“The win is a step in the tight direction. Of course there is a lot to improve on but five goals, at home, after a poor start, is really pleasing. It took us a bit of time to settle down and find where the spaces were and once we did that, we were much improved - especially in the second half,” said the midfielder, who plays his club football with Germany’s St. Pauli. 

Having escaped from going behind after Indonesia’s Kevin Diks missed from the penalty spot, Australia took the lead through Martin Boyle’s 18th minute spot-kick with Nishan Velupillay doubling their advantage two minutes later.

Irvine netted his first in the 34th minute with Lewis Miller adding the fourth in the 61st. Indonesia pulled one back through Ole Romenij in the 78th minute but Irvine soared high to nod home a corner right at the death. 

Head coach Tony Popovic echoed Irvine’s sentiment about the need to improve, admitting that Australia were not as defensively solid as he would have liked.

“Obviously, it was not a good start, I think the goal they scored summarised how we were defensively. We gave away a penalty and the goal they scored could have been avoided. 

“However, once we got the (opening) goal, it settled everyone down. Anytime you score five goals, it is very good and when you are at home, under pressure, it is even more satisfying.”

Having taken over from Graham Arnold only in September, Popovic admitted the players are still trying to adapt to his coaching style and expectations but felt there has been good progress. 

“We are not there yet but it isn’t a bad thing as they are getting there. I have felt it in this training camp and at the hotel. Unfortunately, we have some injuries but this has also allowed us to get more depth. 

“Now, it is about whether we can handle China (PR) in the next match from the experience of knowing that we can score five goals even when some areas of our game weren’t great.” 

Indonesia head coach Patrick Kluivert admitted that his players are still adjusting to his tactics and style of play, with this being his first competitive match in charge of the Southeast Asian side.

“We have to keep working, we have the Bahrain game to come and we’ll need to work hard to achieve a good result although there are still adjustments needed to get used to the style we want,” said Kluivert.

“Overall, I’m happy with the players’ mentality and work ethics. We conceded because of individual mistakes and that’s something we need to work on. It will not be easy (against Bahrain). The most important thing now is to get the players mindset right and rediscover positive energy.”