6 April 2001: Joeys On Their Way
On the back of a 2-2 draw and a 5-2 win in friendlies against Japan held in
Canberra, Australia's Under 17 team disposed of New Zealand in the first leg of the
Oceania playoff for the U17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago. They won handsomely by
the score of 3-0 with goals to Brett Holman in the 47th minute and to Fred Agius - an
indigenous Australian - in the 66th and 92th minute. They play the final leg in
Auckland next Sunday.
AUSTRALIAN 3 - NEW ZEALAND 0
Goals: Aus - Brett Holman 47', Fred Agius 66' 92'+
Venue: West Belconnen Leagues Club, Canberra
Referee: Harry Atisson (Vanuatu)
Yellow Cards: Matthew Engele (Australia) 86'
15 September 2001, First Round: Deja Vu As
Joeys Lose Opener To Brazil
Brazil has edged out Australia in their opening match of the FIFA U17 World
Championships in Trinidad and Tobago, just as they did in New Zealand two years ago.
Anderson Costa finally found a way past outstanding Joeys goalkeeper Nathan Coe
(pictured) in the 76th minute for the only goal in what was a cracking game. In
FIFA's official match summary, Coe time after time thwarted the skilful Brazilians with
some magnificent saves but could do nothing to stop Anderson's low shot from an acute
angle. While Brazil may have dominated, Australia had its moments as well with Brazil's
goalkeeper Felipe denying Fred Agius with a terrific save just minutes before Brazil took
the lead.
“Overall, it didn’t go too badly, and although it is disappointing not to have
won, we did quite well for most of the game,” said national youth coach Ange
Postecoglou from Port of Spain. “Brazil had us under pressure, and in
particular in the second half, we had some a spell of good chances to score, but
unfortunately, we couldn’t take them. Nathan (Coe) was outstanding… he had a
great game and really kept us in the match and I have to give credit to him for his world
class saves.
“At the end of the day, they are Brazil, the reigning Championship holders, and today
was something like their 61st preparation match, compared to our 13th or 14th. The
fact that we almost snuck in a result is a great confidence booster for boys, and showed
that we were able to cope with what I’d consider the hardest of the three
games.” He concluded.
In the other group match, hosts Trinidad & Tobago lost
2-1 to Croatia after conceding two penalties. Hardly an ideal start all-round to for
Australia, but given that they went on to lose the final on penalties last time in NZ,
maybe this start is a good omen.
Australia: Nathan COE (gk); Alex WILKINSON, Matthew HUNTER, Predrag BOJIC (Ben
STEVENS 82'), Spase DILEVSKI, Adam VAN DOMMELE, Carl VALERI (Capt), Anthony DANZE (Jay
LUCAS 84'), Fred AGIUS, Sean WALSH, Brett HOLMAN
17 September 2001, Second Round: Joeys Bounce Back
Fred Agius scored a stunning goal to secure Australian victory over host nation Trinidad
and Tobago at the U17 World Cup. Agius' free kick from 30 yards proved to be the
only goal of the game and keeps Australia's chances of progressing to the next round
alive. His strike in the 55th minute would have made David Beckham proud as he
curled his shot over the wall and into the top right hand corner that gave the Trinidad
and Tobago goalkeeper Phillips no chance. The home nation through everything at the
Australian defence from then on and Nathan Coe again played a decisive role, with two
terrific saves.
The win lifts Australia to three points on the ladder and ahead of Croatia, who lost 3-1 to Brazil, on goal difference. Coach Ange Postecoglou was able to go into the match with his first eleven after Predrag Bojic and Alex Wilkinson recovered from a foot injury and the flu respectively. The win was even more meritorious when you consider the game was played in the hottest part of the day and Australia had only ones day's rest, compared to T&T's two days. Agius, who tormented T&T throughout the match especially from set pieces, was named man of the match. Australia now play Croatia, with a draw securing the them a berth in the next round.
“We played well today, and we dominated from the start,” said coach ANGE POSTECOGLOU from Port of Spain earlier. We easily could have won by three or four goals… there were a few chances that we didn’t put away, and that was the only concern. The heat had an impact on both teams, in the second half in particular, but the boys adjusted well and finished strongly. Pedge’s (Bojic) foot and Alex Wilkinson with the flu both pulled up a little worse for wear, and are feeling the side effects of playing the full game, but they should all be okay. We now have three days to rest and we’ll concentrate on recovery, and working the boys in the pool,” he said. "It’s important we continue to gain confidence and play as well as we have been… we’ll aim for a win, but we know that a draw will be enough to get us through to the next round.” Postecoglou concluded.
Australia: Nathan COE (gk); Alex WILKINSON, Matthew HUNTER, Predrag BOJIC, Spase DILEVSKI (Ben Stevens 88'), Adam VAN DOMMELE, Carl VALERI (Capt), Anthony DANZE, Fred AGIUS, Sean WALSH (Terry Smith 46'), Brett HOLMAN (Matthew Engele 87') Subs Not Used: Jacob REX (gk); Brett STUDMAN, Darren BROXTON, Jay LUCAS
20 September 2001, Third Round: Australia Through
To Quarters After Crushing Croatia
The Joeys have progressed to the next round of the U17 World Cup, after thrashing Croatia
4-0 in the final group game, played earlier this morning (AET). Perth Glory
midfielder Anthony Danze proved the star of the show, with a brace of goals, as Australia
finished in second spot in Group A behind Brazil. Australia now plays Group B
winners Nigeria in the quarter-finals next Sunday in Tobago.
With both teams level on three points, whichever team won was going to progress and the Australians played far their best match of the tournament to date, to completely outplay the highly rated rivals. Terry Smith, drafted in for his first start, opened the scoring in the 37th minute just as Australia started to dominate, after Brett Holman drew in three defenders and laid off to Smith who slot low and hard past the Croatian keeper. Three minutes later Anthony Danze made it 2-0, rifling a volley from just outside the penalty box after good lead up work by Predrag Bojic.
Any chance Croatia had of a comeback in the second half was quickly evaporated in the balmy conditions, when Danze high at the back post to head home Carl Valeri’s free kick. Australia rounded off the scoring in the 66th minute, when Jay Lucas with his first touch of the ball after coming on as a substitute a minute earlier, thundered home a header at the near post from Fred Agius’ inswinging corner. Carl Valeri was named the man of the match, and following the win, West Indian cricketer Brian Lara, an avid football fan, invited the Australian team back to his house for a bite to eat and drink as a gesture of congratulations to the team.
The Test batsman, a close friend of Trinidad's other great sporting hero - Manchester United striker, Dwight Yorke - had attended all of Australia’s Group matches and addressed the squad before the Croatia match. “He watched us against Brazil and Trinidad, and he really likes the way the boys play,” said Coach Ange Postecoglou. “He came in before the game and had a quick chat to the players, and he invited all the players over to his house after the match. That’s where they all are now, enjoying a quiet evening. It’s a huge thrill for the boys, and very nice of him,” said Postecoglou.
Postecoglou said that Lara’s interest was not unusual – football is the nation’s number one sport, and the Joeys have captured the locals’ imaginations. “All of our games have been sell-outs. We’ve had 22 and-a-half thousand people each time and tonight, they were hanging from the rafters. They’re crazy about their football over here. Our players like Nathan Coe and Freddy Agius have become cult heroes. They’re really rapt with the way we play.”
Coach Ange Postecoglou was always confident his team would beat Croatia and has every confidence in the side to progress further. This is what he said after his team comprehensively beat Croatia 4-0 to move into the quarter finals. "I fully expected this team to get past the first round," said Postecoglou just hours after the match. "This is a very good group of players and I had every confidence they would do well in this competition. It was do or die for both Australia and Croatia going into their final group match, although the odds were slightly in Australia's favour, as a draw would have seen them through".
However Postecoglou told his players before the game to go out there for the win and the players duly responded with a terrific display. “We won fairly convincingly, and although they started better than us, we got on top of them after about 15 minutes and we pretty much dominated the match from there and scored four really good goals... We probably could’ve had a couple more, but I couldn’t be happier in the end. The key was that the whole team worked well and we didn’t have a bad player on the night. Four-nil is a genuine reflection of the match. We were definitely the fitter team, and we worked better as a unit. After we got a couple, the contest was over, and we were relentless,” he said. “Having said that – four-nil was way beyond our expectations...I couldn't be happier with the result,” Postecoglou said in his relaxed manner. "I definitely didn’t imagine it would be this easy, but as a unit, the team worked well... we didn’t have a bad player on the night and that made a difference."
Postecoglou was extremely impressed with the maturity showed by the team in what was a pressure game. “Tonight, we didn’t lose our heads, we made some great passes, and when Croatia tried to pressure us, the boys didn’t lose their composure”.
Australia next opponent will be Nigeria, a tough assignment, as they have scored three wins from three games in their group matches. “Nigeria are an athletic and quick team, and we’ll have to play well to beat them. They’re athletic, quick and good on the ball. But tonight’s result shows that we’re there on merit and if we keep improving, we’ll give it a shake,” said Postecoglou. "It’s a pretty even competition. I tend to think that Groups A and B are the strongest, however we are getting stronger with every game we play. We have only conceded one goal in three games, so I’m confident that we don’t have to change our approach against Nigeria in the quarters.
Having got to this stage in Argentina with the Under 20s, has Postecoglou learned anything that can benefit the U17s? "There are some things but we are playing in different circumstances and the team is different. This team is not imtimidated by anybody or pressure... in fact they tend to rise to the occasion when the pressure is on. But we know, we are going to have to keep improving, as the level of competition goes up, though." And finally, “The world knows that we produce good young players, and they appreciate the football we play… after tonight’s match, we hammered that point home,” he concluded.
Australia: Nathan Coe (gk); Predrag Bojic
(Brett Studman 77’), Alex Wilkinson, Matthew Hunter, Adam Van Dommele, Carl Valeri
(capt), Anthony Danze, Fred Agius, Brett Holman (Jay Lucas 65’), Terry Smith (Matthew
Engele 57’)
Goals: Terry Smith 37, Anthony Danze 40’, 46’, Jay Lucas
66’
24 September 2001, Quarter Final: Out-Classed By
Nigeria
Australia has always had trouble against African teams, and today was no different.
The bowed out of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, following a disappointing 5-1 loss to
Nigeria earlier today in Tobago. Coach Ange Postecoglou was extremely disappointed
with the loss, although he highlighted that the score was not a true reflection of the
game. Nigeria piled on three of their five goals in the last ten minutes, as
Australia pushed players forward in search of goals. Australia did eventually score
but it was merely a consolation goal in the 86th minute, when Engele scored with a diving
header. "The game was in the balance much of the time, and we did play
well," said Postecoglou from Bacolet shortly after the game. "We created quite a
few opportunities that we just didn’t finish and to their credit, Nigeria played well
and deserved their victory."
Nigeria started the better and Australian goalkeeper Nathan Coe was forced into a number of good saves. Just when the Australia looked to have settled, Nigeria was awarded a penalty in the 24th minute that Opabunmi duly converted. “They got the penalty early on, which I wasn’t happy with, and that had us behind the eight-ball… but we kept at it and created the lot of chances.” The best of these fell to Valeri in the 32nd minute, when his shot looked headed for the top right hand corner of the goal, only for the Nigerian keeper Bassey to magnificently tip it over the bar. Australia continued to attack but too many times blazed wildly in front of goals.
Postecoglou summed it up: " We lacked the cutting edge up front… we had numerous opportunities and just didn’t’ take them." Nigeria’s second goal in the 69th minute proved the killer and as Australia pushed forward hoping to pull a quick goal back, the Nigerians quick counter-attack proved too much for the tiring Australian defence.
The coach again highlighted goalkeeper Nathan Coe’s performance, while West Australian Anthony Danze and captain Carl Valeri were also prominent. "Nathan was outstanding in goal again tonight, and Danze and Valeri are the two who have been most consistent throughout the tournament… I expect big things from them both in next couple of years.
Nigeria 5 (Femi Opabunmi 24’ pen, 69’, 79’, Suleiman Mohammed 81’, Omonigho Temile 85’) - Australia 1 (Matthew Engele 86’)
Yellow Cards: Spase Dilevski (AUS)
72’ Referee: Kristinn Jakobsson (ISL)
Crowd: 8,000 (capacity) Venue: The Dwight Yorke Stadium,
Bacolet, Tobago
Australia: Nathan Coe (gk), Alex Wilkinson, Matthew Hunter, Predrag Bojic, Spase Dilevski, Adam Van Dommele, Carl Valeri, Anthony Danze, Fred Agius, Terry Smith (Jay Lucas 58’), Brett Holman (Matthew Engele 71’)
Round Robin Matches
13 Sep 01 13:00 PORT OF SPAIN TRI - CRO 1:2 (0:1)
14 Sep 01 18:00 PORT OF SPAIN AUS - BRA 0:1 (0:0)
16 Sep 01 13:00 PORT OF SPAIN TRI - AUS 0:1 (0:0)
16 Sep 01 15:30 PORT OF SPAIN CRO - BRA 1:3 (1:1)
19 Sep 01 17:00 PORT OF SPAIN BRA - TRI 6:1 (4:0)
19 Sep 01 19:30 PORT OF SPAIN CRO - AUS 0:4 (0:2)
Final Table
Team GP W D L GF GA + / - Pts
Brazil 3 3 0 0 10 2 8 9
Australia 3 2 0 1 5 1 4 6
Croatia 3 1 0 2 3 8 -5 3
Trinidad and Tobago 3 0 0 3 2 9 -7 0
*Croatia and Trinidad & Tobago eliminated
Quarterfinals
23 Sep 01 16:30 PORT OF SPAIN BRA - FRA 1:2 (0:2)
23 Sep 01 19:30 PORT OF SPAIN NGA - AUS 5:1 (1:0)
24 Sep 01 16:30 MARABELLA ARG - MLI 2:1 a.e.t. (1:1, 1:1)
24 Sep 01 19:30 MARABELLA CRC - BFA 0:2 (0:0)
Semifinals
27 Sep 01 16:30 PORT OF SPAIN FRA - ARG 2:1 (0:0)
27 Sep 01 19:30 ARIMA NGA - BFA 1:0 (1:0)
Match for 3rd place
30 Sep 01 15:30 PORT OF SPAIN ARG - BFA 0:2 (0:1)
Final
30 Sep 01 18:00 PORT OF SPAIN FRA - NGA 3:0 (1:0)