A Jamie Maclaren hat-trick has helped the Qantas Young Socceroos to a 4-1 victory over Indonesia, which also guaranteed qualification to the AFC U-19 Championship 2012.
A Jamie Maclaren hat-trick has helped the Qantas Young Socceroos to a 4-1 victory over Indonesia, which also guaranteed qualification to the AFC U-19 Championship 2012.
In stormy and humid conditions at the MBPJ Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, the Qantas Young Socceroos played scintillating football for the first 20 minutes, which led to Head Coach Jan Versleijen praising his team for their combination play and pressuring on the ball.
As soon as the first minute, the Qantas Young Socceroos stamped their authority on the game when Terry Antonis hit a 30 metre ball which the Indonesian goalkeeper, Achmad Risky Kurniawan, turned around the post.
Shortly afterwards, Corey Brown made a good run down the left and fed Jamie Maclaren who, on this occasion, gave Kurniawan no chance of saving to put the Qantas Young Socceroos into the early lead.
Five minutes later, Liam Wooding created an opportunity, followed by a wonderful passing move, which led to Adam Taggart crossing the ball to Ryan Edwards who was about to stab the ball into the net when he was pushed from behind.
Timur, the referee from Kyrgyzstan, had no hesitation in awarding a penalty that Maclaren comfortably converted to double the Qantas Young Socceroos lead.
The Qantas Young Socceroos then continued to pass the ball around confidently and at speed, creating plenty of chances. From a short corner taken by Reece Caira, Antonis centred the ball to captain Curtis Good, who headed into the side netting.
The Qantas Young Socceroos were bossing the midfield and when Maclaren was fouled on the edge of the penalty area, Taggart hit a hard low shot which was pushed behind by Kurniawan for another corner.
Five minutes before half-time the Qantas Young Socceroos deservedly went 3-0 up with a simply brilliant move when Taggart dispossessed an Indonesian midfielder. Taggart, Antonis and Maclaren then passed the ball up-field in a movement that ended with Antonis expertly chipping the Indonesian keeper.
The second half continued with Qantas Young Socceroos continuing to dominate the game but they were also content to pass the ball around and conserve their energy given that they were to play China on Tuesday (8 November). Maclaren was able to complete his hat-trick In the 65th minute with another well-taken goal.
For the third match in succession, an indication of the Qantas Young Socceroos superiority was that goalkeeper, Jack Duncan was virtually a spectator.
However, following a defensive mix-up, Duncan had a penalty to face in the 75th minute. Indonesian midfielder Abdul Lestaluhu was able to convert his attempt to give his team a consolation goal.
Versleijen was delighted with his team's performance.
“In the first 20 minutes of the game, the Young Socceroos played the best football I-ve seen so far, very good combination football with 1 or 2 touches, lots of possession, pressure and very good goals.
“At 3-0 the game was over and we played out the last 45 minutes with the knowledge of having one day rest before facing China PR, who in the earlier game had defeated Macau 5-0.
“I was particularly very pleased with Jamie Maclaren who is developing into a very good player.”
IN the other group G match China defeated Macau 5-0 to all but guarantee second spot and qualification for the AFC U-19 Championship 2012
The Qantas Young Socceroos will play their final qualifying match against China PR, which will effectively determine which of the two teams finish top of the group on Tuesday 8 November (kick-off 2.00pm local, 5.00pm AEST).
During the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers, each group will play one round league and the top two teams from each group will progress to the AFC U-19 Championship 2012.
The AFC U-19 Championship 2012 will serve as the qualifying event for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey.
Match Details Qantas Young Socceroos 4 (Jamie Maclaren 4'/9-(pen)/65-, Terry Antonis 40-) Indonesia 1 (Abdul Lestahulu 76- (pen)) MBPJ Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Sunday 6 November 2011 Referee: TIMUR (KYRGYZSTAN) Assistant Referees: Yang Byoung EUN (KOREA REPUBLIC) & Thaufeeq IBRAHIM (MALDIVES) Fourth Official: Yu Ming HSUN (CHINESE TAIPEI) Crowd: 400
Qantas Young Socceroos line up: 18.Jack DUNCAN (gk), 2.Josh BRILLANTE (17.Jason GERIA 70-), 3. Connor CHAPMAN, 4.Curtis GOOD (c), 5. Corey BROWN, 6.Terry ANTONIS, 7.Jamie MACLAREN (38.Paulo RETRE 72'), 9.Adam TAGGART, 19.Reece CAIRA, 22.Ryan EDWARDS, 44. Liam WOODING, (13.Anthony PROIA 65-).
Substitutes not used: 12.Nicholas MUNRO (gk), 28.Aaron LENNOX (gk), 16.Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 21. Tom KING, 26.Nicholas ANSELL, 30.James DONACHIE, 43. Allan WELSH, 45.Daniel PETKOVSKI
Did not play: 8.Jake BARKER-DAISH
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Indonesia line up: 12.Achmad Risky KURNIAWAN (gk), 2, Eggi HADYATMIKO, 4. Wanda SYAHPUTRA, 5.Arief PATAR (11. Wawan PEBRIYANTO 35-), 7.Abdul LESTALUHU, 8. Antoni NUGROHO, 15. Muhammad LESTALUHU 17. Vava YAGALO, 19. Novri SETIAWAN, 25. Manahati LESTUSEN (c), 29. Wayan HOTZEL (9.Hadi WIBOWO 45-)
Substitutes not used: 1.Aris nugroho (gk), 3.Rudolof BASNA, 6.Indra PERMANA, 10.Randy CHANDRA 14.Ryuji PRABOWO, 16.Doly GULTOM, 18.Saralim SOUWAHU, 20.Sedek SANAKY, 23. Yoewanto BENY, 32. Haris TUHAREA
Yellow Cards: Wanda SYAHPUTRA 8- Red Cards: Nil