Socceroos stars Tim Cahill and Trent Sainsbury say their team mates must learn to deal with timewasting tactics.
Beaten 2-1 by Greece at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, the Ethniki set out to frustrate Australia with a hard-nosed defensive mindset and seemed to achieve that. Ange Postecoglou’s side started sluggishly and never found its rhythm, made to pay by falling 2-0 behind before the break.
Sound structurally and defensively, the experienced Greece looked to break up and slow down the play whenever possible, and the hosts’ patience visibly began to wear thin as the match progressed.
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Both Sainsbury and Cahill were left to rue the tactics, but admitted the Green and Gold needed to learn from their frustrations and keep composed.
“We looked at the game minutes in the last game (in Sydney). It’s less game minutes than what we play against Asian teams,” Cahill said.
“A lot of teams can’t work with our tempo, so they have to play that way. That’s a compliment to us, and it’s something we’ll have to address because it’s hard when someone’s rolling over for a long time.
“But they’ve got good experience, they’re a good team, and they’re there in the rankings because they’ve earned that right. We’ll learn from that.”
“We were our own worst enemy tonight. Greece came out firing from the first whistle and we played into their hands, forcing balls into midfield,” Sainsbury said.
“We’re trying to get over the 60-minute mark of ball in play every game, and it’s frustrating when they’re going down in the first half trying to timewaste.
“It’s a friendly, I see that, I understand that, but at the same time we want to win every game at our level, and at World Cup pace. But when you’ve got a team that’s going down every five minutes, it does make it difficult.”
Both Cahill and Sainsbury will return to their respective clubs in China, whose season is still continuing.
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