Subway Soccerers defeated Bahrain 2-0 in a friendly match at Abu Dhabi’s Baniyas Stadium on Saturday night local time.
After taking the lead in the first half through a Bahrain own goal, Mitchell Duke’s goal in the second half gave the Socceroos a two-goal lead.
Gethin Jones made his debut for the Socceroos in this match as #639, while Sam Silvera made his first start for his country.
For the first 10 minutes, neither team was able to create any forward progress, with Bahrain content to keep the Socceroos at bay with their deep back four. A theme that runs throughout the game.
The Socceroos’ first shot on target came in the 20th minute when Conor Metcalf found space on the edge of the box and fired a shot that was easily saved by Ebrahim Luftala.
Harry Souter and Cameron Burgess were both playing split balls in midfield against the forward players, both on the ground and in the air, which caused problems for the Bahrain defense.
Australia had a big chance in the 30th minute after some great build-up play from Jackson Irvine, who put Silvera through on the right, but his cross caught Craig Goodwin in the box and cut in to the right for 10 minutes. He missed the goal from a yard out.
The breakthrough came in the 35th minute, when Craig Goodwin sent in a powerful low cross from the left flank, which was met by Amin Binadi who slotted the ball into his own net. It was a disappointing goal for Bahrain, but the Socceroos’ early dominance was rewarded.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1743663591017082938
Just before half-time, Duke saw an acrobatic attack from close range go over the bar after forcing a turnover in the Goodwin and Bahrain defensive area. The first half ended 1-0 for the Socceroos.
The second period started in a similar style, with the Socceroos playing on the front foot, but to be fair to Bahrain, they were able to connect passes and advance the ball more often.
Duke scored the Socceroos’ 12th goal in the 60th minute when Goodwin headed the ball in from close range to make it 2-0.
This goal prompted Graham Arnold to drop Cameron Burgess, Conor Metcalfe, Mitchell Duke and Craig Goodwin and bring on Kai Rowles, Riley McGree, Kusini Yengi and Aziz Behic for the first time in the game. decided to change players.
Bahrain hit back in the 68th minute with an attack from the left and had a shot from a deflected cross, but Joe Gauci made a great save to find the back of the net.
Jones’ debut game ended in the 78th minute when he was replaced by Nathaniel Atkinson, and at the same time Marco Thirio came on to replace Silvera, who was making his first start for Australia and looked very strong.
The final exchanges of the match took place mainly in the middle of the park, with the Socceroos taking a two-goal lead and clinching victory.
Overall, it was a solid performance for the Subway Socceroos as the players had more time ahead of next week’s Asia Cup opener.
Subway Socceroos 2 (Own goal 35th minute, Mitchell Duke 60th minute)
bahrain 0
date: Saturday, January 6, 2024
venue: Baniyas Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Bahrain: 22. Ebrahim Luftala, 2. Amin Binadi, 3. (c) Waleed Al-Khayyam, 6. Mohamed Al-Khaldan, 7. Ali Madan (Ali Saeed 66′), 10. Komail Alaswad (Ebrahim Al-Khattar 66) ‘), 13. Moses Atedeh (Mohamed Abdulwahab 76 minutes), 14. Abdullah Al-Hashash (Mohamed Marhoun 55 minutes), 18. Mohamed Adel, 23. Abdullah Al-Qarashi (Mohamed Qayyum 76 minutes), 24. Jasim Khalif (Abdullah Yusuf 55 minutes)
Substitutes not used: 1. Abdulkarim Fardan, 21. Syed Mohamed Jafar, 4. Syed Mahdi Baqer, 15. Jassim Alshaf, 17. Ahmed Bugamal, 19. Hazza Ali, 20. Mahdi Humaidan, 25. Ibrahim・Alwari, 26. Hussain Arekel
yellow card: Mohamed Alkhardan 90 minutes
Red card: Nothing
Subway Soccer: 18. Joe Gauci, 25 years old. Gethin Jones (Nathaniel Atkinson 78 minutes), 19. Harry Souter, 21. Cameron Burgess (Kai Rowles 62 minutes), 5. Jordan Voss, 8. Conor Metcalfe (Riley McGree 62 minutes), 13 Aiden O’Neill, 22. (c) Jackson Irvine, 23. Craig Goodwin (Aziz Behic 62′), 15. Mitchell Duke (Kushini Yengi 62′), 7. Sam Silvera (Marco Tirio 78′)
Substitutes not used: 1. Matthew Ryan, 12. Lawrence Thomas, 2. Thomas Deng, 6. Martin Boyle, 9. Bruno Fornaroli, 17. Keanu Backus, 20. Lewis Miller, 24. Patrick Yazbeck, 26. John Iredale
yellow card: Craig Goodwin 63′
Red card: Nothing
Subway Soccer AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ Match Schedule (Group B):
Australia v India
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Al Rayyan’s Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
kick off: 2:30pm local time (10:30pm AEDT)
broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Syria v Australia
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
kick off: 2:30pm local time (10:30pm AEDT)
broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Australia v Uzbekistan
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Al Janob Stadium, Doha
kick off: 2:30pm local time (10:30pm AEDT)
broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
All AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 matches will be broadcast live on Paramount+