The LG Joeys suffered their first loss as part of their World Championship preparations, 4-1 to MLS team Tampa Bay Mutiny.
Despite the loss, coach Ange Postecoglou was very pleased with the side¹s performance.
Tampa Bay provided the LG Joeys with its toughest test to date and was a good hit out for the young Australian side.
³Tampa Bay are a top National League team here in America with most players between 25 - 30 years of age, so obviously they were going to be stronger than us,² said Postecoglou.
³I was very pleased with our performance and although we were 1-0 down at half-time, I thought we were the better side and had more chances than they did.²
³We certainly matched them for 60 minutes but a bit of tiredness crept in and they were able to add three late goals,² said an upbeat Postecoglou.
The LG Joeys goal was scored late in the match by Jay Lucas, from an indirect free kick.
Their next match is against the USA U17 team on Friday morning (Sydney time), which Postecoglou says will give him a better understanding of where the team is at with its preparations.
A proposed forthcoming match against the Argentina U17 team looks as though it will be cancelled according to Postecoglou.
LG Joeys line-up: First half Coe (gk), Bojic, Wilkinson, Hunter, Broxton, Dilevski, Valeri, Danze, Agius, Smith, Holman.
Substitutes used during the second half: Rex (gk), Van Dommele, Walsh, Stevens, Lucas, Studman, Engele, Brown & Stavroulakis.