Good, bad and ugly as Arnold era open

IT was a Socceroos win that featured the good, the bad and the ugly. In patches Australia were good; Kuwait were bad; and the matted, clumpy pitch was ugly.

But the 4- 0 win was satisfying for Graham Arnold in his first visit to a senior international bench as head coach since September 11, 2007.

Arnold was keen to emphasise afterwards that he had focused solely on attack in his two training camps. Obligingly Kuwait offered little to test the Australian defence.

“We’re playing with three nines and the fullbacks giving us width, and it’s about getting more men in the box,” Arnold said.

The first goal came from Robbie Kruse’s beguiling cross, albeit fortunately thanks to Khalid Mohamed’s own goal, and consistently the visitors tried to stock the Kuwaiti box with plenty of bodies in scoring positions.

Apou Giannou was in one when he was gifted a goal by Dhari Sa’ed’s horrible error, but still the striker didn’t convince even after scoring. His confidence on the pitch seems brittle, even with the goal, perhaps a legacy of being courted by Ange Postecoglou and then dropped unceremoniously. But a fit- again Jamie Maclaren will surely be given a go next.

The pitch did Australia no favours, with the players clearly not trusting its stickiness. The quick movement and transition that Arnold wants should be rather easier at Suncorp and ANZ stadiums next month, for the games with South Korea on November 17 and Lebanon on November 20 respectively.

“Surfaces are everything,” said Arnold. “We expect back in Australia to have top pitches to help us play the way we want.”

Certainly there was encouragement from the energy that Arnold’s second half substitutions brought to the fray. Awer Mabil and Thomas Deng caught the headlines after the former’s goal but Daniel Ar- zani showed again his comfort and fearlessness at this level.

In the midst of them was a relative elder statesman, Tom Rogic, foraging far and wide in search of the ball and looking for angled passes to feet.

Having youthful vitality on the bench will be a vital part of Arnold’s armoury.

Next month South Korea will offer a far sterner test, but for now there is quiet encouragement to be gleaned from the first outing.

Which is just as well as the Asian Cup defence is only a fraction more than 2 ½ months away.

WE EXPECT BACK IN AUSTRALIA TO HAVE TOP PITCHES TO HELP US PLAY THE WAY WE WANT GRAHAM ARNOLD