The Serve

Cahill De Ja Vu saves Socceroos

 Tim Cahill has rescued the Socceroos from complete embarrassment with a 91st minute equaliser against Oman.

Australia were given a lesson in Asian football on their tournament debut, as the competition favourites struggled with the speed of the Oman defence as well as a propensity from the Oman players to call for the stretcher at regular intervals. Several questionable injuries slowed the game down, as did the Bangkok heat, which affected the feel of the Australian’s. Even the simplest of touches were often made to look difficult.

Oman took a deserved lead on 32 minutes when Badar Mubarak found the net. The goal rattled Australia, with several players lacking touch as potential attacking movements more often than not thwarted by Australia’s own lack of precision.

Mark Schwarzer was easily Australia’s best, saving four genuine chances to keep the Socceroos in the contest. The Middlesbrough keeper was not helped by his defenders, who were constantly out of position and disorganized.

Cahill entered the game midway through the second half, providing an obvious spark, reminiscent of his sparkling entrance into the 2006 World Cup against Japan. The face saving goal was set up by a sizzling strike from Mark Bresciano, which was kept out by Ali Al Habsi. The clumsy rebound fell at the feet of Cahill, who drove the ball through the late driving rain to slot the equaliser in the top right corner of the open net.

Each of the four teams in Group A are locked on one point, all with one goal scored and conceded. Of Australia’s opponents in the group, Oman has the highest ranking. Iraq is the next obstacle for the Socceroos, followed by Thailand.