By Jason Dasey
Reigning Asian champions Australia made it two wins out of two in the third round of 2018 AFC World Cup qualifying after Tim Cahill came off the bench to score in a 1-0 victory over the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday morning.
It was the former Everton midfielder's record 48th international goal in his 92nd appearance.
Here are three thoughts on the Group B game at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium:
1. Ange shuffles the Aussie deck
Canny operator: Tim Cahill.Credit: Getty Images
After last Thursday's 2-0 victory over Iraq in Perth, Australia coach Ange Postecoglou delivered changes for the long trip to West Asia.
Once again, Cahill started on the bench, and their second most experienced player, Mile Jedinak, was ruled out because of injury. It meant that Mark Milligan wore the captain's armband, switching from defence to central midfield.
Matthew Spiranovic joined Trent Sainsbury at the back, Ryan McGowan took over from Milos Degenek at right-back while Robbie Kruse earned a start in place of Massimo Luongo in attacking midfield.
Previous coaches Pim Verbeek and Holger Osieck would have almost certainly adopted a cautious approach away from home against the team who finished third at last year's Asian Cup. But the Aussies stayed true to their instincts as Postecoglou returned to his preferred 4-3-3 formation from last week's 4-4-2.
Milligan made a jittery start, with a back pass that almost played into the hands of the home side if not for Mat Ryan's speedy intervention before a crude tackle on Omar Abdulrahman that somehow escaped a yellow card.
Australia slowly settled down and saw Aaron Mooy provide a number of measured set pieces to take the U.A.E. out of their comfort zone. Spiranovic's header was tipped over the bar after the Mooy corner and the Hangzhou Greentown defender was unfortunate not to earn a penalty after being tacked to the ground as he awaited Mooy's delivery just before half-time.
In the 18th minute, Kruse had the best chance for Australia when put through one-on-one by Tomi Juric. But the Bayer Leverkusen forward once again showed his lack of composure in goal-scoring situations as he shot directly at goalkeeper Ali Khasif.
Tom Rogic looked more likely to score. After the chest down by Juric, his deflected shot was knocked over the bar by Ali for yet another corner. But then, in the 49th minute the Celtic midfielder was perhaps lucky to stay on the field after a studs-up challenge on Khamis Ismail that earned a yellow card.
2. Cahill does his job
After resting him against Iraq, Postecoglou waited until the 71st minute to inject Cahill into the game, taking over from the industrious Juric up front.
Australia's talisman hadn't played a competitive match in almost two months since leaving Hangzhou Greentown for Melbourne City. The A-League doesn't begin until October.
And yet, less than four minutes after taking the field, he scored with his first touch. And it wasn't even a header.
Left-back Brad Smith, who recently moved from Liverpool to Bournemouth in search of more regular game time, provided a first-time cross, capitalising on the extra space provided by a tiring U.A.E. defence.
The ball was guided home at the far post by Cahill's right foot. But not before the wily attacker appeared to push defender Mohanad Salem to give himself a clear run into the box.
Ten minutes later, there was a glimpse of Cahill's heading talents. But in a defensive setting, deep in Australia's area, as he cleared an Omar free kick.
3. Emiratis chasing second World Cup appearance
It has been almost three decades since the U.A.E. appeared in their one and only World Cup finals in 1990.
A mark of how much times of changed in the past 26 years is who they faced in Italy, under their Brazilian coach Carlos Alberta Parreira in Group D. The nations of West Germany - the eventual champions beat them 5-1 at the San Siro Stadium with Lottar Matthaus scoring a brace - and Yugoslavia no longer exist. Colombia were the other team in their group.
The Emiratis lost all three group matches, scoring two goals and conceding nine. They've failed to come close to qualifying for six consecutive World Cups since then.
But with the 2016 boasting regional superstars like playmaker Omar and forwards Ali Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil, the U.A.E. defeated Japan 2-1 away last week. They have every reason to believe that they're capable of qualifying for Russia 2018 at the expense of one of Asia's heavyweights.
Omar was quick to show his class, using the outside of his exquisite left foot to unleash Mabkhout, who was denied by a scrambling Sainsbury in the 11th minute.
Then, Smith had to play saviour when Omar's effortless dink over the top, from his own half, had Ismail Al Hammadi charging into the box seven minutes before the break.
In the second half, Omar's influence was no less telling, as his elder brother Amer joined him on the pitch as a second-half substitute in the 62nd minute.
Deep into stoppage time, after a series of corners, Omar had one last chance to be a hero on a brutally hot night, as he stood over the ball in a dangerous position after Aussie substitute Luongo had given away a free kick.
But his set piece crashed into the wall, the Malaysian referee blew his whistle, and the Al Ain maestro slumped to the pitch in frustration.
Even so, a return of three points, from tough matches against Japan and Australia, puts the Emiratis in a decent position ahead of October's home game against Thailand in Group B.
Former Herald journalist Jason Dasey is Singapore-based Senior Editor of global football website: www.espnfc.com