Olyroos out in the cold

The Olyroos' bid to qualify for the London Olympics has taken a massive hit after a 0-2 loss to Uzbekistan.

Due to extreme temperatures at Tashkent's JAR Stadium the kick-off time for the match was moved from 8pm to 3pm on Sunday, but with the mercury around -12 C it was of little comfort to the players.

Australia started strongly with Mate Dugandzic and captain Oliver Bozanic each having shots on target in the opening 10 minutes.

But with a snow covered, frozen pitch making passing and touches difficult, it was never going to be a free flowing game.

Uzbekistan took the lead in the 27th minute when Oybek Kilichev set up Kenja Turaev who hit a long range shot giving Mat Ryan no chance of saving.

Soon after Jason Hoffman looked to have an equaliser for the Olyroos but was adjudged to have scored from an offside position.

The second half saw both teams create opportunities at both ends but the quality of the build-up play and finishing was severely hampered by the pitch conditions.

Just after the hour mark Mitch Nichols also seemed to have netted an equaliser, but his attempt was denied after the referee blew for an infringement in the box in the lead up to the goal.

Oleg Zoteev sealed the result for the Uzbeks in the 85th minute with a sublime volley from outside the box which hit the underside of the crossbar and went into the net.

In the other Group B match the United Arab Emirates (UAE) defeated Iraq 1-0 to move into second place of Group B.