The NSL is alive and thriving

As someone who first tasted NSL football at a boistrous North Sydney Oval on a Friday evening back in 1999 as Northern Spirit went down to a single goal defeat, my connection with the former national competition was brief. What I do remember though was the earthy atmosphere at those games and how low-key someContinue reading “The NSL is alive and thriving”

Matildas ignite Australia’s football passion

Australia 0 France 0 (7-6 on penalties) A tropical winter’s day in Queensland’s capital greeted football fans from all corners of Australia. The news that Sam Kerr was not starting this FIFA World Cup 2023 quarter final game at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium was hardly unexpected and predictions of tonight’s outcome were realistic in the pubContinue reading “Matildas ignite Australia’s football passion”

Oranje fail to convince, but party hard

Netherlands 2 South Africa 0 The action off the field on Sunday was so much more satisfying than the action on the field as the Netherlands brushed past a wasteful South Africa at the Sydney Football Stadium to tee up a quarter-final clash with Spain. A fortunate goal from point-blank range by Jill Roord andContinue reading “Oranje fail to convince, but party hard”

Here’s what you didn’t see on TV

Wednesday night saw a goalfest at the Sydney Football Stadium as France and Panama came together in the final group stage game of a tense Group F. While everyone else was watching the crunch game between Brazil and Jamaica, this mis-match between two teams at opposite ends of the football spectrum threw up some fabulousContinue reading “Here’s what you didn’t see on TV”

Sydney kicks off the World Cup hype

Over four thousand Sydneysiders braved baltic conditions and a super-early start to welcome the world to Australia, marking 25 days to go before the opening games of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in July. This was a first chance for the squadron of volunteers to apply their skills, a first opportunity for all the mediaContinue reading “Sydney kicks off the World Cup hype”

First-half blitz sees Matildas home

A devastating first half of fast-running, direct football from the Matildas blew away their opponents Spain in the big-ticket fixture of the 2023 edition of the Cuppa Nations at Sydney’s Commbank Stadium on Sunday. The visiting powerhouse was wasteful in front of goal until late in the game when they clawed back two goals toContinue reading “First-half blitz sees Matildas home”

2022 : A year in football pictures

The footballing year has come to an end, here’s a brief look back on the year in a few slideshows of photos from my phone. The number of these photos taken in wild weather is testament to the crazy conditions we’ve faced as supporters, players and referees this year. I’ve attended a 30-game season ofContinue reading “2022 : A year in football pictures”

Sat 03/12/2022 : Argentina given a fright by battling Aussies

There was no way that our first, and probably only, meal of the day was going to be labelled as a breakfast. No one was surfacing at any time that resembled breakfast time, and rightly so after another night that extended into the early hours. This was it, the final game of our World CupContinue reading “Sat 03/12/2022 : Argentina given a fright by battling Aussies”

Fri 02/12/2022 : Uruguay on their knees, angry Serbs undone by Swiss

We arrived at the final day of the group stage games with a lot on our minds. We had managed to get our flights changed (and free of charge!) so we could attend the Socceroos’ Round of 16 game against Argentina. We didn’t yet have match tickets though, but there had been an expression ofContinue reading “Fri 02/12/2022 : Uruguay on their knees, angry Serbs undone by Swiss”

Thu 01/12/2022 : Morocco magic, Japan keep Spain sweating

The Socceroos were through. We had a big night that night, and the knowledge that Australia were up against the might of Argentina in the next game was beginning to sink in. This was a very lazy morning, where I typed up the match report for the Denmark game and uploaded all the photos toContinue reading “Thu 01/12/2022 : Morocco magic, Japan keep Spain sweating”