Newcastle Jets striker James Holland came back into the starting line-up having served his one match suspension during the first match of the tournament, whilst Nik Tsattalios was unavailable for selection due to the red card he received in the opening match.

Uzbekistan had the better of the opening exchanges, with the advantage of having a strong breeze at their backs for the first half.

Goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne was forced to make a number of crucial saves during the first 30 minutes to keep his team in the match.

Uzbekistan took the lead in the 37th minute when Karimov Sherzodbek beat three Australian defenders and then struck a powerful left footed shot past Redmayne from the edge of the box.

Tahj Minniecon equalised shortly after the start of the second half after he dispossessed Karimov in the Uzbek penalty pox and neatly placed his shot into the goal.

For the remainder of the match, the Young Socceroos pushed for the winner but a resolute Uzbek defence kept the Australians out. Both teams had to settle for a share of the points at the end of the 90 minutes.

Head coach Jan Versleijen said there was room for improvement in his team’s performance after the match.

"We didn't reach the level we had against Thailand and this was in part due to the defending and organisation by Uzbekistan,” said Versleijen.

“In the second half we played better, and more forward after we equalised, but we just couldn't find an opening to score another goal.

“We are still in the race to qualify for the next round and a good result against Jordan will see us get to the quarter finals."

In the other group match, Thailand defeated Jordan 3-2.

The Qantas Young Socceroos will play their play their final Group D match against Jordan on Wednesday 5 November. The top two teams from Group D will progress to the quarter finals stage of the competition.

The top 4 nations from the AFC U19 Championships will qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup which will be held in Egypt from 10-31 July 2009.

Match Details
Uzbekistan 1 ( Karimov Sherzodbek 37’)
Australia 1 (Tahj Minniecon 48’)
Monday 3 November 2008
Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Australia line-up: 18.Andrew Redmayne, 2.Seb Ryall, 3.Ben Kantarovski, 4.Luke DeVere (c), 6.Mitch Nichols, 15.Matt Jurman, 7.Tahj Minniecon, 8.James Holland, 11.Thomas Oar, 20.Marko Jesic (9.Milos Lujic 82’), 28.Daniel Mullen (34.Ryan McGowan 73’).

Substitutes Not Used: 12.Jason Naidovski, 14.Oliver Bozanic, 16.Peter Cvetanovski, 19.Sam Munro, 23.Isaka Cernak, 24.James Brown, 36.Nathan Elasi, 42.Daniel Ireland (gk), 41.Michael McEntagert (gk),

Yellow Cards: Ben Kantarovski 33’, Daniel Mullen 68’.

Red Card: Nil.