Connor Chapman and Josh Brillante played a full match in the Young Socceroos’ 1-0 win over Indonesia last night.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets players Connor Chapman and Josh Brillante played a full match in the Young Socceroos- 1-0 win over Indonesia at the AFC U-22 Qualification Tournament last night.
An Anthony Proia goal just before half time gave Australia victory over the host nation in front of a capacity crowd of 45,500 in Pekanbaru.
Chapman and Brillante were key members of the defensive unit that managed to keep a clean sheet.
Fellow Jets players Jack Duncan and Mitch Cooper were unused substitutes in the match.
Speaking after the match, Young Socceroos head coach Paul Okon was very happy with his team-s opening result of the tournament.
“It was a great performance in difficult conditions against a good opponent in front of a huge home crowd. It was also a fantastic experience for our players to play in front a parochial full stadium,” said Okon.
“The players played some very good football and we probably could have got a few more goals. The Indonesian team are a very good team and we were playing against players two or three years older.
“We now turn our focus to the next game and are looking to build on this result and put in another solid performance.”
Jets forward Adam Taggart was originally selected in the squad, but was ruled out with a groin injury sustained in the Jets- 3-1 win over Broadmeadow last week.
“Unfortunately Adam picked up a groin strain in the trial game against Broadmeadow,” Jets CEO Robbie Middleby said.
“While it-s always a tough decision to pull out of a national team squad, Adam-s health and fitness had to be the main priority.
“Travelling to Indonesia and playing five games in 10 days would have been asking too much of him with the injury he had.”
The Young Socceroos will play their next match against Macau on Saturday 7 July followed by matches against Singapore (10 July), Timor Leste (12 July) and Japan (15 July).
The top two teams from Group E and the best third placed team of all groups (total 15) will then progress to the AFC U-22 Championship which will be played in January 2014.
