Australia coach Pim Verbeek slammed his side's display in Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier against Bahrain despite the Socceroos maintaining their 100 per cent record in Group One with a fortunate 1-0 away win.
Bahrain dominated for long periods and created several clear-cut chances but were unable to find a way past Mark Schwarzer, who made two crucial saves in the first half.
In the second half Schwarzer would have been helpless if the lively Jaycee John had connected with Salman Isa's cross just after the hour mark.
But after surviving several close calls Mark Bresciano capitalised on a defensive mistake, with only seconds remaining in stoppage time, to snatch all three points and leave Australia at the top of Group One two points clear of Japan, who beat Qatar 3-0.
"We didn't play well although we tried our best to improve our game in the second half," said Verbeek, who will take his side to Japan in February for their next World Cup qualifier.
"The players didn't give what was expected of them and that gave Bahrain the opportunity to control the game."
"Bahrain created a lot of chances and they nearly scored from those chances. They played well and have played well so far in the qualifiers but have been unlucky."
"We must improve our performance in our next matches especially as we will play against Japan in our next match."
"I talked to the players and they know that they didn't perform well and we will try our best to improve."
Bahrain coach Milan Macala believes that his side can still secure a trip to South Africa despite the defeat leaving his side at the bottom of Group One with just one point from three games.
"The game was important for us and we put on a great performance as we wanted to get the three points," the Czech coach said.
"We had seven clear chances in front of the Australian goal but we couldn't score."
"Our players showed fighting spirit and Australia scored from the only mistake that we made in the game. We always make such mistakes against big teams and consequently lose these matches."
But with five games left in the qualifiers and a trip to fellow strugglers Uzbekistan next on the agenda in February, Macala is not ready to throw in the towel.
"Our target from the beginning of the qualifiers was to finish third in the group. The defeat doesn't mean the end of our campaign as we will fight until the last match in the qualifiers," he added.
"Our mission has become harder but it is not impossible. If we continue with the same sort of performance in our next matches then I'm sure that we can get the necessary points."