Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Australia wins from Oman 3-0 in World Cup qualifying


SYDNEY, Midfielder Brett Holman scored in the eighth minute on Tuesday to set Australia on the way to a 3-0 win over underdogs Oman that leaves the Socceroos in a strong position to...
advance to the fourth round of Asian qualifying for the World Cup. Josh Kennedy, with his eighth goal in his last five internationals, scored Australia’s second goal in the 65th minute and Mile Jedinak completed the scoring with five minutes left. The win gives Australia maximum points from its first three matches and a six-point lead over second-place Thailand, which has played two matches. “That was the target, we had a good win on Friday and we wanted another,” Australia captain Lucas Neill said. “It will give us a lot of confidence with one foot in the next round.”

The Socceroos survived some nervous moments and sloppy defending early as Oman made use of its pace with several swift counterattacking moves. But Holman gave Australia the early lead when he scored his sixth international goal, turning in a Matt McKay square ball after Oman had failed to clear a dangerous Rhys Williams cross. Australia maintained its dominance but couldn’t add to its total until the 65th minute when Kennedy scored. Jedinak completed the scoring in the 85th minute, cleverly flicking in a free kick from close range. Oman came closest to scoring in the 68th minute, but Australian goalkeeper Adam Federici made a strong save from Ahmed Al Mahaijri’s curling free kick.

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