from the long season with Celtic. I just hope that when we get to the big qualifier games these guys have fresh legs and don't resemble cripples after 45 minutes of play.

Well you did say our guys are getting old, im just telling you he is not. It doesnt seem to hurt him playing at his weight at Celtic, 21 goals isnt a bad return for a poacher.

 

[RoosterLad]

Who cares really? It was 3-0 at half-time so of course they will take it easy. If it was 0-0 or even 1-0 it could have been different and they may have put in the extra yard.

McDonald is a ****ing star, hey shorty sums it up well... 21 goals at Celtic.. superb effort so far with plenty of football to come.

 

[haywood jablome]

Well you did say our guys are getting old, im just telling you he is not. It doesnt seem to hurt him playing at his weight at Celtic, 21 goals isnt a bad return for a poacher.

A lot of our guys are getting old, viduka, bresciano, aloisi. Our defence is also pretty shaky IMO, hopefully more games will fix that.

 

[Hanis]

yeah and 32hrs in a plane with half of that to train

seriously get a clue mate

32 hours from london to australia???? More like 20 honey

Jetlag is for the weak!!!

These guys are professional superfit sportmen who travel first class. They would probably sleep most of the way and then have maybe have another kip before they get together and play 45 minutes of footy against a team that don't attack.

Excuses excuses for a lazy team

 

[hey shorty]

Qatar were waaaay below their normal standard in the first half. 2-nil wasnt a fair example of how good they are, just how bad they were for 45 minutes.
Our fatigue and the fact that they couldnt play much worse meant the second half was a better guide. Even so they had 3 chances for the half and we didnt do much wrong still, people are just way too fussy.

 

[hey shorty]

32 hours from london to australia???? More like 20 honey

Jetlag is for the weak!!!

These guys are professional superfit sportmen who travel first class. They would probably sleep most of the way and then have maybe have another kip before they get together and play 45 minutes of footy against a team that don't attack.

Excuses excuses for a lazy team

Wilkshires trip took 32 hours.

 

[Hanis]

They are holding the Asian Cup in 2011 so one would assume they would loosen the screws a tad, at least you would hope so.

It is going to held in January so Ramadan will not be in effect.

The weather will not be a problem either

 

[hey shorty]

A lot of our guys are getting old, viduka, bresciano, aloisi. Our defence is also pretty shaky IMO, hopefully more games will fix that.

Bresciano is under 30. The others will play bit parts in the campaign and really I dont expect Dukes to play at all. I do agree our defence looks shaky and a good side could cause problems. If Beauchamp continues to improve like he has done and the likes of Leijer, Spiranovic and Milligan can step up we'll be ok.

 

[Hanis]

Wilkshires trip took 32 hours.

Even more time to relax and sleep

 

[Hanis]

Here is a bit of Driving with Kids - Qatar Style!!!

[YOUTUBE]4_zvSvgqJPQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

[hey shorty]

Even more time to relax and sleep

It might just be me but I find it very difficult to sleep on a plane, and the night after I land. I guess I hate flying so thats probably why I dont sleep on the plane

 

[borgsta2006]

Great effort by the boys. Shouldhave won by more, but very very satisfied....

 

[RoosterLad]

It might just be me but I find it very difficult to sleep on a plane, and the night after I land. I guess I hate flying so thats probably why I dont sleep on the plane

Sleeping on a plane is bollocks, I always struggle too. It is probably easier in first class though.

 

[Ray Nolan]

Excellent result and a great start to our campaign. Even though Qatar were ordinary in the first half I thought we played some excellent Football & put a lot of pressure on them. Getting the early goals were vital to break their spirit and give us a bit of breathing space because we would need it later in the match once the overseas based players started to tire. I was a little disappointed we didn't score more (certainly had the chances, their 'keeper made some good saves) as the goal difference would've been handy. At the end of the day though, anyone would've take a 3-0 win to start with. I think most of our boys had good games tonight, certainly the starting XI. Holman was a bit ordinary when he got on, butchered another good chance. Aloisi also coul've done better with one as well. Still, that's just nitpicking, well done to Pim Verbeek and the boys on a job well done. PR China next in Kunming - if we can scab a draw there that would be ana amazing result given how difficult it's going to be.

 

[hey shorty]

Really we shouldnt be complaining with a 3-nil win. Yes we should have won by more and we did get a little tired towards the end but it was extremely comfortable. So what if I had $10 on a 4-nil win.......

Now we head to China and who knows what kind of squad we'll have. A draw would be a great result for us and if we could pull off a win well thats almost job done.

Just a little sidenote....... Richard Porta was not selected in the Uruguay squad for their qualifier tomorrow morning......

 

[Munga]

Just a little sidenote....... Richard Porta was not selected in the Uruguay squad for their qualifier tomorrow morning......

mmm interesting. Who plays the next international match?

 

[unstable punt]

A lot of our guys are getting old, viduka, bresciano, aloisi. Our defence is also pretty shaky IMO, hopefully more games will fix that.

there's always someone who is never satisfied, pretty pathetic IMO

 

[hey shorty]

mmm interesting. Who plays the next international match?

We do I believe.

 

[mercurial]

So what if I had $10 on a 4-nil win.......

I'd be absolutely spewing, some of those chances in the second half really should have been taken.

Of course it is great to win, and win comfortably, but we really got opened up a couple of times in that second half. Realistically they should have scored at least once, and really a 3-1 or 3-2 scoreline would have reflected incredibly poorly on the Socceroos, considering how the game unfolded in the first half. It isn't a negative but we can't really take too much out of the game, apart from three points. Even in the first half I thought we should have been more ruthless in front of goal.

PS Scott McDonald looked a little overweight for mine. Haven't seen a lot of Scott admittedly but I don't think he fits i all that well to the system...suspersub perhaps?

 

[Hanis]

Always one to put his hand when I am wrong - I just realised that we now both play Iraq and Qatar in June - so Ramadan will not be in effect -that said we only have 3 or so days to acclimatise before we play Iraq - tough ask though they will be in the same position. Whilst still tough the draw it is not as bad as initially reported

 

[hey shorty]

Always one to put his hand when I am wrong - I just realised that we now both play Iraq and Qatar in June - so Ramadan will not be in effect -that said we only have 3 or so days to acclimatise before we play Iraq - tough ask though they will be in the same position. Whilst still tough the draw it is not as bad as initially reported

Nah its not so bad but they are still 2 difficult away trips nonetheless.

 

[Lowie01]

That certainly was a far easier ride than expected. The first half seemed like a dream things went that smoothly. The sheer presence of Kennedy adds so many more dimensions to our play, and Tim Cahill is going to love playing alongside him, due to the fact Kennedy sucks so many defenders in with his size, leaving Cahill free to do his thing. We passed the ball very well, were patient and certainly weren't afraid to get the ball in the box and use that physical advantage of Kennedy. he had two just cleared away before he netted, and that was in the first ten minutes.

But my player of the match was the much maligned Luke Wilkshire. I just liked the way he kept his play so simple, and whenever we lost the ball, he could always be relied upon to track back and pressure the player in possession. Craig Moore had an excellent game in defence and I loved the way Scotty McDonald worked his arse off up front - I didn't realise how physically strong he was until seeing him in the flesh tonight.

Qatar were very ordinary of course, and they seemed to have no plan once we grabbed the early goal - they didn't know whether to defend or attack after that and seemed to have no idea. The second half was simply damage limitation. This doesn't mean we should be taking the match in Doha lightly, they were without about five good players tonight.

 

[Lowie01]

PS Scott McDonald looked a little overweight for mine. Haven't seen a lot of Scott admittedly but I don't think he fits i all that well to the system...suspersub perhaps?

Yeah, he's definitely carrying a couple of extra kilos. But I would be sticking with him, he linked up some of our play beautifully tonight, and put Bresh's goal on a plate.

 

[Bartram_Class]

Yeah, he's definitely carrying a couple of extra kilos. But I would be sticking with him, he linked up some of our play beautifully tonight, and put Bresh's goal on a plate.

I thought he looked solid rather than overweight.

 

[hey shorty]

That certainly was a far easier ride than expected. The first half seemed like a dream things went that smoothly. The sheer presence of Kennedy adds so many more dimensions to our play, and Tim Cahill is going to love playing alongside him, due to the fact Kennedy sucks so many defenders in with his size, leaving Cahill free to do his thing. We passed the ball very well, were patient and certainly weren't afraid to get the ball in the box and use that physical advantage of Kennedy. he had two just cleared away before he netted, and that was in the first ten minutes.

But my player of the match was the much maligned Luke Wilkshire. I just liked the way he kept his play so simple, and whenever we lost the ball, he could always be relied upon to track back and pressure the player in possession. Craig Moore had an excellent game in defence and I loved the way Scotty McDonald worked his arse off up front - I didn't realise how physically strong he was until seeing him in the flesh tonight.

Qatar were very ordinary of course, and they seemed to have no plan once we grabbed the early goal - they didn't know whether to defend or attack after that and seemed to have no idea. The second half was simply damage limitation. This doesn't mean we should be taking the match in Doha lightly, they were without about five good players tonight.

I created a bandwagon if anyone wants to jump on. If played in the right position he will become a very handy international player. Macca deserved a goal for all his hard work but unfortunately couldnt grab one. The combination with Kennedy is going to serve us very well in the coming years. Hopefully Harry can get fitter and provide us with added punch. Our attacking third isnt where the problems lay though.

My player of the match was actually Brett Emerton. He worked and worked and worked all night, just superb IMO.

Craig Moore also effectively announced his international retirement tonight too. Great servant of the game and has done his country proud.