Player Reactions to loss against Iraq

Captain Harry Kewell, goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and debutant Chris Coyne all give us some post-match reaction to the 1-0 loss against Iraq.

Captain Harry Kewell, goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer and debutant Chris Coyne all give us some post-match reaction to the 1-0 loss against Iraq.

Harry Kewell

On the result - “Yeah, it-s a very disappointing result, but it makes the table interesting. We-ve now got to step up and be accounted for; put this game behind us. I think we can take a few good things from it, but other than that we move on.”

On the goal - “There is not much you can do about it; you can-t blame anyone. The guys gone for a cross, its taken a little bit of extra curl and dip, but if you put the ball in that area that-s what can sometimes happen.”

On the encouraging second half - “It was a vice versa from back in Brisbane, they had their chances and didn-t put them away and we did and this time it was where we had our chances and didn-t put them away. But we are still in a strong position and hopefully we can move forward.”

How he found the conditions - “Obviously they were difficult, but you can-t make excuses for the conditions. We came well-prepared; we-ve got a great staff behind to look after all our needs. We knew when we came here, it was going to be difficult in the conditions, but again we-ve got to adjust and adjust pretty quickly.”

Looking ahead to next week-s game against Qatar - “It-s important to get a result, but we have two games left to get a result; we-ll go out there; we-ll work hard; give it our all and I can-t ask anymore of that from the lads.”

On his own performance - “It was quiet; it was difficult playing up there. You can only work in short bursts and the boys around me worked hard. It was interesting that we had the chances but just weren-t clinical enough to finish them.”

Mark Schwarzer

On the goal - “Yeah, it was unusual, at training we were knocking in some long balls and the odd one would kick on like that, while others just held up. I believe it was cross and not a shot and it happened to fly into the top corner.”

On the ball used in the match - “It-s not very goalkeeper friendly.”

Is this just a blip on the way to qualification - “We always said that a) it was going to be very difficult to come over here and play; the conditions are very, very tough on the boys and b) we always knew that, when joining Asia, we were always going to play teams that were difficult to play against, but it gave you an opportunity, if you had a blip along the way, you can make amends in the very next game. Fortunately we are in a very good position; we are still in control of everything; we need only one more win and that will pretty much get us over the line.”

Being in control of the game - “That-s it, you look at the game and all they wanted was a goal and then sit back and try and defend it for their lives and that-s what they did and behaved like they always do. Every opportunity they got they went down and acted the whole time and played it to full advantage, which they always do. It-s very frustrating but unfortunately that-s just the way it is.”

Chris Coyne

Disappointing result - “Yeah, disappointed; it-s one of those things that one chance has changed the whole course of the game. We were very comfortable I thought; it-s one of those things; a fluke goal. You can-t blame the goalkeeper, can-t blame anyone about it; it-s gone into the back of the net, we have to deal with it now and pick ourselves up for the Qatar game.”

On making his international debut - “On a personal note, I was pleased; it-s something I have always wanted to do and done it now and I just have to worry about the Qatar game and making sure I get selected for that.”

On his own performance - “Happy enough; it was difficult to come into in terms of the heat; the circumstances with the weather, but as far as acquitting myself, I was quite pleased. I didn-t give anyone a chance and didn-t have a lot to do to be honest, but hopefully I have done enough to impress the manager and push my case for selection next week.”

On the Iraq goal - “It could have gone anywhere; I don-t know whether the boy-s (Emad) going to claim it, but no one can blame Schwarzie; its gone in; it was a complete fluke and these things happen in football.”

On getting a result against Qatar - “It-s imperative we get a result next week; we don-t want it to go to the wire and give people chances against you, so if we can get the job done next week, we-ll do it. But it-s 90 minutes in hot football against a side that-s in form, so we-ll just work hard this week and make sure we are at our best for the Qatar game.”