WYNNUM Wolves head coach Graham Harvey believes the Socceroos missed their chance to seize control after fighting back against Egypt, but says criticism of coach Tony Popovic’s penalty decisions is wide of the mark following Australia’s heartbreaking FIFA World Cup exit.
Australia bowed out in a penalty shootout after recovering from an early setback to force extra time, but Harvey felt the Socceroos became too conservative once they had levelled the scores.
“I thought they were good in patches,” Harvey said.
“When they scored, I thought there was an opportunity there to really go for it, but probably didn’t take that.
“And then obviously once you go to penalties, it’s just a bit of a lottery, isn’t it? Someone has to miss one somewhere.
“They were unlucky to go out in that way.”
Harvey praised Australia’s resilience after conceding early but believed the side failed to capitalise on its momentum.
“They showed good resilience and got themselves back into the game.
“But I thought as soon as they equalised, it was almost like they went, ‘That’s us back in it,’ rather than just go and try and win it.”
The Wolves mentor also defended Popovic’s controversial decision to replace young goalkeeper Patrick Beech with veteran goalkeeper Mat Ryan before the penalty shootout.
“I’d imagine they’ve just gone through their stats and all of their details and would have made that decision that Matty Ryan maybe is more a chance of saving a penalty than Patrick Beach,” he said.
“It worked in the last World Cup qualifying stage when (Andrew) Redmayne came on.
“Swings and roundabouts. If it works, you look a genius. If it doesn’t work, everyone’s going, ‘What are you doing?'”
Harvey also backed 18-year-old Lucas Herrington after the coach came under fire for choosing the teenager to take – and miss – his penalty.
“I think there has to be some planning towards it, but by the time you get through extra time there’s going to be a lot of people that have already gone off,” he said.
“When you get there, it’s a case of who wants to take one.
“Unless you’ve been in that situation, I don’t think people can start throwing it around saying, ‘Why did so-and-so take one?’ because you don’t know what’s going through their mind.”
Harvey said the teenager’s confidence was likely the reason he stepped forward.
“Lucas is a confident boy. He’s 18 years old and he’s playing at a World Cup,” he said.
“He probably thought, ‘No problem, I’m going to take one.’
“There’s the whole thing about experience as well. If you’re 32 and you’ve taken penalties before, you might remember one you didn’t like. Lucas has never taken one.
“So, yeah, swings and roundabouts.”
