Away leg against Uraguay Piss up

[cj_blacks]

Ill be at the Stag after a big night out i think a few of the lads and i are going all night... if anyone recognises me come and have a chat... i may have my socceroos scarf on

[lambchops]

Looks like i'll be doing an all nighter too. will be at the stag. have they got the grog licence sorted

I rekon so, i am still in the process of my all nighter, jsut got home from pointless driving around to kill time with SBR.

[U LEGS]

Looks like I have to miss out the stag on sunday sammy. Got so much work to finish, which is due by monday so I cant leave the house at all. But i'll still be watching!

[therisingblues]

ABC radio? Thanks Thiele (Colin?).
Cheers for the offer Sam, I think I'll be alright with the radio though.

[Wedgie]

Well a 1 nil loss wasn't bad although it would have been nice to score an away goal.
I thought Australia were great in the first half but very lucky not to be further down in the 2nd half.

[scott]

Socceroos one down
Sportal

The Socceroos have limited the damage going into the second leg of their World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay in Sydney on Wednesday with a 0-1 defeat in Montevideo.

Dario Rodriguez gave Uruguay the slim victory with a first-half goal at Centenario Stadium.

The score came in a period of sloppy defending by the Australians in the 38th minute, which saw Rodriguez unmarked and allowed him to head Alvaro Recoba's free kick from the right hand side of the penalty area, into the net off the far post.

Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink said he was disappointed his side had not managed to capitalise on a strong attacking period in the first 30 minutes.

"We dominated the first half, but we weren't good enough to finish it off," Hiddink said on SBS.

"They did very well ... but in my experience, when you dominate you have to finish them off."

"It was a good result, though."

The result is in contrast to the score line of the first match between the two nations four years ago, when Australia won the opening game by one goal, before heading to Montevideo for the second leg.

But this time, the Socceroos will be hoping to do what Uruguay did and secure a 3-0 victory at home on Wednesday.

Australia started strongly in an intense opening half, but couldn't capitalise in front of goal, while Uruguay put the Socceroos defenders under a great deal of pressure at the other end.

Mark Viduka had a chance in the 12th minute, but his strike was saved by a diving Uruguay keeper.

The pressure became too much for Uruguay striker Diego Forlan, who was in doubt before the match and limped off in the 19th minute after re-injuring his hamstring.

The hosts looked somewhat rattled after losing their star striker, but soon regained their sting and continued to pressure Australia.

Recoba almost broke through with a free kick in the 22nd minute, which found a hole in the Australian wall, but Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made the save.

Australia continued to apply pressure after the break as the end-to-end play continued, but quality shots at goal were becoming harder to come by.

Midfielder Jason Culina gave Australia its best chance with a powerful drive from outside the penalty area, but his shot grazed the left-hand goalpost.

Recoba almost put Uruguay two goals up just three minutes from time, when he evaded two defenders to streak into the penalty area, but Schwarzer pulled off a fantastic save to reel in the shot.

Australia was buoyed after half time with midfielder Marco Bresciano, who was a doubtful starter, coming on to replace Archie Thompson.

Uruguay 1 (Rodriguez 37)
Australia 0

[Punk Rooster]

How do Australia qualify? is 1-0 good enough, or does it have to be 2-0, 3-1 etc

[stan]

HAs to be 2 -0. Dunno what happens if its 1 - 0.

[Wedgie]

If its 1 nil it goes into extratime with the golden goal rule and then possibly penalties eventually, all after the game on Wednesday, another advantage of getting the 2nd leg t home.

[stan]

Fair enough.

[Dog_ger]

Well done Socceroos. I honestly thought we would get our buts kicked... We need a 2 zip result in sydney. Fingers crossed..!

[therisingblues]

Don't know how to take this result really. Usually we win the first leg and screw up the second, whether it is being played at home or away. So I could say that we are in a worse position, for this stage, than we have been for the past 3 or 4 qualifiers. Then again, maybe we are trying something different this time; so, maybe it's a good thing?

[lambchops]

If its 1 nil it goes into extratime with the golden goal rule and then possibly penalties eventually, all after the game on Wednesday, another advantage of getting the 2nd leg t home.

Don't think they have the golden goal in world cup games.