WATCH: Subway Joeys suffer narrow defeat against Uzbekistan

The Subway Joeys have fallen 2-1 against leaders Uzbekistan in its final match at the U-17 Antalya Youth Cup on Wednesday afternoon local time.

Jordan Hoey had quickly cancelled out Uzbekistan's first-half opener, but Brad Maloney's side conceded again somewhat against the run of play midway during the second half, and despite a gallant effort, were unable to restore parity.

The White Wolves opened the scoring in the 35th minute via a close-range finish after tapping in the rebound from goalkeeper Michael Vonja's initial save.

But five minutes later Australia responded as Hoey controlled an accurate cross from the right flank inside the 18-yard box with his left foot, before toe-poking his finish via his right foot clinically into the bottom corner. 

Maloney made a double substitution at the interval with Sotiri Phillis and Corey Sutherland replacing Andre Parkes and Danilo Treffiletti.

Soon after the U-17 boss introduced three more players as Ryan Kalms, Jacob McLachlan and Daniel Bennie were withdrawn for Namory Conde, Andriano Lebib and Xavier Smith.

The Subway Joeys continued to control the bulk of possession and did have the ball in the back of the net but it was ruled out due to offside.

Uzbekistan then slowly began to gain the momentum and they retook the lead with a tidy one-on-one finish on 76 minutes.

Zachary De Jesus and Campbell Dovison immediately entered the fray at the expense of Aden Green and Mitchell Glasson, and despite the Green and Gold outfit pushing for an equaliser their attempts were in vain.

The result means Australia finish the tournament on four points following a draw against Czechia and a win over Morocco, while Uzbekistan were crowned winners collecting nine points.

Following the completion of the Four Nations tournament, Subway Joeys’ Head Coach Brad Maloney said: “While we didn’t get the win on the scoreboard today, I was very pleased with our performance against an Uzbekistan side who has played no less than ten matches against European opposition over recent months.

“This was an invaluable tournament for the squad as we commence our own preparation for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup later this year.

“All three matches were against quality opponents, with different styles, each posing unique challenges for the playing group; exactly what we can expect in Thailand and hopefully at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

“Throughout the tournament, we were able to give all players valuable match minutes plus trial a variety of combinations, which was a core objective for the coaching unit.

“I’m happy with the progression the squad made over the course of the week, where both our cohesion and performances grew with each match, and I’m very much looking forward to building upon this when we next come together in April,” concluded Maloney.

SUBWAY JOEYS – REVISED MATCH SCHEDULE – ANTALYA YOUTH CUP 2023

SUBWAY JOEYS SQUAD | ANTALYA YOUTH CUP 2023 | 8 – 18 FEBRUARY 2023

*Replacement for the injured Pearson KASAWAYA (Sydney FC) who was ruled out prior to the squad departing