The Qantas Under 23s were defeated 3-4 by Chile Under 23s in an enthralling match at Darwin Football Stadium on Friday 27 June.  Chesterfield's Aaron Downes scored twice in this seven goal thriller.

A crowd of 1,404 was on hand to see the first international football match in the Northern Territory and neither teams disappointed scoring seven goals in ninety minutes.

The Qantas Under 23s opened the scoring in the 20th minute when a Dario Vidosic corner found Aaron Downes unmarked at the far post for a header and he was able to slot home without any trouble. Chile equalised five minutes later when Chilean captain Esteban Paredes curled his left-footed free-kick over the Australian defensive wall leaving goalkeeper Justin Pasfield little chance of saving.

The Chileans took the lead two minutes into the second half when Boris Sagredo and was able to drive a half-volley into the net following a well taken free-kick.

Aaron Downes bagged his second and equalised for his team in the 68th minute following another corner and Troy Hearfield grabbed the lead back for the Qantas Under 23s in the 76th minute with a left footed strike into the bottom corner of the goal.

But the Chileans fought back and equalised again in the 82nd minute when Eduardo Vargas was on hand to capitalise on a wayward backpass from Aaron Downes by slotting past the keeper.

Esteban Paredes scored the winner for Chile in the 85th minute when he flicked on a corner inside the near-post to end a high scoring affair.

The Verdict:

After the match, the Qantas Under 23s coach Graham Arnold was disappointed with the result but happy with the performance.

"We became a little disjointed towards the end with six substitutions but this match was more about testing ourselves against quality opposition, " said Arnold.

"Three of the goals we conceded were from set pieces, but those sort of errors can be fixed.

"We will now use Sunday's match to give some other players a chance to impress ahead of the final team selection", concluded Arnold

Qantas Under 23s: 18.Justin Pasfield (gk), 5.Mark Milligan, 6.Bruce Djite (10.Nikita Rukavysta 68'), 9.Tarek Elrich, 14.Billy Celeski, 15.Leigh Broxham (23.Nick Ward 79'), 17.Aaron Downes (16.Robert Cornthwaite 86'), 19.Mark Bridge (captain) (4.Michael Zullo 83'), 21.Dario Vidosic (7.Neil Kilkenny 67'), 22.Troy Hearfield, 24.Adam D'Apuzzo.

Substitutes Not Used: 1.Chris O'Connor (gk), 11.Jason Hoffman, 12.Nigel Boogaard, 28.Trent McClenahan.

Australia all square with Chile in Darwin

In a second game just 48 hours later on Sunday 29 June the Qantas Under 23s played out an entertaining 1-all draw against the Chile Under 23s in front of 1,780 fans at the Darwin Football Stadium.  

Chesterfield's Aaron Downes did not take part in this game as Head Coach Graham Arnold made ten changes to the line-up with Mark Milligan the only player to start both games.

Kristian Sarkies opened the scoring for the Qantas Under 23s from the penalty spot in the 27th minute and Felipe Seymour equalised for the Chileans in the 67th minute with a clinical finish from inside the box.

Qantas Under 23s: 1.Chris O'Connor (gk), 3.Trent McClenahan, 5.Mark Milligan (Captain), 6.Nikolai Topor-Stanley, 7.Neil Kilkenny, 8.Kristian Sarkies, 9.Nick Ward (2.Jason Hoffman 65'), 10.Nikita Rukavytsya (20.Matt Simon 65'), 12.Nigel Boogaard (16.Robert Cornthwaite 67'), 15.David Williams (17.Michael Zullo 56'), 19.James Holland (4.Billy Celeski 70').

Substitutes Not Used: 18.Tando Velaphi (gk), 11.Tarek Elrich, 13.Troy Hearfield, 14.Nathan Burns.

The Verdict:

After the match Graham Arnold was again pleased by with the performance of his players.

"Our players again performed well up against very good opposition tonight," said Arnold

"The purpose of this camp was for me to make critical selection decisions and also to prepare the players for the Beijing Olympic Games,"

"Based on that, this camp has been extremely successful, we have been very well looked after by everyone here in Darwin and the effort of all the boys could not be faulted.

"Now my coaching staff and I have a very difficult task in selecting the final squad that will go to the Olympic Games," concluded Arnold.

The Qantas Under 23s will take time out from their training camp in Darwin and will conduct a football coaching clinic on Monday afternoon with Northern Territory junior football players before heading home on Tuesday.

The Australian Olympic Men's Football team will be named by the Australian Olympic Committee on Friday 4 July 2008 in Sydney.