Qantas Young Socceroos draw with Mariners in training match

The Qantas Young Socceroos have had a 1-all draw against the Central Coast Mariners in a training match which served as their final hit out on Australian soil before the final selection of the squad that will head to Colombia later this month for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The Qantas Young Socceroos have had a 1-all draw against the Central Coast Mariners in a training match which served as their final hit out on Australian soil before the final selection of the squad that will head to Colombia later this month for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

After a scoreless first half, with both teams having limited scoring opportunities, Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen made two changes at half time with Matt Acton replacing Mark Birighitti in goal and Corey Gameiro coming on up front for Matthew Fletcher.

The Central Coast Mariners took the lead in the 54th minute after Trent Sainsbury fouled Michael Baird in the box. Baird then stepped up to take the resulting penalty, blasting his shot into the middle goal giving Matt Acton, who went to the left, no chance of saving.

The Qantas Young Socceroos equalized two minutes later after capitalizing on a turn-over by the Mariners in their own defensive third. Terry Antonis intercepted the errant Mariners pass and then laid off to fellow midfielder Dimitrios Petratos who then hit a stinging right foot shot from 30 metres out into the far corner of the goal easily beating the valiantly diving Mariners goalkeeper Justin Pasfield.

After the match, Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen was very happy with the match and the week-long training camp as a whole.

"Today we played a game against good opposition because that is what we need before we go off to a World Cup," said Versleijen

"This is the first game we have had together since returning from our tour of Holland about 6 weeks ago where we had an international tournament playing against South American, North American and European top teams and this is a good lead-up before we head to Denver for altitude training.

"The players will now leave camp and over the next couple of days I will consult with the coaching, technical and medical staff to make the final selection of the squad that will go to the World Cup,” concluded Versleijen.

Versleijen will name his final Qantas Young Socceroos squad early next week before departing for a pre-tournament camp in Denver on Saturday 16th July where his team will play two friendly matches against the Korea Republic and England prior to arriving in Colombia to finalise preparations for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Match Details

Central Coast Mariners 1 (Michael Baird 54- (pen)) Qantas Young Socceroos 1 (Dimitrios Petratos 56-) Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford Thursday, 7 July 2011 Referee: Kris Griffiths Jones Assistant Referees: Scott Edeling & Ryan Gallagher

Central Coast Mariners: 20.Justin PASFIELD (GK), 2.Daniel McBREEN, 3.Josh ROSE, 4.Pedj BOJIC, 5.Brad PORTER (7.Brent GRIFFITHS 46-), 6.Patrick ZWAANSWIJK (c), 8.Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 10.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 14.Michael McGLINCHEY (9.Brendan Griffin 85-), 15.Brad McCDONALD (12.Brady Smith 79-), 17.Michael BAIRD.

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil

Qantas Young Socceroos line-up: 1.Mark Birighitti (gk)( 18.Matthew Acton (gk) 46-), 2.Trent Sainsbury (15.Petar Franjic 75-), 4.Dylan McGowan (3.Brendan Hamill 62-), 5.Sam Gallagher, 8.Jake Barker-Daish (14.Daniel Bowles 79-), 11.Dimitrios Petratos,13.Terry Antonis, 17.Bernie Ibini-Isei, 20.Kofi Danning, 21.Rhyan Grant, 22.Matthew Fletcher (9.Corey Gameiro 46-)

Substitutes Not Used: 19.Jason Geria

Yellow Cards: Nil

Red Cards: Nil