Australia coach Martyn Crook was delighted with the Joeys' 3-1 win over Saudi Arabia. TASHKENT – Coach Martyn Crook was delighted as his attack-minded Australia side kicked off their AFC U-16 Championship campaign with a comfortable 3-1 win over a dangerous Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Stephen Domenici, who has only recently returned from a stress fracture in his back and is still short of fitness, struck twice in the first half before captain Brendan Hamill added the third, while in a rare attack Saudi Arabia grabbed a late consolation through Nawaf Al Ghamdi.
“You always want to get off to a winning start and we are pleased with the result. They are a very good team, we expected a tough game and it was a tough game so I am very happy,” said Crook.
“We have got some good attacking players with a lot of flair and it is one of the things we like to encourage. I also think we did well defensively. The benefit for us is that our attacking players are hard working defenders and it is a good combination if it comes off.”
While he was delighted with his entire team, Crook highlighted the performances of two-goal hero Domenici, goal scoring centre-back Hamill as well as right back Chahine Noujaim, who stepped in at the last minute following an injury on Sunday morning.
The results leaves Australia at the top of the Group C alongside China, but after the first round of games, Crook was still cautions over naming a definite title contender.
“I like Japan, Korea, Iran, Uzbekistan played very well, Saudi will be a tough team to beat, but it’s day one, there are a lot of nerves, a lot of young players who have not played on this stage and sometimes you don’t see the true calibre of a team on day one,” he added.
“But when the nerves go they grow and get better so all you want from day one is three points in the bank.”
Counterpart Joaquim “Kika” Filho was left to rue defensive mistakes, but is confident Saudi Arabia can bounce back on Tuesday against Turkmenistan.
“We made individual mistakes in defence, but the midfielders and strikers played well, although we struggled to force our style of play on the game and we hope to do better against Turkmenistan,” said Kika.
“The defence and goalkeeper got confused at crucial moments and this should not happen in football and when it does these mistakes are deadly.”
Source:The AFC.com
