Garang Kuol scored his first ever goal for the Socceroos as Australia defeated Ecuador 3-1 in an entertaining clash at Commbank Stadium.
In front of 20,668 fans, the substitute scored the third goal with just six minutes remaining to cap a whirlwind year for the youngster, and was arguably the moment of the night.
Ecuador had the first chance of the match after 10 minutes, when Jose Cifuentes could only head a good cross from Moises Caicedo straight at Mat Ryan.
They would rue that missed opportunity as just three minutes later the Socceroos opened the scoring. A pinpoint Craig Goodwin ball found Mitch Duke, who lunged to cut the ball back across the goal for Jackson Irvine to tap home into an almost empty net. Subsequent replays showed that Duke may have strayed offside.
Ecuador nearly hit back through Michael Estrada, who got in behind the defence, but he pulled his shot agonisingly wide. They would do better in the 23rd minute when another cross – this time from Jeremy Sarmiento on the right – was headed home by the onrushing Felix Torres.
The Socceroos were not looking like the cohesive unit that kept two clean sheets at the World Cup, but their attack was faring much better, and the side hit the front just nine minutes later.
Irvine picked the pocket of Pedro Hincapie on the edge of the Ecuador box; the goalscorer turned provider as he slid the ball to Awer Mabil, who duly fired the ball into the roof of the net.
Duke nearly made it three when he embarked on a good run into the box and almost dinked it into the goal, but keeper Moises Ramirez stood tall and denied him.
Caicedo almost levelled the game just after half-time, his powerful effort was deflected but Ryan still needed to be alert to parry it away.
The second half was much more settled than the end-to-end nature of the first, as Australia adopted a more compact shape and both sides made changes.
A smart volley from Caicedo from the edge of the pitch forced Ryan into a good reflext stop with just 10 minutes to go. But the Socceroos would put the game to bed as Kuol scored his first Socceroos goal, getting on the end of a Behich pass to tap home from close range. It was a wonderful moment for a brilliant young player.
ATTACK AND DEFENCE ON DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS
In a friendly match with little pressure, both managers adopted an approach of attack as the best form of defence.
The Socceroos were lethal in transition, with Duke being lively up top and also making intelligent runs and passes. Mabil’s pace troubled Ecuador’s defence and combined with dangerous deliveries from Goodwin, Australia created many chances.
However, their defence was not as stodgy and resolute as we saw in Qatar; Ecuador were having lots of joy down both flanks swinging in dangerous deliveries, and Ecuador’s attackers were able to find spaces between the back four far too easily for Graham Arnold’s liking.
The second half showed a much more assured defensive performance, as the side settled back into a solid defensive shape that repelled Ecuador’s attempts to level the game.
A CHANCE FOR THE YOUNGSTERS AND FRINGE PLAYERS TO IMPRESS
Despite Arnold stating that he wanted to play many of the World Cup heroes, many fans were also hoping to see some young guns and fringe players to get a chance to shine in green and gold.
Whilst Aiden O’Neill made his debut, much of the starting side was similar to that of the World Cup. There was no movement from the bench until just after the hour mark, with Brandon Borrello making his first Socceroos appearance in nearly two years, and more intriguingly a Socceroos debut for Alexander Robertson, who is currently plying his trade for Manchester City in their youth ranks.
The fans got to see Garang Kuol and Marco Tilio with 15 minutes left – with the latter scoring in what was a great moment – but there was a sense of disappointment that Arnold didn’t use this match as a chance to experiment more, though there is still one more match to go in Melbourne.
A WELCOME HOME, BUT HAS THE WORLD CUP FADED FROM MEMORY?
This match is the first of two on home soil designed to be a ‘welcome home’ for the World Cup heroes that achieved so much in Qatar. Yet the crowd figure suggests that – at least in the public conscience – the World Cup is beginning to fade from memory.
The crowd was well below capacity at just over 20,000 figure, despite being a rare international fixture on a Friday night. The fact the game is a friendly match against a country that many non-football fans would be eager to see live, as well as predictions of rainy weather in Parramatta, but it is still disappointing nonetheless after the high of how the Socceroos united the nation.
Obviously, some seismic events have occurred in the Australian football landscape since then, which has also impacted the ability of football to kick on domestically in popularity and interest.
Final Score
Australia 3 (Irvine 12′, Mabil 32′, Kuol 84′)
Ecuador 1 (Sarmiento 23′)
Image Credit: Brendan Thorne/Getty Images
