Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WORLD CUP 2018 THE AUSSIES STRIKE OUT
Boss blasts attackers for tournament flop
BERT VAN MARWIJK blamed Australia’s exit on his toothless strikeforce.
The Dutchman, who is being replaced as Socceroos boss by Graham Arnold, departed with a broadside at his players’ inability to find the net.
They scored just twice in three games, both from Mile Jedinak penalties, which clearly irritated him.
“As a team, we’ve got better and better but it’s difficult for us to make that difference in front of goal,” he said after defeat to Peru saw Australia finish bottom of Group C.
“With France, we were at least their equal. Against Denmark we were even better – and today was the same – but we couldn’t score and that’s something we miss at this level.
“We had the most possession and more chances on goal. If you create chances, you have to score.
“But you need individual quality to score. And I couldn’t find a solution to that.”
Defeat capped a sorry sporting week for the Aussies.
They lost a rugby union Test series to Ireland for the first time in 39 years, and England whitewashed them 5-0 in oneday cricket.
Now this, going home with a solitary point to show for their efforts.
As for Peru, this win was a personal triumph for Paolo Guerrero, the striker whose World Cup dreams were saved by Jedinak.
The Peru captain was allowed to play in Russia only because of an open letter written by other Group C skippers that saw a contested drugs ban lifted.
He had a hand in the first goal, collecting a long through ball and then waiting for support before playing a perfectly-weighted pass to midfielder Andre Carrillo galloping down the right flank.
Carillo, on loan at Watford last season, met it on the full, sending a volley across Mat Ryan and into the bottom corner.
Peru looked dangerous on the break and effectively clinched the game five minutes after the restart, much to the delight of their 25,000 followers in the Fisht Stadium.
Christian Cueva made tracks down the left and fed the ball to Guerrero. The pass took a deflection but reached the 34-year-old, whose shot on the half-turn hit defender Aziz Behich’s foot before bouncing into the net.
Coach Ricardo Gareca said: “I’d like to congratulate my players. We had to be strong after being beaten unexpectedly twice in a row. The fans have been incredible for us.”