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INSISTING that his side should not be judged until it kicks off at the World Cup, Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou is adamant he won't change direction despite admitting that Australia had struggled for the majority of last night's 1-1 draw with South Africa.
Postecoglou said he was not surprised by the discordant nature of much of the performance, after "overworking them for a good reason" in the build-up to facing Chile on June 13.
"We'll stick to the course," Postecoglou said. "We believe we're heading in the right direction. We've got two more [warm-up] games in Brazil, and all these games are designed for us to be ready to face Chile. Every game will have a different objective, and hopefully we'll achieve them.
ustralia's Tim Cahill signs autographs after the march. Pic: George Salpigtidis Source: News Corp Australia
"Leading into this game we've overworked them, but for a reason. How much of tonight was down to fatigue, and how much was them not grasping the game plan, time will tell. But from my perspective it is what is. I took over six months ago, and said this is what we'd do, and we'll stick with it.
"It was good for 20 or 25 minutes, but after that we struggled physically and some of our decisions weren't great. To be honest, with the work the players have done in the past 10 days it's not really surprising.
"We've used this period to work them hard, and tonight they gave everything but struggled physically. We had objectives in terms of our game plan, and in the first 20 or 25 minutes we probably should have scored more."
Postecoglou defended his players, and deflected concerns that a lack of ruthlessness could haunt them.
"I can't be too critical of the players — we've worked them really hard, and when you do that they will pay a price," he said. "But it's for a longer term benefit to be ready for the first game in Brazil.
"I thought Alex Wilkinson was good, as was Tommy Oar, and Jason Davidson did well. For the first 25 everyone played well.
"If we create that number of chances on a regular basis and don't take them I'd be worried, but for the most part we were fairly composed. Their keeper pulled off a number of saves, and I've got no complaints about the first 25 minutes apart from their goal, which was just poor decision making."
ustralia's Ben Halloran shoots in the second half. Pic: George Salpigtidis Source: News Corp Australia
The Socceroos had some comfort from the words of South African coach Gordon Igesund, who said the key was to enjoy the experience of the tournament.
"They'll be competitive and if the ball rolls for them — well, we beat Spain so why can't you?" he said. "The adrenalin will be flowing and if the players enjoy themselves and don't come under too much pressure, I think they'll do okay."
The players know they need to step up in class from here.
Sloppy. That's how James Holland summed up the disappointing draw.
The midfielder gave an honest assessment of his own game and admitted the Socceroos failed to keep up with the fast tempo of the game, particularly after Bafana Bafana scored the opening goal.
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"I was disappointed in my performance," Holland said.
"I thought I was a little bit sloppy and my distribution wasn't the best. It was obviously a difficult pitch and they made it a little bit difficult, but there are no excuses — I felt like I should have done better."
Asked what went wrong after a promising opening 25 minutes, Holland replied:
"I think we got tired. It was a fast tempo game. The first 30 minutes we did well and then we collapsed a bit. I've got to be critical of my own performance and I didn't think I was at my best tonight.
"The goal gave them a bit of momentum and then gave them a bit of confidence and it affected us. I also think we couldn't keep up with that high tempo towards the end of the first half.
But Holland insists it wasn't all bad. The Socceroos have endured two intense training camps ahead of Wednesday's departure to Brazil and they have two more friendly games to iron out the creases before their World Cup campaign starts.
Australia's James Holland in the first half. Pic: George Salpigtidis Source: News Corp Australia
There are positive signs and Holland says they will be ready for Chile on June 13.
"We were a bit sloppy in the second half, but there were patches where it was good," he said.
"It's a process — we're building up to it and it's not going to happen overnight. Come the first game of the World Cup we will be ready."
Ben Halloran showed real promise when he came on for his international debut in the second half. He made threatening runs down the right wing and was one of the few players who felt positive after his performance.
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou gave him no indication he would get some game time against South Africa, but he is hoping he did enough to earn a spot on the plane to Brazil.
"Ange told me to go out and express myself and be positive," Halloran said.
"I felt like I did that tonight. To make your debut just before a World Cup in Brazil is nice timing and hopefully that performance will hold me in good stead for the final selection."
