Australia 3 - Rangers Youth 0

The LG Young Socceroos have got off to a good start in the first of a two match friendly series against the Rangers Youth team, beating their Scottish opponents 3-0 at the AIS in Canberra.

Both teams seemed to be finding their feet in the first half with neither goalkeeper particularly stretched as the game saw end to end play, Australian midfielder Michael Ferrante's two efforts midway through the first half the closest to goal action.

The Australian Under-20s came out more positively in the second half however, and were rewarded in the 52nd minute, Ferrante converting a penalty after striker Joshua Kennedy was brought down in the box.

13 minutes later, Ferrante was on the spot again with another penalty conversion, putting the Australians up 2-0 after captain and defender Ljubo Milicevic was the second Australian brought down in the penalty area.

The Australian attack continued, with Nick Carle finishing the scoring off for the LG Young Socceroos, latching onto a Ferrante pass to slot the ball into the back of the net in the last minute of play, for 3-0.

"Considering that the boys have only been in camp for two days, and we haven't had a lot of time to work together, I was happy with tonight's performance," said coach Ange Postecoglou after the game.

"I was very impressed with all of the boys I haven't seen in action, Michael Ferrante's performance showed him as an accomplished player, and the squad looks like it's shaping up well.

"We have another two games coming up, including a further game against Rangers and I'll be using these games to have a look at every one of the boys, and get a clearer picture in my mind as to the make up of the squad that I take to the Qualifiers next month." he concluded.


written by Soccer Australia