Sterjovski thunderbolt seals Australia win

A Mile Sterjovski thunderbolt less than a minute into the second half, has given the Socceroos a 1-0 win over Ghana tonight at the Sydney Football Stadium.

A Mile Sterjovski thunderbolt less than a minute into the second half, has given the Socceroos a 1-0 win over Ghana tonight at the Sydney Football Stadium.

While Sterjovski-s goal was a highlight, his night ended on a personal downer, after he was given his marching orders with three minutes remaining after receiving a second yellow card.

Ghana can feel a little aggrieved that they didn-t get at least a draw from the game, as at times they showed Australia just why they are ranked in the top 20 in the world, with Australia having to defend desperately at times.

Sterjovski-s strike came so quickly after the half time whistle that many people had yet to sit back in their seats, as he dispossessed a Ghanaian defender and headed goalwards. Upon getting to the edge of the penalty area and goalkeeper Amamoo in no man-s land, the Derby County striker let rip and the ball flew into the back of the net.

Coach Pim Verbeek was happy to get the win, but was more concerned about the performance and conceded there was a lot of improvement in the team.

“Result is nice, especially for the fans,” Verbeek said after the game. “I saw a lot of things I was expecting from players.”

“First all fantastic commitment and hard working; some players did very well in positions where I will need them in the future.

“But we didn-t start the game the way we normally start and during the game we got better and better. We were a little uncertain about certain situations, but I can-t blame them (the players).”

“Definitely, definitely,” he said on improvement. This is not normally the way we can play and to be honest I didn-t expect it also.”

Sterjovski had the first meaningful shot at goal in the 21st minute, a volley that struck well, but straight to Amamoo in the Ghanaian goal.

Good chances though were hard to find, although it was Ghana that had the Australian defence with Manuel Agogo especially proving a handful.

Sterjovski-s strike straight after half time, eased the pressure on Australia, but Ghana were forcing the pace as the half wore on.

Schwarzer was being called on more and more, but usually he was impeccably placed and was rarely tested.

His best save came in injury time when his quick reflexes turned a delightful back heeled shot by Haminu around the post. Minutes later to the joy of the almost 30,000 crowd, the full time whistle was blown and maintained Verbeek-s unblemished start to his Aussie tenure.

Match Details

Australia 1 (Mile Sterjovski 46-) Ghana 0

Australian line-up: Mark Schwarzer (c); Michael Beauchamp, Jade North, Jacob Burns (James Holland 79-), Mile Jedinak, Joel Griffiths, Harry Kewell (c) (Mark Bridge 74-), David Carney (Nikolai Topor-Stanley 79-), Adam Griffiths (Matt Spiranovic 65-), James Troisi (Danny Allsopp 65-), Mile Sterjovski Subs not used: Leigh Broxham, Michael Petkovic (gk), Rodrigo Vargas, Chris Coyne

Cautions: Sterjovski (28- & 87-) Expulsions: Sterjovski (87-)