Australia v China & Iraq v Qatar World Cup Qualification

Australia v China & Iraq v Qatar World Cup Qualification 26-3-2008"The air in Kunming might be thin, but Mark Schwarzer was floating on it after reaching into his box of tricks to keep Australia's compass pointed firmly towards the 2010 World Cup as they held China 0-0 at a raucous Tuodong Stadium.Perpetrator one moment, peerless the next, Schwarzer repeated his penalty-kick heroics of November 2005 against Uruguay to this time deny China in a dramatic finale to another World Cup qualifier Australia could not afford to lose.And thanks to the prince of the penalty stops they didn't as Schwarzer recovered from conceding a spot-kick two minutes from time, to hold his nerve and dive to his left to deny substitute Shao Jiayi in a heart-in-the-mouth moment reminiscent of Telstra Stadium 28 months ago when he made two shoot-out saves against the South Americans.It looked like justice delivered with Schwarzer insisting his collision with Bo Qu, a result of a mix-up with Jade North, shoud never have been punished so severely by referee Omar Al Saeedi."I didn't think it should have been given," said the Middlesbrough monolith. "I'll have another look at it on TV but my first feeling was that it was harsh.""But, playing away from home in games like this, referees are pretty quick to give these sorts of decisions."Case in point Germany 2006, when Fabio Grosso's last-minute dive over the legs of Lucas Neill conned the referee and dumped Australia out of the tournament with Schwarzer unable to intervene on that occasion.Schwarzer added: "I just tried to stay big and revert back to what I normally do at penalties - and it worked.""I was told before the game that Weifeng Li normally takes them for China and he shoots to the right, but instead Jiayi stepped up. I was just happy to go the right way, and the ball hit my legs and bounced back into my hands.""I haven't had a good run for my club since World Cup qualification, so this is extra sweet. It's nice to come up with saves in the big games.""It would have been a travesty for us to lose because we played so well and looked comfortable for so long - if anything I thought we should have won the game."Schwarzer was unwilling to hog all the glory for himself after a priceless point which, in the light of a raft of injuries going into the game, was gratefully accepted."The team were outstanding today, every player on the pitch performed admirably, especially when you consider the altitude, the travel and having just a day and bit to prepare. It was outstanding."Brett Holman, who excelled off the bench as an early replacement for the injured Archie Thompson, exemplified the craft, guile and boundless energy of an Australian team forced to play for 78 minutes without a recognised striker.The NEC Nijmegen attacking midfielder was signalled out by coach Pim Verbeek as Australia's perpetual motion man on a day when the understudies - Michael Beauchamp, Jade North and Carl Valeri included - showed they are worthy of leading man roles."I just wanted the chance to show what I can do," said Holman after just his 13th cap for his country."We had so little time to prepare ... it was my plan to show I might be worth a starting position in the games ahead add I was happy with my performance."Midfielder Jason Culina, who shimmered alongside the pugnacious Vince Grella and hard-grafting Carl Valeri in the midfield workshop, said: "In the circumstances we're happy with a point.""Schwarzy came to our rescue - he keeps doing it doesn't he? That penalty could have killed us. It was a bit soft but Schwarzy did the business.""Overall we played nice football, we were patient. We had no recognised striker but if we keep going like this we'll qualify. It's a matter of winning at home and not getting beaten away."26 March 2008 | 21:38 - SBS - David Lewis in Kunming

Channel: Sports
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: dinxbeau

Length: 03:36
Rating: 4.18
Views: 8848

Tags: Australia  China  Cup  Football  Grella  Iraq  Lucas  Middlesbrough  Neill  Qatar  Schwarzer  Soccer  Socceroos  Vince  World  

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