Excuse me for being cliche but this morning's friendly between the Socceroos and Ecuador was truly a game of two halves. The Socceroos didn't have the best preparation heading into the match, their first training session in London earlier in the week had to be cancelled due to heavy rain and the team was hampered by injuries to key players. The limited preparation meant that we didn't know what to expect from the Socceroos but hopes have been at an all time high since Ange took over. Ecuador were very strong throughout the Sth. American World Cup qualifiers finishing 4th in a very tough campaign. However, they are a team in transition and still figuring out their strongest lineup to lead them in Brazil 2014. The match was played at Millwall's home ground "The New Den".
First Half
The Socceroos came out of the blocks quick and when I mean quick I mean really quick, they were up 2-0 by the 16th minute. Once again it was clear from the start that the Socceroos were sticking to Ange's idea to play out from the back, hold onto the ball and use short quick passes to get through the opposition's defense. Australia's starting lineup was one of the youngest in recent memory but that didn't stop the team from playing with a confidence that only Ange can instill. Ecuador looked completely lost on the pitch in the opening stages and the Socceroos took advantage, Tim Cahill netted the first of the match on the 8th minute breaking Australia's all time scoring record with 30 goals. The Socceroos were playing at a high tempo that left Ecuador chasing shadows. Not long after the first goal Tim Cahill was brought down in the box and a penalty was awarded, our new captain Mile Jedinak slotting it away comfortably. Australia continued to trouble Ecuador with their quick touches and swift counter-attacks, on the 32nd minute mark Cahill struck again, yet another header. Ecuador didn't know what hit them.
Second Half
The second half was a completely different story. Ecuador made a heap of changes at half time and pressured Australia from the get go. The Socceroos were under constant pressure and our defenders would finally be put to the test. Ecuador started to look like the team that were so strong in the qualifiers and it didn't take long for them to find the back of the net, Martinez scoring in the 57th minute. A few minutes later the match turned into a nightmare for the Socceroos, Mile Jedinak's poor back pass led to Mitch Langerak's rushed decision of coming out for the ball but catching Valencia instead in a dreadful tackle. A converted penalty and a red card saw Australia turn to shambles. The Socceroos became very disorganised from being one man down and were unable to hold on to the ball, they could only try to hang on. Unfortunately it was just to much, Ecuador scored one more from a counter-attack and another from a bad error by Wilkinson. The Socceroos lost 4 - 3 at the death in an unbelievable match.
The positives were... Australia continues to play with confidence and seem fully committed to Ange's style of football. Even though we lost it was still great to watch us playing exciting and attacking football, especially in that first half an hour. The team's transition is nearly complete with plenty of good young players coming through. Even though Ecuador were far from their best in the first half we should still be proud that we scored against them fairly easily. Top quality teams continue to under estimate our ability, something that could easily happen at the World Cup.
The negatives were... getting completely overrun once Ecuador's top players were on the field. Being unable to control the match thus throwing away a three goal lead. Completely losing structure and discipline in the second half. Even when down to ten men the Socceroos should have been able to defend and maintain a structure. Too many unforced mistakes we can't afford to make in the World Cup. No obvious plan when we're under pressure and don't have much possession.
All in all it was another encouraging performance by the Socceroos which left you wondering what might have happened if we kept our discipline and all 11 players on the pitch. We continue to improve but our defense and structure is still worrying at times. Unfortunately this match was quite unusual in the way it unfolded and left more questions than answers. Australia will not get another match before Ange gets to choose his World Cup squad, exciting times ahead!
