The Olyroos had their first outing since January on Thursday night, going down 0-3 to Sydney FC who scored all of its goals in the first 18 minutes.
Five City names appeared for the Olyroos, including goalkeeper Tom Glover who said there were positives to take out of the game, but the start wasn’t good enough.
"Playing teams like Sydney and Macarthur, it's only going to make us better for our own age group."
Australia U-23 goalkeeper Tom Glover shares his thoughts after last night's friendly. #AUSvSYD pic.twitter.com/EavrpEKEi5
— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 12, 2020
“If you start slow you get punished,” he said, “After that we bounced back and started playing more of our style and the second half was a lot better.”
“We never gave up and that’s the Aussie spirit that we have, we’re never going to drop our heads.”
With the Tokyo Olympics pushed back to next year, Glover said there is good camaraderie amongst the group and it will hold them in good stead.
“You dream to play for your country and there’s a good bunch of boys here, we’re all like a big family,” Glover said.
“Our aim is to get a medal at the Olympics and we’re on the way to do that.
The first time the new @Nike Australia National Team Away Kits take to the pitch 🙌 pic.twitter.com/a4nZtKi5EU
— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 12, 2020
Tom Glover
Glover was the only Olyroo to play the full ninety minutes. He was beaten by Paulo Retre with a curling shot aimed at the far post but poor defending made the other two goals hard to keep out. He wasn’t faced with another shot on target for the remainder of the game.
Nathaniel Atkinson
Atkinson started at right back and played 63 minutes. He looked comfortable pushing forward, often getting up the pitch to be involved in attacking moves.
Aiden O’Neill
In his first competitive outing since signing for City in September, O’Neil was substituted on at half-time. He helped steady the Olyroos in what was a much better second half performance.
Connor Metcalfe
Metcalfe played the final 27 minutes after starting as a substitute. He joined his new teammate in the midfield and the two were able to build some early chemistry prior to the A-League season starting in late December.
Ramy Najjarine (loaned to Newcastle Jets for 2020/21 season)
Najjarine started on the right wing and often linked up with Atkinson well. His shot from range in the 70th minute tested Sydney FC keeper Tom Heward-Belle who parried the ball out for a corner. Najjarine was then substituted a few minutes after.
The Olyroos will be in action again on Tuesday night when they take on Macarthur FC. The match kicks off at 7pm and will be live streamed across Facebook, Twitter, Kayo Sports, YouTube, and the MyFootball Live app.
