The Pararoos have gone down 0-5 to USA in their final match of the International Tournament in Football 7-a-side, held in Yevpatoriya City, Ukraine.
The Pararoos have gone down 0-5 to USA in their final match of the International Tournament in Football 7-a-side, held in Yevpatoriya City, Ukraine.
The Americans came out strongest and had the first shot of the match from a free kick which went over the bar. Three minutes later the Americans opened the scoring after capitalising on a turnover by the Pararoos which gave them an easy 2 v 1 chance that they didn-t miss.
The Pararoos had a half chance midway through the half created by Chris Pyne and Michael Debenham down the right wing, which allowed Jack Williams a chance to shoot but was blocked by the USA defence. Shortly afterwards Scott Kennedy had a shot for the Pararoos but was wide of the mark.
Pararoos goalkeeper Chris Barty added to his outstanding tournament performances with a good save from a long range USA shot in the 24th minute.
Unfortunately, just before half time, Barty was obstructed by a USA player training as he attempted to take a cross, with the ball sailing into the back of the net to give the Americans a 2-0 lead going into the break.
The second half saw the USA continue to apply the pressure on the Pararoos.
Chris Pyne gave away a free kick close to goal, but the Americans shot hit a very solid Pararoos wall.
The USA extended their lead to 3 goals in the 36th minute when they made a quick counter attack and created another 2 v 1 situation with Barty. Four minutes later they added their fourth goal.
As seen throughout the tournament, the Pararoos refused to surrender and continued to challenge their opponents and a minute after conceding, a Connor Marsh shot, following a great passing passage, was tipped over the bar by the USA keeper.
Fives minute later saw the USA again seize upon a mistake at the back from the Pararoos and added their fifth goal from a one-on-one chance.
Again the Pararoos rebounded with Michael Debenham shooting from a very tight angle which drew a good save from the US keeper.
After the match acting Head Coach Kai Lammert believed that the team had gained plenty of valuable experience from the tournament.
“We played some nice football in periods of the game”
“We were missing 'football street smarts' in some situations.”
“Inspiring display by the Captain Chris Pyne, together with good performances from Jack Williams and Connor Marsh”
“We came here to learn and never give up. I can-t fault our young team. They gave 100 per cent and I believe every players will realise (if they haven-t already) what it takes to be competitive at this level,” concluded Lammert.
Match Details Australia 0 USA 5 Referee: Sergei Gorban (Ukraine) Assistant Referee: Maksim Tiuterev (Ukraine) & Stanislav Secreta (Ukraine) 4th Official: Ross Haswell (Scotland)
Starting Line Up for Australia: 1. Chris Barty (gk), 3. Jack Williams, 4. Scott Kennedy (Connor Marsh 25-), 6. Chris Pyne (C), 8. Brett Fairhall (Ryan Kinner 43-), 9. Ben Atkins, 13. Michael Debenham (Robert Christie 56-)
Yellow Cards: Nil Red Cards: Nil
USA 5 def Australia 0 Argentina 2 def The Netherlands 1 Ukraine 5 def Brazil 0 Iran 3 def Russia 1
Final Standings 1st Iran 2nd Russia 3rd Ukraine 4th Brazil 5th Argentina 6th The Netherlands 7th USA 8th Australia