Under 23s lose to Chile in shootout
27/06/2008 11:53 PM
Chile has defeated the Australian Under 23s in a thrilling 4-3 shootout at the Darwin Football Stadium on Friday night.
The Aussies were the first to find the back of the net through Aaron Downes in the 20th minute.
However, Chile responded a mere five minutes later and leveled things thanks to a curling free kick from captain Esteban Paredes.
The sides went into the break locked at 1-1 but the score didn't stay that way for too long as the visitors broke the deadlock two minutes into the second half courtesy of a Boris Sagredo half-volley.
21 minutes later Downes recorded his brace and Troy Hearfield managed to wrest back the lead for the hosts in the 76th minute.
But goals to Eduardo Vargas and Paredes ensured Chile ran out 4-3 victors.
"You never like to lose a match, but I was happy with the overall performance of the players," said coach Graham Arnold.
"We became a little disjointed towards the end with six substitutions but this match was more about testing ourselves against quality opposition."
"Three of the goals we conceded were from set pieces, but those sort of errors can be fixed."
"We will now use Sunday's match to give some other players a chance to impress ahead of the final team selection."