Milligan and Jedi compliment each other nicely, agree that Dario was not as effective as he is at club level. Not terrible but not at the same level as Leckie and Kruse.

No stats in the match report ?

It is a friendly and you cannot take to much out of it other then we played well.

CRC are obviously one of the weaker WC finalist teams and playing them under strength and at home obviously gave us the advantage.
We know we have problems but i think we played well and that gives us 2 wins in a row and will help us build some confidence.

Giving out guys a chance to gel and adapt to a new coach/system is the most important part of the match today.

I still think we lack a striker i'd give Maccer the call at least he can hold the ball up...

Edited by Davstar: 19/11/2013 10:52:28 PM

They (everyone) actually looked like a team, and a motivated one at that.

Well done Ange.

Rogic is the most exciting player I've seen in green and gold since Kewell. 20 mins and he was man of the match.

I was disappointed by Vidosic. He does the little things alright but that's about it. I cannot remember the last time he impressed me for the national team :\. I think Troisi is worth a shot over Vidosic out on the left (assuming Troisi continues playing well this season)

CRC did well in their qualification campaign, you cannot deny that. We put together a much more assured performance which allowed our few hiccups to be smoothed over quite effectively.

Rogic on a different level.

Very much agree, Kruse right and Troisi left with Leckie as the forward with Rogic in behind would be a very tasty combination!

Maybe because they're all "shat".

AFC>CONCACAF

Interesting that nobody said that Costa Rica were significantly WORSE than Brazil or France and let Australia play and make mistakes. The reality is that we can compete against teams outside the top 15 or 20 in the world - top 10 teams are definitely too good for us and will show us up.

I wouldn't agree with that USA and Mexico would probably smash us.

Last time we played USA they did....

Canada is shit AFC is far weaker then CONCACAF

They were also missing 5 or 6 first team players weren't they?

Possibly but I don't think we need two pure defensive mids, especially as neither has any attacking or creative flair. I would like to see a midfield of Kruse Rogic Jedinak and Oar with Leckie and Cahill up front. I reckon that would so some damage.

Have you seen Mexico's recent performances? And please don't use the New Zealand thrashing as an example.

Even if Costa Rica was under strength you certainly can play what was in front of them tonight, it wasn't about them it was about us which Ange pointed out in the pre-talk yesterday.

And i though there was some good signs going forward till next years world cup, keeping possession and playing forward especially in the first half is quite positive.

I though Jedinak played he's best game for us tonight, also both Leckie and Kruse looked very sharp tonight although i was a little bit disappointed with Vidosic on the left, Franjic and Davidson both looked solid defensively and going forward when they could.

For me i just don't understand but why is Rogic playing in Scotland? I mean this guy has some serious tekkers and when he came on he showed why we are all excited by his special ability. ](*,)

Rogic's style doesn't suit Scotland at all, he is much more suited to the continent and given he's age as well (20) we can't expect to be a regular for any european club for that matter, but in the long term a continental club would've looked after him more and nurture this rough but special diamond given the style of football they play which is ball to feet, possession based football.

Smartest post I've read so far.

Lucas was OK in THIS game, but if he is there he will struggle in Brazil.

Williams supposedly tweaked a groin in training..again do we risk an injury prone player in the centre of defense?

Not convinced about either of the full backs.

Jedinak is a ball winner but also a match losing liability.

Bresciano cannot play 90 minutes, even if he wins his case in wherever he's playing these days.

Rogic is class.

There was more urgency and a faster pace, but this was against a Costa Rica side that some say were missing 5 but I heard they had apparently had 7 (!) starters missing. I still think players took one too many touches and tried to beat men when they didn't need to, and Postecoglou would have noticed that... and the moon balls.

Hmmm so we get beaten by the like of Jordan and consistently outplayed by Iraq Jordan. And now we beat a team who in my opinion are levels above these teams and it was only because they where shocking ? I reckon we have a cracker tonight

The last 3 world cup Mexico has made it to the rd of 16... bad form doesn't make you a bad team. France are in bad form and they still raped us...

Did you watch Jordan play URG?



Edited by Davstar: 19/11/2013 11:01:44 PM

Solid performance though I thought Costa Rica were pretty average/nonplussed, especially in 2nd half, where they probably ran out of steam, gave us heaps of space and never really threatened. Not sure how much we can take from one game, but what pleased me most was the quick transition from defence to attack following Rogic and Oar's introduction, some lovely combinations and great runs, especially from Rogic. Kruse electric down the wing but slightly lacking with the final delivery. Was sitting right in front of the corner flag which TC abused following his goal. Very cool.

What we need most is a bloody goal-scorer. Should have been 3-0 or more tonight.

Didn't hear or see what happened with Neill but if true thats fucking disgusting. Some fans they are.

Leckie would have had a guaranteed plane ticket to Brazil handed to him had he put away his chance tonight....people need to step up at the big moment...can't help but wonder if he was playing at a top club would he have buried it instead of the Bundesliga 2 in Germany...it's all about the level of quality - a striker who can put chances like that away is worth his weight in gold and is playing at a top club in a top league...horses for courses

Concaf is better then afc and we beat a heavy weight.... Yes they where under strengthed but we where playin a lot of kids S well .

I thought we were talking about the CONCACAF? :-k

The majority of people here called me a troll for saying I believe the Socceroos are a good team, they just need a different coach ! Well now we have Ange and I'm delighted.
Not only did we win, but we also gave about 7 young guys game time experience. They will all be better for it !

Holger 0 Ange 100 !

I knew all you guys (the majority of you) thought we were equal with teams ranked 100+ but now I know you will all happily jump on the positive bandwagon.

Remember it is the positive guys like me that pull the team through the hard times. Ange is positive and so am I.

Lucas played well and it was a disgrace whoever booed him.
The person who booed him is one of those negative Holger supporters.
It was never Lucas's fault, it was Holgers.
Holger picked Thwaite, CThwaite, North, Brosque, Ognen, Emerton.

I didn't see those names tonight thankfully. No more Holger ! The young will improve every game.

Only problem is this change should have happened 1-3 years ago. Nevermind, Ange is here !

@Barca4Life
Hook up.

Overall I'm most pleased with how Milligan and Jedinak complemented each other, didn't think it would happen. If Milligan is the key to unlocking Jedi's club form then I'm all for it.

Milligan is a far superior player to Jedinak IMHO. Let's not forget that when it counted - in Japan, in Melbourne against Jordan and in Sydney against Iraq - Milligan kept Jedinak out of the team on merit. My issue is that playing 2 holding midfielders doesn't allow for enough creativity going forward - I would like to see Milligan holding and Bresch and Rogic going forward - they would create chances.

Hey Lester, I have a stat for you:

Win rate v Coasta Rica:
Holger = 0%
Ange = 100%


How good's that!!!

Only if we are chasing a result I think, our defense isn't good enough to play with that little cover I feel.

Someone said 'young players got a game and they will be better for it'. That is not necessarily true - just giving a young player game time doesn't not make him a better player - some players are just not up to the standard no matter how many games you give them