Australia beat Poland 2-1 in friendly
KRAKOW, Poland — Australia beat Poland 2-1 in a friendly Tuesday, as the Socceroos build up to January's 2011 Asian Cup and the White Eagles hone their skills for their home-turf…
KRAKOW, Poland — Australia beat Poland 2-1 in a friendly Tuesday, as the Socceroos build up to January's 2011 Asian Cup and the White Eagles hone their skills for their home-turf campaign as Euro 2012 hosts.Seeking to burnish their image after a disappointing World Cup, the Australians tasted their first victory since exiting the tournament in South Africa in June.With the first half ending 2-1 -- one of the Socceroos' goals was a penalty -- Poland failed to capitalise on second-half dominance and numerical advantage after Australia's Brett Emerton was sent off.The match in the southern city of Krakow was their second ever meeting.In the first, at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Poland won 6-1 in the semi-finals and went on to take the silver medal.Tuesday's match was Australia's second under new coach Holger Osieck, a German veteran appointed last month.Australia drew Switzerland 0-0 in a friendly on Saturday. Osieck was not formally in the job for their first post-World Cup match last month, a 2-0 defeat by Slovenia.Brett Holman of Dutch club Alkmaar opened Tuesday's score in the 13th minute, latching onto a pass from Dinamo Moscow's Luke Wilkshire and firing the ball past Poland keeper Przemyslaw Tyton.Tyton, of Dutch side Roda Kerkade, is relatively untested, winning only his third cap on Tuesday.Poland coach Franciszek Smuda otherwise stuck to the side which drew 1-1 on Saturday against fellow Euro 2012 hosts Ukraine.Having missed out on World Cup qualification, Poland have not played a competitive match since October 2009.They will not do so until they kick off in the opening game of the European championships in Warsaw in June 2012 -- like Ukraine, they are guaranteed a host's berth.Poland fans have high hopes for Euro 2012, seeing it as a chance to revive the glory days. Poland won Olympic gold in 1972, came third in the 1974 World Cup, took Olympic silver in 1976, and were again third in the 1982 World Cup.Smuda, brought on board after the flunked attempt to reach South Africa, has faced mounting
last modification 2010-09-08 01:45:04
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