Socceroo boss Ange Postecoglou could only bemoan a "wasted 45 minutes" after his Australia side laboured through a poor first half to eventually earn a 1-1 draw with Japan in a World Cup qualifier at Etihad Stadium.
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Postecolou made no attempt to play down his disappointment at a dreadful opening period in which Australia conceded an early goal and then struggled to create any meaningful chances against a Japan side that grew in confidence after its strong start.
He was critical of his side's lack of mobility – particularly in midfield and up front, where he opted to play two central strikers – and their failure to create space through sufficient movement off the ball.
"We were very poor in the first half, got off to a poor start, conceded a soft goal. They sat off, closed down the spaces, we just weren't mobile enough. We wasted 45 minutes," he said.
The concession of the early goal "allowed them to sit back. It meant there was never going to be a lot of space. We could have done more with our movement to create more space.
"We wasted 45 minutes ... we had to have a reaction (in the second half) because (otherwise) we would not have got anything out of the game."
The coach said he wanted his players to move the ball more quickly and not worry so much about trying to find intricate patterns through a stacked Japanese defence.
"We were really static, there wasn't a lot of movement, we were looking for things precisely instead of pressing the issues.
"We had half an eye on the scoreboard and you just can't do that. The scoreboard will take care of itself. Instead of being a little too precise and too cute, we should have taken the game to them a bit more."
He took some solace from the way his team fought back and the leadership shown by captain Mile Jedinak.
The skipper is tall and not the most mobile of players and that can compromise him, but his strong mentality showed in his willingness to take the penalty at a critical moment for the team and convert it to get them back in the game.
Postecoglou said it wasn't just Jedinak who couldn't find space in the first half – far younger midfielders Aaron Mooy, Massimo Luongo and Tom Rogic also failed to show the requisite movement as well, he said.
"We just looked really inactive in that first half. Part of the reason for that was conceding a very soft goal. We have dished up a really soft one tonight and when you do that and start chasing the game, you make things hard for yourself."
