First things first…

The pitch looked bumpy and the grass looked thick and long, causing us to constantly get the ball trapped under our feet or misread the weight of control or a pass…

I suspect there was an emotional aspect to the game that lifted Palestine and caused the Australians to play with unwonted diffidence…

The Palestinians did really well – pressing high and closing us down quickly all over the park. They were harder in the tackle and often looked the more highly rated side on the balance of play.

That said, I was disappointed with our performance – not least as this was our last dress rehearsal for the Asian Cup in January. I suspect, after Bangladesh, we expected to win easily and didn’t put in the usual effort.

We were okay at the back (although Maty Ryan made one excellent save after they all switched off) but we were listless in midfield and toothless up front. Against the team ranked 96 by FIFA.

The trio of Irvine, Baccus and Metcalfe did so well against Bangladesh, and also against England. But they took a long time to get going against Palestine who swarmed them into error constantly.

Craig Goodwin’s corner for Harry Souttar was inch-perfect but apart from that, his usual excellent passing was way off. There was little in the way of a combination with him and Aziz Behich.

Mind you, he wasn’t the only one, but passes out of midfield were not helped by the static ball watching of the front three. We were frequently back to our old habit of checking back out wide due to lack of options forward. Not only does this lose momentum but it allows the enemy to get back in shape. Attacking a defence out of shape is the easiest way to score goals.

The other thing that puzzled me – we are normally so good moving the ball between the lines. This affords us choices – up the middle or wide – which keeps the opposition guessing and builds openings as their discipline fails. There was very little of that tonight (done successfully at least) and there were times when our defence was confronted with two lines of Palestinian defence with none of our lot in between – like a table soccer machine missing a handle.

So who did impress me?

Maty Ryan made one superb save but he freaks me out the way he takes so long to clear the ball sometimes. That led to disaster against Argentina at the World Cup so you’d think he would’ve learned.

I really like Strain at Right Back but Lewis Miller did well against the Bangla-minnows and then followed up with another strong performance after Strain went off injured. Needs to keep his temper though. You just know he’s going to cost us one day with a red mist incident.

Keanu Baccus’ passing game was poor but his defensive work – especially in the second half – was very good.

Borello and Bos added a spark when introduced after the hour and both came within inches of scoring. We finally looked like a threat and forced the Palestinians to play more warily.

Souttar and Rowles were comfortable enough at the back and  obviously Big Harry was the difference in front of goal.

In the end, you could say it was a scrappy but professional performance away from home, but if we always have to rely on Souttar for goals we’ll be in trouble. I was disappointed to see no direct pace on display (like Silvera) and we’ll need more pace and invention up front at the Asian Cup – Irankunda, G Kuol and Mo Toure must come into calculation.

Massive plaudits to Palestine for playing so well given the humanitarian crisis in their country. It’s no surprise they’ve made the Asian Cup finals three times in a row.

The ref had an excellent game also. The Australians would be happy to have Mr Al-Hatmi again.

 

Adrian's books can be purchased at any good bookstore or through ebook alchemy. His first sci-fi novel (Asparagus Grass) was published by Hague Publishing in July 2023. The ebook can be purchased here and the paperback can be ordered here or at your local store.