Australia NewsAussie Young Guns Sink China |
THE Young Socceroos enjoyed a 3-1 win over China in their opening match of the ASEAN Football Federation Under 19 Championships in Thailand.
After conceding a goal three minutes into the match, Milos Lujic equalised for the Qantas Young Socceroos two minutes later, neatly placing his shot past the Chinese keeper from a James Holland pass. Lujic then netted his second goal in the 18th minute when he headed home a Tahj Minniecon cross.Midway through the second half, the Qantas Young Socceroos had a chance to extend their lead when Thomas Oar hit the cross bar with a great strike. Unfortunately, James Holland was unable to head in the rebound.
Mitch Nichols did finally score the Qantas Young Socceroos third goal in the 74th minute when he headed home a long lofted pass from Peter Cvetanovski from inside the box.
Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Jan Versleijen was happy with his team’s first match of the tournament.
He said: “This was a good win to start with. Our players showed good mentality coming from 1-0 down to win 3-1.
“The new players I have brought into the squad fitted in well especially Ryan McGowan.
“Although, there are still some areas we need to improve on like our concentration in the latter stage of each half and our composure.
In the other match of the tournament, the Korea Republic defeated host nation Thailand 1-0.
Qantas Young Socceoos line up: Alex Cisak, Peter Cvetanovski, Seb Ryall, Tahj Minniecon (Sam Munro 78), James Holland, Milos Lujic (Jason Naidovski 67), Mitchell Nichols, Nikolas Tsattalios, Tom Oar, Ryan McGowan, Andreas Govas(Scott Balderson 30)
The Qantas Young Socceroos will meet the Korea Republic in the second match of the AFF U19 Youth Championships on Tuesday 7 October (Kick-off 5:00pm TST).
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