The tie remained goalless at the Rajamangala Stadium after the first 45 minutes and Maloney admitted  his players struggled to find their footing after playing two matches in Chonburi.

 

“It was a tough game, as we expected from the opposition, they never gave up and they really tested us as well,” said Maloney. “Of course we’re delighted to get the result and progress to the next phase.

 

“The conditions were obviously quite difficult to start with. It’s a new pitch and a new stadium environment for us and it affected our game a little but our approach to the game remained the same as we needed to get a result."

Maloney praised his players for showing grit in the second half.

“I felt the players’ commitment was good, they never gave up on the goals and never gave up trying to dominate the match. Both teams had their chances but it was great for us to get the result and qualify for the quarter-finals.

“That mentality of never giving up typifies young Aussie kids, they have that tenacity and resilience that they display in every match and for me that’s fantastic. We’ve utilised 20 out 23 players and the ones that have played have done their job well.”

Despite the defeat, Tajikistan head coach Rakhmatullo Fuzaylov expressed his satisfaction with his team's performance.

 

“Overall it was a good performance from our players, however, we couldn’t score despite having plenty of chances, said Fuzaylov. “After the goalless first half we tried to change our tactics because we really needed this victory to progress. But it didn’t go our way in the end.

 

“These players are young and they are ready for future participation in international matches. We will try our best to improve and hopefully compete at a higher level.”