Press article:

Under 23's quality for Athens - 30/01/2004

Australia will represent the Oceania Football Confederation at the Olympic Games in Athens this coming August, following their 1-1 draw with New Zealand in Auckland tonight.

Frank Farina’s men survived a strong challenge from the Kiwi’s, assured of their qualification only after a Ryan Griffiths (pictured right) equaliser in the last quarter of an hour and win 3-1 on aggregate.

”We did the job we came here to do,” said an elated Farina after the game. “I felt confident we could score a goal which we did and we should have won it at the end.”

Adelaide United marksman Shane Smeltz had earlier given the home side a sniff of an upset when he blasted home a Leo Bertos cross.

Eventually though, the class of Farina’s charges shone through and as expected, 18 extra athletes will be travelling to Greece with the Australian Olympic Team.

Honours were even after the first forty-five minutes with both sides given opportunities to open the scoring.

The early chances fell to the visitors, with Nick Carle picking up from where he left off at Parramatta Stadium.

The Marconi midfielder was dominant in the opening quarter, constantly threatening the New Zealand defence.

Australia’s most poignant moment arrived after 31 minutes when Alex Brosque was put through one on one by Brett Holman.

The youth international’s effort scraped past advancing goalkeeper Glen Moss, but also the left post.

The best chance for the home side in the first half fell to Northern Spirit striker Brent Fisher who was put through on goal by Neil Jones.

Unfortunately for New Zealand, Fisher though was forced to rush his shot and the Australian goal went unviolated for its eleventh consecutive half.

The Kiwis gathered some momentum in the latter stages, but ultimately, their 4-2-4 formation and long ball game drew blanks in the first forty-five.

Smeltz’s opener on 51 minutes was the perfect remedy for Ricki Herbert’s men, who could see a berth at Athens slipping away.

The All White volleyed home a Leo Bertos cross from just outside the six-yard box to give New Zealand a precious ascendency heading into the final forty minutes.

An opportunity to level the tie went begging less than ten minutes after the goal when Smeltz headed over with the goal at his mercy.

If Smeltz’s miss was to devastate the Kiwi’s, Griffiths’ equaliser was gutting.

After coming on as a substitute for Brosque in the 59th minute, the Newcastle United midfielder showed great poise to control and finish a deep ball from Ahmad Elrich.

At 1-1, any realistic chance of New Zealand progressing seemed distant and their despondent play following the goal was testament to this.

Griffiths and fellow substitute Dylan MacAllister had chances to seal the victory in the final minutes, but in the end, Australia confirmed their passage to Athens.

Farina paid tribute to his players after copping a battering from the press during the qualifiers. 

“The result is a huge boost for this generation of players. They now have a big stage to play on. 

“This augurs well for the Olympics and for the national team leading into 2006,” Farina added.

Griffiths, who sat in the stands during the last Olympics and watched disappointingly as the team failed to win a game, was a relieved man after the game. 

“I was sitting on the bench when they scored and it was the worst feeling,” he said. “I felt sick in the stomach.”

“To go on and score what proved to be the goal which was as good as a winning goal was a great feeling.”

He added, “it just shows the character in the team. Everyone gets along really well and it shows on the field, the way we work for each other.”

http://www.australiansoccer.com.au

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