Match Report
Australia edged out Saudi Arabia 3-2 at Craven Cottage, ending their losing streak on Tuesday morning (AEST).
Australia sprinted into a 2-0 lead through Tim Cahill and captain Mile Jedinak but had to endure a nervous finale, as debutant Bailey Wright scored for the Socceroos between strikes from Hassan Muath and Taisir Al Jassim for the Middle East team.
Coach Ange Postecoglou made four changes to the starting XI that took on Belgium in Liege on Friday morning (AEST), with Wright making his Socceroos debut in central defence, while Massimo Luongo earned his maiden start, playing in the hole.
Midfielder Joshua Brillante and goalkeeper Mitch Langerak were also promoted, while Mark Bresciano, Trent Sainsbury, Mark Milligan and Mat Ryan sat on the bench.
After a shaky start where they conceded two free-kicks in as many minutes, Australia hit the front with their first attack, Cahill spreading the play on the counter-attack to Tommy Oar start the move.
Oar then found Mathew Leckie in the box but the FC Ingolstadt forward couldn't score and neither could Luongo before Cahill bundled the ball into the net from less than a metre.
It was 2-0 just four minutes later with Jedinak rising unmarked to nod Joshua Brillante's free-kick home, less than a minute after Alex Wilkinson was subbed off with a strained gluteal muscle, replaced by Sainsbury.
While the scoreboard looked promising, the performance was less so, with the Socceroos struggling to hold onto the ball early and failing to find new routes to goal.
Cahill's goal was his seventh in the Postecoglou era, while Jedinak was maintaining his record as the only other player to have scored in green and gold under the former Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory coach.
