Qantas Under 23s Go Down in Seven-Goal Thriller

The Qantas Under 23s have been defeated 3-4 by Chile Under 23s in an enthralling match at Darwin Football Stadium tonight.

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 Qantas Under 23s had an opportunity to take the lead shortly before the half-time break when they were awarded a free-kick just outside the edge of the box, but Dario Vidosic's shot went over the cross-bar and the score remained the same going into the break.

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 following a good piece of individual strength that resulted in his left footed strike finding 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. Vargas making not mistake with his one-on-one opportunity with Pasfield.

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.

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

"You never like to lose a match, but I was happy with the overall performance of the players," said Arnold

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

"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