Stirling Hit for Six

Balcatta took apart a rather flat Stirling at Grindleford Park today in a very one sided 6-0 romp over the cross city neighbours. Despite Stirling offering little in resistance and any potency in attack until the last 10 minutes of the game it was a rather hotly contested match with Stirling given 3 red cards to Balcatta's one. Although was hard to see from the strong afternoon sun from the stands and also viewing from one end of the ground the referee seemed to have had moments where the game ran away from him and escalated too quickly. A nightmare for any referee in any match he presides over.

One incident that I have to say is completely and totally unacceptable in any form of sport is the use of insulting comments directed towards another player that are personal and or not socially acceptable in public. A Stirling player went 'tropo' as an illustrious prime minister would say after comments from a Balcatta player from a rather minor altercation from a challenge in Stirling's attacking half.

I am not interested in being reprimanded by Football West about this because the player was clearly in severe distress over the comments made and would not calm himself down and as a result had to be substituted by a very angry Stirling manager. The risk of a fourth red card is something no team wants to experience when you're already 6 goals down.

Despite the poor control of the match from the referee the game didn't have any other major incidents of that nature and the final score was 6 goals to nil in favour of Balcatta. Stirling have hit a terrible patch of form and hopefully the end of the season improves for the Lions.

It was my first time at Grindleford with the new stand completed and I must say she's a beauty. It isn't Wembley or the Maracana however football clubs have to start somewhere and I can see some great potential to this new stand for the future. (I was having a chat about additions, the home improver in me was in full gear that afternoon!) Again I have to clarify to some angry Balcatta supporters the fact I was never against the stand I was just suggesting the protection from the sun may have to be improved as it was very bright!

Food and drink there have improved since I first ventured to Grindleford. Their continental roll was delicious as always; light and fresh bread with a fine selection of cold cuts to keep you going watching the game. These were 7 dollars and are fantastic with a cider at 7 also. Peroni and Crown were also on sale there but due to work commitments post match I had to keep myself down to the one cider. Cool drinks were at 2 dollars and great to see the children there excited about the football and playing side games of their own.

Balcatta have laid the foundations for a great home ground here and it is brilliant to see NPLWAU sides following the criteria set by Football West in order to improve and develop the league to the next level. We want to see the game continue to grow and therefore club home's need to also. Excited to make another visit to Grindleford as always!

Sorrento Grind Down Bayswater

Bayswater huffed and puffed but could not blow the Sorrento house down in their FFA Cup encounter with the amount of chanced that were created by them throughout the match.
Sorrento scored early in the encounter and didn't really look to threaten for the rest of the match only just trying to keep the pressing Bayswater at bay.

Bayswater were unlucky not to score but were creating many chances so there was something positive to take out of the first half from the hosts. Bayswater resumed the attack in the second half with the visitors not posing as a serious threat, though with the odd deep counter only to be cleared from the Bayswater defence. Towards the closing stages of the second half Bayswater secured an excellent equaliser that stunned Sorrento. Sorrento could only stone-wall the hungry Bayswater for so long. Always a dangerous tactic to play when you score early in a cup fixture Sorrento had to take it now to extra time.

Nothing outstanding during the two halves of extra time although some close chances from both sides with Bayswater with the lions share of those during the 30 minutes. With no breakthrough during this period it had to go down to penalty kicks.

Much like their game against the Metrostars in the NPL play-off, Baywater bottled the penalties in extremely disappointing fashion. With the pressure off them Sorrento only just had to put them past the keeper like it was a training exercise on a Thursday night.
What I must say was the ground announcer, despite being unable to pronounce any player on the park got the calls for the penalty shoot-out completely wrong. Announcer started the proceedings as "1-1" when in fact it starts at "0-0". So you can imagine the confusion on everyone when the announcer called "3-3" when in fact Bayswater had already missed on two occasions. If you are going to announce on the PA to a large crowd, make sure you get the basics right I would have imagined?

Food was a bit of a let down again at Frank Drago because it was quite a large turn out and again the hosts misjudged the situation and ran out of food early into the second half. Therefore no burgers or chips that would have gone down a treat on such a cold day. They did have toasted sandwiches but a Bayswater burger with the lot was what I was wanting. It was a bit like Bayswater on the park. Just missing that x-factor.

Where the hosts let me down on food they never fail me in the beverage department with Bulmer cider and plenty of other beverages you could want. Good value and 9 dollars a bottle better than a pub, better still you're watching live football and giving back to the football community.

Congratulations Sorrento on capitalising on the mistakes to advance to the next stage. Another slip up by what you would now start to call them the NPLWAU heavy-weights which will leave them ruing the myriad of missed opportunities and what could have been. As they say, there is always next season...

Perth Keep Valiant Gwelup at Bay

Gwelup Croatia took on Perth SC at Dorrien Gardens for the FFA Cup match that could see a massive upset for this season's FFA Cup, however it was not to be although not without a fight. Gwelup really pushed Perth to the very end and really showed the true metal of an NPL side to try and adapt and dig deep to put away a plucky, determined yet quality side.
Perth's defence was rather shaky and despite the very windy, wet and miserable conditions they should have adjusted to these conditions. Gwelup are a sharp side with a lot of experience lead by Steven McGarry and adjusted better than the hosts.
Misstimed kicks by Perth and ridiculous kicks taken by their keeper placed themselves under immense pressure but Gwelup being a amateur side fell victim to some moments where Perth got their acts together. As we know in football you can be completely and utterly out-played for most of the game but if you can string a few moments of solid game play together and score from them then it doesn't matter right? That is what Perth did against Gwelup and it's a shame that they are out as they would most certainly have put Sorrento to the sword after watching that dour match at Bayswater.

Perth ended up running out 4-3 winners thanks to some excellent match day announcing at the ground. Very clear, succinct and able to pronounce any player names without any errors.

Perth never failed in the food and drink stakes, although i must make this point of complaint. As a host club, you should know that these matches will get a few more people turning up and watching. To run so low and run out on a few items is a bit of a let down and in fear of leaving a bad impression on these new guests I hope that they come back to watch more NPL or Sunday football as supporting your true local community is what it is all about.

The burger was not a burger but was in a hot dog roll which was funny. The classic Perth SC burger was still in there and boy did it hit the spot on such cold conditions. 7 dollars for a good burger sure beats any over-priced pub burger. A Perth visit wouldn't be complete without having some pasta. tomato pasta sauce with penne was another winner although due to so many people was served on plates but smaller servings for the same price which was a shame.

Cider was for 5 dollars and the usual offerings of Peroni were on tap which was always a ground favourite. Another great afternoon out to Dorrien, Perth SC are sitting on a great thing so close to the city and hopefully with a good crowd like that can see them coming back and enjoying football over many pints of Peroni.

Guest Piece - My Culinary Experience in the West Indies

When the PFF asked me to do a culinary blog on my test match to the West Indies, I deliberated before agreeing to deliver it an international flavour. It was a mystery of what I would be served? However, it was the best food I have ever tasted at a sporting event.

There is competing food outlets at the venue, with many serving goat curry, patties, jerk chicken and pork, fried chicken and other Caribbean delights. It was superb and is what happens when you have many small businesses with chefs cooking the food.

The patty was breakfast for Day 1, as I arrived at this magnificent home of cricket in Jamaica. It was slightly spicier than a normal pie, but was a familiar taste of home. As a former British colony the influences were clear. I then snuck into the Kingston Cricket Club at lunch time and tried the Goat Curry, amongst an historic clubroom with data of many players 100’s and double centuries at grounds around the world. For club food, it was good, but spicy and the food in the rest of the stands were much better. With beer and water being delivered to seats, it was heaven and an experience you just don’t get at test matches in Australia. I mean, a breeze all day, shade that I didn't get at the WACA and now they are serving beers to our seats. Fair to say, that I was in seventh heaven.

Day 2-4 I tried Jerk Pork, Chicken, Fried Chicken, often served with rice, banana chips and more patties.

The food was $5-6 and was incredibly filling for that lunch time break. I noticed that on Day 1, the Hot Dog stand was right outside of the Fanatics tour groups area and it sold out before the end of the day, they didn't make this mistake on future days.

As I prepare myself for the Aussie Cricket summer, I find that the whole days experience, $20 tickets, cheap food, a strong breeze that lasts all day will not be replicated when I get back to the WACA for the test series. Not only was there great food, Sabina Park is a truly special venue. It is one of the world’s great cricket venues with a presence and feel that is not replicated in my home cities test venue. However walking to a test from home will be a special experience.

Perhaps the one sad element was the potential that future tests will be no more in the Caribbean. Young kids want to play Twenty/20, Walsh’s bar has been overtaken by Gayle's and the world game is far more popular with the youth of Jamaica. 1000 Australian’s took advantage of the romanticism that is a journey for cricket to the grounds of Sobers, Richards and Lara. How many more years will young Australian’s like myself get to experience the magic of test cricket in the Caribbean?

Views and opinions expressed in this article represent the guest writer and not of the Punctual Football Fan.

Force of the Brumbies

The ACT Brumbies were just too good against the Western Force on Friday night at nib Stadium with a 33-20 win. While I am a supporter of perhaps some historically poorer performing teams in their life-spans you have to ask yourself about how much can a fan tolerate of atrocious performances after ten years of being in the competition. While it definitely tests you, you know that you will be back next year to cheer them on to try and improve. I guess it's like an addicted gambler; they just say "one more time" in the hope that they will come good.

Was 21-6 at half time to the visitors and with two late tries for the Force it certainly made the scoreline look impressive. I once again did not purchase any food there at the ground due to the prices and poor quantity and average quality. However members bar with full strength alcohol was at 8 dollars was worth having a pint or 2 to get something out of the average match.

While I continue to avoid food at nib I encourage you all to keep bringing in your food if you can or eat elsewhere close by before getting to the venue. Soft drinks are 5 dollars each so I wouldn't buy those either at the ground.