Luke Wilkshire opened the scoring with a wonderstrike after just two and half minutes and Dean Heffernan made it two when he stole the ball off Archie Thompson's toes to slam it home just moments later.

A Heffernan throw-in found his old Central Coast team-mate Mile Jedinak in the box and he headed back towards Wilkshire, who had no trouble finding the net with his left foot.

The home side had barely had time to draw breath when Nicky Carle took a free kick from the right. It floated in, found Heffernan and Archie Thompson unmarked, and Heffernan pulled the trigger making it 2-0 inside five minutes.

But those five minutes of domination were soon a memory as loose passing and slack defence allowed Kuwait back into the game.

An early Kuwait substitution in the first half proved the key to unlocking Australia's already shaky defence.

After a warning shot Australia were luck to survive, Kuwait then struck twice within a few minutes as marauding runs up the right wing led to both goals just before half-time.

On 39 minutes, the attacking pressure finally cracked the Australian defence when Simon Colosimo made an error allowing Hamad Al Enezi in on goal. He stopped and steered his shot between Craig Moore's legs and into the far corner.

Bader Al Mutwa, the most impressive of the home side's players, then showed his excellent passing skills to set up the second. Given too much space he found an angle to slide a pass to Younes Nasser on the left. The striker did the rest and teams headed to half-time at 2-2.

Kuwait came out in the second half looking for more but Australia just managed to keep them at bay before slowing down play and holding possession, albeit without ever really looking like scoring.

Archie Thompson had the best chance when he was clear on goal but managed to fluff his shot and airswung as the ball trundled harmlessly over the byline for a goalkick.

Highlights from a game played out on a very poor pitch included Nikita Rukavytsya's late introduction of skill and pace, Nick Carle's cheeky chips, Dario Vidosic's determination and Luke Wilkshire's masterly role in midfield.

Those less pleased with their performances will include Matthew Kemp who struggled badly in the rightback role, Simon Colosimo who failed to live up to his domestic form and Thompson's barren run upfront.

Pim Verbeek was also vocal on the sidelines after he complained to AFC officials that someone in the crowd was shining a laser pointer into the eyes of Socceroos.

Although he was tactically more adventurous than usual - playing Thompson alongside Rukavytsya - he was again reluctant to make changes, with Bruce Djite and Matt Thompson only joining the action with seconds left on the clock.

The absence of Matthew Spiranovic and Shane Lowry from the bench was also a surprise choice, with Matt McKay being a preferred - but unused - option on the bench.

The result keeps Kuwait top of the group, tied on eight points with Australia, with Oman third on seven points and Indonesia on three points.

Australia play Indonesia in Brisbane in March and a draw will now be enough to guarantee qualification.

 

Kuwait 2 (Al Enazi 39 Yousuf 44)
Australia 2 (Wilkshire 3, Heffernan 5)
Kuwait SC, Kuwait City

Australia
82 . Eugene Galekovic (gk), 3.Craig Moore, 8. Luke Wilkshire. 11 Nick Carle (86. Matt Thompson 89), 16. Mile Sterjovski (45. Nikita Rukavytsya 60). 20. Simon Colosimo, 28. Mile Jedinak, 32. Archie Thompson (21. Bruce Djite 92)72. Dean Heffernan, 101. Dario Vidosic, 118. Matthew Kemp

Unused Subs:
88. Danny Vukovic, 41. Matt McKay