After the frustrating defeat to Jordan, the Socceroos got their World Cup qualification campaign back on track with a comfortable home win against Kyrgyzstan in Canberra.
The goalscorers were Mile Jedinak with a first half penalty, and Tim Cahill, who scored early on in the second half followed by an own goal off a corner.
Smithers, release the hounds
Ange Postecoglu went for a rather aggressive approach with his initial team selection, opting to play two strikers like he did in the Perth game. Tomi Juric paired with Cahill up top; behind them was Massimo Luongo and Aaron Mooy who combined very well to orchestrate the attack. It also prompted the following from Daniel Garb:
Mass Luongo clearly enjoying reacquainting himself with a football and not seeing it fly over his head, QPR style. #routeone #AUSvKGZ
— Daniel Garb (@DanielGarb) November 12, 2015
Mile Jedinak was handed a start for some much needed game time since he is on the outer at Crystal Palace alongside Mark Milligan who was able to get forward and support the attack when needed.
I was saying Boo-urns
It was a tough break for Juric to come off with what is being reported as a groin injury, but it did bring about the introduction of Nathan Burns who worked hard and was impressive. He was all over the pitch and managed to win the penalty that would give the Socceroos their first goal. His lateral movement opened up space for the midfielders to break into and made sure that a defender was keeping an eye on him. When the team lines up with a fairly narrow midfield, having a mobile striker like Burns to stretch things out will be a useful tactical asset to have up its sleeve.
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