Goal.com's Fiona Crawford continues to report the action on-scene from the Homeless World Cup in Milan.
Sep 13, 2009
Street Socceroo Ric Oldridge with former Socceroo Craig Foster (Photo: Andrew Davis)
Day 5
The secondary stage continued on Day 5, with mixed results for the Australians in warm Milan conditions.
Host nation Italy, whose national team last night qualified for the 2010 World Cup, took on Cambodia. The Cambodians had arrived days late for the event, with some players still making their way over, after unexpected travel issues. Reserve players made up the numbers.
The Cambodians posted two early goals, courtesy of an open-play shot and a penalty after an Italian player encroached on their out-of-bounds keepers’ area, before the Italians posted two of their own.
The Cambodian keeper lost his shoe while scrambling to save shots, but continued on with one shoe and one slightly slippery sock until the play stopped and a team mate and the referee helped him refit his shoe.
The remainder of the match went goal for goal, with the Italians maintaining a one-goal lead for its duration. The final score was 8-7 to the host nation.
The Russia versus Austria match finished controversially, with the teams and officials adamant that the score was 4-4, meaning that, under Homeless World Cup rules which decree that there can be no draws, the game warranted a penalty shoot out.
Referee Abudu Ngete had the score as 4-3 in favour of the Russians and dismissed appeals, before independent adjudication deemed the score 4-4 and the teams were called back for a penalty shoot out.
It might have been because the players had cooled down or because the situation was heated, but they struggled to put away the penalties, Russia keeping their nerve from the spot to win.
The afternoon saw the Australians take on India and Hong Kong.
Injury had sidelined most of the Indian players so, under Homeless World Cup rules, they were allowed to call in some of the reserve players. It just so happened that they were super subs, who almost single-handedly scored all 14 of India’s goals.
Some spectators jokingly chanted ‘Show us your real team’, but the Australians did manage to keep plugging away at the Indian goal and score four quality goals of their own.
Scott Endersby and Ric Oldridge both found the back of the net for the Australians.
Lino hit the crossbar and would likely have hit the back of the net too except that he was blue carded (or sin binned for two minutes) after he flung an arm out in reaction to some ongoing niggle.
Dave O’Grady rose to the challenge of being a player down and effectively became a one-man attacking and defensive outfit.
He quite miraculously made it through a throng of defensive players with the ball and only the upright denied him a goal.
The match ended 4-14, but the Australians showed their sporting spirit by inviting the Indians into a huddle to sing Waltzing Matilda and then finishing with an ‘In-di-a!’ cheer.
The more evenly matched Hong Kong game held better results for the Australians.
James Crawford returned from a hamstring injury-induced rest and both he and Nicole Brennan, who is both the only female and only West Australian in the Street Socceroos, were solid in defence.
The Australians received a penalty after the Hong Kong keeper ventured outside his area and Brennan, taking her first penalty of the tournament, forced the keeper into a save.
Dave O’Grady scored right on half time and the Street Socceroos added another two goals in the second half. One of those included Thom Lino showing a cool head to hold the ball up, wait for the keeper to commit, and then slot it away.
A Hong Kong players unintentionally swept Lino’s legs out from under him, with the Australians scoring levelling the score at 3-3 with the subsequent penalty.
Then a long-range cracker by Lino edged the Street Socceroos 4-3 ahead, and they held on for the win.
Day 6
The Street Socceroos finished the Homeless World Cup secondary stage with a win against Japan in a match that aptly demonstrated the Homeless World Cup spirit of respect and fair play.
The Australians had gone down to the Philippines earlier in the day, despite some valiant ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi’ cheers led by the Welsh team, but finished with a heartfelt 5-4 win over the Japanese.
It was a fitting end to the stage, with both the Australians and the Japanese having endeared themselves to the other teams, officials, and spectators over the preceding days of competition for their on- and off-field conduct.
While they haven’t exactly been Brazilian in their touches on the ball, the Japanese team’s joy at being a part of the event has been infectious, earning them underdog status and support.
Few other teams would have picked the ball out of the back of the net as regularly and as cheerfully as they have this week, but nor would they have received such loud cheers when they scored a goal.
The Japanese have returned the sentiment, cheering avidly for the other teams and venturing up to high five and thank spectators for their encouragement.
One Japanese player who hasn’t been able to play since breaking his arm on the first day has instead been cheering from behind the goal and even helping the Philippines with their drumming.
The Australians too have been recognized for their spirit of fair play and their equally shared cheers for the other teams, and they continued in their vein today.
Nicole Brennan, who has the dual honour of being the only female as well as the only West Australian team member, started the match, while Ric Oldridge stepped into goals to give Beau Tyson a run.
Brennan forced the keeper into two saves early, before Tyson found the back of the net to get the Australians on the board and record his first goal of the tournament.
The Japanese equalized shortly afterwards and then went one up, with the Street Socceroos hustling hard to find a second goal.
Thom Lino back-heeled the ball to Tyson who ran onto it, stepped inside his player, and then equalised.
The Street Socceroos went 3-2 up early in the second half when Brennan tapped in a near post shot—her first Homeless World Cup goal.
Brennan, her team mates, and the crowd were ecstatic, with keeper Oldridge even running out—contrary to Homeless World Cup rules—out of his area to join the celebrations.
But the referee understood both the significance of the moment and the spirit of the teams and allowed the game to continue without penalty.
Japan equalized and then pulled a goal ahead again after a penalty against Australia, before Lino locked the scores at four apiece with a perfectly placed long-range shot from halfway.
The Japanese keeper parried Lino’s next shot before Tyson pounced on the rebound to record a hat trick for the match and to give the Australians a 5-4 lead, which they held onto to secure the win.
The celebrations continued off the court, with the Street Socceroos cheering and clapping and even starting a water fight with their coach, George Halkias, and support crew.
They will now compete with Cambodia, Croatia, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Japan, Belgium, and Spain for the INSP Networking Trophy based on secondary stage results.
Nigeria, Mexico, Ireland, Portugal, Ghana, Ukraine, Brazil, and Poland are still in contention for the Homeless World Cup.
The secondary stage continued on Day 5, with mixed results for the Australians in warm Milan conditions.
Host nation Italy, whose national team last night qualified for the 2010 World Cup, took on Cambodia. The Cambodians had arrived days late for the event, with some players still making their way over, after unexpected travel issues. Reserve players made up the numbers.
The Cambodians posted two early goals, courtesy of an open-play shot and a penalty after an Italian player encroached on their out-of-bounds keepers’ area, before the Italians posted two of their own.
The Cambodian keeper lost his shoe while scrambling to save shots, but continued on with one shoe and one slightly slippery sock until the play stopped and a team mate and the referee helped him refit his shoe.
The remainder of the match went goal for goal, with the Italians maintaining a one-goal lead for its duration. The final score was 8-7 to the host nation.
The Russia versus Austria match finished controversially, with the teams and officials adamant that the score was 4-4, meaning that, under Homeless World Cup rules which decree that there can be no draws, the game warranted a penalty shoot out.
Referee Abudu Ngete had the score as 4-3 in favour of the Russians and dismissed appeals, before independent adjudication deemed the score 4-4 and the teams were called back for a penalty shoot out.
It might have been because the players had cooled down or because the situation was heated, but they struggled to put away the penalties, Russia keeping their nerve from the spot to win.
The afternoon saw the Australians take on India and Hong Kong.
Injury had sidelined most of the Indian players so, under Homeless World Cup rules, they were allowed to call in some of the reserve players. It just so happened that they were super subs, who almost single-handedly scored all 14 of India’s goals.
Some spectators jokingly chanted ‘Show us your real team’, but the Australians did manage to keep plugging away at the Indian goal and score four quality goals of their own.
Scott Endersby and Ric Oldridge both found the back of the net for the Australians.
Lino hit the crossbar and would likely have hit the back of the net too except that he was blue carded (or sin binned for two minutes) after he flung an arm out in reaction to some ongoing niggle.
Dave O’Grady rose to the challenge of being a player down and effectively became a one-man attacking and defensive outfit.
He quite miraculously made it through a throng of defensive players with the ball and only the upright denied him a goal.
The match ended 4-14, but the Australians showed their sporting spirit by inviting the Indians into a huddle to sing Waltzing Matilda and then finishing with an ‘In-di-a!’ cheer.
The more evenly matched Hong Kong game held better results for the Australians.
James Crawford returned from a hamstring injury-induced rest and both he and Nicole Brennan, who is both the only female and only West Australian in the Street Socceroos, were solid in defence.
The Australians received a penalty after the Hong Kong keeper ventured outside his area and Brennan, taking her first penalty of the tournament, forced the keeper into a save.
Dave O’Grady scored right on half time and the Street Socceroos added another two goals in the second half. One of those included Thom Lino showing a cool head to hold the ball up, wait for the keeper to commit, and then slot it away.
A Hong Kong players unintentionally swept Lino’s legs out from under him, with the Australians scoring levelling the score at 3-3 with the subsequent penalty.
Then a long-range cracker by Lino edged the Street Socceroos 4-3 ahead, and they held on for the win.
Day 6
The Street Socceroos finished the Homeless World Cup secondary stage with a win against Japan in a match that aptly demonstrated the Homeless World Cup spirit of respect and fair play.
The Australians had gone down to the Philippines earlier in the day, despite some valiant ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi’ cheers led by the Welsh team, but finished with a heartfelt 5-4 win over the Japanese.
It was a fitting end to the stage, with both the Australians and the Japanese having endeared themselves to the other teams, officials, and spectators over the preceding days of competition for their on- and off-field conduct.
While they haven’t exactly been Brazilian in their touches on the ball, the Japanese team’s joy at being a part of the event has been infectious, earning them underdog status and support.
Few other teams would have picked the ball out of the back of the net as regularly and as cheerfully as they have this week, but nor would they have received such loud cheers when they scored a goal.
The Japanese have returned the sentiment, cheering avidly for the other teams and venturing up to high five and thank spectators for their encouragement.
One Japanese player who hasn’t been able to play since breaking his arm on the first day has instead been cheering from behind the goal and even helping the Philippines with their drumming.
The Australians too have been recognized for their spirit of fair play and their equally shared cheers for the other teams, and they continued in their vein today.
Nicole Brennan, who has the dual honour of being the only female as well as the only West Australian team member, started the match, while Ric Oldridge stepped into goals to give Beau Tyson a run.
Brennan forced the keeper into two saves early, before Tyson found the back of the net to get the Australians on the board and record his first goal of the tournament.
The Japanese equalized shortly afterwards and then went one up, with the Street Socceroos hustling hard to find a second goal.
Thom Lino back-heeled the ball to Tyson who ran onto it, stepped inside his player, and then equalised.
The Street Socceroos went 3-2 up early in the second half when Brennan tapped in a near post shot—her first Homeless World Cup goal.
Brennan, her team mates, and the crowd were ecstatic, with keeper Oldridge even running out—contrary to Homeless World Cup rules—out of his area to join the celebrations.
But the referee understood both the significance of the moment and the spirit of the teams and allowed the game to continue without penalty.
Japan equalized and then pulled a goal ahead again after a penalty against Australia, before Lino locked the scores at four apiece with a perfectly placed long-range shot from halfway.
The Japanese keeper parried Lino’s next shot before Tyson pounced on the rebound to record a hat trick for the match and to give the Australians a 5-4 lead, which they held onto to secure the win.
The celebrations continued off the court, with the Street Socceroos cheering and clapping and even starting a water fight with their coach, George Halkias, and support crew.
They will now compete with Cambodia, Croatia, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Japan, Belgium, and Spain for the INSP Networking Trophy based on secondary stage results.
Nigeria, Mexico, Ireland, Portugal, Ghana, Ukraine, Brazil, and Poland are still in contention for the Homeless World Cup.
No comments:
Post a Comment