KEIR RADNEDGE in DOHA: Late substitute goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne rewarded coach Graham Arnold’s gamble by pulling off the shootout save which brought Australia back here to the World Cup finals at Peru’s expense.

Two minutes before the end of extra time in a goalless draw Redmayne, with a proven penalty-saving record, loped on to replace captain Mat Ryan.

The two teams were 4-4 after the first round of kicks. Awer Mabil scored for the Socceroos then Redmayne, bounding to and fro across his goal-line, bounded into just the right place at the right time to fist away Alex Valera’s kick.

Within seconds he was engulfed by his riotously joyous team-mates; Peru’s players merely slunk away in tears.

The remaining place back in Qatar will be decided tomorrow in the concluding playoff between Costa Rica from central and north America and Oceania’s New Zealand.

Rivals

Australia thus enter Group D in the finals though the rival coaches from France, Denmark and Tunisia will not have been over-worried by what they saw in a lacklustre 120 minutes.

A noisy phalanx of Peruvian fans cheered, sang, drummed and trumpeted but it was a defiant bunch of Socceroos who made the more aggressive start in the bid to extend a finals sequence which began in 2002.

Mitchell Duke thumped a hopeful drive wide in the second minute and Jackson Irvine headed over the bar from a right-wing corner.

Peru, with contrasting delicacy on the ball, slowly began to find their way into the game and began controlling possession in enemy territory. Unfortunately they wavered too long on the ball around the edge of the penalty box and never bothered Australian skipper Ryan.

Peru’s Argentinian coach Ricardo Gareca, a formidable centre-forward in his day, spread his arms wide in frustration.

Australia returned to the attack. Martin Boyle repeatedly found an embarrassing amount of space down the right wing but, on the one occasion his team-mates kept pace, Irvine headed wastefully wide. He should at least have forced Peru’s own captain-keeper, Pedro Gallese, into a save of one sort or another.

Off target

Peru, raising the tempo, forced two quick corners after the interval but without seriously troubling Ryan and his defenders. At the other end Aaron Mooy thumped an optimistic drive well wide as if to place an Australian marker in the second half.

Just after the hour Peru blinked first in terms of substitutes with DC United forward Edison Flores replacing Andre Carrillo.

Australia’s attack was now non-existent, perhaps feeling the strain from their Asian playoff victory here against UAE last week. Peru, in the ascendancy, pressed forward again only for Christian Cueva, cutting in from the left, to slice his shot into the side net.

In the closing minutes Aziz Behich was allowed to gallop through the Peruvian cover unchallenged and shoot and narrowly wide of Gallese’s left-hand post.

A rare flurry of excitement marked the second half of extra tune. First Cueva scooped a shot on the turn over the bar then Flores headed against a post and the Australians were fortunate not to concede an own goal in their desperation to clear.

So to the most dramatic conclusion.

Penalties (Australia first):

Boyle saved 0-0, Lapadula 0-1; Mooy 1-1, Callens 1-2; Goodwin 2-2, Advincula hit post 2-2; Hrustic 3-2, Tapia 3-3; MacLaren 4-3, Flores 4-4 — Mabil 5-4, Valera saved 5-4.

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