Strikers stun Young Socceroos in friendly

Paul Okon’s Young Socceroos squad have received a reminder of the work that lies ahead following a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Brisbane Strikers in a friendly match at Perry Park on Wednesday night.

The match formed part of a training camp for the representative squad who will embark on a qualifying tournament in Indonesia next month to begin the long process of qualifying for the 2013 Under-20 World Cup in Turkey.

The Young Socceroos squad, glittering with A-League and National Youth League standouts, controlled possession throughout the match. However for all their speed, movement and passing they were unable to convert their dominance into goals.

The visitor’s only score, a 25 yard rocket from new Adelaide United recruit Jake Barker-Daish, was a consolation that came in the final minute of the match.

Instead it was the resolute Strikers, who absorbed large amounts of pressure and duly converted the few chances presented, that walked away as unlikely victors before a small but loyal home crowd.

The Young Socceroos controlled possession efficiently throughout despite Brisbane’s high pressing defence. Centre back pairing Curtis Good and Connor Chapman looking particularly composed on the ball in the first half as they linked with the midfield to play out confidently from the back.

A handful of half chances fell to the Young Socceroos in the opening twenty minutes as the Strikers’ struggled to contain Brisbane Roar’s Nick Fitzgerald and new Newcastle Jets signings Mitch Cooper and Adam Taggart out wide.

Both Fitzgerald and Cooper each skewed a shot across the face of goal before Brisbane’s back four ultimately readjusted their line, a move would later catch the Young Socceroos’ attackers offside on a half-dozen occasions.

At the other end, and against the run of play, Striker Chris di Sipio evaded a challenge before spotting Young Socceroos keeper Jack Duncan off his line. His looping shot from 20 yards left Duncan stranded but, despite dipping dangerously, the ball bounced back off the crossbar to cruelly deny the Brisbane midfielder's audacity.

The best chance of the opening half predictably went to the Young Socceroos though. Cooper’s sly, angled pass played  new Jets teammate Taggart in behind the high Brisbane line. However, Taggart’s low shot, while solidly struck, was superbly turned behind by goalkeeper David Chambers, who had advanced quickly off his line.

It was the only time the Young Socceroos truly embarrassed Brisbane’s centre-back pairing of Nick Robinson and Alex Henderson though, whose height advantage put paid to any potential aerial option from the youngster’s repeated advances down both wings.

The second half continued in the same vein despite wholesale changes to both lineups. The more than twenty substitutions seen at the break simultaneously proving and disproving the old ‘game-of-two-halves’ cliche.

The first fifteen minutes was again dominated by the Young Socceroos before Brisbane struck on the counter just after the hour.

Josh Searle, after gaining possession in the visitor’s half, drew a defender before shaping the ball left to veteran Chay Hews. Hews had two attempts on goal, the first parried by keeper Nick Munro and the second blocked on the line, before the ball fell to the lurking Searle who made it third time lucky with a solid shot.

In response, the visitors upped the ante. Roar youth player Anthony Proia, who’d been lively since the start of the half, had a solid shot from twelve yards saved by Strikers reserve keeper Willem Rockett.

The subsequent ten minutes then saw Perth Glory’s Jesse Makarounas and Brandon O’Neill both blaze the ball well over from distance before keeper Rockett again denied Proia from close range following a low cross from Riley Woodcock.

However, despite controlling the midfield, the Young Socceroos passing and movement in the final third grew increasingly predictable. Former North Queensland Fury fullback Lorenzo Sippi denying several left-sided attacks with a combination of muscle and astute positioning.

The Striker’s second goal came with just under ten minutes to play. Di Sipio’s brilliant backheel just outside the box unleashing flying youth player Nathan Ryland, whose calm finish at full pace beat Munro on the near post.

The third came from another counter attack two minutes later. Jack Boxell used his strength to ride a sloppy challenge on the dribble, drawing a second defender before squaring the ball to Hews. As with the opener, Hews’ first shot was blocked by Munro, but this time the Striker's player/coach slotted home the rebound for an improbable 3-0 lead.

In the final minutes, the sting disappeared from the Young Socceroos play. Barker-Daish’s late goal was a speculative effort that, while restoring some credibility to the score, was ultimately too late to affect the final result.