Joeys Fail At Last Hurdle

The Australian Under 16 team has once again failed in their efforts to gain qualification to the FIFA World Cup Under 17 competition. The Joey’s were knocked out of the AFC Under 16 Championship last night in the quarter finals after a late goal to the United Arab Emirates saw them lose 3 – 2.

It’s disappointing to once again see our youngest national team fail to make it out of the continental tournament and onto the world stage. There is no doubt that results at this age group matter less than the development of the players however, results do influence the development as they allow the players to perform against ever higher quality teams.

I must admit I hadn’t seen the lead up qualification games heading into the match last night but by all accounts the Joey’s have been playing some excellent football and so I tuned in last night to Saudi Arabian TV (Foxtel lift your game) with high expectations.

I was looking forward to see how we would go against Japan and it was a bit of a surprise that we were playing the United Arab Emirates rather than Japan. I knew that Yemen had been accused of fielding an overage player but the AFC left it very late to uphold the disqualification. It is quite ironic that it appears that we were the nation to appeal and force the issue, there is a lot to be said sometimes for playing the cards that you are dealt.

The UAE had finished third in their group, so on the surface the change should have been a very favourable one for Australia but guess who is the only team to have beat the Joey’s in the last year on the road to this tournament ? Yes that is right the UAE inflicted the Joeys only loss over the past year when the defeated them 1-0 in the Lion City Championship and so it was never going to be a stroll in the park.

Australia started the game poorly when the conceded a goal through feeble marking but then went on to dominate the first half. There are several quality players within the Joey’s team and they were a class above the Emirates players. However like in any football match if you fail to take your chances possession means nothing. Going in at half time 1-0 down would have been disappointing to the young roos.

The first 15 minutes of the second half saw Australia continue to play all over the Emirates and finally they got their just rewards with two goals early in the half. The Joey’s had an opportunity to kill the game only minutes after they went ahead when a one on one chance was squandered.

Like a lot of Australian teams from that point on the players couldn’t seem to control the tempo and allowed the UAE to consistently expose them on the break. If there is one area of development that all junior players within this country need to work on is the ability to put their foot on the ball and slow the game down. The Joeys were being constantly caught too far forward and the Emirates players were finding too much space to move the ball forward quickly. Once the UAE equalised the game turned very much into an arm wrestle and looked headed towards extra team. The winning goal came from a beautifully executed free kick by the Emirates team in the 91st minute so the Joey’s have a right to feel a little hard done by.

Overall I was impressed with the skill and organisation of the Joeys. There were lots of missed passes and the defence was ragged at times, you expect that from players at this level, but over all it was a good performance. So where to now for the FFA ? Joining the AFC is all well and good but we cannot continue to have our junior teams failing at this level. The minimum expected must be qualification to the FIFA World Under 17 tournament and like Postecoglu before him the FFA will need to take a close look at the decision to appoint Crook.

The Young Socceroos will have their moment in the spotlight in two weeks time when the AFC Under 19 tournament kicks off. We have been given a quite favourable draw and if all goes to plan should easily progress to the quarter finals, let us hope this time it doesn’t prove as big a hurdle.

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