Canberrans shine in Tashkent.

Chris Bush (Goulburn) Danai Gapare and Stephen Domenici (2 goals) all played a part in the Australian Under 16 first game in their attempt to qualify for the Under 17 World Cup.

Australia 3 Saudi Arabia 1: Details below

Tashkent
Monday 6 October 2008

The Qantas Joeys have begun their AFC U16 Championships campaign with a 3-1 victory over Saudi Arabia in Uzbekistan overnight.

A first half double from Stephen Domenici helped set up the win with captain Brendan Hamill securing the result early in the second half with a well taken volley from inside the penalty box.

The Qantas Joeys opened the scoring in the 14th minute when goalkeeper Robert Kolac kicked long to find Eli Babalj deep in the opposition half. Babalj then flicked on to Domenici who neatly finished his one-on-one opportunity against the Saudi goalkeeper.

Domenici added his second on the half hour mark when he received the ball on halfway, on the left side, and attacked, beating two defenders and placing his stinging shot inside the near-post from inside the box.

Shortly after the start of the second half, a Jared Lum corner found Trent Sainsbury who flicked on to Brendan Hamill inside the box. Hamill controlled with his chest and then volleyed his shot into the bottom right corner of the goal to give his team a three goal lead.

Faisal Al Ghamdi scored a consolation goal for Saudi Arabia late in the match, but the Qantas Joeys had done enough to take all three points.

Qantas Joeys Head Coach Martyn Crook was pleased with his team’s opening match performance.

"It’s important to get off to a good start in any tournament especially against good opposition, a great result.

"A win against China will guarantee a quarter final appearance and closer to a place at the 2009 FIFA U17 World Cup.

“We will do a recovery session now and focus on this match,” concluded Crook.

In the other group C match, China PR defeated Turkmenistan 2-1. The Qantas Joeys will meet China PR in the their second group match on Tuesday 7 October (Kick-off 4pm UZT).


Match Details:
Saudi Arabia 1 (Faisal Al Ghamdi 83’)
Qantas Joeys 3 (Stephen Domenici 14’/30’, Brendan Hamill 49’)
Sunday 5 October 2008
Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)
Assistant Referees: Viktor Serazitidinov (Uzbekistan) & Joonmo Jang (Korea Republic)
Fourth Official: Minoru Tojo (Japan)
Crowd: 3,500

Qantas Joeys line-up: Robert Kolac, Chahine Noujaim, Petar Franjic, Brendan Hamill (C), Trent Sainsbury (Nathan Farrell 61’), Kamal Ibrahim, Jared Lum, Chris Bush, Nikola Stanojevic, Stephen Domenici (Cameron Edwards 70’), Eli Babalj (Danai Gapare 70’).

Substitutes Not Used: Teddy Yabio, Colin Wright, Aaron Lennox, Mark Perrone, Dimitrios Petratos.

Yellows Cards: Nathan Farrell 62’

Red Cards: Nil


QANTAS JOEYS SQUAD
AFC U16 CHAMPIONSHIPS - UZBEKISTAN 2008
4-18 October 2008

Eli Babalj (WA), Chris Bush (ACTAS), Julius Davies (WA), Stephen Domenici (ACTAS), Cameron Edwards (WA), Petar Franjic (VIS), Nathan Farrell (SASI), Danai Gapare (ACTAS), Brendan Hamill (NSWIS), Kamal Ibrahim (VIS), Ben Kantarovski (Newcastle Jets), Robert Kolac (NSWIS), Aaron Lennox (NSWIS), Jared Lum (NSWIS), Chahine Noujaim (SASI), Mark Perrone (SASI), Dimitrios Petratos (NSWIS), Trent Sainsbury (WA), Nikola Stanojevic (NSWIS), Nicholas Tubbs (QAS), Marc Warren (NSWIS), Bailey Wright (VIS) and Teddy Yabio (VIS).


AFC U16 CHAMPIONSHIPS - UZBEKISTAN 2008
OFFCIAL MATCH SCHEDULE

Group A: BAHRAIN, I.R. IRAN, SINGAPORE, UZBEKISTAN

#DateMatchVenueKick-Off
14 Oct 2008 I.R. IRAN 2:0 BAHRAINPakhtakor Stadium20:00
24 Oct 2008 SINGAPORE 0:7 UZBEKISTANPakhtakor Stadium16:00
96 Oct 2008 BAHRAIN vs. SINGAPOREPakhtakor Stadium20:00
106 Oct 2008 UZBEKISTAN vs. I.R. IRANPakhtakor Stadium16:00
178 Oct 2008 I.R. IRAN vs. SINGAPOREMHSK Stadium15:00
198 Oct 2008 UZBEKISTAN vs. BAHRAINPakhtakor Stadium15:00


Group B: INDIA, INDONESIA, KOREA REPUBLIC, SYRIA

#DateMatchVenueKick-Off
34 Oct 2008 SYRIA 2:1 INDONESIAMHSK Stadium18:00
44 Oct 2008 KOREA REPUBLIC 5:2 INDIAMHSK Stadium14:00
116 Oct 2008 INDONESIA vs. KOREA REPUBLICMHSK Stadium14:00
126 Oct 2008 INDIA vs. SYRIAMHSK Stadium18:00
188 Oct 2008 SYRIA vs. KOREA REPUBLICPakhtakor Stadium19:00
208 Oct 2008 INDIA vs. INDONESIAMHSK Stadium19:00


Group C: AUSTRALIA, CHINA P.R., SAUDI ARABIA, TURKMENISTAN

#DateMatchVenueKick-Off
55 Oct 2008 CHINA P.R. 2:1 TURKMENISTANPakhtakor Stadium16:00
65 Oct 2008 SAUDI ARABIA 1:3 AUSTRALIAPakhtakor Stadium20:00
137 Oct 2008 TURKMENISTAN vs. SAUDI ARABIAPakhtakor Stadium20:00
147 Oct 2008 AUSTRALIA vs. CHINA P.R.Pakhtakor Stadium16:00
219 Oct 2008 CHINA P.R. vs. SAUDI ARABIAPakhtakor Stadium15:00
239 Oct 2008 AUSTRALIA vs. TURKMENISTANMHSK Stadium15:00


Group D: JAPAN, MALAYSIA, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, YEMEN

#DateMatchVenueKick-Off
75 Oct 2008 JAPAN 4:0 MALAYSIAMHSK Stadium14:00
85 Oct 2008 YEMEN 1:1 UNITED ARAB EMIRATESMHSK Stadium18:00
157 Oct 2008 MALAYSIA vs. YEMENMHSK Stadium14:00
167 Oct 2008 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES vs. JAPANMHSK Stadium18:00
229 Oct 2008 JAPAN vs. YEMENPakhtakor Stadium19:00
249 Oct 2008 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES vs. MALAYSIA

...