Socceroos v Costa Rica

[blahblah]

Well that was a breath of fresh air. We tried to play the ball (even if we didn't do it wonderfully), had a starting line-up that ran along the lines of:

------------Leckie---------------------
Vidosic.....Bresciano..........Kruse
.......Jedinak.....Milligan.........
Davidson..Neill..Williams..Franjic
............Ryan..................

and brought on, Cahill for Leckie, McGowan for Williams, McKay for Milligan, Kennedy for Vidosic and Rogic for Bresciano

In the end we played far more positive football, Cahill found the back of the net and the midfield and defence ensured that Ryan was bored witless for most of the evening.

Not world beating but a far improved standard on the dross served up under Holger.

[EdDog]

Breathe of fresh air. Good to see some positive intent.

Although I seem to remember a similar sort of positivity when Holger took over in the Asian Cup.

Neill was average.

[Old Gregg]

Really enjoyed this game to be honest, the passing and build up play was better than I've seen for a long time from the Socceroos.

Average
Vidosic - Too much of a passenger, really didn't work himself into the game at all.
Bresciano - Decision-making not as sharp as usual, didn't look as comfortable on the ball given how quickly CR were moving to close him down. Maybe I'm being harsh but I always expect Bresc to be one of our best
Neill - Did his job but a touch slow and a few niggly fouls, against a better team he could be exposed
Ryan - Admittedly had fuck-all to do but there were some defensive / communication mixups that could have really cost us, other than that commanded his area well, distribution OK
McKay - Didn't see too much from him when he came on, probably not enough time to assert himself
Kennedy - As above

Good
Milligan - Worked really well with Jedinak in the centre of midfield, screening back 4 and moving the ball forward... a few misplaced passes but generally impressive
Davidson - Pretty solid all round & got into good areas in attack, heavy touch let him down on occasion
Williams - Strong in defence, looked pretty good on the ball, very happy with him as a starting CB
McGowan - As above
Leckie - Strong, quick, purposeful, liked what I saw
Oar - Did a good job when he came on, suddenly looked much more dangerous down the left.
Cahill - Exactly what we expect from Timmy, he might be getting on a bit in years but that's certainly not affecting his game. Not the best option on the right wing though (and not impressed by play-acting antics)

Ticket to Brazil farken
Jedinak - Dominant in the centre, linking brilliantly between defence and attack, really looks to have upped his passing game in the EPL.
Franjic - Gives us the penetration we need from a fullback in this system. Great range of passing...
Rogic - Sublime touches on the ball, could be the playmaker we need in the national team. Great intent, top quality, needs to GTFO of Scotland if Celtic aren't giving him a game.
Kruse - Defenders shat their pants every time he was on the ball. Great runs, smart passing, probably the Socceroos' best player over the past year or so.