Cool Hand Luke lands Socceroos accolades

Socceroos debutant Luke DeVere is here to stay with the national team, according to goalkeeper Mat Ryan and fellow centre-back Alex Wilkinson.

Germany's Lukas Podolski (L) in action against Australia's Luke DeVere

epa04679071 Germany's Lukas Podolski (L) in action against Australia's Luke DeVere (R) during the international friendly soccer match between Germany and Australia at Fritz Walter Stadium in Kaiserslautern, Germany, 25 March 2015. The match ended 2-2. EPA/ARNE DEDERT Source: AAP

DeVere, who got the nod over Bailey Wright to start in the 2-2 draw with world champion Germany in Kaiserslautern, overcame a nervy opening to grow into the role and finish strongly as Germany looked to overwhelm Australia in the dying stages of a momentous match.

Ryan, himself a pillar of resistance with his athleticism and anticipation, said of the 25-year-old Brisbane Roar stopper: "He put in a great effort tonight. I remember that 20 minutes in, looking out there, a few of our boys were pretty fatigued already and I thought he was one of them.

“He’s pretty new in the squad. In the last minute he made a run to chase down Lukas Podolski and put enough pressure on him to make him miss the target when they were looking to win the game.

“After he did that [and as he stretched flat out on the turf in exhaustion] I was just trying to pick him up and I told him ‘that’s what it takes’. I was just saying to him that's what’s it takes to wear the Aussie jersey.

"You know have to give it everything and he was absolutely spent there at the end."

Like DeVere, Wilkinson, who was forced off with cramp late after making two crucial interceptions to keep Germany at bay, didn’t arrive until 48 hours before kick-off.

“It was great for him [DeVere]," said Wilkinson. "And I said to him afterwards: ‘Some game to make your debut in’.

“I thought he did really, really well. He’s obviously a great player and has been showing that with Brisbane.

"It was our first game together and I enjoyed playing with him ... hopefully it’s the first of many for him.

"There were probably a few nerves there early on but he made some great tackles, was calm under pressure in the second half and did very well.”

After leading through strikes from James Troisi and skipper Mile Jedinak until the 81st minute, Ryan thought Germany "were there for the taking” all night.

“We really opened them up. Against these bigger nations it’s natural for them to sort of take it lightly against us a
little bit – underestimate us a little bit,"he declared.

“We try to take advantage of that [but] then with 10 minutes to go we concede the goal [from Lukas Podolski] – it’s a little bit frustrating.

“But we can be pretty proud of our efforts. We’ve got things to learn from. But 2-2 in Germany is not a bad result at the end of the day.

“There [were] a couple of nice saves in both halves from me. I look at the goals, I don’t think I could have done really much with the second one.

“For the first one, he nipped in front [Marco Reus] and I think he got his toenail on to it. It was a difficult one.

"Maybe I could have left my legs there. I didn’t expect him to get a touch on it.”

With Preston North End’s Wright also coming on for only his second cap for Wilkinson in the latter stages, Ryan said he was pleased with the depth of the Socceroos, which started the game without AFC Asian Cup heroes Tim Cahill, Matthew Spiranovic, Robbie Kruse, Trent Sainsbury and Massimo Luongo.

“That’s normally the difference with these top nations, the depth that they have,” he said.

“Germany could field five teams. You look at the World Cup final, someone like Mario Gotze comes off the bench, proving vital and scoring the winning goal. It’s very positive for us going forward.”




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4 min read
Published 26 March 2015 7:37pm
Updated 27 March 2015 1:39am
By David Lewis
Source: SBS

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