Socceroos too good for hosts

They came, they won, and they left with three valuable points -- that is probably the most suitable way to sum up Australia's short trip and even shorter work of hosts Bangladesh. The four-time World Cuppers and reigning Asian champions, who had their first look-in at the match venue only one-and-a-half hours before kick-off, rolled like a juggernaut in a comfortable 4-0 win.

The 20,000-something crowd at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, with a few Socceroos' fans dotted here and there in yellow patches, watched in awe as Tim Cahill, Australia's most prolific striker, bagged a first-half hattrick before skipper Mile Jedinak added a fourth shortly before the break. The crowd also witnessed a brilliant first-half cameo by Aaron Mooy, the Melbourne City forward, who teed up the first three goals for Cahill before his free-kick eventually led to the fourth.

However, regardless of the final scoreline, there was a lot to take home for the booters, who worked their socks off and, at times fought shoulder-to-shoulder against a side sitting echelons above them. There was also some redemption for Bangladesh coach Fabio Lopez, who had been subject to heavy criticism since his side's 5-0 humbling in Tajikistan last week, as he kept the margin of defeat to less than what his predecessor had managed against the same opposition away from home two-and-a-half months ago.

The game started in a solemn mood as a minute's silence was observed before kick-off in memory of all those who perished in the terrorist attack in Paris last week. The mood got even more sombre as the Socceroos went for the jugular right from the off.

The early passages of play resembled more a game of rugby than football, as the Aussie forwards tried to bulldoze past a scrum Bangladesh defence, whose five-man backline was aided by four midfielders in and around the danger zone. Adam Federici, the Aussie goalie, loitered around the centre-circle as if one half of the pitch was enough to constitute a football match. And when Cahill got the breakthrough in the sixth minute, heading in a curling free-kick from Mooy, it felt like the Socceroos would leave Dhaka with a cricket score.

But the early nerves soon settled for the hosts and they even found a footing with a few one-on-one wins, helping the Red and Green faithful find the top of their voice. Mamunul Islam and Co launched their first serious attack at the quarter-hour mark when Monaem Khan Raju released Nabib Newaz Jibon, but the young striker, having darted towards the box, tried to find support rather than having a go at goal.

However Cahill, a veteran of 88 matches, soon took the game out of the hosts' reach with two quick strikes as he completed his second international hattrick and took his international tally to 45. The 35-year-old Shanghai Shenhua forward scored the second in the 32nd minute with a jaw-dropping juggling effort over the top of goalkeeper Shahidul Alam Sohel, before completing the treble five minutes later with a flick on Mooy's square-pass.

The shell-shocked hosts were dealt a further blow five minutes later, with Jedinak nodding in Mooy's free-kick, which was directed towards the Aussie skipper by Bailey Wright.

Socceroos coach, Ange Postecoglu, made two substitutions at the break and one during the second half, but his charges failed to generate the same pace and pressing as Lopez's charges managed to keep the visitors at bay in the second half and leave the pitch to an ovation from the crowd.