A Ride On Solomon's Carpet

Some say the FA Cup is the ultimate football fantasy. A tiny club goes on a dream run, punches above their weight, beats a few teams and then comes up against a giant, in a David and Goliath battle.

Well, all the way over in the Pacific Ocean, on the small archipelago nation of Solomon Islands, there was a truly incredible football journey occurring over the past few months.

Tiny Kossa FC, based in the capital Honiara, with a side full of amateurs and beach soccer players, went on a dream run with the goal in sight of a spot in the World Club Cup in Tokyo this December alongside the likes of European champions Manchester United and South American powerhouse Boca Juniors.

It all began in 2007 when Kossa, despite never having won any silverware before, managed to win the National Club Championship in the Solomon Islands. It wasn’t easy for Kossa, having to scrape through the semi-final in extra-time and winning the final against Koloale FC by the odd goal in a seven-goal thriller.

But their unexpected domestic success entitled them to a place in the 2007-2008 O-League, which is effectively the Champions League of Oceania played out between the best teams of New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti and many other Pacific Islands’ countries. The winner of this competition would earn a lucrative position in the World Club Cup and an estimated US$500,000 for being part of the Tokyo-based tournament.

Kossa were drawn in a tough group with more seasoned and experienced clubs. In their group was Tafea FC of Vanuatu who hold the amazing record of 14 consecutive domestic titles along with Ba, or as they are affectionately known the ‘Men In Black’, who are a Fijian club who were the beaten finalists of the previous O-League.

Again despite being underdogs, Kossa fought above their weight. The opening two matches were played in Honiara and they managed a win and a draw before they ventured into international territory for the first time in the club’s history.

The Solomon Islanders memorably secured a draw in Vanuatu before they travelled to Fiji. In Ba, Kossa pulled off an unlikely yet comfortable 4-2 victory against a side, which had never been beaten on their home ground in the O-League before.

Kossa, who had attracted crowds of over 10,000 to their two O-League home matches at Lawson Tama Stadium, had won through to the final much to the delight of their patriotic fans.

In the final, Kossa would face another mighty challenge, coming up against reigning Oceania champions and New Zealand premiers Waitakere United who had players such as former All-Whites international captain Danny Hay and ex-Norwich City and Wolverhampton midfielder Neil Emblen.

For a group of amateurs from a small Pacific nation with a population of just over half a million people this would be a massive task.

Nonetheless, they certainly had one thing going for them as Kossa coach Jacob Moli explained “we will be carrying the pride of Solomon Island football with us onto the field”. Unlike most other Pacific countries, football is number one in the Solomons over rugby and such a club’s international success had been greeted with much pride and patriotism throughout the nation.

Indeed the final, which would be played over two-legs with the first in Honiara before the return a fortnight later in West Auckland, attracted a massive crowd to Lawson Tama Stadium.

Despite some 20,000 fans cramming into a stadium with a capacity of only around ten thousand on a hot and humid day, it would be a day of much pleasure for the locals.

After about 20 minutes the fans went into raptures, when Kossa’s James Naka launched a long-range shot which came off the crossbar into striker Joe Luwi’s path and he calmly tucked away the rebound to give the home side the lead.

Twenty minutes later, it was two and the stadium was truly alive. Luwi again was in the right spot at the right time when Kossa’s Papua New Guinean Reginald Dawani had a shot parried into Luwi’s feet and he again clinically took his chance. Soon the half-time whistle sounded and it was party time at Lawson Tama Stadium.

The New Zealanders, who had struggled with the heat in the first 45 minutes, regrouped during the break and got a goal back just after half-time but Naka sealed the deal late in the game with a third for Kossa. Naka dribbled past a host of Waitakere players before a lovely deft finish confirmed the 3-1 victory and a crucial two-goal advantage ahead of the second leg. It also brought about screams of joy from the local fans, who thought their side had one foot on the plane to Japan.

So too did some of the Kossa players, as Naka admitted after the game “when we went 2-0 up I was so happy and the thought went through my mind for the first time that we could be representing Oceania”. Coach Moli tried to calm things down ahead of the second leg as to ensure his side didn’t get ahead of themselves, because the Auckland trip would be their most difficult assignment yet.

Indeed two weeks later in West Auckland at Trusts Stadium it would be tough. When rain fell ten minutes prior to kick-off, the field became slippery thus making conditions unfamiliar for Kossa and only making there task the harder.

Things didn’t start well too for Kossa, as they tried to adapt to the conditions. Waitakere scored after just eight minutes, ironically through Solomon Islands’ international Benjamin Totori, when he slipped a low shot under Kossa’s goalkeeper Severino Aefi.

Then after 25 minutes, the Kiwis had a second through Welshman Chris Bale who guided home Emblen’s goalbound header. Waitakere had a slight advantage in the tie on away goals but one Kossa goal would turn that around.

That was the way the match would stay for the next three quarters of an hour as Kossa began to adjust to the conditions. Indeed, there were moments of individual flair from several Kossa players as they suggested they may be able to turn the tie on its head with a goal. Still though there was no breakthrough and the match was tensely poised with plenty at stake.

But Solomon Islands’ hearts were shattered with quarter of an hour to go when Waitakere’s top scorer Allen Pearce broke the deadlock with a third for the hosts. Pearce would add another minutes later as Kossa suddenly realised their dreams had come to an end. Waitakere would eventually run out 5-0 winners and broke out the bubbly to celebrate when the final whistle sounded.

Kossa on the other hand were left dejected. It had been an incredible journey but in West Auckland it had all come to a grinding halt. There was disappointment etched all over the Kossa players’ faces as it was a big chance missed.

In hindsight though, after all the initial disappointment has faded away, the Honiara club will remember this fondly. They had lost nothing and gained a wonderful experience. Moli again summed it up when he said “to our fans I would like to thank you for all your support, it was a great ride for Solomon Island football.”

Indeed, it was a great ride not just for Solomon Island football but for all fans of the underdog. Perhaps now we should all support Waitakere United, who’ll be the underdog in Tokyo this December. And you never know, football is a strange game.

Oops, Freo Have Done It Again

Fremantle's horror season has continued this afternoon after they lost to Carlton at Telstra Dome after leading again at three-quarter time.

The Blues overcame a 3 point three-quarter time deficit to defeat the Dockers 14.13 (97) to 14.4 (88).

The result means Carlton move to tenth on the ladder whilst Fremantle have now lost six matches consecutively and four of those have been on the trot after leading at the final break, a record which hasn't been seen since the St Kilda side of 1940.

Fremantle's loss will be all the more devastating after they had fought back from a three goal deficit in the third term to lead by ten points during the final quarter, only to be overrun again by their opposition.

Dockers' skipper Matthew Pavlich goaled early in the final term to give his side their ten point advantage, but Carlton replied through Andrew Carrazzo before Nick Stevens put the Blues ahead.

Pavlich, who during the week was vocal about the fact his side were not chokers, then had the chance to regain the lead for Fremantle with a simple set shot from 20 metres only for his kick to hit the post. Minutes later Pavlich again had a chance for the Dockers when he attempted a tough snap on goal when perhaps he had better options in field.

Carlton soon made the Dockers pay when Darren Pfeiffer sealed the victory whe he goaled miraculously from the pocket late in the match.

The match see-sawed throughout although it could be argued Carlton deserved the four points as their midfield were the more impressive despite Fremantle ruckman Aaron Sandilands' dominance of the hit-outs. The Blues lead at the first two breaks of the game with Nick Stevens everywhere and Adam Bentick on top of Dockers' youngster Rhys Palmer.

Fremantle though, were dangerous in attack with Pavlich (4 goals) and Chris Tarrant (3 goals) proving too difficult for the Blues makeshift key defenders, who were without fullback Bret Thornton after he was a late withdrawal for the eventual match-winner Pfeiffer.

The Dockers stormed back into the contest in the third term with four consecutive goals as they took the lead for the first time since the 22-minute mark of the opening quarter.

Unfortunately for the visitors though, their poor final quarter record proved their undoing again as Carlton kicked three goals to one in the last to win a thriller.

Carlton 4.3 7.7 11.10 14.13.97
Fremantle 3.1 7.11 13.1 14.4.88
Carlton goals; Fisher 2, Betts 2, Scotland 2
best; Stevens, Bentick, Carrazzo, Gibbs, Fisher
Fremantle goals; Pavlich 4, Tarrant 3, Farmer 2
best; Pavlich, Ibbotson, Grover, Palmer
at Telstra Dome

Reds Qualify

Adelaide United has created history by becoming the first Hyundai A-League side to make the Asian Champions League quarter-finals.

United reached the final eight after a tense 0-0 draw away at Changchun Yatai was enough to see them top Group E ahead of the Chinese side.

The Reds, knowing all they needed from the match was a draw, did it the hard way, as they absorbed barrage after barrage from Changchun in the first-half.

Changchun should have been ahead after just four minutes when Cao Tianbao failed to make the most of a three-on-two situation after he had rounded Reds’ goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic.

Galekovic was unconvincing in the opening twenty minutes and with left-sided midfielder Du Zhenyu causing problems, it was an uneasy opening stanza for the visitors.

Changchun could have gone ahead again, when they took a quick free kick which allowed big Ivory Coast forward Guillaume Dah Zadi enough time to lash a bending shot in on goal, but despite beating Galekovic, the ball hit the woodwork.

Adelaide’s best chance of the half came through centre back Sasa Ognenovski who got on the end of a Kristian Sarkies corner but couldn’t direct his header on goal.

The hosts had dominated possession in the first-half but failed to make the most of it and it seemed to frustrate them after the break. Changchun’s best player Du Zhenyu tired and without him they ran out of ideas.

The Reds rode Changchun’s best efforts comfortably and Galekovic’s goal was rarely threatened. United were happy to hold on for a point which would see them through to the quarter-finals.

The tense contest almost came to a head when Du Zhenyu launched a crude challenge on Angelo Costanzo late in the match. While Costanzo was calm about the tackle, fellow defender Ognenovski took offence, and wanted to get involved with the Chinese midfielder. The frustrated Du Zhenyu was soon substituted.

The crowd too got frustrated and disappointingly threw several bottles at United’s Lucas Pantelis when the midfielder went to take a corner. It was fast becoming a grim night for the hosts.

Changchun though, simply ran out of ideas in a lacklustre second-half with long ball after long ball failing to worry the Reds’ defence. Their was a late chance for the hosts from a corner but Ognenovski easily cleared the danger off the line.

In the end, Adelaide celebrated a memorable night having created history. It was also the ideal way to send off retiring veteran Richie Alagich in his last game with the club.

The Reds will find out their next opponents this weekend when the draw for the quarter-finals is announced in Kuala Lumpur. For now though, they will enjoy the moment.

Changchung Yatai 0
Adelaide United 0
Changchun City Stadium

Blues Take Origin Lead

New South Wales have begun this year's State Of Origin series with a strong 18-10 victory over Queensland at ANZ Stadium tonight.

The Blues, who lost the 2007 series 2-1, began the match in style with a try inside the first five minutes before they scored another 2 to have the first three tries of the match.

Queensland hit back with a late first-half try to make the score 14-4 at the break, but the Blues' impressive opening stanza proved too big a mountain to climb for the Maroons.

It was debutant Anthony Quinn who got the Blues going with the first try of the match. Good lead-up work from Greg Bird and Ryan Hoffman got the ball wide on the left to Brett Stewart, although he needed a great take, before he committed Maroons' full-back Billy Slater and fired the ball to Quinn who had time and space for the opener.

New South Wales had most of the attacking possession in the first-half and halfback Peter Wallace was looking good on debut with several dangerous kicks. Queensland tried to fight back in defence especially with Karmichael Hunt landing some big hits on Hoffman.

But the pressure eventually weighed on the Maroons and a Wallace kick was perfectly positioned for Quinn to grab his second try of the night after he out jumped Queensland centre Brent Tate. The conversion was missed but the Blues had a ten nil lead after just twenty minutes. It was the ideal start in front of the home fans.

The next fifteen minutes saw Queensland fight back into the game with Johnathan Thurston getting more involved and the Maroons created a few half opportunities.

The Blues though, went out to a 14-point lead with five minutes to go in the half when forward Anthony Laffranchi offloaded to Stewart who set Mark Gasnier off on a break before the centre returned the ball inside for Stewart to score the try.

New South Wales had their tails wagging going into half-time before the Maroons stunned them with a late try on the siren. Thurston's low kick went in behind the Blues defence and Tate got a hand on the ball to score four points, as was rightly awarded by the video referee. Queensland had something to build on for the second-half.

The early part of the second-half though was riddled with errors. New South Wales's Ben Cross and Queensland's Michael Crocker exchanged mistakes in the middle of the park on early tackles in a matter of seconds. It was clear both sides were getting tired from the fierce contest.

In the 52nd minute, Queensland almost received a lifeline when a deep kick from Wallace put Maroons fullback Billy Slater in trouble but the Melbourne Storm player incredibly dodged the Blues' tackles and almost took the ball the length of the field with help from Greg Inglis. Justin Hodges eventually went close from the play but the Blues managed to ultimately hold Queensland at bay.

Then with fifteen minutes to go, Anthony Quinn's dream debut got better when he forced a mistake from Thurston. From the resulting set, the Blues went over through another debutant Laffranchi. Bird delivered a swift cut-out pass to Gasnier who again used his pace before passing inside for Laffranchi to finish off the Maroons.

Queensland were beaten, but almost got a stunning reply from the next play after a short kick-off. In the last ten minutes, Hodges was held up over the line by Willie Mason and Tate had a video referee decision go against him.

In the dying moments of the second-half, like the first, Queensland managed to score. Israel Folau took his chance when the Maroons found numbers on the left to gain some pride with a late converted try.

It was all too late though for the visitors, as the 67,620 fans went home happy after seeing Craig Bellamy's Blues outplay the Maroons 18-10, to set up another classic series.

NSW 18 (Tries; Quinn 2, Stewart, Laffranchi, Conversions; Fitzgibbon) def Queensland 10 (Tries; Tate, Folau, Conversions; Thurston) Crowd: 67,620

Victory Finish Second

Melbourne Victory have restored some pride from its disappointing Asian Champions League campaign with a 3-1 win over Chonburi tonight taking them to second in Group G.

The Victory finish second in the group on seven points one point ahead of Chunnam Dragons, who drew with Gamba Osaka 1-1 this evening. Gamba finished on 14 points and go through comfortably as the group’s best team.

Melbourne though had their work cut out for them at Telstra Dome tonight against a Chonburi side who took the lead early in the second-half.

Before that, Melbourne had dominated the first-half but wasted several opportunities to open the scoring in a match which lacked intensity.

Rodrigo Vargas and Nick Ward both had chances to score inside the first fifteen minutes of the match but couldn’t convert.

In the 17th minute, Danny Allsopp whipped in an innocuous low cross which was almost deflected into goal by Chonburi defender Nattapong Samana only for goalkeeper Kosin Hathairattanakool to pull off a relieving save.

Chonburi’s best chance of the first half came from a dead-ball situation. Arthit Sunthornpit fired in an inswinging shot towards Melbourne keeper Mitch Langerak’s top corner but the youngster was ready for the danger and pushed the ball away for a corner.

After that Carlos Hernandez saw a free-kick go wide, Allsopp had a stinging shot palmed away by Hathairattanakool and Tom Pondeljak had an opportunistic flick saved again by the goalkeeper before the break.

When the second-half began the intensity didn’t come with it. That came just before the hour mark, after an awful mix-up in Melbourne’s defence. Steven Pace played a ball which put Kevin Muscat under pressure in his own box and Ney Fabiano pounced before he lashed a thunderbolt past Langerak to give the visitors an unlikely lead.

Melbourne responded immediately when Carlos Hernandez whipped in a corner which caused trouble at the near post as Samana blocked the ball on the line only for his clearance to go straight into the goalfront and the path of Muscat who easily slotted the goal to make up for his defensive blunder earlier.

The small crowd of about 10,000 fans began to get excited when Melbourne coach Ernie Merrick brought on Socceroo Archie Thompson after eight weeks out with a knee injury.

Much to the crowd’s delight, Thompson had an immediate impact. Allsopp played a lovely square through-ball past the Chonburi defence as Thompson ran onto it and rounded the goalkeeper before slotting it into the back of the net. In a matter of minutes, the Victory had overcome a one-goal deficit to be in front.

Chonburi responded by bringing on Cameroonian forward Stephane Baga, who memorably scored a cracking goal against Melbourne earlier in the competition, and again caused the Victory’s uncertain defence problems.

Finally though, Melbourne sealed the win when a fast break created a three-on-three situation. Hernandez played Thompson into space on the left side of the box, as Allsopp attracted the attention of two defenders on the right, before Thompson cut the ball back for Hernandez who placed the ball emphatically into the top corner.

There were opportunities for both Baga and Thompson late in the game but neither could take them. Nonetheless, the lively substitutes had given the game something it badly needed.

In the end, despite the match being a dead rubber, Merrick got what he wanted as his side finished second in the group and the fans went home happy on a cold night in Melbourne.

Melbourne Victory 3 (Muscat 56, Thompson 66, Hernandez 76)
Chonburi FC 1 (Ney Fabiano 54)
Crowd: 9958 at Telstra Dome

Profile: Joel Griffiths

With Australia set to face Ghana in a friendly this Friday as preparation for four crucial World Cup qualifiers in June, several fringe Socceroos are readying themselves up for what could be a career-defining month.

One of those players is Joel Griffiths, whose career has taken an unusual path.

Griffiths, 28, is now primed to make his biggest impact on international football following a season of great success in the Hyundai A-League with the Newcastle Jets having won not only the league championship with his club but also personally he claimed the Johnny Warren Medal (for the league’s best player) and the Golden Boot award (for most goals).

For the Sydney-born forward, it has been a difficult journey after such a promising start to his career when he burst onto the scene in the old National Soccer League with Sydney United as an 18 year-old.

At 19 years of age at Sydney United, Griffiths partnered current Socceroo and Derby County forward Mile Sterjovski in a young attack which took the club to a minor premiership and Grand Final in 1999.The pair went onto to be part of the Australian under-20 team later that year in the FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria, along with others such as current Serie A players Marco Bresciano and Vince Grella. Needless to say, it was a big year for Griffiths.

But while his under-20s team mates moved onto careers in Europe, Griffiths endured a tough spell following a move to new NSL franchise Parramatta Power. Unfortunately for Griffiths, things didn’t work out as well as hoped and the next few years he struggled to live up to expectations.

So in 2001 he decided to make the move north from Sydney to Newcastle. It proved a good decision, as he scored 25 goals in 46 appearances in a successful stint with the Jets before thoughts finally moved to a career in Europe.

His European destination would be Neuchâtel, home of Xamax, a tiny club from the Swiss Super League. While it wasn’t a move to a major club, it was a move to Europe, where Griffiths hoped to catch the eye of Socceroo selectors.

Griffiths’ spell in Switzerland was one of transformation for the blonde surfer-turned-striker. The Australian was played as a wide midfielder for Xamax and while he didn’t find the back of the net as much anymore, he certainly made an impact for a side trying to find their feet in the top flight.

It led to interest from English Championship side Leicester City but also interest from the national team. Finally and coincidentally with the appointment of Guus Hiddink as coach of the Socceroos, Griffiths was set for a dream call-up.

At the time Griffiths was candid about his international career, "to be honest, I'd sort of given up on the idea."

Finally on October 9 2005, Griffiths made his full national team debut as Australia trounced Jamaica 5-0 in London. Griffiths memorably came off the bench to score a goal on debut and followed it up by celebrating like a hopping kangaroo. It was a great moment for Griffiths and all this was in the lead up to the 2006 World Cup.

Griffiths was in his final year of his contract with Neuchâtel Xamax at this time and thoughts had drifted to life at a bigger club. The Xamax player said at the time, “I'm out of contract at the end of the season and I'll be ready to go. England is where I'd like to be.”

For whatever reason this mindset seemed to haunt Griffiths as he attempted to make the move from Switzerland. His form dropped with Xamax as the side languished towards the bottom of the Swiss table.

Then when Hiddink named the Australian team to play Uruguay in the crucial two-legged World Cup qualifiers, Griffiths missed the cut.

But that wasn’t close to the worst of it. In January 2006, Griffiths thought he had found his dream deal when he signed an 18-month contract with English Championship side Leeds United but it all went a little crazy.

First of all his move to Leeds was delayed after Xamax failed to issue international clearance for the transfer. Leeds reported Xamax to FIFA and the saga dragged on for several weeks.

When Griffiths finally received his clearance to play his struggled to make the first team. Their were rumours he didn’t get on with coach Kevin Blackwell but for whatever reason he only made two substitute appearances before the season ended and so did his time with Leeds. The two parted ways after an unhappy marriage with Griffiths returning to Australia.

All this occurred in the crucial build-up to the 2006 World Cup. Griffiths’ hopes of being part of Hiddink’s 23-man squad in Germany rapidly faded as he was frozen out at Leeds. In the end, Griffiths was barely even considered by Hiddink. Indeed, it was a grim time for Griffiths.

So Griffiths returned to Newcastle to play in the A-League as he reached his late twenties. It was a big gamble for his career, but perhaps one he had to take.

At the Jets he played alongside attacking players such as Socceroo Nick Carle and former Colombian international Milton Rodriguez. It worked well though, as Newcastle climbed to third in the league and Griffiths scored 6 goals for the season to win the club’s Member’s Player of the Year.

When Carle and Rodriguez both departed before the 2007-2008 season, many doubted whether Newcastle could continue to be a top-side but Griffiths filled the void and led the way incredibly.

And while the season went well, it wasn’t without typical Griffiths controversy, when he seemed to punch a referee in an A-League match in November and then somehow escaped punishment.

But the performances on the field were the main talking point about Griffiths, as he produced a season not seen before by an individual in the A-League.

Griffiths fired home 12 goals during the 21-game regular-season before scoring another two goals during the finals series as Newcastle claimed its first national title. Griffiths too, would later claim the league’s, as well as his club’s, best and fairest award to cap a stellar season.

Since returning to Australia following his unsuccessful spell with Leeds, Griffiths has regularly been part of national team squads comprised of A-League players. It has been a feature of Australian football since the move into Asia that national team camps are held regularly and often those camps are made up of only A-league players. So opportunities with the national team have opened up for homegrown players like Griffiths.

But with the next month of football coming up for the Socceroos being so important with regard to World Cup qualification, Australia are calling on all the European big guns. Nonetheless, Griffiths name is more often being bandied around as a key Socceroo these days even though he’s not based in Europe. Now it seems he is set to get his opportunity, the question remains, can he finally take it?

Roos Sneak Past Eagles

North Melbourne have run out six point winners in a hard fought contest against West Coast at Gold Coast Stadium tonight.

The Kangaroos were victorious 13.11 (89) to 12.11 (83), to cement themselves in the top eight whilst consigning the Eagles to seven straight losses.

The match was in the balance for much of the final term, and the reasonable crowd of 6,354 fans would’ve enjoyed the struggle, but with six minutes to go Kangaroos small forward Matt Campbell kicked what turned out to be the match-winning goal.

West Coast tried to reply in the dying minutes but they couldn’t find the breakthrough in a game which seesawed all night on what was a stormy evening.

The Eagles began the match the livelier, with Brent Staker kicking the opening goal. North Melbourne strangely started the match with key senior players Shannon Grant, Adam Simpson and Nathan Thompson on the bench but when they came on the field they made an impact as the Kangaroos kicked the next four goals of the opening term.

West Coast though, were able to get the margin back to within five points by quarter time with a highlight being debutant Ryan Davis’ first kick in the AFL being a goal.

The Eagles impressed in the second term when they scored five goals to two as they opened up a 15-point half-time lead. West Coast were opportunistic in the second quarter capitalising on Kangaroos’ turnovers with Tyson Stenglein, Josh Kennedy, Quinten Lynch and David Wirrpanda all snapping goals to give the side hope of ending their awful losing streak.

North Melbourne though slowly whittled away the deficit in the third term. Goals to Corey Jones, Thompson and David Hale pulled the margin back before North went ahead with two minutes left in the quarter with Adam Simpson kicking a late major.

The final term was an immense struggle with both sides having chances to win the match. A running Daniel Wells’ goal seemed to have put North home but impressive Eagle Kennedy replied to make the margin 4 points and not long later scores were level at 82 all when Ben McKinley kicked a long goal from a needless 50 metre penalty.

Kangaroos’ ruckman David Hale put his side ahead with a behind from the boundary late in the match before Campbell’s goal made the margin two kicks. The Eagles had a late chance when Andrew Embley’s long shot went close, but it was rushed through for a behind and two minutes later the siren sounded to end the thrilling encounter.

For the winners, Hale kicked three goals while captain Simpson won 26 disposals as the Kangaroos moved to fifth on the ladder. West Coast meanwhile are just one loss away from their worst run of results in the club’s history and can pretty much kiss away any hopes of making the finals in 2008. The Eagles can take some heart at the performances of youngsters Chris Masten and Kennedy who impressed.

Next week, North face a big test when they play the undefeated Bulldogs at Telstra Dome while West Coast return to Subiaco for a difficult assignment against fourth-placed Adelaide.

And This Is How It Ends...

Sunday was the day of the English Premier League decider as the season came to a close.

Neutral football fans had their eyes on five matches, as Manchester United, Chelsea, Fulham, Reading and Birmingham City all played in fixtures which would decide where the premiership would go and who would survive and who would be relegated from the league.

Ultimately though, only two matches mattered but coming into the weekend we weren’t to know that. Indeed, all fantasies of a dramatic final day where amplified when prior to Sunday’s kick-off FoxSports showed highlights of the final day of the 1994-1995 Premier League when Blackburn won the title despite losing after Manchester United could only draw at West Ham.

Excitement levels were up and expectations were for a spectacular finish.

And only a quarter of an hour in, we had our first goal. Reading went ahead against Derby County, which meant if that result stayed the same, Fulham would have to win their difficult fixture at Portsmouth. It was the news Fulham fans had been dreading.

On the half hour, Birmingham too had themselves ahead in their fixture when David Murphy scored against Blackburn. Fulham knew now they really would need to win to stay up.

But the big news wasn’t far away. The most important fixture of them all, Manchester United at Wigan, had a penalty. And it was for the Red Devils after Emmerson Boyce had hauled down Wayne Rooney inside the box. Up stepped that man Cristiano Ronaldo, and he coolly sent Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland the wrong way as United headed to a 1-0 lead. United were on their way to the title.

The sides went into half-time poised like this, with Fulham still 0-0 at Portsmouth but becoming desperate for a goal as Reading and Birmingham both were ready to pounce for survival while Chelsea could see their title hopes fading fast as the Red Devils had the half-time lead they wanted.

Just minutes into the second-half though, Fulham’s fears eased somewhat when Blackburn equalised at Birmingham through Morten Gamst Pedersen. Ten minutes later though, Reading made it 2-0 against Derby, a side confirmed as the worst in Premier League and one hardly capable of coming back from such a deficit. Thus Fulham definitely would have to win at Portsmouth to survive, which heightened the tension.

And while all this was happening, all of a sudden Chelsea had hit the lead against Bolton with Andriy Shevchenko scoring for the Blues. The title race was back on. One goal from Wigan would have Chelsea on top. And Emile Heskey went close for Wigan, it was getting tight.

In the next few minutes though attention swayed back to the relegation fight. All ears were to radio transmitters as the news came through Reading had a third and Birmingham were back in front against Blackburn. For Fulham fans, with fifteen minutes to go, it was getting all too much.

But then up popped a hero. Jimmy Bullard fired in a free-kick for Fulham and Danny Murphy was left virtually unchallenged. The former Liverpool and Tottenham midfielder did the rest, heading the ball past Portsmouth goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown to score a priceless goal for the Londoners. The Fulham fans went crazy. Reading and Birmingham heads dropped, it was the news they didn’t want to hear.

Now we were getting to the very end of the Premier League. The very desperate end. But also the very glorious end.

Indeed, with ten minutes to go in Manchester United’s Premier League season, the glory showered upon them, as substitute Ryan Giggs fired home the Red Devils’ second to have them ahead two up against Wigan. It was time for celebration, there was no way back for Wigan, it was all but official, Manchester United were champions of England.

And Wigan didn’t fight back, nor did Portsmouth. Manchester United became champions of England on referee Steve Bennett’s full-time whistle, while Danny Murphy’s header was enough for Fulham to live another day in the top flight. Reading and Birmingham were relegated. Chelsea were runners-up.

For the record, Chelsea ended up drawing 1-1 with Bolton while the two clubs who were relegated on the final day, Reading and Birmingham, both recorded victories 4-0 and 4-1 respectively.

But it didn’t matter. As the records will show after all the trials and tribulations, and all the drama, Manchester United won it and Fulham survived it. What a day! And what a season we have to look forward to next time round!

The Australian Journey Into Asia Continues

Wednesday saw the penultimate round of fixtures in the group stage of AFC Champions League.

For the two Australian clubs competing, Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United, there was an interesting paradox in their respective fixtures.

Melbourne won the right to compete in the Champions League when they finished top of the A-League regular season table in 2007, while Adelaide qualified as runners-up, after being thrashed 6-0 by Melbourne in the 2007 Grand Final.

So with that in mind, one would expect Melbourne to be fairing a little better than Adelaide in their Asian journey. But it is not to be the case, in fact, it is far from the case.

On Wednesday evening, Melbourne played out a 1-1 draw with Korean side Chunnam Dragons. Before the match, Melbourne knew all they had to play for was pride as they had already been mathematically eliminated from the competition following a disappointing campaign.

Adelaide on the other hand, defeated K-League champions Pohang Steelers 1-0, to cement themselves in top position of their group. United’s closest rivals are Chinese side Changchun Yatai, who are two points behind them, and who they also happen to face in their final group match in China.

Adelaide have got themselves in a position where they control their fate whereas Melbourne are just simply playing for pride.

But there is more to it. And it is an interesting point to consider, that this is representative of the Australian integration into Asian football since the FFA was accepted into the AFC.

The first time A-League clubs were admitted into the AFC Champions League was last year. And it was Adelaide, along with inaugural A-League champions Sydney FC, who were the first two Australian sides who competed in the competition. It was like going into the unknown and there were uncertain expectations. Both sides were very competitive but ultimately they failed to progress past the group phase.

It was a similar situation to when Australia’s national team, the Socceroos, competed in their first AFC tournament, the Asian Cup in 2007. The nation might have had expectations that the Socceroos would win it following their World Cup journey in 2006, but it was a different scenario now. It too was like going into the unknown, against different opponents and in totally different conditions.

The Socceroos didn’t win the Asian Cup, in fact they scraped through their group and then were subsequently knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Japan.

The Socceroos would have learnt many lessons from this, and already their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign has started much more positive. This is where the similarities lie with the AFC Champions League.

Adelaide too after their disappointment in their initial foray into Asia, seem to have learnt many lessons.

It shouldn’t be understated that the AFC Champions League is something totally different, not only is it different opponents or weather conditions but it is totally foreign cities, languages and cultures. Seemingly insignificant things like which hotel to house the team in become bigger issues.

And now with one away trip to go, Adelaide United have an opportunity to do what no other A-League club has done before, and all they need to do is not lose. Already Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar has said his team will attack despite only needing a draw from the match. Perhaps he’s learnt from the experiences of the past how to handle this situation, he seems to be saying the right things. But perhaps not because after all, this is the AFC Champions League and it is still ‘the unknown’ in Australia.

Lucky for us we will find out on May 21.

Force Finals Hopes Ended By Hurricanes

The Hurricanes have ended any remote hopes the Western Force had of making the Super 14 finals with a 21-10 victory at Westpac Stadium in Wellington tonight.

The home side proved way too strong for a resilient Force outfit, as the Hurricanes scored two tries to one.

Prior to the match, showers poured down over Westpac Stadium which made conditions wet and slippery, but it didn’t seem to affect the Hurricanes who started much the better.

An early Piri Weepu penalty kick was followed by a converted Andrew Hore try to give the Hurricanes a 10-0 lead after just 12 minutes.

The Hurricanes dominated territory for much of the first-half although the Force defended admirably to keep their opponents at bay.

Matt Giteau kicked a penalty for the Force after 26 minutes to reduce the deficit to seven points but the visitors rarely threatened the try line.

The young Force side continued to deny the Hurricanes with brave defence, but after half-time the home side scored two penalties to open up a sizeable lead by the hour mark.

A Hurricanes try was ominous as Hore, Zac Guildford and Scott Waldron all went close to crossing the line early in the second-half.

And when David Pocock was sin-binned for a second offside offence, the Hurricanes made the most of their numerical advantage spreading the ball wide, after another Force line-out error, with Josea Gear going over for the hosts to make it 21-3.

The Hurricanes went in search of a bonus point late in the game as they continued to totally dominate territory but the combination of the difficult conditions and the Force’s tough defence held them out.

The visitors managed to get a late consolation try through full-back Cameron Shepherd who produced a fine individual effort with a kick and chase.

In the end though, the Hurricanes were comfortable winners with 82% territory as the Force rarely threatened. The hosts fell short of earning the bonus point they wanted but the victory puts them in a strong position to make the top four while the Force can begin to plan for next season.