Joey Lynch is a Melbourne-based sports journalist and AYA cancer advocate. Primarily working on football, he has covered the Socceroos, Matildas and A-Leagues for ESPN for over a decade.
Australia fell to a penalty shootout defeat to Qatar in their opening game of the Maurice Revello Tournament on Tuesday, picking up a point for the 0-0 draw that preceded the spot kicks only to watch the bonus point on offer go to their largely toothless foes.
The Qataris converted all four of their penalties, while Josh Rawlins had his penalty saved by Yousef Balideh to surrender the shootout initiative before Calem Nieuwenhof skied his attempt, sealing the defeat.
It was a cruel blow for the Australians, who were denied what looked like an almost certain late winner in the 94th minute when Noah Botic was thrown to the ground on the edge of the box by Mohamed Ayash in a desperate attempt to stop his one-on-one breakaway, earning a red card. Balideh subsequently denied Garang Kuol's free kick, forcing the game to penalties.
They had controlled the game without looking convincing throughout the contest, seeing plenty of the ball and creating enough shots without ever truly putting Balideh's net in true peril. The Olyroos' best chance of the game came in the 23rd minute when Brighton & Hove Albion starlet Cameron Peupion broke down the right and whipped a ball onto the head of Botic, only for the Western United striker's header to be denied by a wickedly sharp save.
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Control without domination
With Qatar attempting to build out from the back, the Olyroos early press was given the chance to pin their ears back and it had some early success. Adopting a 4-2-4 shape out of possession, with Louis D'Arrigo pushing forward next to Botic in support, Vidmar's side were able to almost entirely pin their opponents in their own half throughout the early stages of the contest, almost creating the opening goal in just the fourth minute when they forced a turnover inside the Qatari penalty area.
