Socceroos left to reflect on 'devastating' Asian Cup exit following 2-1 ...
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold says his squad is shattered after relinquishing a lead in their 2-1 extra-time loss to South Korea in the Asian Cup quarterfinals.
The Socceroos were seemingly on the verge of victory when they led 1-0 late in stoppage time at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar, before South Korea equalised with a penalty.
Hwang Hee-chan scored from the spot after substitute Socceroos defender Lewis Miller gave away the penalty following a poorly-timed tackle on South Korea captain Son Heung-min.
During extra time, Miller was at fault again when he brought down Hwang on the edge of the area, with Son nailing a free kick into the top corner to give South Korea its winning lead.
The Socceroos ran out of time to force penalties, with their cause not helped by Aiden O'Neill being shown a red card after he caught Hwang with his studs.
"It's quite devastating, quite emotional for the players and staff how we finished the game," Arnold said after the match.
"We played well for the first 90 minutes until we conceded the penalty."
Arnold said South Korea's class told in the key moments of the match, with the two-time Asian Cup champions helped by the experience of English Premier League players Son (Tottenham) and Hwang (Wolverhampton).
"South Korea's players play in top leagues with a fast tempo and they can keep it up. They're playing for teams like Tottenham, Wolves.
"They can run the legs off teams and they punished us in the end."
Arnold said Miller could not be blamed for the Socceroos' loss.
"I put my arm around him and gave him a hug and told him that these things are lessons in life and you learn from these type of things and you move forward," Arnold said.
Lewis Miller (right) is consoled by Socceroos teammate Harry Souttar.(Getty Images: Zhizhao Wu)
Defender Aziz Behich said he and his teammates would throw their arms around Miller.
"We've all been on the end of these types of things, moments in football. I've had one myself against Japan where the ball ricocheted off me into our own goal and we lost the game," Behich said.
"So it's a part of football. If you don't hit these rock bottoms, it doesn't make you stronger. We'll put our arms around him.
"He's a great lad and also he's going to be a great player. He's still young, he's in the early stages of his career. He's doing well overseas in Scotland.
"It's also about the nation staying behind these young players because they're the next generation and they're the ones that are gonna move us forward."
Son Heung-min (left) and Hwang Hee-chan rose to the occasion in South Korea's victory.(Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)
The Socceroos were the first on the scoreboard when Craig Goodwin found the back of the net in the 42nd minute.
It forced South Korea to play catch-up, but coach Jürgen Klinsmann said he had full confidence his squad could get on top of the Socceroos.
"Obviously it was another drama, we're extremely happy and thrilled to go through," Klinsmann said.
"It was a hard fight with Australia, we expected it. But to go 120 minutes again, I'm proud of this team and their spirit."
It is the second consecutive Asian Cup in which the Socceroos have exited in the quarterfinals.
South Korea will face Jordan in Wednesday morning's (AEDT) semifinal.
ABC/AAP
