Socceroos win opening Asian Cup Qualifier

The Socceroos have come from behind to defeat Bahrain 3-1 in the opening Asian Cup qualifying match at the Bahrain National Stadium in Manama.

It was the first outing for the national team since the epic matches against Uruguay last November and also the first since Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation on January 1.

With the match falling on a non FIFA International date Australia fielded an inexperienced line-up which, aside from captain Josip Skoko, had a combined total of 63 appearances. There were five debutants with goalkeeper Ante Covic, former Young Socceroos captain Scott McDonald and Central Coast Mariners defender Michael Beauchamp all appearing for the first time.

Striker Brett Holman and Sydney FC midfielder David Carney also made their national team debuts after coming on as substitutes.

The first half saw the home side score after 36 minutes leaving Australia one goal down at the interval. Although Bahrain hit the post just after the break, Australia scored in the 53rd minute through Archie Thompson and went on to largely dominate the second half.

Thompson, who was a late addition to the squad having been released by his club PSV Eindhoven over the weekend, headed home a Skoko pass for his 21st goal for Australia.

Skoko scored the crucial second goal 11 minutes from full time with a perfectly-placed shot from the edge of the penalty area – his eighth for Australia in what was his second appearance wearing the captain’s armband.

Ahmad Elrich rounded out the scoring from the penalty spot in the 88th minute with a twice-taken penalty.

Lebanon and Kuwait played out a 1-1 draw in Beirut in the other Group D match played today with the two top teams in the group to progress to the AFC Asian Cup in July 2007.

The tournament will feature the top 16 nations emerging from this years qualifiers, which consist of six groups of four nations playing home and away matches throughout the year.

The AFC Asian Cup 2007 will be jointly hosted by Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The Australians will convene in the Netherlands next week for a four-day camp with the next match not until May 25 at the MCG when Australian-based fans will have their only chance to show their support for the Socceroos prior to the FIFA World Cup in June.

Australian line-up:
Ante Covic; Michael Thwaite (Brett Holman h/t), Michael Beauchamp, Jon McKain; Jade North, Alvin Ceccoli, Luke Wilkshire, Josip Skoko; Ahmad Elrich, Archie Thompson, Scott McDonald (David Carney 82’)

Unused Substitutes - Alex Brosque, Spase Dilevski, Michael Petkovic, Michael Valkanis, Carl Valeri, Nick Ward.   Cautions Wilkshire 46+1’, Holman 63’.