(Football news) Australia's substitute goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne saved the last penalty to book a place at this year's World Cup in Qatar as they beat Peru 5-4 in a shootout following a 0-0 draw after extra time in an inter-continental playoff. Redmayne danced his way across the goal-line before diving to the right to stop a spot kick from Alex Valera and hand Australia a much deserved victory in the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
Redmayne was brought on three minutes from the end of the game to make sure he stood between the goalposts during the shootout and became an instant hero with his antics on the line as he tried to distract the Peruvian players. He danced up and down, wiggling his hips and throwing his arms, clowning the antics of Liverpool's Bruce Grobbelaar when they won the European Cup in 1984. Redmayne's antics were enough for Luis Advincula to fire his effort against the post and then made an outstanding save against Valera to see Australia qualify for a fifth successive World Cup and a sixth in total. They will now play in Group D at the World Cup with defending champions France, Denmark and Tunisia.
Australia started the shootout in nervous fashion as they had missed their first penalty but converted the next five to silence thousands of Peru supporters, who travelled for the game and provided home support but they saw their team conjure up very few opportunities. Instead, Australia dominated the match, with Martin Boyle twice cutting through the Peruvian defence to provide teasing crosses but subsequently no one was there to follow up. The second half also followed a similar pattern with limited efforts on goal until the 80th minute when Australia suddenly had three good opportunities in quick succession to win the match but failed to capitalise on those chances.
In the extra time Peru found an extra gear as Flores headed the ball against the post in the closing stages but they were still unable to settle the score after two hours of play, setting the stage for Redmayne to take centre stage. The single game playoff between the fifth-placed finishers in Asian and South American qualifiers determined the second last team at this year's World Cup. The last place at this year's World Cup will be decided when Costa Rica and New Zealand clash in their inter-continental playoff, which will also be at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
"I'm a bit lost for words. It's a team game, it's a team effort so I can't take any more credit than any of the other 27 [players] who are here. This idea was floated pre-selection that this might eventuate in these kinds of circumstances and for the two or three weeks we've been here (in Qatar), I've kind of had that in my mind. I've been working on a few things in training but at the end of the day it's a flip of the coin, it's either right or left. I'm no hero, I just played my role like everyone did tonight" Redmayne said.
Peru coach Ricardo Gareca said: "We had the expectation to make it, we were close but unfortunately it was not the case. We are flooded with pain. We gave our utmost. They emptied their tanks and we feel deceived that we are out of the World Cup. We wanted to avoid the penalty shootout."
"I am just so proud of the players," said Australia coach Graham Arnold. "Really no one knows what these boys have been through to get here, it was so hard, the whole campaign. The way they stuck at it, the way they committed themselves, brilliant."
On the decision to bring on Redmayne for the shootout, Arnold added: "He's a very good penalty saver and I did something that could affect them mentally.
"They were probably asking themselves the question, 'Why is this guy being brought on, he has to be good. Maybe that was the reason they hit the post. It's a 1% mental effort to trouble the Peru penalty takers. It was a risk but it worked out."
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