The 29-year-old scored his first goal in just his second appearance for the Socceroos, but he was not satisfied with the result considering Australia was 2-0 up after five minutes.

Luke Wilkshire latched on to a rebounding ball after three minutes for his second goal in as many games before Heffernan slotted in from close range when the Kuwaiti defence failed to deal with a free kick.

"I just pushed forward for the corner and it got knocked down and I had a real lash at it and put it in the back of the net, so I was really happy." said Heffernan.

Heffernan said the Socceroos defence, led by skipper Craig Moore, regrouped after going two up in the expectation that the Kuwaitis, urged on by their home fans, would rebound strongly.

"We were playing a nice, high line and there was a lot of communication going on," he said. "Moorey led us well in the centre of the defence and we were just unlucky on the night with a couple of goals going in which let two points slip.

"In a way we gave it away but we battled our way through it. In the end, it's a point, but it's probably two points lost at the same time."

Heffernan admitted a team in Australia's position can be disadvantaged by scoring early, but he added:  "I think we went on with it and we had some more chances after that.

"But, in the end, when they got one goal, the crowd got behind them and they lifted."

The result leaves Australian needing a draw or better in their match against Indonesia in Brisbane in March to qualify for next year's tournament in Qatar.

Australia and Kuwait are tied on points and goal difference in the group ladder, but Kuwait top the table courtesy of the win over the Socceroos in Canberra. Both one point clear of Oman and Indonesia  prop up the bottom on three points.