Juric got his feet in a mess as he spurned a close-range chance on 57 minutes with the scores locked at 0-0 in Thursday’s 2018 World Cup qualifier at Perth’s nib Stadium.

The miss prompted groans from the frustrated 18,923 fans in attendance, but Juric went from zero to hero within a minute.

The FC Luzern striker, in his just second Socceroos appearance this year, found space down the right before whipping in a ball for Massimo Luongo to convert.

On 64 minutes, he confirmed his hero status, poking home from close range from an Aaron Mooy corner for his third Socceroos goal.

Juric, who was preferred ahead of Tim Cahill in the starting line-up, admitted his miss was a moment he’d prefer forget.

“It surprised me,” Juric said. “It caught me a little bit off guard.

“Accidents happen. That’s what I’m going to call it.

“It’s just an accident, things happen like that in football.

“I think what’s important is I tried to stay strong in my mind and kept pushing. I got rewarded with an assist and a goal.

“I’ll remember tonight sometimes for the wrong reasons but it’s always good to stay positive.”

Juric’s goal was his first in green and gold since the 2015 Asian Cup when he netted against Oman.

It was a striker’s goal, finding himself in the right place at the right time, but comes on the back of good form at Luzern where he’s scored twice this term.

“That is really good for a striker,” he said.  “That’s where you want to find yourself, in those dangerous positions.

“It was really good to get in that spot and that goal.”

Juric’s only other Australia appearance this year was as a substitute against England, with injury holding him back.

The 25-year-old is now enjoyed a clean bill of health at Luzern giving him his best chance to establish himself in the Socceroos first-choice XI.

“My fitness levels are good,” he said. “I’ve played six games in a row of 90 minutes, so I’m really confident about my fitness now, so I’ve got to push on from here.

“That’s my main goal for my season, especially the first half, to get my body right and in shape, then hit the second half of the season really hard and make an impact then.

“I’m sure I’ll get good opportunities to show what I can do with the Socceroos.

“I feel great here, it’s like a little family. The boys are fantastic, we all play all over the place so to come back it feels like home.”