Sky Blues Take All the Glory

In a dominating display on a balmy yet pleasant evening at nib Stadium saw Perth host Sydney FC. Perth were showing a fair amount of promise in the first half with Sydney's defence put under a few headaches and lucky at times not to concede to the hosts. However the Glory opened the account with a scramble and cross to Taggart who slotted home the opening goal of the game and things were looking pretty good for the hosts; or so you would think.

Immediately Sydney scored and scores were level. This was the turning point of the match where Sydney were just too good and Perth just were bereft of any ideas of how to combat a rampant sky blues onslaught. A ridiculous penalty was given in the second half towards the end of proceedings and it just capped off just how poor the hosts were and have been this season. Serious question marks should be raised in regards to Kenny Lowe and his tactics, coaching, responsiveness and his recruitment. Players look like they are in low gear and not 100 percent and this is a huge concern as a fan because there will be no chance if they perform like this.

I also noticed that Zullos was berating Vukovic which seemed utterly uncalled for as Zullo almost allowed Perth to sneak a goal against the run of play which turned into a public spat on the football pitch. I hope there isn't anything more to it than a heated formation lapse in concentration.

Despite the rubbish I was watching I had a kransky from the outlet as I had no food prior due to my previous commitments earlier during the day and afternoon. They are 9.80 a pop and a cool drink is of course 5 dollars. I resented buying it but I was without refreshments for a little bit and I was hungry since 3pm so I needed this. While the kransky is good and very delicious they are not at all worthy of 9.80 price tag. I do not think that we will see a fall in stadium food in Western Australia for quite sometime despite the mining sector in a trough and consumer spending is not at an all time frivolous high like during a peak time when the industry was booming. The soft drinks again, are not worth 5 dollars but are not such an extortion as the food at the venue. I normally would boycott the food to send a message to the pricing, but sadly I was in a position where I had no choice due to my punctuality from my previous commitment at Lilac Hill.

While I suggest the food is delicious and worthy of actually holding in your hands and sinking your teeth into while watching Perth frustrate you to no end through their extremely limited ability, the price just is not worth it. Once again may I suggest you go to a place before going to the game. Heck try going to McDonalds around the corner and get more bang for your buck than nib Stadium.

A Historical Night To Be Forgotten

Perth Glory played host to the Central Coast Mariners on a historical night for the Western Australian football club. This is Perth Glory's 20th year in top flight Australian football and their 11th in the Hyundai A-League which they hosted their opening game against the Mariners in 2005. The stage was set on a very cool moist October Saturday night with Steve Armstrong coming back to a huge round of applause and cheers as he sang Glory classic theme songs and fired up the crowd. Due to the Perth Wildcats being on at the same time and the bad weather certainly kept fair weathered Perth sports fans at home, the 20th year celebrations from the club endorsed purge of the terrace supporters end a little underwhelming and modest. However I must say that these guys despite vowing to boycott the team have come back to show that they love the team far more and beyond the idiotic and ridiculous decisions of the people in control at Pier Street.
Perth came out of the blocks and dominated against the visitors. Taggart put 2 past the woeful and shaky Gosford defence and a penalty from Castro put us up at half time with a 3 goal to nil lead. However tactical brilliance from the manager Kenny Lowe by substituting Taggart, Castro and leaving Keogh as the only option, we took our feet off the pedals and hands off the wheel. We were heading for certain disaster and it proved correct. The Mariners chipped away and eventually levelled by scoring 3 goals. 3 simple school-boy error defending and a foolish penalty to give away the third goal. That is some terrible football i witnessed and I hope that Lowe and the team can bounce back from this as you shouldn't be losing to the Mariners like this who are just simply terrible of late.

I didnt have any food but I was given a slice of some pizza from one of my agents who said the pizza was at 13 dollars. While that is definitely on the steep side the pizza was very tasty and hot. But for a small pizza and you paying for something way higher than something at Dominos or Pizza Hut should have a bit more 'beef' in it pardon the pun.

Well there ends a disappointing opening game of the 2016/17 Hyundai A-League season for Perth Glory. Central Coast would feel that they got a 1 point win out of that encounter and I would have to agree. Perth looked utterly sluggish and as if they didn't have a pre-season at all.

Wallabies Bounce Over The Plucky Pumas

Perth played host to another instalment of the Rugby Championship under lights on a cold chilly September night at nib Stadium. The hosts came bursting out of the blocks early to post two tries early but the Argentines managed to claw back the lead of the Australians and made the game difficult for the hosts. The return of Quade Cooper really didn't add much to the side's performance as the team performed rather well without his presence. A wheelie bin would have done a better job than Quade and I am terribly sorry but it is perhaps time to draw the curtain on his international career for Australia. The second half was a poor start with the game rather stale and stagnant. Both teams struggling with the ball and trying to capitalise on any mistakes.

Even with the occasional sin bin no team could hit the opposition for six and was hard work for both teams. I noticed that the Argentines were receiving more medical treatment during play. I hope that the team is alright and not affected by the arduous task of flying long distances in a relatively short period for rugby. The Wallabies managed to hold out the visitors and run home 36 to 20 winners. Hopefully a strong showing against South Africa can secure Australia in second place after the All Blacks have once again effectively stitched up the championship.

As for food, I did not buy any food at the venue as it is overpriced and the alcohol especially is mid strength and overpriced for this. Forking out 100 dollars for a ticket which in itself is a joke makes it difficult for people who arent exactly rolling in cash. But this is rugby and perhaps I am not in rugby's demographic. With that said it makes boycotting food due to the highway robbery nature of it easier. So I will continue this avoision, yes I said avoision...

Trinity Aquinas Break Drought Over Scarborough

Was witness to a little bit of Western Australian Amateur Football League (WAAFL) history today at Bassendean Oval when Trinity Aquinas defeated Scarborough in a very tightly and tough contested grand final match. Trinity Aquinas won the game 7.14-56 to 6.8-44 with a scare in the last quarter almost saw Scarborough clinch the match. But Trinity-Aquinas were too strong in the end and through their strong performance in the 3rd quarter did just enough to hold on to the win to break the drought.
There was a decent crowd at Bassendean Oval today as there were colts and reserves on earlier so a few did stick around to watch the league game. Entry was 10 for adults and 5 for concession so it wasn't too bad to fork this money out for amateurs, very much like NPL. Drinks were 3 dollars for soft drinks, spirits were 10 dollars and beer was 8 dollars. They had VB, Carlton Draught, Pure Blonde & Carlton Mid. The usual spirits were the pre-mixed stuff so was Smirnoff, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and Bundaberg Rum.

Was a good day at the football to watch some amateur football, especially since the last time I watched a game was at this ground some 20 years ago to watch a combined Balcatta-Osborne Park side win their first title.

Perth Glorious In Friendly At Inglewood

Perth Glory took on a combined side of Floreat Athena and Inglewood United at Inglewood Stadium on a very cold, chilly Friday night under the back-drop of some fine quality dancing and singing from a plethora of classic songs from the function in the club-rooms. Now we all know that this was a pre-season friendly for Perth Glory so the score doesn't really mean too much except for good exercise for the players leading into the upcoming A-League season proper. Perth were by far the most dominating of the combined side and ended up running out to 8 goals to nil winners. The second half was a rather dour and boring affair but towards the end it sparked into life with five late goals to take it from a 3-0 lead at half time to 8.

The usual fair at Inglewood United wasn't too bad. You had spirits at 8 dollars and hot-dog at 4 dollars. Although they said they were calling out to me all night for my order which was the first time i heard them call the number. So that was a bit rough. All in all it was very tasty but the outside elements were cooling down the hot-dog at a rapid rate. Jack Daniels and Jim Beam pre-mixes seemed to be the choice of the night but there were beers available and cold drinks also.

I also have to add that the parking of some spectators was very poor due to them double parking over bays. Incredibly frustrating to say the least!

Matildas Fluff Their Lines Against The Germans

I had the privilege to visit Sao Paulo during my holiday in Brazil this year to watch Australia play Germany in the women's Olympic football tournament. I must apologise for the lateness of this article and the following Olympic games articles as I have been incredibly busy with work, university and personal issues being a priority than to the articles. So I thank you all for being very patient with me.
Australia were the weaker side to the Germans on paper and also on the park. It was just so incredibly painful to watch the Matildas string passes to each other and pressing forward was just so incredibly frustrating. I wanted to pull my hair out from the sheer frustration I was witnessing in front of my eyes at the new Corinthians stadium on the outskirts of greater Sao Paulo. The stadium is a very well constructed venue and very flash for a football club that gears itself as "a club for the people". An example the stairs have marble slating and have expensive tiling in the vestibules at the back of the grand stands.
Australia despite being out-played took the lead through a fantastic strike and pass to catch the Germans wrong footed to stun the small German contingent and the throngs of Brazilian football fans went into a huge roar as the non-fancied Australians took the lead. However it didn't last long and the Germans within the final moments of the first half drew level after the Australians were caught napping. They were usually caught on the back foot but were able to get out of trouble through great goalkeeping or by the Germans just misfiring when they took a shot on goal.

Second half was more or less the same as the first with the Australians really trying to take advantage of the Germans on the counter but were severely poor in finishing when they had the opportunities to go further ahead. However they'd id manage to find their second goal from a fantastic strike which stunned the Brazilian crowd and myself also. However all hands were on deck as they were fighting an eventual losing battle to keep the German tide out and they within the last few minutes they squared the game with a second goal. Germany and Australia ran out 2-2 in the end.

As the food and drink it was reasonably priced for the Olympics in Brazil. It was widely criticised in Brazil about the price for drink and food at the venues. I can totally understand as Brazil is a developing nation on a whole where there is now a rising middle class who have been elevated from levels of poverty which is fantastic but people's wallets can only go so far. Skol was for 13 reais ($5.50), Not a bad beer but certainly a good beer to have when you are out at the game and it is an easy beer to drink.
The ice-creams were rock solid. I am not kidding! They were ice cold and hard but the chocolate and vanilla ice cream was very nice. They were at 10 reais or about 4.50 dollars and not cheap for Brazilians. Cool drink was around the 8 reais mark which is roughly 3 dollars and 30 cents. There was huge uproar about the food being (for me) similar to Australian stadium prices which even we are a bit uncomfortable about, this is outrageous for Brazilian sporting fans. I had to go easy on the beers, ice creams and burgers (they were around 6 dollars which is about 15 reais) as it was burning a bit of a hole in my finances and I was on a limited budget for my revised trip to Brazil.

Well my first Olympics experience in my life at the Rio games and would I do it again? I don't know it is hard to say but it sure was very entertaining and a fun time to be in Brazil.

Jaguares Finish Strong Against Lions

Was the final week of the 2016 Super Rugby Championship and I had the fortunate pleasure of being in Buenos Aires for the final game of the season for the Jaguares. They played host to the table topping Lions of South Africa and despite a brave effort against the Highlanders the week prior, the crowd was hoping for another good performance against much better opposition.

The Lions were in control for the first 25 minutes of the match with the hosts starting to string some good phases together and starting to cause the visitors some discomfort. The Argentines were now starting to really push the Lions who were leading to the line and managed to get over the line for a few tries to push the score into the hosts favour.

There were moments in the second half where the Lions were pushing and certainly looked threatening, but to the credit of the Jaguares they held their shape and positioning and managed to be effective on the counter. Yes, to be fair the team does consist of almost the entire Argentine national rugby team but the whole point of the team is to build on their national team to be a competitive rugby nation. I welcome this because it can only have a positive effect to Argentina, but open up their market to Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. Through sport we can open doors and link cultures. That is the beauty of it. The Jaguares were in control in the second half to run out 34 to 22 winner to finish off a first season in the championship. All capped off with the Jaguares mascot flying from the light towers with flares and fireworks.

Now the food. This was at the football ground of Velez Sarsfield and in winter it is bitterly exposed to the cold Argentine winds. I believe the temperature dropped to about 4 degrees and I was foolish and did not take a beanie, gloves or another jacket with me. They had burgers, hot dogs, (pancho) that I could see on offer. The burger was 70, pancho was 20 and cool drinks were 50. which totalled to about 17 dollars Australian. So not too bad as it was stadium prices.

While delicious the burger and hot dogs went cold because of the sheer cold of the stadium, so you had to eat them quickly! Other than that it was very good. I look forward to a hopeful return to watch the Jaguares play.

Jaguares Flair Not Enough Against Highlanders

Was fortunate enough to see the new Argentine Super Rugby franchise play in Buenos Aires as they played host to the Highlanders from New Zealand. It was a very very very cold night at Velez Sarsfield stadium as it probably was around the 5 degree mark. The stadium has no roofs so the wind swirling around was not pleasant. The weather in Buenos Aires is very much like the weather conditions in Australia. I know now because I have been to Argentina during a wonderful summer and now in the cold of winter. I suggest you bring a coat, scarf, beanie and gloves. It gets very sharp here!

The Jaguares played with some flair and did show a lot of promise during the game, which doesn't surprise me as many players played in England and France. The team is effectively the Argentine national side but this can only mean that the national team and the super rugby franchise can improve and further cement rugby union into Argentina and gain a foothold into the Americas. However, the Highlanders were just too strong showing the usual New Zealander pedigree running out to 34 to 8 winners against the hosts.

The food was just usual hamburgers and hot-dogs or panchos as they call them. Burger was 50 pesos and panchos were 20 pesos. Cool drink was 50. So I spent about 18 dollars on a burger, hot-dog and two drinks. But due to it being so cold the food went from piping hot to cold in 5 minutes tops. So be mindful of that! Transport is not bad as there is a rail station a few blocks away and goes to Once station. which is for suburban trains servicing the west of Buenos Aires city centre area.

All in all a great night out and a fantastic way to experience rugby Argentine style!

Wet Conditions See Lions Home

Was wet and cold at Macedonia Park for another FFA Cup 5th round fixture which saw a very soggy ground and cold, battered and possibly bruised players grind out a result. Stirling were the better side of the first half against Perth SC, despite the visitors taking the lead with a fifth minute strike from Catarcione. The first few minutes did motivate and rattle Stirling as they took control of the first half and posted goals in the 29th and 37th minutes from Sesay and Petkov respectively.
The second half however was all Perth with the sky blues pressing relentlessly in the terrible wet conditions causing all sorts of trouble for the Lion's defensive lines. However with gritty defending and poorly timed shots from the visitors, Stirling held out for a 2-1 win to progress to the sixth round to take on Curtin University.

I'm not sure if it was due to a cup fixture but I certainly do miss the days going to Macedonia Park and helping myself to a few olives and feta at the bar. I always enjoyed that nice touch there and reminded me of my own family experiences. Due to the cold weather conditions I was just too late to enjoy a burger as they were snapped up too fast. Although I did enjoy some chips with curry. Not just ordinary curry sauce but actual chicken curry with sauce and chips! They were fantastic and on a cold wet evening for football was ideal. These were five dollars so was a reasonable price.
Something simple to make at the canteen which was a winner were the ham, cheese and tomato toasties. At three dollars they were great to have while watching the football and a bit of a favourite of mine at Macedonia Park. Cool drinks were 2.50 and corona was 7 dollars so pretty much stock standard prices there for an NPL side. They did have some promotional stuff such as chilli twisties which I took off their hands for a dollar and wasn't too bad. I have to say I am not a huge fan of the flavours outside of the two default options of theirs; chicken and cheese.

Another enjoyable night at Macedonia Park to watch two good sides battle it out in the cup. Although given the lighting was not very good it would still be a shame if Stirling have to play their game out at a neutral venue like the athletics stadium like last time. This ground has heart and atmosphere of the community and hopefully locals brave what ever elements are thrown at them by mother nature and support their team.