'India played extremely well' - Aussie midfielder Jackson Irvine lauds Blue Tigers for fighting performance

Jackson Irvine also spoke about the crowd at the stadium.

Although the scoreline suggested that Australia bagged a comfortable victory over India in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, in reality the latter delivered an exceptional defensive performance against a technically superior team. The first half posed a challenge to India’s defense, which effectively maintained a goalless game until the end of the half.

In the second half, Jackson Irvine successfully scored Australia’s first goal in the 50th minute, bolstering their prospects of winning. His outstanding performance earned him the title of the player of the match.

Jackson also attended the post-match press conference and emphasized on some key points regarding India’s performance in the match.

About the match

With a question regarding the performance of both the teams in the match, Jackson Irvine replied, “When a team plays deep, finding a goal is very difficult. At that moment, we need to have patience. But I was really pleased with the players’ mentality in our team, who kept pushing each other and we delivered a goal at the start of the second half.”

Exceptional crowd support and India’s performance

Both the teams had some exceptional crowd support in the match, especially India. “The crowd was excellent. And we are used to it in the last couple of instances where they cheer mostly for the opposition,” the midfielder appreciated the presence of fans in the stadium.

“India played exceptionally well today. They threw their bodies in the game, all credit to them. They tested us like other top Asian teams. Yes it was challenging but we handled it very well,” he added. 

Fortune for the Australian team

In the first half, the Australian team created some good chances but couldn’t capitalize on it. However, in the second half, their fortune changed and they delivered two goals to win the match. 

“We didn’t have that composure in the first half. We rushed through most of the occasions. But in the second half, we found the right positions in the box and luckily scored the first one,” Jackson Irvine concluded. 

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