Australia has come away with the necessary 3 points from their match against Oman, but only just. After a comprehensive display in the first 30 minutes of the match the Socceroos created a number of chances but were unable to convert their dominance of the opening period on to the score board. Oman then created a few good chances of their own to throw the match wide open in the first half.
Whilst Australia had a near full-strength squad, there was an evident lack of striking power up front mainly due to the lack of a striker with the ability to play a holding role along side Josh Kennedy. With Oman crowding the midfield, a player with Nick Carle's ability to work within a small space and create opportunities would have been ideal to spark some attacking flair for Australia.
The defences of both teams proved to be their strength but Cahill managed to latch on to a nice left foot touch by Kennedy which lead to the winning goal in the 74th minue to secure a 1-0 victory for Australia over Oman.
Following the match, Oman's coach Claude Le Roy attempted to distract the attention for his team's loss by complaining about verbal half time banter. Perhaps Le Roy should focus on winning his next football match, and getting a new hairdresser.
