Guys we're ahead in the tie and in the front seat to qualify

(Morgan Freeman voice)
They did not qualify

I started to process the idea after the 2-2 draw in Thailand. I accepted we wouldn't qualify after the loss in Japan. All of the rest of this is just a painful formality to put us to sleep.

looked like corruption to me

The penalty call was dodgy as heck, but the warning signs were there for the entire second half, and we are useless at killing games off or even shutting up shop. It was just inevitable that they would score in one form or another.

That second half performance was shit - but the level we have fallen too is we'll blame the ref or the pitch wasn't right or say the weather was too humid ... we've become an excuse of a football nation who can't fucking win.

Pretty much. Inexplicable otherwise. There's calls you can see being given, but that was literally just a balls average instance of contact in the area during a corner that is never awarded.

The trouble was Kruse mucked up so many good positions and then Juric missed that double chance. Leckie also missed one. The Mooy went out of the game and Milligan was hacked out of the game so we lost midfield control. Luongo came on and did not help, Rukavytsya added nothing to the team and Rogic was terrible. Syria gained confidence and their substitutes worked. Still it took a mistake from the referee to award a bad penalty for them to score.

Is it a coincidence that Assaad and Iran happen to be Shiite?

1-0 in these conditions is fine for a team at our level (I'd like to be at a higher level but you need to produce better players)

not much you can do about a corrupt pen

home should be easier

Australia is pretty Shiite to be fair

yeah that was rubbish all the way. when u look at awarding a pen there has to be fair amount of contact. looked like Syrian player just bit his tounge and pretended Leckie was his bf

Millsy looking like he got out of a shower for his interview over five minutes after full time.

love to see a montage of dodgy pens middle eastern teams have recieved this world cup quals

whats the point? Syria and SA would get smashed in any wc game. I suppose you get a cash bonus for qualifying though

😁😁😁

To be fair,  ref was not terrible the rest of the match.  A few awful fouls on milligan he let slide but otherwise punished them as much as us mostly. 
It was just that one senseless penalty. 

yeah nah they were getting slaughtered way before that. This is Ange man, he had a choice, he made it.

Goodwin, Mabil, Ruka . went with Ruka

how were they getting slaughtered. We were 1-0 up and their only goal was from a corrupt pen. Thats after we hit the post twice

Assad is Alawite, slightly different, but yeah the Iranians are very much on his side in that war and would have no hassles in saying to a ref that if they didn't like his performance he or some of his family would suffer some inconveniences.

We were on the ropes for 30 of the 45 minuteds.

Kruse was shit.

Goodwin would have been the best choice because of his defensive ability, but I think bringing on a winger was not required.

Yep fuck that, call me biased but Syria were incapable of scoring tonight. 

This tie is in our hands and ours to lose.

Socceroo's are still in with a chance. They just need to fix that dreadful 2nd half fallout they do.

Spent 20 min boxed in to our own third and they got a few dangerous chances and I don't know how many corners.  I was Expecting them to score.   Maybe not 'slaughtered ' but still... 

Blame Ange leckie was playing well up front and risdon playing well on the right. Get rid of our 3 front players what the f--k was he thinking? Awful subs, just awful. W

Also telling them "KEEP POSSESSION KEEP POSSESSION!" What a f--king moron. They were pressing us every time especially our full backs and winning the ball every time. Anges solution: keep doing the same thing. F--kwit.. 

not really. It reminded me of a verbeek away game. If not for a corrupt pen its the same result as a pim away game

ange gets criticized for not shutting up shop when he takes the lead in away games then gets criticized when he does

The reality is our team isn't that strong and our performances have been good for a team our strength on paper. I don't see why people don't understand that

Spent 20 min boxed in to our own third because Ange the dumb f--k kept yelling out "keep possession". Thats not to shift the responsibility from the players, the amount of counter attacks they just invited on themselves was embarrassingly naive. just pathetic. 

nice wrap up. I'll add that we looked rubbish most of the game, last 30 I think. dreadful, kept coughing the ball up over and over. nothing 
Ange made a ridiculous sub. ridiculous player , shouldn't be there. Goodwin on the left there would have offered 100% more. manager is making garbage decisions now, where before he used to make the best ones.

he's lost the plot Ange. Don't have much confidence in him any more. rubbish decision making

we arent great in bpo (although the back 3 were pretty good) so we were using possession as a defensive strategy. Its probably our best defensive strategy if we can put it off.