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Craig HillSocceroos too good for Qatar
February 7th 2008 04:45
The Pim Verbeek era of the Socceroos got off to a flying start with a relatively comfortable 3-0 win over Qatar in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers at the Telstra Dome overnight.
In front of a buoyant crowd of 50,969 spectators, the home side gave their new boss a dream start in the managerial hot-seat by going all-out in the first half to register three goals on the scoreboard before the half-time break.
Josh Kennedy of German Bundesliga side Karlsruhe opened the scoring for the Socceroos in the 10th minute and soon after, the home side's advantage was doubled through Everton hero Tim Cahill (18th minute). Just after the half hour mark, another one of the Socceroos' european-based players, Palermo's Mark Bresciano got in on the act to complete the scoring.
The Socceroos understandably took the foot off the pedal in the second half but missed some great opportunities to add further goals to the scoreline - something they must grasp against stronger opponents.
However, this was not to detract from the performance of Australia which was fantastic given how little time Verbeek had to prepare his team for this qualifier - most european-based players had flown into Melbourne just 48 hours earlier.
Australia now tops Group A with a maximum 3 points, while China and Iraq are on 1 point each after their 1-1 draw; Qatar are on bottom of the table with 0 points.
The Socceroos' next game is against China on March 26.
[Video Source: YouTube]
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