Caltex Socceroos midfielder Aaron Mooy believes Australia's diamond midfield wasn't to blame for their poor first half against Japan.
For the second straight World Cup qualifier at home, Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou selected Mooy alongside fellow attacking midfielders Tom Rogic and Massimo Luongo in a 4-4-2 formation with a diamond midfield.
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With a lack of width and movement up front, Australia struggled to break down Japan's defence in the first half at Melbourne's Docklands Stadium as the visitors went into the interval 1-0 ahead.
The Socceroos secured a 1-1 draw thanks to Mile Jedinak's penalty in the 52nd minute and the home side felt they were unlucky not to win as they pinned Japan back throughout the second half.
The Huddersfield Town midfielder reckons there's nothing wrong with a diamond formation.
"In the first half it wasn't working well but we still played that formation in the second half and it worked very well," Mooy told Goal Australia.
"So it's just our decision making, forcing it a bit too much, we weren't patient enough.
"In the second half we did exactly that and we dominated for most of the half."
Australia looked much stronger after Jedinak's goal, with substitute Robbie Kruse playing a key role in their resurgence.
"He [Kruse] added a threat in behind and he also wanted the ball to his feet," Mooy said.
"He's a good player and he makes it very difficult for the defenders. They never know what he's going to do.
"He came on and did very well tonight."
Kruse was pleased with his impact off the bench.
"I think [Japan] started to panic a bit" he said, but bemoaned the Socceroos' inability to produce a winning goal.
The 28-year-old's pace improved Australia's movement in the forward third, opening up gaps for the likes of Luongo and Rogic to exploit.
But Kruse was disappointed Postecoglou's side failed to make a statement against one of Asia's traditional powerhouse teams.
"We really wanted to stamp our authority here in Asia and show the world that the football that we're playing can be played against big teams, and we've been doing that early in the group stage but tonight probably wasn't up to the standard we've set," he told Goal Australia.
"So it's disappointing."
With eight points from four matches in the final group phase of World Cup qualifying, Australia will end this international window first or second in Group B regardless of the other matches on Tuesday.
Iraq host Thailand, while United Arab Emirates visit Saudi Arabia.
It's a decent return, according to Kruse.
"I think we're in a good position but the performance tonight probably didn't reflect that. So hopefully we'll do the job in the next games," he said.