Milligan: Jordan defeat won’t derail Socceroos’ AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019™ campaign

Skipper Mark Milligan is confident the Socceroos will bounce back quickly from Sunday night’s 1-0 loss to Jordan in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019™ opener in Al Ain.

In a match Australia dominated for long periods, a first-half header from Jordan’s Anas Bani Yaseen proved the difference at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

REPORT: Jordan defeat Socceroos in Al Ain
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While disappointed with the result, Milligan feels it will be easy to lift the team for Friday’s second Group B match against Palestine.

“We have a great bunch of boys,” the Socceroos captain told Fox Sports.

“This will hurt everyone, it’s hurting me at the minute and I know everyone feels the same.

“But we’ll let [the result] settle, we’ll let Arnie [coach Graham Arnold] have his say and we’ll get to work as players to focus and get ready for the next game.”

The Socceroos can certainly take heart from their second-half display, where they carved out a host of excellent opportunities.

Winger Awer Mabil went the closest to finding an equaliser with a rasping drive which hit the post, while Chris Ikonomidis, Tom Rogic and Jackson Irvine were all unlucky not to find the net.

Milligan believes the key going forward is to move the ball a bit quicker but feels there are plenty of good signs.

“We can be a little bit more patient as we have been but sometimes it’s hard to maintain your patience when a team is sitting in so deep and giving you that ball to play,” he said.

“We need to settle down and keep our composure.

“The good thing is we kept going until the end. We’ll work on things and we’ll be alright.

“We know we have to be better if we want to progress and succeed in this tournament. I still think there's good signs in the way we want to play but we need to execute better.”

Featured image credit: Asian Football Confederation