Recharged batteries ready says Schwarzer

A timely day off from training has recharged the batteries so to speak, according to experienced Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, ahead of Saturday’s top of the table clash against Qatar in Doha.

Dubai: A timely day off from training has re-charged the batteries so to speak, according to experienced Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, ahead of Saturday-s top of the table clash against Qatar in Doha.

Giving the day off on Monday to go and do their own thing, some played golf; some went shopping, while quite a few, including Schwarzer, decided to go fishing in the Arabian Gulf.

It was just what the boys needed, according to Schwarzer and the players feel refreshed and eager to get back into the training ahead of the important clash, which could see Australia confirm its qualification for the next phase with a win.

“It was nice,” he said after a testing session at the team-s Jebel Ali training base. “When you-ve been in camp for over a week now, you definitely need a time to get away from things and the football pitch and have some time to enjoy to yourself a little bit; recharge the batteries so to speak.”

“I certainly was,” he said when asked if he was one of the one-s that went fishing. “We did (catch some fish); it was good fun. We had a really nice time on a big boat out in the Gulf; caught a couple of fish, did some swimming and had a good time; it was great."

While disappointed with last Saturday-s 1-0 loss against Iraq, Schwarzer is confident the team will bounce back quickly and try and qualify as quickly as possible for the next phase.

“It was a major disappointment that we didn-t get a result,” he said. “We felt we should have got a result.

“We held out reasonably well I thought; I thought we defended loads better than we did in Brisbane, but unfortunately we didn-t maximize our opportunities, although they (Iraq) probably looked at the game in Brisbane and said the same thing.

“It-s disappointing, but you have to pick yourself up very quickly, because we have a major game coming up against Qatar and then China the following week and the sooner we can make things assured that we are through to the next round, the better it will be for everyone.”