Star midfielder Aaron Mooy believes the Caltex Socceroos will be better placed to deal with Syria's aerial assault when the two sides reconvene in Sydney on Tuesday.
Australia were put under the microscope in the final half-hour of Thursday's World Cup qualifying clash in Malaysia and were eventually punished as the first leg finished 1-1.
And while Robbie Kruse's fifth international goal means there is plenty of cause for optimism, Mooy believes the side will need to remain wary of Syria's direct approach.
"You're always going to have spells in a game where the other team gets on top," the Huddersfield Town man told Fox Sports.
"I think they were just picking up more of the second balls. They were playing long balls nearly the whole match and they were a bit hungrier for the balls dropping down.
"They're a hard team to play when they're so direct like that.
"I think it was a pretty soft penalty but sometimes those things don't go your way."
Despite the setback of the 85th minute equaliser, Mooy will take plenty of individual confidence from the match after orchestrating the visitors' fine first 45 minutes.
"There are parts of the game where you feel you are getting lots of touches. That's what I like to do," he said.
"I'm confident when I'm getting touches on the ball and that was happening in the first half.
"To be fair, Syria got on top of us towards the end of the match and they were putting us under a lot of pressure. We just have to recover and get ready for the next game on home turf."