Asian Cup quarter-final: China 0-2 Australia – as it happened
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http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2015/jan/22/asian-cup-china-australia-live Version 0 of 1. 11.33pm AEST12:33 Final thoughts Am I the only one who thinks Cahill’s header was better than his overhead kick? What a leap. A great individual performance and if, as expected, the Socceroos face Japan in the semi-final they will need more of the same from their half-man, half-salmon talisman. While Cahill will be plastered over the back pages, the Socceroos can also take heart from their defensive performance. There were a few nerves at the start of the match but a clean sheet will boost morale at the back before their biggest test yet. And despite his less-than convincing performance, expect Jedinak to be much improved by the time they reach Newcastle. Updated at 12.04am AEST 11.20pm AEST12:20 Full-time: Australia 2-0 China That’s it. Comfortable in the end for the Socceroos thanks to Cahill. Updated at 11.56pm AEST 11.19pm AEST12:19 90 mins+2: Cahill will get the plaudits but there’s been some good performances all round for the Socceroos. Jedinak wasn’t at his best but he’ll be better after getting a game under his belt. Updated at 11.35pm AEST 11.16pm AEST12:16 89 mins: Quick-thinking Dalei tackles Burns outside the area. He’s kept the score respectable. Three minutes of added time. Updated at 12.12am AEST 11.14pm AEST12:14 88 mins: Dalei has had a corker. He tips another one round the post from Milligan, then promptly claims the corner in convincing style. China’s No.1 can hold his head up. Updated at 12.12am AEST 11.13pm AEST12:13 87 mins: Time to tempt fate methinks by looking ahead. UAE v Japan tomorrow night for the right to play the Socceroos in Newcastle. I know who I’d prefer to face. 11.10pm AEST12:10 83 mins: Milligan! What a chance! He should have finished it from close range but Dalei knees it away. Updated at 11.41pm AEST 11.09pm AEST12:09 82 mins: Bit of a “going through the motions” feel to the game now. China have had their inevitable spell of pressure and it’s come to nothing. Yang Xu comes on for Wu Xi. Updated at 11.41pm AEST 11.06pm AEST12:06 79 mins: Cahill comes off to a rapturous round of applause. He’s done it again. On comes Milligan. Updated at 11.06pm AEST 11.03pm AEST12:03 76 mins: China on top again, partly because they’re pressing more and partly because the Socceroos have taken their foot off the pedal. 11.02pm AEST12:02 11.01pm AEST12:01 74 mins: China still fighting. Wu Yei heads over a corner at the near post. If they nick one in the next five minutes it’ll be an interesting 10 minutes. 10.59pm AEST11:59 Well said that man. 10.58pm AEST11:58 72 mins: Sun Ke off for Yu Hai. 10.58pm AEST11:58 70 mins: In answer to my own question, China have responded well. Jiang Zhipeng fires one at goal and Ryan scrambles it away. Then Zheng Zie hits one just wide. The Socceroos being tested for the first time this half. 10.55pm AEST11:55 68 mins: Leckie off, Burns on. 10.54pm AEST11:54 66 mins: It’s all about how China respond now. If the Socceroos can hold them at bay for another 10 minutes, it’ll be game over. Updated at 10.55pm AEST 10.51pm AEST11:51 GOAL! Australia 2-0 China 64 mins: Trademark Cahill! Absolutely perfect header right into the corner after a cross from Davidson. Even Dalei can’t reach that one. Updated at 10.52pm AEST 10.50pm AEST11:50 63 mins: Another save from Dalei. The Socceroos need to kill this game off before China regroup. 10.47pm AEST11:47 61 mins: Finger-tip save to deny Cahill! Great goalkeeping, it was just creeping in until his intervention. Updated at 10.48pm AEST 10.47pm AEST11:47 59 mins: Bresciano - how did he miss! Great lay off from Leckie but Bresciano fires over from close range. That’s his last contribution - Troisi replaces him. Updated at 10.47pm AEST 10.44pm AEST11:44 57 mins: Oooo! Kruse inches from steering a Luongo cross goalwards. That would have seriously troubled the keeper. 10.41pm AEST11:41 54 mins: Bresciano’s set-pieces have been strangely off tonight. Another free-kick sails harmlessly over. 10.40pm AEST11:40 10.39pm AEST11:39 53 mins: The Socceroos are suddenly full of confidence. Funny that. They need to stay switched on at the back though. Updated at 12.10am AEST 10.37pm AEST11:37 50 mins: You can almost hear the collective sigh of relief around Suncorp Brisbane Stadium. 10.35pm AEST11:35 GOAL! Australia 1-0 China 48 mins: Goooooooal! Cahill with an overhead kick. Not quite as classy a finish as it sounds, in fact it looks like Cahill accidentally took out his marker with a clash of heads from the initial corner. Still, great awareness to get the shot away. Updated at 10.53pm AEST 10.32pm AEST11:32 46 mins: Kruse fires over from outside the box. Bit hopeful but the intent was there. 10.31pm AEST11:31 Second half: China 0-0 Australia And we’re off again. Socceroos need to carry on where they left off. 10.29pm AEST11:29 10.17pm AEST11:17 Half-time: China 0-0 Australia All square at the break. A pretty tense start for the Socceroos and China living up to their reputation as the tournament’s surprise packets (that’s “surprise package” for the expats). Join me after the break for more. Updated at 10.19pm AEST 10.14pm AEST11:14 43 mins: Well they started badly but the Socceroos are definitely on the ascendance as half-time approaches. A couple of good chances should have been put away though. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into another game of missed opportunities. Updated at 10.15pm AEST 10.09pm AEST11:09 39 mins: Great defending from Ren Hang to distract Cahill. Deep cross to the back post and Hang just stands his ground against the Socceroos talisman - which sounds a lot simpler than it is. Updated at 10.11pm AEST 10.06pm AEST11:06 35 mins: Bresciano whips one into the box but the resulting free header from Trent Sainsbury sails over. Clear chance but should have been on target. Shades of the South Korea game. Updated at 10.08pm AEST 10.05pm AEST11:05 34 mins: Socceroos finally getting a lot of the ball but so far there’s been no real incision. A lot more promising though. 10.01pm AEST11:01 31 mins: Bit better from the Socceroos, they seem to be having more trouble with butterflies than moths. 9.58pm AEST10:58 28 mins: Ooooo close! Leckie stings the keeper’s palms from the edge of the area. Corner... but it’s another poor one from Bresciano. Updated at 9.59pm AEST 9.57pm AEST10:57 27 mins: The last few minutes has been a smidge more promising for the Socceroos. They look so much better going forward than defending. Updated at 10.52pm AEST 9.56pm AEST10:56 25 mins: Jedinak heads into the side-netting from a deep Bresciano cross. That’s more like it. Updated at 9.56pm AEST 9.54pm AEST10:54 24 mins: Bresciano wastes a corner with a low delivery. He should be picking out Cahill every time. 9.53pm AEST10:53 22mins: The Socceroos not looking switched on at all after the opening quarter. The good news is China haven’t capitalised (so far) and the Socceroos can only get better. 9.52pm AEST10:52 Strange thing about the moths at Suncorp. I went to the game on Saturday and was harassed by moths for two hours. I got home and found my house filled with them too. It’s a little like Planet of the apes in Queensland, only with moths. I expect a credit when the film comes out. Phil Withall 9.51pm AEST10:51 20 mins: Ji Xiang steers one just wide at the near post from a Zhang Chengdong cross. It’s not going according to plan at all for Ange. Still 0-0 though. 9.49pm AEST10:49 18 mins: Header from Cahill goes wide... but he was offside anyway. Jedinak booked for a foul as China hit on the break. Not his night so far. 9.47pm AEST10:47 16 mins: Another mistake by Jedinak. He’s looking rusty. China very much on top. 9.44pm AEST10:44 13 mins: Sloppy stuff from the Socceroos almost leads to a one on one with Ryan. Good covering tackle but it shouldn’t have come to that. 9.41pm AEST10:41 11 mins: And China pick up where they left off with a break down the right that ultimately comes to nothing. Socceroos need to settle. 9.40pm AEST10:40 9 mins: Bit of a break as Mei Fang gets some treatment. Probably not a bad time to pause for the Socceroos. China have started better. Updated at 9.40pm AEST 9.37pm AEST10:37 7 mins: ... but it fails to beat the first man. Wasted. 9.37pm AEST10:37 6 mins: Free-kick on the edge of box to China. Dangerous. 9.35pm AEST10:35 4mins: Cagey start so far, not that it’s keeping the crowd quiet. Big number of China fans in the stadium. 9.33pm AEST10:33 The Great Wall is long but not particularly high. If it can be seen from space so can the Bruce Higgway. I’m sick to the back teeth of this nonsense, Alan Jones sick. - Patrick O’Brien 9.31pm AEST10:31 Kick-off And away we go. Bit scrappy from both sides early doors. 9.29pm AEST10:29 Handshakes over in the centre circle. That’s some solid hand-work from the two captains. Not long now... 9.26pm AEST10:26 Anthem time. Some of the ball boys are loving it... some look scared to death. 9.24pm AEST10:24 9.22pm AEST10:22 Bit of rain in Brisbane tonight means the second episode of “When Moths Attack” has been postponed. They were everywhere on Saturday. It was like a living ticker-tape parade. 9.18pm AEST10:18 Is Ange’s coaching naive? When South Korea scored they set up with two narrow banks of four. Australia tried to score by going through South Korea’s wall rather than to get behind it. Australia’s best chance was when Massimo Luongo got behind South Korea and cut the ball back to Troisi. Do Australia practice scenarios such as when they go behind in the scoring or do they just rely on all out attack and hope to win. - Raymondreardon First email of the night and the former snooker legend (possibly) makes an interesting point. 9.14pm AEST10:14 9.13pm AEST10:13 9.04pm AEST10:04 Anyone watch the other match? South Korea 2-0 Uzbekistan after extra time. They just keep scraping out those wins. No goals conceded yet either. 8.59pm AEST09:59 Well here we are again. The venue’s the same, but the stakes have changed considerably. Five days after the “who cares?” defeat to South Korea in an essentially meaningless group match, the Socceroos are back at Queensland’s famous Suncorp Stadium Brisbane Stadium with a place in the semi-finals on the line. It’s squeaky bum time, as a certain scowly-faced Scottish manager might say. On paper, China shouldn’t really pose too many problems for the Socceroos, but like a deranged Targaryen king who sets fire to his rivals, Team Dragon have sprung a nasty shock on every side they’ve faced this tournament. Underestimate them at your peril. Will they pull off their biggest shock so far? Will they be smashed like China in the Socceroos’ hands? And will I be able to get through tonight’s blog without comparing either side’s defence to a great wall? It’s a metaphor so obvious you can see it from space. We’ll have the answers in a couple of hours. For the Socceroos, reaching the last four is the minimum passing grade for Ange Postecoglou, especially after the sky-high expectations that followed back-to-back batterings of Kuwait and Oman. The only thing standing in their way, like some vast man-made barrier (or a great wall if you will), is Alain Perrin’s dark horses. Will they manage it? Who knows, but at least we have an early answer to that metaphor question. Contact me at richard.gadsby.casual@guardian.co.uk with your views. Updated at 9.08pm AEST 8.45pm AEST09:45 Richard Gadsby will be the man with the keyboard at his fingertips for tonight’s big game in Brisbane, which pits hosts Australia against China, one of the most in-form teams at the tournament. An intriguing couple of hours lie ahead. While we wait for Richard to get into the hot seat, check out this to pass the time: |