New Melbourne HeartFC signing Dean Heffernan has opened his international scoring account with a goal as the Qantas Socceroos were held to a 2-2 draw by Kuwait in Kuwait City.
New Melbourne Heart FC signing Dean Heffernan has opened his international scoring account with a goal as the Qantas Socceroos were held to a 2-2 draw by Kuwait in Kuwait City.
Heffernan lashed home from close range in the fifth minute, latching onto a cross whipped in by Crystal Palace midfielder Nick Carle to double the side-s advantage and seemingly set the Australians on-course for Asian Cup qualification.
But a first half fight back from the Kuwaiti-s curtailed their ambitions, with Hamad Al Enezi and Younes Nasser cancelling out Heffernan-s strike and Luke Wilkshire-s stunning volleyed opener.
Heffernan told Fox Sports he was delighted but surprised to score his first international goal after only two appearances.
“It was very unexpected but I was just happy to get on the scoresheet,” he said
“I pushed forward for the [freekick] and it got knocked down, I had a bit of a lash at it and it went in the back in the net. I was pretty happy.”
Fellow Melbourne Heart FC foundation player Matt Thompson also made an appearance, coming on as a late substitute for Carle to add to the two caps he earned against Kuwait and Indonesia last year.
Heart General Manager of Football Operations John Didulica believes Heffernan and Thompson-s selection for the Kuwait game highlights their pedigree and the contribution they can make to the side in the 2010/11 Hyundai A-League season.
“We are obviously excited for Dean and Matt that their consistently excellent performances in the A-League have been rewarded with international caps,” he said.
“It-s really exciting for them to be involved in such an important match for the Socceroos. From the club-s perspective, it-s important that we have a large core of players with some exposure to international football.
“International football takes a player-s awareness of the game to a new level, so the more players in your squad who have been exposed to international football, the higher its professional standards will be.”
