Australia’s World Cup fate hangs in the balance following a 1-1 draw against Syria in Malaysia in the first leg of their World Cup play-off on Thursday night.
The Socceroos were headed to a hard fought 1-0 victory courtesy of a first half Robbie Kruse goal but were unable to hold out a determined Syrian team in the second half conceding a contentious penalty which Syrian striker Omar Alsoma converted in the 84th minute.
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou brought in Aziz Behich and Josh Risdon to the starting 11 as wing backs and pushed Matthew Leckie into a number 10 role in place of Tom Rogic. He also gave Matt Jurman his first cap in the back three alongside Sainsbury and Degenak.
Aaron Mooy was the outstanding Socceroo in the first half, controlling the tempo and creating openings with his long passing in oppressive conditions on an uneven pitch.
Milligan had a strong shot saved by Syrian keeper Ibrahim Alma, followed by a wasteful effort from Leckie. Leckie made amends for his miss by providing the assist for Kruse’s 31st minute goal. Syria looked dangerous on the counter with Alsoma combining twice with Omar Khrbin to produce shots on goal.
Early in the second half, Socceroo striker Tom Juric twice hit the post in quick succession. But after that moment the Syrians put the Socceroos under considerable pressure as they peppered the Socceroos box with crosses from both corners and open play.
One of those crosses resulted in the referee awarding a contentious penalty after an apparent push by Leckie into the back of Alsomo. Alsomo converted with the spot kick to square the tie. The Socceroos were denied a late winner when Syrian keeper Alma produced a reflex save from a Sainsbury header.
In the end a 1-1 scoreline was a fair result for both teams. The second leg is scheduled for this Tuesday evening in Sydney.
