Socceroos leading light Tim Cahill
A courageous display by Australia in their opening World Cup match was not enough to get them over the line in a 3-1 loss against Chile in Cuiaba, Brazil on Saturday afternoon (AEST).
The Socceroos made it a tough exercise for themselves from the outset as a nervy start saw them go down 2-0 as early as the 14th minute. The Australians had given their ruthless opponents too much respect, which is just as dangerous as not showing them any, making the task of earning some valuable points all the more difficult.
But the evergreen Tim Cahill restored faith in the Socceroos’ hopes as a trademark header brought the score back to 2-1 in the 35th minute.
That goal gave Australia the platform that they needed to attack the Chileans, giving the Socceroos some momentum.
It was evident at the start of the second half that the Aussies weren’t going to let up on pressuring Chile, looking more and more dangerous with every attack.
A double save by Chile’s keeper from Mark Bresciano almost resulted in an equaliser, whereas a tug on Cahill’s shirt in the box went amiss as the referee continued play. Chile for their part had a chance cleared off the line, which managed to keep Australia in the game.
The Socceroos pressure continued to mount right up to the very end, but a chink in the armour of the Australian defence allowed a third Chilean goal to creep in during injury time to make it 3-1 to the South Americans.
It was a very positive display from Australia, giving them a steady platform to build on for the next two games.
