Pim Verbeek, the head coach of the Australian national soccer team, showed his satisfaction with the 0-0 draw with China in the World Cup qualifier in Kunming, Southwest China on Wednesday.
"It's a good match today as my players did a good job both technically and defensively. They traveled a long journey here and worked very hard to get the result, so I am proud of them," said the Dutch after the tough clash.
"We came here to get three points but we missed nearly four forwards before the game, which affected us a lot," he added.
With frontline regular strikers Tim Cahill and Scott McDonald both quit due to injuries, Djite was expected to be included in Verbeek's strategy before the game.
Unfortunately, the Adelaide United FC striker was ruled out of the formation after suffering a hamstring injury in a team training session earlier.
After losing three big guns, Socceroos' long injury list had been added to six after midfield trio Brett Emerton, Tim Cahill and Mile Sterjovski all got injured before the match.
Therefore, Thompson Archie was the Verbeek's only forward choice towards Serb Dujkovic's side, which was organized well with the return of three overseas players and got more used to a nearly 1, 895-meter-height venue.
However, the Australian sole experienced striker was substituted in the early part of the game due to a tackle of China's central defender Feng Xiaoting.
"Anyway, I was satisfied with four points after two group matches and one point from a tough match in Kunming is not easy for us. So I can accept the draw today and also enjoy the game, good fans and pitch." said the Dutch.
Australia, who took part in the Asian zone qualifiers for the first time, whitewashed Qatar 3-0 at home in their first group match, while China earned a 1-1 away tie with 2007 Asian champions Iraq.
After the draw, the Socceroos led the group A temporarily with four points. The clash between Iraq and Qatar will be staged later tonight.
(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2008)