Uzbekistan manager Mirdjalal Kasimov says fatigue was at the heart of his side’s 2-0 World Cup Qualifying loss to Australia and that “little episodes” counted against the visitors.

The Uzbeks were superb in the first half of their qualifier in Sydney, outplaying the Australians in front of a vocal crowd of nearly 60,000.

Despite being depleted by injury and beset by fatigue and a lack of preparation, Kasimov’s men were positive and should have taken through their weekend hat-trick hero Farhod Tadjiev inside the opening ten minutes.

That miss and another that he helped to construct early in the second half were telling, as the Australians outran and eventually overpowered their tiring opponents as the match wore on, a crucial penalty decision sealing the win for Verbeek’s outfit.

The Uzbek boss also pin-pointed the introduction of towering striker Josh Kennedy as a turning point in the match, the Kalsruhe man opening the scoring just after being brought on.

“I think football consists of the little episodes which can make a very unexpected fate for the two teams,” Tadjiev said.

“You also have to make a decision for your team in a second; so it’s important to do it and get a good reaction.

“The number 9 [Josh Kennedy] was brilliant in accepting the ball and heading in the goal and we didn’t expect that; if this goal didn’t go in, the game would have gone the other way.

“These episodes count in football.”

Despite having projected a “no excuses” message at their pre-match press conference - which Kasimov missed through illness - Uzbekistan’s limited preparation and jet-leg was a conspicuous factor in their defeat.

Yet even towards the end of the match the visitors continued to pose an attacking threat with their intelligent movement and incisive passing, the effervescent Server Djeparov having a late goal ruled out for offside.

“There was a very big difference between the first and second half,” Kasimov said. “During the second half my boys looked tired.

“We expected them to be tired and exhausted because it was a long flight for us to Australia and there was only four days between the match days.

“That is why we instructed the players to keep possession well and not give the ball to the opponent.”

Following their 4-0 thrashing of Qatar in Tashkent on Saturday, the Uzbeks still have a realistic chance of qualifying for South Africa 2010.

Their home clash against Asian giants Japan in June will be pivotal; the importance not lost on Kasimov.

He continued, “We still have a chance to strive for third, which will give us a chance to go to the play-offs.

“We have two games left to play and I think we can make it.

“We have nothing to lose against Japan so we will put our strengths forward.

“The only thing we can think of is a win and to keep striving for qualification.”