Australia all square with Chile in Darwin
The Qantas Under 23's have drawn 1-1 with Chile in the second game of their two-match series being played in Darwin.
Qantas Under 23s Head Coach Graham Arnold made 10 changes to the line-up for tonight's match with Mark Milligan the only player to start both games.
The match began at the same frenetic pace that was seen on Friday evening with the Chilean having the first attempt on goal in the 3rd minute, but five minutes later Kristian Sarkies had the Qantas Under 23s first shot which was expertly tipped over the bar by Gregory Saavedra in the Chilean goal.
The Qantas Under 23s continued to apply the pressure with Nikita Rukavytsya netting in the 21st minute but the goal was disallowed for off-side. But the Qantas Under 23s were on the scoreboard in the 27th minute when Kristian Sarkies calmly slotted home a penalty after David Williams had his shirt pulled in the box in a goal scoring opportunity.
Nikita Rukavytsya nearly doubled the lead in the 41st minute when his deft control in the box allowed him to unleash a stinging shot to the near post, but again Saavedra was on hand to make another crucial save.
After the half-time break, the Qantas Under 23s continued to push forward and had the bulk of possession and scoring opportunities. Had it not been for the goalkeeping heroics of Gregory Saavedra, who made a number of saves and interceptions, the Qantas Under 23s could have extended their lead on a number of occasions.
Just after the hour mark, Neil Kilkenny put Michael Zullo through but Saavedra was quick off his line and cleared the ball from Zullo's feet outside the area..
Chile's patience paid off midway through the second half when Felipe Seymour finished off a one-on-one opportunity against the Qantas Under 23s goalkeeper, Chris O'Connor, shooting low and hard to the bottom left corner of the goal.
After the match Graham Arnold was again pleased by with the performance of his players.
"Our players again performed well up against very good opposition tonight," said Arnold
"The purpose of this camp was for me to make critical selection decisions and also to prepare the players for the Beijing Olympic Games,"
"Based on that, this camp has been extremely successful, we have been very well looked after by everyone here in Darwin and the effort of all the boys could not be faulted.
"Now my coaching staff and I have a very difficult task in selecting the final squad that will go to the Olympic Games," concluded Arnold.
The Qantas Under 23s will take time out from their training camp in Darwin and will conduct a football coaching clinic tomorrow afternoon with Northern Territory junior football players before heading home on Tuesday.
The Australian Olympic Men's Football team will be named by the Australian Olympic Committee on Friday 4 July 2008 in Sydney.
Match Details: Qantas Under 23s 1 (Kristian Sarkies 27' (penalty)) Chile Under 23s 1 (Felipe Seymour 67') Sunday 29 June 2008 Darwin Football Stadium, Darwin Australia Referee: Peter Green (Brisbane) Assistant Referees: Tim Lay (Darwin) & Rohan Kelly (Darwin) Fourth Official: Maurice D'Arrigo (Darwin) Crowd: 1,780
Qantas Under 23s: 1.Chris O'Connor (gk), 3.Trent McClenahan, 5.Mark Milligan (Captain), 6.Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 7.Neil Kilkenny, 8.Kristian Sarkies, 9.Nick Ward (2.Jason Hoffman 65'), 10.Nikita Rukavytsya (20.Matt Simon 65'), 12.Nigel Boogaard (16.Robert Cornthwaite 67'), 15.David Williams (17.Michael Zullo 56'), 19.James Holland (4.Billy Celeski 70').
Substitutes Not Used: 18.Tando Velaphi (gk), 11.Tarek Elrich, 13.Troy Hearfield, 14.Nathan Burns.
Yellow Cards: Billy Celeski 73', Jason Hoffman 84'.
Red Cards: Nil
Chile Under 23s: 1.Gregory Saavedra (gk), 2.Marcelo Diaz, 3.Eugenio Mena, 4.Bruno Romo, 5.Bastian Arce, 6.Sebastian Mendez, 7.Felipe Seymour, 8.Angel Rojas (16.Sebastian Barrientos 56'), 9.Eduardo Vargas, 10.Esteban Paredes (Captain) (15.Fabian Torres 90'), 13.Esteban Saez (11.Boris Sa gredo 25').
Substitutes Not Used: 12.Fabian Cerda (gk), 14.Sebastian Diaz, 17.Lucas Dominguez, 18.Matias Campos.
Yellow Cards: Eugenio Mena,27', Esteban Paredes 34'.
Red Cards: Nil