Australia NewsOlyroos In Mexican Stand-Off |
A LATE goal from substitute Troy Hearfield has given the Olyroos a draw against the Mexican under-23 side in a friendly held in Oakland, California.
The Mexicans, who scheduled this meeting as a warm up for their final round of Olympic qualifying later this month, began the better of the two sides. Wide players Cesar Villaluz and Pablo Barrera bombed in several early crosses, but were easily dealt with by Olyroos captain Adrian Leijer, who showed he’s still sharp despite riding the pine at Fulham all season.
The first real chance of the game came when Newcastle Jets midfielder James Holland, in his first outing as an Olyroo, made a clumsy challenge on the edge of the box. But the resulting free kick was hammered into the Australian wall.
The Aussies, who have already qualified for the Olympic Games, continued to be troubled by the Mexican wide players. In the 18th minute Edgar Castillo broke down the left and fired in a close-range cross. The ball cannoned into Adam D’Apuzzo and then the back of the net, registering an own goal for the Newcastle Jets defender.
Spurred on by the goal and over 40,000 fans, who appropriately broke into a Mexican wave, El Tri began to take control of the match, but poor finishing kept Australia in it.
Australia’s only real chance of the first stanza came from a set piece when the ever-dangerous Nathan Burns was taken down just outside the area. But Billy Celeski’s shot couldn’t penetrate the Mexican Wall.
Bruce Djite spent most of the half isolated up front as the other attacking players Burns and David Willams worked back to help out in defence.
Australia started the second period better, with Williams making two sparkling runs into the box, only to be let down by his first touch. Burns similarly fluffed a good opportunity of his own.
At the other end Mexico should have doubled their lead as substitute Luis Landin found himself one on one with debutant goalkeeper Tando Velaphi in the 72nd minute. But the Perth Glory shot-stopper, who performed exceptionally all match, pulled out an excellent save.
Australia continued to press and gained parity in the 88th minute through a brilliantly worked set play. From a throw-in Captain Adrian Leijer deftly headed the ball on to Troy Heartfield who was waiting at the back stick. He made no mistake with a sweet volley. This capped off a week to remember for the Jets midfielder, who had barely finished celebrating Newcastle’s victory in the A-League Grand Final.
Match Details:
Australia 1 (Troy Hearfield 88')
Mexico 1 (Adam D'Apuzzo own goal 18')
Australia line-up: Tando Velaphi; Ruben Zadkovich, Adrian Leijer, Leigh Broxham (Robert Cornthwaite ’85), Adam D'Apuzzo (Nigel Boogaard 53'), Nikolai Topor-Stanley, David Williams (Jason Hoffman 75'), Billy Celeski (Troy Hearfield 75'), Bruce Djite (Matt Simon ‘72), Nathan Burns (Nikita Rukavytsya ’72), James Holland (Tarek Elrich 60').
Mexico line-up: Guillermo OCha; Julio César Domínguez, Hugo Ayala, Francisco Gamboa (Luis Omar Hernández 46'), Patricio Araujo, Edgar Castillo, César Villaluz, Sergio Ávila (Edgar Andrade 46'), Pablo Barrera (Omar Arellano 78'), Enrique Esqueda (Alan Zamora 78'), Santiago Fernández (Luis Ángel Landín 46').
Venue: McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, San Francisco
Attendance: 47,440
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