Home spectators thrilled after Australia set the tempo at the Asian Cup

Australia became only the fourth host nation to win on opening night of the continental championship. Ali Khaled reports from Melbourne.

Mile Jedinak, second from left, and Tim Cahill, centre, scored for Australia against Kuwait in Melbourne on Friday. Mal Fairclough / AFP

The dark clouds approached on this overcast, most un-Australian of summer days. But it would take more than an ominous weather front to stop the home fans gathered outside the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium more than three hours before kick-off from having a party.

The long wait was over and the 2015 Asian Cup, the biggest football tournament held in Australia, was about to begin.

Amid a sea of green and yellow were a handful of Kuwaiti fans in their blue shirts, welcomed and appreciated by all around them.

The short opening ceremony held little interest, as ever, to a crowd baying for action.

“Ole, ole-ole-ole, Aus-sie, Aus-sie,” the crowd chanted, the noise ramping up as the teams walked onto the pitch.

The Kuwaiti national anthem was sung gallantly by a handful, and applauded generously by the rest, before Advance Australia Fair echoed wonderfully around the stadium.

It took only eight minutes to silence the home crowd.

From a corner, Kuwait and Al Wahda defender Hussain Fadhel stooped to score past Mat Ryan. To get their expected win, the Australians would have to overcome a deficit and, it seemed, history.

In head-to-head meetings, Kuwait had won five, Australia two, and three were drawn. Only three host nations had won on opening night, we were reminded.

Most relevantly, Kuwait were the last Asian team to win on Australian soil, back in 2009.

Not that anyone inside the stadium was thinking of such trivia. There were 81 minutes left, plenty of time to recover. No need to panic, but for 20 minutes the tension was clear.

Australia were dreadful. A Tim Cahill-targeted cross here. A penalty shout there. The pressure was suddenly weighing heavily on their shoulders.

Australia needed a hero. On 35 minutes, they got one. A very familiar one.

Swindon’s Massimo Luongo squared to Cahill, who swooped the ball into the roof of Hameed Yousef’s net. The corner flag got an expected beating as the 35-year-old former Everton striker celebrated his usual way.

“Super, super Tim, super Timmy Cahill,” the crowd sang.

Kuwait suddenly looked like a badly hurt boxer praying for the bell. It would not come soon enough and Australia struck one more potentially decisive blow just before half time.

Luongo, having set up Cahill’s 37th international goal, got on the end of Ivan Franjic’s cross to score his first. Relief all around. Should Australia win this tournament, it could have been the moment a nation started to believe.

By the start of the second half, the temperature had dropped to 12°C and it started to rain.

But Australia were on the rise and, with Kuwait dropping deeper and deeper into their own half, there was an inevitability to what came next.

On the hour, Mathew Leckie’s superb left shot hit the bar. A minute later, a penalty for Australia after Robbie Kruse was brought down. Captain Mile Jedinak rolled the ball into the net. Game over.

At least, that is what Australia coach Ange Postecoglou thought, immediately replacing Cahill with Tomi Juric. The standing ovation brought the loudest cheer of the night.

Maaloul threw on Youssef Nasser and Bader Al Mutawa as Kuwait, fruitlessly, improved.

Then came, arguably, the best move of the match. A cross by Aziz Behic and a fantastic, looping Nathan Burns header that struck the bar and was reminiscent of Robin van Persie’s stunner against Spain at the last World Cup. It would have been a goal-of-the-tournament contender even at this early stage.

“Ole, ole-ole-ole, Aus-sie, Aus-sie.”

James Troisi’s injury-time goal was the icing on a cake that barely needed any. For Australia, this was the sweetest of victories in front of their own fans.

“Aussies love their national teams and hopefully on Tuesday night we’ll get a massive crowd,” Postecoglou said, referring to the match with Oman in Sydney’s 84,000-capacity Stadium Australia.

“The noise in the second half was almost willing the boys to get another goal. There was never any thought we’d settle for two or three.

“We’ve got some great opportunities to capture some hearts and minds, not just about the Socceroos but about football in general.”

Some supporters stayed behind, dancing in the rain. Their team had set the perfect tempo for the tournament.

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