Phoenix Shine During a Dark Stormy Day

 No, there was nothing dark or tragic that happened on this day. It was a very dark and gloomy Perth winter's day which was a wet, windy and chilly conditions that are certainly not fun or enjoyable to play football in, or any sport for that matter. However, here we are lucky enough to watch some Sunday Premier Football during these uncertain times. The visitors made the journey up from Bunbury in hopes of the spoils of three points and for most of the match it would look like that it would be nothing more but a frustrating stalemate and share of the spoils at Butlers Reserve.

However, as we or may not know, football can be a rather fickle and frustrating game and the chances were building for both sides as they toiled away on a very wet pitch with a football that was heavy on the foot and the water-soaked pitch was hard on the manoeuvrability of both sides as it was a bit of a muddy affair also. The first half ended goalless and both sides trudged off feeling rather frustrated that they couldn't take their chances during the first 45.

But like the small slither of blue skies that only showed for less than 5 minutes was when the second half proved to be a different affair. It started initially with Wembley pressing and probing for options and their hard work paid off when they opened the scoring in the 60th minute from some tight passing work inside the 6 yard box. It looked like the hosts were going to flex their muscle and gain the upper hand. Despite the dominance in the first half of the second half it wouldn't be capitalised as SW Phoenix snatched an equaliser and this threw the cat amongst the pigeons and rattled Wembley. Wembley did manage to build steam and push forward and mount some serious threats to the Phoenix's goal but it came to nothing as the visitors had managed to crack open the defence of the hosts to score their second to hit the lead in the 80th minute when it looked like it would conclude as a battled draw with squandered opportunities.

It wasn't until six minutes later in the 86th minute that the visitors from Bunbury had mounted a successful counter and broke through the Wembley defence and slotted home their third goal of the match and to ensure that the points would make the two hour journey with them back to Bunbury. The match finished 3-1 to SW Phoenix.   

Now onto the food. It was a very chilly, soaking wet day as it was a rather stormy Perth winter's day so was great to be warm from the food but also refreshed by the drinks on offer. The hotdogs went down a treat at 4 dollars and the beers on hand were fantastic. I do enjoy a Boddington's draught and this was the perfect time to have a refreshing draught, watching football during a stormy day. The beers were 8 dollars and there was Peroni and also Guinness available as well as Corona. Cool drinks were obviously available and were at the usual 2.50.

It was a great afternoon, despite the weather to head down to Scarborough to watch some local football. Especially during these difficult times it is important to get down and support your local clubs and help them out if you can. Hopefully things improve for those who are unable to do so. 

The Return of Football

Well the title may be rather misleading as football in some shape or form hasn't 'gone away' due to the Wuhan Flu or CCP virus (no i wont call it what people are saying), football in Perth was put on hold until restrictions were eased. Now that this has happened we have football returning, this edition is Perth hosting Floreat Athena. A good game to go to where two historical heavy hitters of Western Australian football take to the field yet again for the spoils. So I watched a decent game bathed in beautiful Perth warm, bright and sunny sunshiny winter's day.

Perth were the stronger side during over the first half but were just unable to convert the dominance of possession into the tangible dominance of scoring goals. Floreat to their credit, held firm and were able to scramble their lines from the Perth danger and were probing during many counter attacks. Only to be denied by the Azzurri regularly. The arm-wrestle between the two league heavyweights didnt really swing greatly to either side until Perth had a player sent off for a second yellow card offence which gave Floreat the numerical advantage to muscle their way into the contest and take control. Which they did by breaking the dead lock in the second half. Late in the second half Floreat were able to double their lead as Perth just didn't have the depth to keep out the visitors, nor mount a threatening counter or offence to try and pip one back. The game finished 2-0 in favour of Floreat.

It was also as usual, a pleasure to be at Dorrien Gardens to watch football as Perth SC have great food and beverage facilities and if you wish to drink inside you can enjoy the sweeping views of the ground and the quaint tight community feel of this corner of West Perth in the inner city. Peroni were 10 dollars and went down a treat. I know many people seem to be savouring these even more so now that wuhan flu restrictions have been eased. While the beer to me tastes no different than before, I can totally understand as it just feels great to be able to watch sport, talk away with your friends and just enjoy a refreshing beverage at a fantastic venue.

Now I have to also add that the pasta was very good, yes on the over-cooked side of things, but this isn't you cooking at home, this is to cater for 1000 or so people at the venue. But the sauce and sprinkling of Parmesan was delightful and yes I did buy two generously filled servings at 5 dollars a serve. I didn't know but Perth have chips with cheese and gravy available and for the same price looked and smelled great. Hot dogs were 3 dollars a pop, with the bread either being your standard white bread affair or even ones with sesame seeds. Which used to for burgers but not for hot dogs, which tasted really good. Then to finally round off the food I did have some soft drinks at the standard $2.50 fare to cap off a great afternoon at Dorrien. Yet again was a treat to head down and will always keep coming back.