The Socceroos went down to Greece 2-1 in the second game of the Dodoni series. It was the last game of the European calendar year for many of the players and the fatigue of a long season was clear on both sides however Greece showed more composure and desire on the night to get the victory.
Ange’s experimentation continued
With 7 changes from the side that kicked off in Sydney three days ago, the age of experimentation was well and truly underway for Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou.
A late change was announced as Adam Federici got the opportunity to start in place of Maty Ryan. Given the nature of the match, it was a bit surprising to not see Mark Birrighitti get a chance, however his time will likely come down the line.
Alex Gersbach was named at left back and made his debut in place of Brad Smith who played in each of the last two games. With Smith repeatedly caught out of position in the Sydney game by Vasilis Torosidis, it was interesting to see how Gersbach would fare since the scouting report on him says that his defensive skills are still in development.
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Player Ratings – Socceroos 1 Greece 2
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Same team, much greater challenge
It was immediately clear that Greece were in a much more adventurous and committed mindset than they were on Saturday. They pressed the Socceroos backline with impressive results and looked far more committed to the cause. The persistent fouling worked to perfection as they slowed the game down and prevented the Socceroos from establishing a rhythm and asserting themselves on the match. A far higher level of effort paid dividends as the visitors were rewarded with the game’s first goal early on in the first half, giving them a lead they would not relinquish.
If you don’t buy a ticket, you can’t win the raffle
When an opponent scores from 60 yards, all you can do is put your hands up and bow to a moment of sheer brilliance.
Maniatis capitalised on a Mark Milligan giveaway, and saw Federici off his line. It was a perfect strike that could have gone any which way and worked to perfection for Greece. Now watch every over-confident park footballer think he can do the same thing this weekend.
OH MY WORD! #AUSvGRE pic.twitter.com/FeX52rhcLy
— Outside90 (@Outside90) June 7, 2016
The Socceroos were poor
For every improvement the Greek team made over Saturday’s showing, the Socceroos had a similar step backwards.
It is not all doom and gloom for those players though, as it was a great test for the team to play someone that not only knew how to attack their vulnerable areas and had the skill to do so.
In the post-match interviews it was clear how frustrated the team was at their performance and how easily the opponents got under their skin, something that will improve as the side matures.
During halftime, one of the first ads to play was the Tag Heuer one featuring the Socceroos with the tag line “Don’t crack under pressure” which was fairly ironic considering that was just what the team had done in the past 45 minutes.
As combinations are still developing, the communication and confidence in one another wasn’t there when it was needed. The team would continually shoot themselves in the foot giving the ball away cheaply and not having a way around the pressing of Greece.
After a lackluster opening, the second half showed promise
It was a better showing as the team tried to get themselves back into the game.
Based on the results there was a decent response after the half time team talk and Trent Sainsbury could have saved a draw on his own. His first chance saw him send it high and wide from close range, but could not miss with his next effort – a header into an unguarded net.
The pressure was piled on late, but it was not to be.
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