Observations From Telstra Stadium

Twin One and I attended at the Soccer World Cup qualifier tonight at Telstra Stadium. A few observations follow.

It was the noisiest football match I've attended (all codes), and I've attended many. It made for an electric atmosphere. The crowd was well behaved and enthusiastic. Lots of Wallaby jumpers to be seen.

The visitors were experts at gamemanship. There seemed to be a ruckus about the state of the game ball at the start of the match. Am I being too cynical by thinking this was an early ploy to unsettle the home team? They continually niggled the opposition and milked every advantage they could.

The refereeing was appalling, by far the the worst I've seen. Without the benefit of watching the game on TV, it appeared that many blatant infringements by the visitors were, at best, not seen, or at worst, ignored. For example, early in the game and after an Australian corner, a Uruguayan player seemed to punch an Australian player in the jaw. He should have been sent off. Instead, no action was taken.

The old soccer tradition of taking a minor knock and going down in a screaming heap is alive and well.

The Australian goal was a wonderful thing. Great build up and execution. It was a pity they couldn't repeat it, but then they were playing against a team of 12 players.

Penalty shoot-outs are the worst way of deciding a game. My darkest fear was realised. After been entertained by watching two hours of engrossing play, and I don't state this lightly as it's not my favourite game, it came down to a few penalty shots to decide the outcome. What a shame it had to end that way. Surely there must be a better way?

So, the Australians are on their way to Germany, the soccer establishment can step up their predictions that the game will supercede all others, and SBS can look forward to high ratings next year. Interesting times ahead.