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Switzerland 0-0 Australia: Swiss Struggle In Front Of Goal As Mark Schwarzer Stars
Worrying signs for Hitzfeld up front ahead of crunch England clash.
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Sep 3, 2010 9:48:00 PM
By Chris Paraskevas
Switzerland have been frustrated by a resilient Australian outfit in St Gallen, held to a scoreless draw just days out from their opening Euro 2012 qualifier at home against England.
Veteran striker Alexander Frei missed a penalty and want-away Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made a number of outstanding stops to keep the scores level, the Socceroos playing their first match under new manager Holger Osieck.
The German would have been impressed with the slick, counter-attacking game employed effectively by Australia during the first half, their attack spearheaded by diminutive striker Scott McDonald.
Again he was unable to open his international account despite being presented with an excellent chance before the half time interval, though his captain Lucas Neill was equally guilty in the 10th minute.
The Galatasaray defender somehow contrived to volley the ball over the bar from barely six yards out after Tim Cahill headed the ball towards goal from a corner.
Ottmar Hitzfeld's men were time and time again denied by Schwarzer, who produced his first notable stop of the evening when he showed outstanding reflexes to palm Albert Bunkaju's goal-bound effort off the line.
He didn't need to do anything to prevent Alexander Frei from scoring from the spot on 60 minutes as the striker could only clip the woodwork as he missed the target following Lucas Neill's foul on David Degan.
Despite dominating the match for large spells the Swiss frustratingly failed to find the back of the net, a lack of cutting edge up front a worrying trend for the side as they prepare for their Euro qualifying campaign.
Veteran striker Alexander Frei missed a penalty and want-away Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made a number of outstanding stops to keep the scores level, the Socceroos playing their first match under new manager Holger Osieck.
The German would have been impressed with the slick, counter-attacking game employed effectively by Australia during the first half, their attack spearheaded by diminutive striker Scott McDonald.
Again he was unable to open his international account despite being presented with an excellent chance before the half time interval, though his captain Lucas Neill was equally guilty in the 10th minute.
The Galatasaray defender somehow contrived to volley the ball over the bar from barely six yards out after Tim Cahill headed the ball towards goal from a corner.
Ottmar Hitzfeld's men were time and time again denied by Schwarzer, who produced his first notable stop of the evening when he showed outstanding reflexes to palm Albert Bunkaju's goal-bound effort off the line.
He didn't need to do anything to prevent Alexander Frei from scoring from the spot on 60 minutes as the striker could only clip the woodwork as he missed the target following Lucas Neill's foul on David Degan.
Despite dominating the match for large spells the Swiss frustratingly failed to find the back of the net, a lack of cutting edge up front a worrying trend for the side as they prepare for their Euro qualifying campaign.
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