Australia into Asian Cup quarters
AUSTRALIA beat Indonesia 4-0 in the first game of the Asian Cup knockout stage yesterday to advance to the quarter-finals after a feisty match at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Indonesia had not beaten Australia in 43 years and, despite the south-east Asian side’s loud supporters vastly outnumbering the Australian fans in the tiny arena, it was Graham Arnold’s side who prevailed after capitalising on their chances.
“Credit to Indonesia, I think they made it tough. Physically, they were very big and strong. It was a tough game. The quality that we’ve got up front came through today,” Arnold told reporters.
“Asian Football is coming along with leaps and bounds. We expected that, that’s exactly what we said to the boys, ‘Be ready for a fight. Be ready for a physical battle.’ Because that’s what Indonesia is going to bring.
“The improvement I saw today was the individual belief... In a lot of ways (they played with) more freedom and were relaxed, that’s what I want. It’s good to have a great system of play and it’s good to have great attacking patterns.”
Indonesia started the game on the front foot and gave their opponents an early scare with an effort on goal but Australia took the lead in the 12th minute when Jackson Irvine’s cross was deflected into the net by defender Elkan Baggott.
Australia weathered the storm as
Indonesia attempted to find a way through their staunch defence, before Boyle gave them a two-goal cushion on the stroke of halftime when he connected with Gethin Jones’s cross to head in at the far post.