Match Review – Australia vs Denmark – Socceroos Win 1-0
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Australia has triumphed over Denmark, 1-0, in its World Cup warm-up friendly match on Tuesday 1 June in Roodepoort, South Africa.
Josh Kennedy scored the only goal for the Socceroos in the 71st minute after side-footing past Danish goalkeeper, Stephan Andersen, from close-range.
The contest threw up some intriguing variables too, with the game played out in the midst of difficult conditions.
Throughout the match, players looked unsure of themselves with a combination of the sandy pitch, the inconsistent flight of the ball and the high-altitude climate making life difficult for both teams, particularly in the first half.
In fact, the only real chance of the first half came just before injury time when Socceroos defender, Scott Chipperfield, received the ball on the left-wing.
Chipperfield flashed a goal-bound cross that Andersen did well to parry away.
However, Kennedy quickly retrieved the ball and volleyed a vicious centre for Cahill to side-foot home, but Agger was on hand to make a last-ditch clearance before Cahill could get a strike away, alleviating the pressure for the Danish defence.
Denmark then enjoyed considerable periods of possession looking solid in midfield with the likes of Daniel Jensen, Thomas Kahlenberg, Christian Poulsen and Thomas Enevoldsen all causing havoc for Australia.
However, the Socceroos weathered the storm, and moved the ball fluently from defence to attack, particularly in the second half with Brett Holman, Jason Culina and Luke Wilkshire all gaining control of the middle of the park.
The second-half winner began from a deflected cross down the right-wing from Luke Wilkshire.
With the cross looping over Australian midfielder, Jason Culina, the ball was allowed to bounce in the Danish penalty area before wickedly sailing over two Danish defenders.
Kennedy then lunged high to beat Agger in an aerial battle; heading high to himself before finding the net against a despairing Andersen, who seemed to be stranded by his defence.
The Danes, who just landed in South Africa on Saturday 29 May, looked to have little answers up forward with only a left-footed drive from outside the area by Danish playmaker, Christian Poulsen, stinging the palms of Socceroos’ goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer.
While the Danes continued to search for an equaliser, Australia’s defence predominantly played a high line. It paid dividends, with the Danes being caught offside eight times in comparison to Australia’s one.
With each side making plenty of changes throughout the match, both coaches used this friendly as an opportunity to experiment with their squads ahead of the FIFA World Cup starting on Friday 11 June.
The Socceroos now face USA on Saturday 5 June at Roodepoort before travelling to Durban to take on Germany in what will be their first World Cup match on Sunday 14 June 4:30 am AEST.
While for Denmark, it will face hosts, South Africa, in Pretoria also on Saturday 5 June before beginning its World Cup campaign against European powerhouse, the Netherlands, in Johannesburg on Monday 14 June.
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Does anyone know if the high altitude will play a part Australia’s group matches? or was it just this venue?
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