Inglewood United legend Jamie Goodman says pulling on the green and gold of Australia was the realisation of a long-held dream.   Goodman, one of only two players to win back-to-back Inglewood Player of the Year awards, gained his international debut earlier this month by representing Australia at the Seniors World Cup Football Tournament in Thailand.

“It is a lifelong dream of any player to represent their country no matter how old or young,” 44-year old Goodman said.   “It was a very special moment and I am very proud to have had the opportunity to represent Australia.   There is no greater feeling than putting on the shirt for the first time and singing the national anthem.”

“It was brilliant to get a taste of what it would have been like to be a professional footballer, even if it was only for a week.   Getting to rub shoulders with some great West Australian players along with the international players was an experience that I’ll never forget, likewise the coaching day we spent with Thai school kids.”

Goodman, who played six seasons with Inglewood, had no complaints with Australia’s placing of fifth.   “It was probably a fair reflection of where we were at,” the defender said.   “You need a little bit of luck and things to go smoothly in any tournament and, unfortunately, we suffered a couple of key injuries in our first game against Scotland.”

Australia went down to the Scots two-nil but earned a share of the points against New Zealand, drawing 2-2.   However, a 3-1 loss to hosts Thailand effectively put an end to their hopes of playing off for silverware.   “We conceded a couple of goals early from mistakes and it was always going to be difficult to peg those back,” Goodman explained.

To their credit the team bounced back in their final group fixture, defeating Taiwan 2-0, to set-up a Trans-Tasman showdown with New Zealand in the play-off for fifth and sixth, where the green and gold triumphed 3-1.   “It was good to finish the tournament strongly with a couple of convincing wins, over Taiwan and New Zealand,” Goodman said.

Representing Australia at the Seniors World Cup Football Tournament were Rod Hunt, Frederico Navarra, Mel Brown, Paul McVittie, Marc Wingell, Frank Houston, Peter Murphy, Paul Lincoln, Steve Robinson, Jorge Guimaraes, Carlo Scali, Stephen Worton, Nathan Chapman, Rob Markovski, Damien Todorovic, Eugene Dadi, Alan Pottier, Marc Anthony, Gary Lee, Arturo Schmiedgen, Chris McCrone, Dave Evans, Justin Hugo and Jamie Goodman.   The team officials were Robbie Dunn (coach), Ross Kelly (assistant coach), Rob Messenger (manager) and Anthony Neary (kit).