Print

Mail

wiki links

Viduka goals lead Australians to a comfortable victory

Australian captain Mark Viduka grabbed two goals on Saturday to lead the Socceroos to a clinical 3-0 victory over Singapore in a warmup match ahead of this month's Asian Cup.

Newcastle United striker Viduka headed Australia in front in the 52nd minute when he out-jumped Singapore goalkeeper Lionel Lewis to meet Mile Sterjovski's cross.

Liverpool forward Harry Kewell made his presence felt when he took the field in the 62nd minute and Australia dominated in the final stages.

Kewell made it 2-0 in the 77th minute with a diagonal shot after a lapse in the Singapore defense.

The star Australian duo then combined for Australia's third goal a minute from full-time after Kewell skipped past his marker before planting a perfect cross for Viduka to nod in.

The match was the last at Singapore's 34-year-old National Stadium and the hosts had their fair share of chances to get on the scoresheet.

Singapore striker Indra Sahdan raced through in the 33rd minute but saw his shot foiled by Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. Schwarzer then tipped a Mustafic Fahrudin header over the crossbar.

Singapore's best chance came in the 56th minute when Khairul Amri fired a shot against Schwarzer's post.

The Australians have set up a Singapore training base as they prepare for their maiden Asian Cup, which begins this weekend and is cohosted by Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. They face Oman in their opening match on Sunday in Bangkok.
This story has been viewed 831 times.