Australia 2 Syria 1: Tim Cahill bags double as 10-man minnows’ World Cup bid ends in heartbreak

Oct 10, 2017

TIM CAHILL bagged a brace as Australia broke 10-man Syria’s hearts.

The minnows – bidding to reach their first World Cup – hit the post in the dying seconds as they almost snatched an unlikely away-goals victory.

Tim Cahill was the hero for Australia in a hard-fought play-off

Tim Cahill levels for Australia with a well-placed header

But Cahill’s injury-time second ensured the Aussies reached a second play-off with a 3-2 aggregate triumph.

Omar Al Somah gave his side a dream lead after being released to slam the ball home.

But Cahill pegged the underdogs back with a trademark header from Mathew Leckie’s pinpoint cross.

Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic saw a low shot is brilliantly saved by Ibrahim Alma before firing wide from the resulting corner.

And after Mahmoud Al Mawas was harshly shown a second yellow in injury-time, Cahill added a second from close range to secure victory.

Australia will now face either Panama, Honduras or the US in another play-off.

Midfielder Mark Milligan said: “They fought with absolutely everything they had and were outstanding. They were very difficult to break down and hats off to them.

“We knew it was just a matter of time when you work them, they’ve done a lot of kilometres and it’s late in the game and they started to hurt more than us eventually.

“The next round will be different. We’re excited but there’s a lot of work still ahead.”