Sydney FC 3 Adelaide United 0
So, have you ever seen only half a game? I’m not talking on the telly, or rocking up early to your game early and seeing half of the game before, this is about the one game that you wanted to see, and you only caught a part of it. Today was the day, when a 4pm kick off at Leichhardt Oval for Sydney FC Women collided head on with a 2pm kick off for Blacktown City Women Under 20s at Landen Stadium in Lalor Park. About an hour’s drive with the game ending around 3.45pm, I had to seriously ask myself was it worth it? Especially when I had to drive all the way back to pick up Aurelia after the first grade game and the team post-game Sunday dinner. Did a two-hour drive through Sydney to catch a bit of a game make the cut? You betcha…
Starting the journey through suburban Sydney, I had time to reflect on how many times I’d seen just a bit of a game. Earliest memories are a 3pm Saturday game in Ipswich when I was following the Toon around England in my mis-spent youth; the epic journey from Tyneside, in that season when we nearly went down to Division 3 saw only a single bus make the trip, the official supporters club bus with the real hardcore fans, and the bloody thing broke down just as we exited the A1. A lengthy wait for a replacement saw us pull in to Portman Road just before half time. We’d missed a cracker from Gavin Peacock, but were there just in time to see him score his best ever, clipping the ball into the net in front of a packed away end, which included some of the non-playing Newcastle players. We lost in the end and looked doomed to relegation, and we got back to Newcastle so late I had to ring my dad to pick me up as the last bus had gone. But the memory was etched forever.
Another time we had a game against West Ham, which was played at Charlton, or it may have been a Charlton game played at West Ham, and our bus took a wrong turn in London, doing a crazy three-point turn in front of White Hart Lane before finally making it well into the second half after a seven-hour trek. We lost that one too but we saw our only goal in the 2-1 defeat. And most annoyingly the 1-1 draw at Upton Park against West Ham. I had a lift from the Midlands for this night-time game and the designated driver was about two hours late. We then parked at a tube station that was so far from Upton Park that we were caught out by trackwork and sprinted through the streets to arrive just after half-time with our team a goal ahead. Alas, we couldn’t hold the lead, and we drew, and spilling out into the streets afterwards was a very tense scenario with hundreds of police officers ready for trouble.
Of course there have been plenty of games where we’ve arrived a minute or two late, but it’s very rare that I’ll accept the fact that I’m going to arrive late and actively plan around it. After hoping that a fitness centre patron would pull out of the main car park in front of the stadium, and then finding all the spaces in front of Le Montage full, I chanced on a spot on Lilyfield Road, but was totally disoriented and didn’t realise I was walking up a deserted Mary Street until I recognised the house with the pointy trees. If you ever wondered what is going on outside the stadium when a game is on, it’s not much! Not a soul at the gate and the security guards showed me in, card scanned and half time in full swing. By the time I’d visited the bathroom and bought a CC and Dry from the window, the game was back underway, and I walked up the far end and up the stairs to take my spot next to Michelle in the active section.
I had only just checked my phone to see the score – we were two up already, and the Sky Blues were on fire already in the second half, shooting towards our end. Cortnee Vine almost forced a comedy goal, closing down the keeper and deflecting the ball goalwards, but the ball just went wide. She then raced on to a lovely chip from Mackenzie Hawkesby to turn sweetly and fire in a shot that was tipped over, but the goal eventually came when Macca played a hopeful ball forward, Vine got lucky and stole the ball ahead of the defender and then was too quick for the Adelaide keeper, racing around her to slot the ball into the empty goal. Lovely stuff!
The rugby league lines were visible for all to see on the field, painted over in a green that didn’t really hide them. It gave rise to new reference points; where was the foul? On the 30m line. That sort of thing. The Cove was in full voice, despite being quite low on active numbers. It certainly felt as though we were making a lot of noise, although when I’d walked up from the entrance just as the second half started, the singing couldn’t be heard that well from down below but the drum was booming. Comments from TV viewers were that the Cove were loud and clear.
Sydney looked for more goals as the final whistle approached, bringing on a wealth of talent from the bench in search for a more comprehensive scoreline. One for our A-League statto Andrew Howe – when did three players with a first name Shay, all spelled differently, come off the bench in an A-League game? It was today – Shea Connors, Shay Hollman and Indiana Shae Dos Santos. What an unimpressive stat! The score remained 3-0 and Sydney FC had set up a chance to claim the premiership in Canberra through the week, or failing that, at least a shot for the premiership next weekend back here against our deadly rivals Melbourne Victory.
It’s a beautiful thing these days when our women win. There is no messing around – these players want to celebrate with the Cove. And it was bloody marvellous, a rousing Super Sydney FC chant that extended to the lo-lo part to get the girls dancing. Absolutely love this, and those days at Kogarah when the players would sheepishly come around to celebrate after being prompted by someone in authority are now gone. This is ritual. This is Sydney FC.
The usual fangirling at the end of the game to see how the players interact with the fans was passed up; I had to get back to Blacktown after all. We spied Adelaide fan Rose at the exit and had a quick catch up, before Michelle, who snagged a car spot in the main car park by using her shopping-centre car-park stealth, dropped me to my car and I raced back to Landen Stadium, pulling into the car park just as the players emerged after their Sunday meal. Impeccable timing!
Was it worth it? Yes it bloody was, and all talk was now excitedly turning to Wednesday in Canberra. Forza Sydney FC – see you there!