The stage was set for Tim Cahill to be the star, and while the fairy tale did not did not have the perfect ending, the prolific Socceroos striker made it a night he and Australia will always remember.
The stage was set for Tim Cahill to be the star, and while the fairy tale did not did not have the perfect ending, the prolific Socceroos striker made it a night he and Australia will always remember.
Considering the experiences Tim Cahill has had at The Den and the contribution he has made and continues to make for the Socceroos, it seemed inevitable that the friendly against Ecuador would be the time that he became Australia-s highest all-time goal scorer.
Cahill-s double against the Ecuadorians in London saw him eclipse the record he had shared with Damian Mori for number of goals scored for Australia-s national team in A internationals. It was only going to be a matter of time.
Two trademark headers in the opening half means Cahill now has 31 goals from 67 international appearances for his country, putting him two goals clear of Mori.
It is a tally that is going to be difficult to top, and going by his potency and finishing against Ecuador, the 34 year old is not showing any signs of slowing down yet, signalling there could still be more goals to come as the Socceroos look ahead to the upcoming World Cup and next year-s Asian Cup on home soil. Almost fittingly, Cahill-s feat came at the home of the club that provided the springboard to his professional career. Cahill left Sydney to join Millwall as a 17 year old and went on to play 249 games and score 56 goals for the Lions-, hence why The Den carries such strong sentiments and memories each time he goes back there.
Any Millwall fans that bothered to turn up and watch the Socceroos and Ecuador go at it would have been given a fond reminder of Cahill-s impact during his time at the club.
But ultimately, that he broke the record at the Den was just a romantic sidenote to what he has achieved in the green and gold over the course of the past decade.
When asked about Cahill-s achievement post match, Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou-s admiration of was clearly evident.
“There couldn-t be a more worthy person of that record,” Postecoglou said.
Pretty much sums it up to a tee but for the final word, let-s go to the man himself.
“It-s one of my proudest moments as a footballer to be the all-time leading goal scorer of my country.
“I feel fantastic in the fact it-s a great moment in my career…something I dreamed about as a kid.”
Socceroos all-time leading scorers 31 - Tim Cahill 29 - Damian Mori 28 - Archie Thompson 27 - John Aloisi 25 - John Kosmina, Attila Abonyi
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Socceroos vs South Africa Monday 26 May 2014 ANZ Stadium, Sydney Kick Off 7.30pm Gates Open 5.30pm
Tickets for the match, presented by NAB, go on sale to the general public from 9am on Wednesday 12 March.
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