Mitchell Duke played just over an hour for the Subway Socceroos against Bahrain on Sunday, earning him vital minutes ahead of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.
The striker was successful as he scored Australia’s second goal in a 2-0 win against fellow Asian Cup contestants Bahrain.
Duke has not played for his club Machida Zelvia since the end of last year, and ended the season as J.League 2 champions in November.
The 32-year-old continues a rich streak in the green and gold, scoring three goals in his last three games.
He said the game time he got on Sunday provided much-needed sharpness for the upcoming cup competition.
“For me, it was important to log game time,” Duke said.
“My season ended a long time ago and the last moment was the World Cup qualifiers.”
“I’m glad I was able to concentrate for 60 minutes. It felt really good.”
The Australian team endured a tough battle against Bahrain as they were forced to break down their opponent’s strong defensive structure.
Graham Arnold’s side went into half-time 1-0 thanks to an own goal, but Duke dived in just before being sent off to secure the result.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1743656850963497250
It was a move that worked well for the team, with Duke nodding in on Craig Goodwin’s pass across the box from the left side.
He said he was happy to be on the scoresheet and continue his good form for Australia.
“It was born from a great cross. Guess [Jones] He then skillfully manipulated the ball and flicked it back to Aiden O’Neill.Great first cross and goodie [Craig Goodwin] Placed perfectly on a platter for me. I just had to get into the open net,” Duke said.
Strikers get really excited about a gold medal like that. It was very easy, all I had to do was put it online and I was very happy.
Coach Duke said this was a comprehensive test for Australia and although it was a positive scoreline, the team still had work to do.
“I think we tested everything a little bit in that game and we had to learn how to deal with each experience. During the game, when they’re sitting behind the block, try not to get frustrated and let them “He knows how to get open and move the ball from side to side and break teams down,” he said.
“You would expect that with the Asian teams we play in the Asian Cup. And maybe they will just try to put us on the counter.
“We can be better at that. Maybe we can be a little more ruthless, finding the pocket, when we’re in crossing areas. We might hit the ball more and put the ball in dangerous areas. .
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1743659222087372900
“I think it was perfect today. A great learning experience was just working my legs out for a few minutes, getting some rust out and moving forward.”
Australia and Duke will now turn their attention to Saturday’s AFC Asian Cup opener against India.
Duke said the team will focus on recovery to be as ready as possible for the tournament.
“All the players who played enough minutes today tried to recover and did everything right,” he said.
“It took a few days to make sure we did everything right and got our bodies in the best shape possible for tournament football, with a short turnaround and to make sure we were in the best shape possible for every game. There is also movement.”
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+
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