INTERNATIONAL MATCH/England - 1; Australia - 3: Cricket, tennis, rugby and now football. Is there any sport where England can beat Australia? Last night, after goals against Sven-Goran Eriksson's experienced first-half team by Tony Popovic and Harry Kewell, Brett Emerton finished off the second-half youngsters six minutes from time.
It is the duty of seasoned footballers to nurture the younger generation, but England went to miserable extremes to show the experimental second-half line-up in the best possible light. With a Francis Jeffers finish from a Jermaine Jenas cross in the 68th minute, they at least reduced the deficit.
Nonetheless, the occasion made Eriksson's strategy look ridiculous and he has failed singularly to eradicate memories of the 2-2 draw with Macedonia. This was no way to prepare for the return to the Euro 2004 qualifiers.
Almost all of Eriksson's newcomers were kept in reserve for the second-half and the elaborate structure applied to this fixture was a small reminder they are not yet ready to top the bill. Even so, the evidence of the first-half must have made them feel that stardom is achievable. Did they try not to smirk when the crowd roared happily at the interval when told the whole England side was to be replaced? By then, Australia had a two-goal lead. Their impact had minimised the worth of an occasion that mostly brought England a large dose of ignominy.
With pattern so lacking in an experienced group, James Beattie, on his debut, could not show that his direct, muscular manner would complement Michael Owen.
Unluckily for coaches, football experiments are not conducted in the serenity of a real laboratory. There are always aggressive opponents around eager to smash the equipment. By the 17th minute, it was Beattie's new task to help England look for an equaliser.
The first of Australia's goals began with a Stan Lazaridis free-kick from the right that, in the midst of disorganisation, had Gary Neville trying to cope with the bulk of Popovic at the far post. The Crystal Palace centre half was composed enough to score with a downward header. It should have been agreeable for the England goalkeeper to be on his own patch but David James could have found this all too reminiscent of games for West Ham.
James turned a 25-yarder from Harry Kewell behind and when Scott Chipperfield flighted a cross over Rio Ferdinand the goalkeeper had to arch backwards to tip a Mark Viduka header over the crossbar. He could only offer an anxious stare, though, when Chipperfield prodded an Emerton cut-back wide.
The vivacity of the visitors made a further goal likely and after Frank Lampard lost possession cheaply in the 42nd minute, Kewell was put through on the right and he shook off Ferdinand before rounding James to finish.
Eriksson's side, despite the contemptuous boos at half-time, had not been utterly cowed. They simply lacked the fluency of Australia. In spasmodic contributions, when David Beckham or Kieron Dyer might be inventive, they created openings and a Sol Campbell header from a corner-kick was blocked in the six-yard box.
Owen was eager, yet suffering from the lack of precision that is vexing him at Anfield. When Mark Schwarzer dithered, he took the ball from the goalkeeper but could only hit the side netting from a tight angle. Another invitation to level the score at 1-1, following a build-up by Paul Scholes, found him prodding wide.
The replacements had, in theory, the ideal situation in which to make even greater names for themselves. After the blunders of the first-half, none of them could have felt inhibited by the comparison with Eriksson's regulars. Despite that, the situation did not prove easy for the youngsters.
Australia have gathered a lot of experience in the struggles that took them to defeat in a play-off with Uruguay for the last place at the 2002 World Cup.
Despite Wayne Rooney's emergence to become the youngest player in England's international history, romance was stifled by Australia. They ensured Paul Robinson, like James, was forced to impress. The Leeds goalkeeper was athletic in palming away a free-kick from Marco Bresciano.
There had been great anticipation about the alterations Eriksson would make over the night, but the most welcome change for England came in Australia's replacement of Harry Kewell.
ENGLAND (first half, 4-4-2): James; G Neville, Ferdinand, Campbell, A Cole; Beckham, Scholes, Lampard, Dyer; Beattie, Owen. (second half, 4-4-2): Robinson; Mills, Brown, King, Konchesky; Vassell, Hargreaves, Murphy, Jenas; Rooney, Jeffers.
AUSTRALIA (4-4-2): Schwarzer; Neill, Moore, Popovic (Vidmar, 72), Lazaridis; Emerton, Okon, Skoko (Bresciano, 46), Chipperfield (Grella, 76); Viduka, Kewell (Aloisi, 56). Booked: Lazaridis.
Referee: M Mejuto Gonzalez (Spain).
