Tonight marked the end of an era and it highlighted why that era went on as long as it did. Australia just cannot find a worthy replacement for Tim Cahill in front of goal. Or can they?

Martin Boyle may well be that answer and he has a few parallels with Timmy. He’s come into the team after playing for another country in his junior years and he spent his first camp ineligible before the paperwork got done.

But it’s in front of goals where we need his career to mirror Tim’s and Boyle scored when he had the chances. Other Socceroos have spurned chances like those.

It was an emotional night for Australian football. There was a festive atmosphere but it should be remembered that this was a night of great change for the Socceroos. There’s a new board, a new future and no more goals from Tim Cahill.

Matthew Ryan – 6

He didn't have much to do but did it well. Stopping a bad back pass from Mustafa Amini is the only thing he can add to his highlight reel.

Aziz Behich – 6

Basically playing as a winger tonight, not from the formation as much as the Socceroo’s dominance. With that much territory he should have done more really. His performance tonight wasn’t bad but we’ve come to expect more from him and this might be a symptom of his lack of game time.

Milos Degenek – 7

An impressive display. He gets an assist for the second goal but could have easily had it himself. He was also solid in defence on the few occasions he was called upon.

Trent Sainsbury – 5.5  

Didn’t do as well defensively as Degenek but constantly showed his passing quality. He’s another one who needs to get more game time at club level.  

Rhyan Grant – 6

The Socceroos have always been a great reflection of our multicultural nation. But perhaps because of the nature of the world game and the jetsetters who usually make up the Socceroos, there was often an important part of our national identity missing: the bogan.

Finally the Socceroos have a loud and proud member of this culture. On the pitch tonight he put in a good shift without excelling.

Jackson Irvine – 6

Covered a lot of ground in midfield but didn’t create anything of note. That said, players in this position can have good games without standing out.

Mustafa Amini – 6

Consistency is his biggest issue. There are times in the game when he operates with immense quality and then there are times when he ignominiously fluffs it. If he can cut these inexplicable mistakes out of his game he’ll have an excellent career.

Aaron Mooy – 6

In his time at Huddersfield, they have occasionally pushed him up into the number 10 role he took up tonight. The consensus is usually that he’s more effective for the team in the deeper role, and this is true of his performance tonight too.

He played some lovely balls tonight and put in some good set pieces, but he hit some dreadful set pieces too.

Awer Mabil – 7

The future is looking bright down the wing for Australia. Mabil is having a great season and he’s taken this form into Socceroo camp. He was very dangerous and creative tonight but it didn’t result in any goals.