One in a Milligan performance
Monday, 16 July 07, 07:05 PM
He may be the target of a lot of abuse from Melbourne Victory fans but there's no doubt that Australia sits in a quarter-final showdown with Japan at the Asian Cup thanks to Mark Milligan.
Milligan's textbook tackle with the Aussies holding a shaky 1-0 lead against Thailand last night saved the day after Schwarzer fumbled a long-shot into open space in the box. That moment highlighted the lift in defensive effort that earned Australia its first clean sheet of the tournament - the three goals scored in the final moments of the game just cosmetic improvement of the statistics.
The question now for Australia is what to do with Lucas Neill. Neill is having a mediocre tournament, while Beauchamp and Milligan both performed admirably last night. Japan are in hot form and the underdog tag will suit Australia, perhaps it will suit Neill as well.
Up front there are problems too, mainly because Sterjovski finds himself back in the frame without having even taken the pitch last night. Aloisi dogged it and picked up a stupid yellow card, while Brett Holman offered up the miss of the tournament. It doesn't bode well when the best alternative is to play Kewell as a floating man behind Viduka rather than a second striker.
And my excuse for not fronting up for a comment after the Iraq game? A severe hangover. Much like the rest of the football supporting population of Australia.
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AusTeo
Melbourne, AU
This is the regular column for the Melbourne Victory of Australia. The Victory is currently defending the A-League title and will play Asian Champions League at the end of the domestic campaign. There will also be the odd comment about the fortunes of the Australian national team.
On Victory's title defence officially over