Australia goalkeeper Patrick Beach had no idea he was going to be taken off for the Fifa World Cup penalty shootout with Egypt on Friday as coach Tony Popovic came under fire for the baffling decision.
Beach, 22, headed to the tournament as number two to seasoned Socceroos shot-stopper and captain Mathew Ryan.
But in a shock, he started every game and proved rock solid, only to be substituted deep into extra-time in the last 32 clash against Egypt in Dallas as penalties loomed.
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Popovic brought on Ryan but he failed to pull off a save and Egypt won 4-2 on spot kicks to set up a last-16 meeting with Argentina after the game finished at 1-1.
“You have to talk to the coaches about that,” Beach told Australian media of the goalkeeping switch.
“I found out at the same time you guys did. Obviously there was a plan that was put in place, and it wasn’t for us to know about.”
“The coaches made a decision, and as far as it goes, Matty and I are here to do the job of whatever works best for the team and brings the best outcome for our team.”
Ryan was similarly in the dark, saying: “No, no, I wasn’t told before the match.”
Former Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich said he was “astounded” by the move, while another goalkeeping icon Mark Schwarzer added: “I personally believe that the goalkeeper who’s playing should stay in there.”
Ex-Socceroo Robbie Slater called it a failure by the coaching staff.
“Beach was in terrific form and now we will never know if that form translates to a saved goal in the penalty shootout,” he said in a column for The Australian newspaper.
“Again, this is on the coaching staff and as far as I am concerned this is another fail.”
Slater was similarly outraged by defender Lucas Herrington being asked to take one of the penalties. The 18-year-old hit the bar.
“This should never have been put at his feet,” he wrote.
“With Australia in a penalty shootout for Fifa World Cup survival surely someone in the Socceroos brains trust should have said ‘do we really want to hang this on an 18-year-old?’”
Popovic defended the gambles and said he was proud of the team.
“Okay, it didn’t work, so we can look at many things in the reasons behind it, but with Maty’s experience, and I think if you look at his record in saving penalties,” Popovic said.
“We just felt that Maty’s experience will be the difference.”
On turning to Herrington in such a pressure situation, Popovic said: “I’m sure you’d be saying something else if the young kid scored.”
Herrington, who looked devastated afterwards, insisted he was ready to play his part.
“The coaching staff trusted me, I was confident going into it, I knew where I wanted to put it, unfortunately, it is just part of football, I missed,” he told Australian reporters.
Source: Khaleej Times