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Australia were in complete control in all parts of the pitch for the vast majority of the game but it took until the last minute of the first half before Australia finally got on the scoreboard.

Luke Wilkshire made a charging run down the right flank which found Tim Cahill who volleyed it past the Welsh keeper who had no chance.

Australia came out in the second with even more attacking intent, stringing a series of aggressive onslaughts on the Welsh goal only to be denied by woodwork or deflections.

When Wales finally succumbed to the relentless pressure from the Socceroos it was to a textbook goal that flowed out of the Australian backline.

Up to 18 passes saw the ball move smoothly from defence into attack until Scott McDonald's final ball was deflected into the path of Robbie Kruse who coolly tapped it home.

A flurry of substitutions gave a debut cap to Adam Sarota and rare run for James Troisi but it upset the balance of Australia and Wales came into the match for the first time in the final 15 minutes.

Darcy Blake earned a consolation goal for the Dragons with eight minutes left on the clock and Wales pushed hard for an equaliser but Australia stood firm to the final whistle.

Overall though the Socceroos impressed with a mature possession-based game that controlled almost the entire match.

And while striker Scott McDonald is still searching for his first Australia goal, he put in possibly his  best performance in the green and gold with some excellent off the ball work and final third passing.

After the game, coach Holger Osieck was encouraged by the display.

"It is very important to have the group together again and our main objective was to assess how we are," he said.

"We had a couple of changes from previous games and I was very pleased by the overall performance.

"We were struggling a bit in the final ten minutes after a couple of substitutions but in between, we played some good football. We moved the ball well, we created some good opportunities. We had two goals. I think all in all it was a good performance.

Kruse's rising reputation as a goal machine was kept in perspective by Osieck: "We'll see - let's wait. One swallow doesn't make a summer! I tried a couple of things and see how it fits, I got some good impressions.

"For me it was more important to see how we got together rather than focus on the score. Of course the score is always important and I'm happy that we won here. It's good to win on the road and to win in Europe, but now we have to win the qualifiers."

Michael Zullo was again in the leftback role for Australia and at times struggled to cope with the challenge from Craig Bellamy and Gareth Bale.

"I think it was an excellent test [for Zullo]," admitted Osieck. "He got an impression of what is required at that standard of play.

"We have to face it - they have a couple of excellent individuals and they play at top clubs in the Premiership. I knew it would be a tough game and in particular for some players, but I think as a group we really responded well and played some good football."

Now he wants to iron out the flaws that saw the late goal before next month's World Cup qualifier against Thailand in Brisbane.

He added: "One thing is very sad to see is that for as long as I've been in charge that's the first goal we've conceded from a corner kick.

"But that was probably due to a couple of changes we had to make and there was a little bit of disorganisation but we can fix it.

"I think we are going to be ready [for Thailand match]. The boys know how to approach this game at home."

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