Demandred
07-01-2007, 04:21 AM
HARRY Kewell is back. Coming on as a second-half substitute last night, Australia's most potent player delivered a lethal right-foot strike to seal victory against Singapore.
Captain Mark Viduka scored his first Socceroos goals since 2005 as Australia made a spluttering start to their Asian Cup campaign.
Viduka looped a header which glanced in off the post in the 53rd minute, the referee awarding the goal as the ball crossed the line moments before it was cleared by the defence.
It was Viduka's seventh international goal and he shapes as a key aerial threat against the smaller Asian defenders when the real tournament begins.
He added his second after 87 minutes, nodding home a perfectly-weighted Kewell cross.
But just as encouraging was the performance of Kewell, who ran freely and looks to have shaken off the assortment of leg injuries that have stifled him since last year's World Cup.
The Liverpool winger split the defence and his strike from the edge of the area was too strong for the keeper to push wide.
It was Kewell's eighth goal for Australia and he will gain a lot from the hitout.
Australia opens its Asian Cup campaign against Oman in Bangkok next Sunday and last night's match was a good wake-up call. They also have pool matches against Iraq and Thailand.
It was an erratic performance from Graham Arnold's team, which was to be expected with most of his men playing their first games in several months.
The defence was exposed at times and Arnold will be looking for a tighter effort next week.
The Socceroos struggled in the opening 45 minutes with Kewell on the bench and Tim Cahill left off the team sheet.
If the Aussies were in any doubt as to how serious the opposition was, the near full-house on hand to farewell 34-year-old Singapore national stadium – which will soon be demolished – was a timely reminder.
Australia received a surprise before the game when the rarely-heard second verse of Advance Australia Fair was played.
Throw in the pre-game presentations, which delayed kick-off by 10 minutes, and the oppressive conditions, and the Australians looked dishevelled before the game even started.
Despite missing their two leading strikers, Singapore had the first genuine chance after some slack Socceroos marking.
Khairul Amri skied his shot from point-blank range to squander the golden chance.
AUSTRALIA 3 (Viduka 50m 86m, Kewell 75m) d SINGAPORE 0. Crowd: 45,000.
Captain Mark Viduka scored his first Socceroos goals since 2005 as Australia made a spluttering start to their Asian Cup campaign.
Viduka looped a header which glanced in off the post in the 53rd minute, the referee awarding the goal as the ball crossed the line moments before it was cleared by the defence.
It was Viduka's seventh international goal and he shapes as a key aerial threat against the smaller Asian defenders when the real tournament begins.
He added his second after 87 minutes, nodding home a perfectly-weighted Kewell cross.
But just as encouraging was the performance of Kewell, who ran freely and looks to have shaken off the assortment of leg injuries that have stifled him since last year's World Cup.
The Liverpool winger split the defence and his strike from the edge of the area was too strong for the keeper to push wide.
It was Kewell's eighth goal for Australia and he will gain a lot from the hitout.
Australia opens its Asian Cup campaign against Oman in Bangkok next Sunday and last night's match was a good wake-up call. They also have pool matches against Iraq and Thailand.
It was an erratic performance from Graham Arnold's team, which was to be expected with most of his men playing their first games in several months.
The defence was exposed at times and Arnold will be looking for a tighter effort next week.
The Socceroos struggled in the opening 45 minutes with Kewell on the bench and Tim Cahill left off the team sheet.
If the Aussies were in any doubt as to how serious the opposition was, the near full-house on hand to farewell 34-year-old Singapore national stadium – which will soon be demolished – was a timely reminder.
Australia received a surprise before the game when the rarely-heard second verse of Advance Australia Fair was played.
Throw in the pre-game presentations, which delayed kick-off by 10 minutes, and the oppressive conditions, and the Australians looked dishevelled before the game even started.
Despite missing their two leading strikers, Singapore had the first genuine chance after some slack Socceroos marking.
Khairul Amri skied his shot from point-blank range to squander the golden chance.
AUSTRALIA 3 (Viduka 50m 86m, Kewell 75m) d SINGAPORE 0. Crowd: 45,000.