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Olyroos' Games bid suffers major blow

5 February 2012-SBS

Unlucky ... Jason Hoffman had a goal controversially disallowed for offside (Getty Images)

Australia's chances of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics suffered a serious blow after it went down 2-0 to Uzbekistan in Tashkent in the the fourth round of the AFC Asian qualifiers.

The Olyroos battled temperatures of 11 degrees below zero and a thick layer of snow at the JAR Stadium.

Originally scheduled for an 8pm kick-off, the game was changed to 3pm local time due to the freezing conditions throughout Uzbekistan.

The Australians started the match well, dominating possession in the first 20 minutes, however it was the home team who were to strike first.

Uzbek forward Kenja Tuarev scored on 27 minutes via some neat play.

Going behind spurred on the Australians who were unlucky to have a Jason Hoffman goal disallowed for offside just before half time.

The second half proved to be a similar story as Mitch Nichols also had a goal disallowed for offside and on 86 minutes the match was put beyond the Aussies' reach as Oleg Zoteev's volley gave Uzbekistan a 2-0 lead.

Aurelio Vidmar's side will return to Dubai for a training camp to prepare for its next international friendly against Philippines on 17 February (AEDT) at Al Nasr Stadium.

The Olyroos' next qualification match is against United Arab Emirates at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on 23 February.

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