Blog: Who Wants To Be Lone Striker?

THIS lone striker thing seems to be all the rage in coaching circles these days. More often than not it doesn’t create enough goal scoring opportunities.

The Socceroos again fielded a formation that was always going to isolate a player like Scott McDonald, who in my opinion is a baby box striker. He is a good goal poacher, who does not have the benefit of size nor speed.

I'll concede that with the right players, and with the ‘wingers' playing in the right offensive posture (i.e. as forwards, not midfielders), it can work. In an A-lLeague context, I think Queensland are a good example. For Australia, it was a dodgy call to expect McDonald to be able to pull it off.

The first half was disconcerting to watch. Apart from one very good chance, crafted from some quick thinking from McDonald after a defensive mistake, Australia looked less likely to break through, despite dominating possession.

Again, it was a salient example of the futility of being able to complete 20 to 30 passes in the middle third, but then have no idea how to break down a well structured and disciplined defensive unit. It's the 31st pass that really counts.

Balls played in to McDonald were 50-50 propositions, as he was frequently muscled off the ball. On the left, Kewell seemed to want to create something, but did not get the ball in space or at pace, and was unable to get behind his defender, with the attack generally having the urgency of a centipede with 98 missing legs.

We worked it and worked it, from right to left and back again, and I was left asking myself, how it could be that a team blessed with so much talent that it can afford to leave possibly its best player on the bench (Cahill), could look so dull. Our opponents, although capable, are playing in leagues that arguably are of a lower general standard than the A-League (2nd tier of the Czech league anyone?).

Pim was clearly not amused, and after the break we witnessed a gradual lifting of the intensity level, assisted no doubt, by a noticeable tiring of the Uzbek side.

By midway through the second half, we were truly dominating, and actually zipping the ball around the pitch with real purpose. Some good movement, and lovely first touches created some real penetration down both flanks, and with the introduction of Kennedy, the formation actually started to work the way I think it was intended.

Kennedy was able to get some good first touches, and play in his midfielders, who were running onto the ball at pace. The goal was quality, and really made Pim look like a genius, given Kennedy had only been on the field for six minutes. You can't help but wonder what the game may have looked like if Kennedy had started though.

I think both Kewell and Garcia would have had better overall games (rather than their relatively subdued overall impact) if this had been the case.

The real stars for the Socceroos were Bresciano, Neill, and Culina. All three were world class for the whole game. Bresciano, was sensational, spinning on the ball as he does, and leaving his marker stranded time and time again. He ran at the defence, and generally worked very hard.

Gold Coast supporters should be salivating at the prospect of Culina strutting his stuff in the A-league next season. I know I am. He was everywhere, and his range of passing was superb, let alone the way he strikes the ball with the laces from range. How Pim can even contemplate that this guy's role with the Socceroos may be under threat in light of the league he plays in, is beyond me.

Finally, Lucas Neill as Captain, and anchor of the defence, looked like an Australian version of Fabio Cannavaro. So composed, so confident, and technically proficient in everything he did. He provided a real example of how to defend, and lead from the back.

From a Mariners perspective, it was great to see Mile get another cap. Although his first pass was a nervous one, he was solid for the ten minutes he had on the pitch. It must be very exciting for him to know that Pim obviously has him so firmly in the frame for the final World Cup squad.

It was a deserving result, that was not without some talking points, however it's certainly a strange feeling to go from being typically the last qualifier for the World Cup, to possibly the first.

It's an anti-climax that I'm quite happy to live with.