The Qantas Young Socceroos (Australia U-20s) have commenced their final preparations for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship with a 2-0 defeat against Colombia in the opening match of the Four Nations Tournament being played in Busan , South Korea .
The Australians were forced to play for nearly an hour with ten men following the dismissal of defender Mark Milligan in the 33rd minute, who was given a red card for retaliation after an altercation with a Colombian opponent.
Qantas Young Socceroo striker Jay Lucas had the team’Äôs best chance to score after 36 minutes, breaking clear of the defence only for the Colombian goalkeeper to make a stunning double save. Seven minutes later the Australians had strong claims for a penalty when a header from Perth Glory’Äôs Billy Celeski appeared to be handled by a Colombian defender.
The Australians could have taken the lead in the first minute of the second half when midfielder Ruben Zadkovich broke down the left and centred for Lucas who struck his shot from the edge of the penalty area over the crossbar.
The Colombians gained the lead six minutes after the interval with a long range speculator from Cristian Marrugo curling out of the reach of Australian goalkeeper Danny Vukovic.
The South Americans, semi finalists at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, began to gain the upper hand in the latter stages of the game as the Australians began to tire, and they duly doubled their lead from five minutes from time. Wayson Renteria volleying home in clinical fashion following a cross from the left, after Vukovic pulled off a superb finger-tip save moments earlier.
’ÄùIt was a disappointing match for us in that we weren’Äôt able to test ourselves in an 11 v 11 scenario,’Äù said Qantas Young Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou .
’ÄùWe had the better of the game until the dismissal, though after that we worked extremely hard, and still were able to create opportunities in front of goal.
’ÄùHopefully the major lesson the players have learnt is the need to be disciplined.’Äù
The Qantas Young Socceroos will face host nation South Korea on Tuesday before rounding out the tournament with a match against Morocco two days later.
South Korea defeated Morocco 1-0 in the opening match of the tournament played earlier today.