Monday, June 19, 2006

I did something last night that I haven't done for years. I stayed up stupidly late to watch a soccer match. If it hadn't been the holidays it wouldn't have happened - I fell in to bed at 4.30 a.m! <g>
So anyway, Australia vs. Brazil in the World Cup Soccer. It started slowly, seemingly - to my untrained eye - to be more about defence than goal-scoring. Lots of near misses by both teams but I think there were more too-high/too-wide shots than actual saves by the goalies. I could be wrong, I'll check the stats later perhaps. At half-time the score was 0/0 and the Aus commentators were enthusing about how the 'Roos were holding their own against the best team in the world. Really? It didn't look to me like either side were playing particularly well. There was a lack of follow-through, I thought, a fair few missed opportunities for goals because there were inexplicable holes in the attack. Doesn't matter how skillfully a shot is set up if there's no one there to pass the ball to...
Early in the second half Brazil scored a goal and the energy and pace of the game picked up. Lots more near misses, including some excellent saves from both goalies. Brazil scored a second goal in the last few minutes of the game though it wasn't because of skill - more a case of someone being in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a fumble. There was no need for them to be so smug about it. <grump>
Listening to the commentators afterwards, the consensus was that Australia did very well, considering. There was some very skillful play, I have to admit, and the goalies certainly earned their fees. If we beat Croatia in the next round we could go on to the next level.
Speaking of Croatia... before the Aus/Brazil match I caught the second half of the Croatia/Japan. Now that was entertaining. :) Neither team scored but they were both playing hard. I was impressed too, by the camaraderie and politeness between the opposing sides. There was none of that in the Aus/Brazil match. If someone went down they were on their own, and Aus racked up a huge amount of fouls. Hm. Not sure I could be bothered with catching another 'Roos game but I'll keep my eye out for Japan. <g>
(And chips [crisps] are great for keeping you awake, but only while you're eating them.)

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