Isuzu UTE A-League talents were in the thick of the action for the Subway Joeys in their 3-3 draw against Vanuatu Under-19s.
In the final game of a three-match Pacific Tour, Australia’s U17 team salvaged a draw in the 82nd minute via Samuel Stanway having surrendered a 2-0 half-time lead in Vanuatu on Wednesday.
After a loss and a win against the Solomon Islands U19s, Oskar Von Schrenk (Melbourne Victory), Charlie Parkin (Brisbane Roar), Zayd Kassaby (Melbourne City), Zane Stevenson (Sydney FC), Rhys Williams (Brisbane Roar), Max Anastasio (Marconi – NPL), Anthony Didulica (Western United), Nickolas Alfaro (Sydney FC), Logan Sambrook (Lions FC), Isiah Boston (Melbourne City) and Max Naylor (Perth Glory) were in the starting XI.
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The Subway Joeys – who won the ASEAN U16 Boys’ Championships recently – led 2-0 at the break thanks to Sambrook’s opener and an own goal after Didulica’s free-kick took a wicked deflection as it hit the back of the net.
Vanuatu then scored three unanswered goals to stun Australia before a goalkeeping howler gifted Stanway and the Subway Joeys an equaliser eight minutes from the end.
“It was another great experience for the players, with a lot of lessons to take out of the game,” said head coach Brad Maloney, whose side are preparing for the upcoming AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, via Football Australia.
“It was great that we got off to a good start, but when leading 2-0 at half-time and to concede three goals in a row, that was disappointing. Nonetheless, it’s those learnings which will provide us with things to work on moving forward and I know the players will take plenty away from today.
“The players have been very resilient and mentally strong, not just today but in all three matches. They never stopped playing, and they kept competing with the older opposition. We had three or four 15-year-olds on the pitch for the last 40 minutes today, which was good to give them that experience.
“For the boys to come back from 3-2 down was pleasing, but we’d like to improve on the defending side of things, on conceding goals, and taking our chances at the other end.
“This tour was a great learning experience, on and off the pitch. Any international game is an invaluable experience and provides exposure for our players.
“Culturally and mentally, we’re learning that things don’t always go your way, sometimes you’re on the wrong side of decisions or difficult conditions to play. Today was obviously a little bit slippery, a bit wet, and the surface wasn’t ideal. All of those factors play a role in determining the outcome of the match and it’s good for the players to experience that.”
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Maloney added: “We’ve got 14 new players that joined the program for this tour, so to give them exposure across three international matches was great, and to mix in with some of the core group that we had in previous tours helps us with our decision-making moving forward. It’s excellent preparation for us looking ahead to AFC qualifiers and beyond.
“It gives us greater depth in the playing pool. It helps us work directly with the individual players and see how their character is, see how they handle things on and off the pitch, and it’s really given us a lot more to think about when we look at selecting players for future tournaments.
“We’ve always got our eye on the AFC qualifiers, that’s our next major competitive tournament. The tour here was basically a component of us looking at players for that next call up and we’re always continually monitoring players.
“There was a handful of players that couldn’t make this tour, whether due to injury or clubs wanted to retain them in the A-League or NPL Finals, so that provided an opportunity for some of the new ones to come in, and some have really impressed.”
Featured image: Football Australia
