For 50 minutes of Australia’s opening Asian Cup fixture against India, a contest that ultimately ended in a 2-0 win, they crashed against the Blue Tigers’ defence like green and gold waves against a cliff.
With a sense of maddening monotony, Graham Arnold’s side felt trapped in an awful, endless loop. Get the ball forward, blunt themselves against a deep-lying low defensive block, see their latest foray forward repulsed, and try again. Every concern around Australia’s ability to break down a stubborn underdog was being made manifest.
