A gritty defensive performance from Newcastle Jets captain Jade North helped the Olyroos hold on for a 1-1 draw in their opening Olympic fixture against Serbia last night.

Serbia dominated the match but was forced to shoot from outside the 18-yard box for most of the night thanks to the central defensive pairing of North and 20-year-old Matthew Spiranovic.

Australia struggled to keep possession last night but still managed to score the opening goal in the 69th minute when David Carney broke down the left flank and sent a dangerous ball across the face of the Serbian goal for Ruben Zadkovich to knock in at the far post.

The goal was one of the few Olyroos’ chances in a match in which Serbia dominated possession and had the lions-share of attacking chances. Serbian midfielder Zoran Tosic was particularly threatening, unleashing a barrage of long range shots that were only kept out by the brilliance of Olyroos goalkeeper Adam Federici.

Serbia’s sole goal came in the 78th minute when Slobodan Rajkovic headed home from a corner kick. Regular fouls made the Olympic clash ugly to watch at times and the Serbians, many of whom played in the Serbian team that was runners up in last year’s Euro U21 tournament, will be disappointed they could not steal the win.

Australian coach Graham Arnold said after the game that he was proud of the Olyroos and happy that that result meant they were still in with a chance of qualifying for the knock out stages of the competition.

“They all worked unbelievably hard in very trying conditions. Sometimes we did turn possession over too quickly but that might have been down to the occasion.”

Australia’s next match will be against Argentina on August 10. Argentina beat Ivory Coast 2-1 last night and currently sits at the top of Group A.
Australia line-up:

1. Adam Federici (gk), 2. Jade North, 4. Mark Milligan (c) (16. Billy Celeski 66’), 5. Matthew Spiranovic, 6. Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 8. Stuart Musialik, 10. Archie Thompson (15. Kristian Sarkies 76’), 11. David Carney, 12. Trent McClenahan, 13. Ruben Zadkovich, 17. Nikita Rukavytsya (9. Mark Bridge 88’).

Serbia line-up:

1. Vladimir Stojkovic (gk) (c), 2. Marko Jovanovic, 3. Aleksandar Kolarov, 5. Slobodan Rajkovic, 7. Milan Smiljanic, 8. Nikola Gulan (4. Gojko Kacar +73′), 9. Djordje Rakic (14. Milan Mrdakovic +56′), 12. Dusan Tadic, 13. Ljubomir Fejsa (15. Aleksander Zivkovic +77′) 16. Nenad Tomovic, 17. Zoran Tosic.

Referee: Jerome Damon (RSA)
Crowd: 36,184

By James Heffield, Betfair soccer bet journalist

The Olyroos kicked off their Beijing Games build up by snatching a 1-1 draw against Mexico in front of a sellout 47,000-strong crowd in Oakland, California.

Newcastle Jets midfielder Troy Hearfield grabbed the equaliser two minutes from full time for the Australian under-23s in their first match since clinching qualification for Beijing last November.

The Mexicans opened the scoring at the McAfee Coliseum, courtesy of an own goal from Jets defender Adam D’Apuzzo, who deflected in a cross.

Mexico had the better of the chances but Australia defended gallantly, led by Fulham defender and acting captain Adrian Leijer.

Goalkeeer Tando Velaphi also impressed in place of banned Central Coast Mariners stopper Danny Vukovic.

The Olyroos’ equaliser eventually came when Leijer’s glancing header from a long throw-in was rammed in from close range at the far post by Hearfield.

It was an impressive result for Graham Arnold’s team against a Mexican side coached by legendary striker Hugo Sanchez.

“Today was our first step towards Beijing since we qualified, and while it was a good result, the main thing was the match gave me an opportunity to look at some different players and to see what they can do at this level,” Arnold said.

“We had a lot of young and inexperienced players on the field and I am very pleased with what we showed, especially given the respective preparations of the two teams and also the context of the game.

The match was promoted by Major League Soccer team San Jose Earthquakes, who share the stadium with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders.

“Today was a great experience for our players to play in front of a large and noisy crowd and against a highly skilled and well-drilled team,” Arnold said.

The result extended the Olyroos unbeaten streak to nine.

The Mexicans begin their qualification campaign next week.

The draw for the August Beijing Olympics will be held on April 20.

Fox Sports