David Edwards
NormWeekend Wrap – Melbourne Cements Its Status, Both On and Off The Field
February 4th 2007 13:03
Another weekend of sporting action is behind us, and as the cricket becomes an exciting contest, it seems the A-League is beginning to capture the hearts and minds of the nation.
The semi finals wrap up for the A-League , and it seems that two sides destined for the Asian Champions Cup suffered this weekend, with Adelaide booking itself for a sudden death match against Newcastle and Sydney bowing out after losing to their opponents.
On Friday night Sydney, who were leading on aggregate score at the start of their clash against Newcastle, were knocked out of the competition after going down 2-0 at the Jets home ground. The game was very passionate, and the tempers flared at half time when Sydney striker Alex Brosque was sent off, and both sides got very heated both on and off the field, with even the bench getting into a number of opposition players.
On Sunday, Melbourne was able to clutch victory from the jaws of defeat after scoring their winning goal in the 92nd minute in their match against Adelaide. The Victory were constantly playing catch up throughout the match after Adelaide scored an unbelievable goal in the first four minutes. Even after Melbourne scored from a fierce strike by Daniel Allsopp in the 48th minute, they had to wait until injury time to grab their allusive 2nd goal to win, and with it the entry into the 2nd A-League Grand Final. Adelaide will now have to face the uprising Newcastle Jets in Adelaide for the second spot in the final to be played in Melbourne on Feb 18th.
In the One Day Competition , Australia have endured their toughest test this season in their past two games, first off losing to the flailing English side on Friday, then being severely tested by the New Zealand side on Sunday.
On Friday, England were able to do something it seems they have forgotten to do all season, play cricket. Scoring an impressive 7-292, the English side were guided by an maiden international century by opener Ed Joyce, scoring an impressive 107 of 114 balls. Their bowling side was also in focus during the match, taking it up against Australia, and after a fantastic opening spell, left the hosts stunned at 2/4. Whilst Australia tried to climb back into contention, they were left out in the open after a 71 run partnership between Hayden and Symonds was broken due to Symonds retiring hurt, and ended up losing the rest of their wickets for a miserly 84 runs. Going out 9/200, Australia had lost their first match against England this summer by 92 runs, and gave the Poms hope in reclaiming the second finals berth.
On Sunday, Australia were once again under the pump after New Zealand attack fiercely in the first innings, scoring nearly the 300 mark once again, finishing up with 7/290 which included a 90 off opener Vincent and a 151 run partnership between Vincent and Fulton. Even after starting their innings well, not losing their first wicket until the 11th over and 56 runs, Australia were never able to truly flex their muscles, and as a result were limited in their scoring capability. However, due to some fantastic shots by skipper Ricky Ponting, who scored 104, and stunning play by World Cup hopeful Brad Hodge, who was on an unbeaten 99 and was unable to notch the ton due to reaching their total, their 131 run partnership gave Australia the boost they needed, and were able to scrape the win with five wickets in hand, and only ten balls remaining in the match. For all cricket supporters, the focus is now in Brisbane on Tuesday, where England and New Zealand will battle it out for the final spot in the finals against Australia.
In the NBL , the Brisbane Bullets have finally secured the minor premiership, and with it the all important home court advantage in the playoffs, after downing the New Zealand Breakers for their 15th straight NBL win, winning 132-98. The Melbourne Tigers have also have had a fantastic round, crushing the Adelaide 36ers 125-96. The win secured the Tigers in 2nd place on the ladder, after beating the Perth Wildcats 95-90 earlier in the week. In other games this weekend, the Cairns Taipans upset the Wildcats 109-104, the Townsville Crocodiles beat the West Sydney Razorbacks 123-93, the Singapore Slingers downed the Dragons 114-100, the Kings beat the Hawks 105-81, the Taipans edged out the Razorbacks 97-92, and the Slingers edged out the Hawks in Wollongong, winning 96-93.
In the EPL , Chelsea has once again kept in touch with leaders Man U after beating Charlton away from home 1-0. Liverpool, who still have the opportunity to upset the competition, were once more unable to grab the much needed three points after drawing with Everton 0-0. In other matches, Aston Villa beat West Ham 1-0. Blackburn beat Sheffield United 2-1, Fulham beat Newcastle 2-1, Man City went down to Reading 2-0, Bolton upset Watford 1-0, and Wigan beat Portsmouth 1-0.
In the Women’s Australian Open , Karrie Webb secured her 3rd Open win on the course, finishing six shot ahead of 2nd place Yun-Jye Wei of Taiwan. Webb finished her final round on a even 72 to win the tournament 10 under par.
In the opening round of the Super 14 season , the Western Force were still unable to earn a win at home, going down to the Highlanders to the miserly score of 8-7. In other games, the Blues beat the Crusaders 34-25, the Waratahs thumped the Lions 25-16, the Brumbies edged out the Chiefs 21-15, Eddie Jones scored his first victory coaching the Reds, winning 25-16, the Sharks beat the Bullls 17-3, and the Cheetahs secured the first upset of the round, beating the Stormers 27-9.
With so much sporting action occurring around the world at the moment, it is still a fantastic point that Melbourne was able to hold a one day cricket match against Australia and New Zealand plus a major semi final against Melbourne and Adelaide on Sunday with no loss of supporters. Both were fantastic matches, but more interesting is the fact that 48,000 attended the one day match at the MCG, whilst at the same time across the city the Telstra Dome held over 47,000 people for the A-League final. That means that over 93,000 sports fnas were watching a fantastic match of some sort at the same time, and proves once more that Melbourne can really be considered as the sporting capital of Australia.
Until next time, sports minds.
The semi finals wrap up for the A-League , and it seems that two sides destined for the Asian Champions Cup suffered this weekend, with Adelaide booking itself for a sudden death match against Newcastle and Sydney bowing out after losing to their opponents.
On Friday night Sydney, who were leading on aggregate score at the start of their clash against Newcastle, were knocked out of the competition after going down 2-0 at the Jets home ground. The game was very passionate, and the tempers flared at half time when Sydney striker Alex Brosque was sent off, and both sides got very heated both on and off the field, with even the bench getting into a number of opposition players.
On Sunday, Melbourne was able to clutch victory from the jaws of defeat after scoring their winning goal in the 92nd minute in their match against Adelaide. The Victory were constantly playing catch up throughout the match after Adelaide scored an unbelievable goal in the first four minutes. Even after Melbourne scored from a fierce strike by Daniel Allsopp in the 48th minute, they had to wait until injury time to grab their allusive 2nd goal to win, and with it the entry into the 2nd A-League Grand Final. Adelaide will now have to face the uprising Newcastle Jets in Adelaide for the second spot in the final to be played in Melbourne on Feb 18th.
In the One Day Competition , Australia have endured their toughest test this season in their past two games, first off losing to the flailing English side on Friday, then being severely tested by the New Zealand side on Sunday.
On Friday, England were able to do something it seems they have forgotten to do all season, play cricket. Scoring an impressive 7-292, the English side were guided by an maiden international century by opener Ed Joyce, scoring an impressive 107 of 114 balls. Their bowling side was also in focus during the match, taking it up against Australia, and after a fantastic opening spell, left the hosts stunned at 2/4. Whilst Australia tried to climb back into contention, they were left out in the open after a 71 run partnership between Hayden and Symonds was broken due to Symonds retiring hurt, and ended up losing the rest of their wickets for a miserly 84 runs. Going out 9/200, Australia had lost their first match against England this summer by 92 runs, and gave the Poms hope in reclaiming the second finals berth.
On Sunday, Australia were once again under the pump after New Zealand attack fiercely in the first innings, scoring nearly the 300 mark once again, finishing up with 7/290 which included a 90 off opener Vincent and a 151 run partnership between Vincent and Fulton. Even after starting their innings well, not losing their first wicket until the 11th over and 56 runs, Australia were never able to truly flex their muscles, and as a result were limited in their scoring capability. However, due to some fantastic shots by skipper Ricky Ponting, who scored 104, and stunning play by World Cup hopeful Brad Hodge, who was on an unbeaten 99 and was unable to notch the ton due to reaching their total, their 131 run partnership gave Australia the boost they needed, and were able to scrape the win with five wickets in hand, and only ten balls remaining in the match. For all cricket supporters, the focus is now in Brisbane on Tuesday, where England and New Zealand will battle it out for the final spot in the finals against Australia.
In the NBL , the Brisbane Bullets have finally secured the minor premiership, and with it the all important home court advantage in the playoffs, after downing the New Zealand Breakers for their 15th straight NBL win, winning 132-98. The Melbourne Tigers have also have had a fantastic round, crushing the Adelaide 36ers 125-96. The win secured the Tigers in 2nd place on the ladder, after beating the Perth Wildcats 95-90 earlier in the week. In other games this weekend, the Cairns Taipans upset the Wildcats 109-104, the Townsville Crocodiles beat the West Sydney Razorbacks 123-93, the Singapore Slingers downed the Dragons 114-100, the Kings beat the Hawks 105-81, the Taipans edged out the Razorbacks 97-92, and the Slingers edged out the Hawks in Wollongong, winning 96-93.
In the EPL , Chelsea has once again kept in touch with leaders Man U after beating Charlton away from home 1-0. Liverpool, who still have the opportunity to upset the competition, were once more unable to grab the much needed three points after drawing with Everton 0-0. In other matches, Aston Villa beat West Ham 1-0. Blackburn beat Sheffield United 2-1, Fulham beat Newcastle 2-1, Man City went down to Reading 2-0, Bolton upset Watford 1-0, and Wigan beat Portsmouth 1-0.
In the Women’s Australian Open , Karrie Webb secured her 3rd Open win on the course, finishing six shot ahead of 2nd place Yun-Jye Wei of Taiwan. Webb finished her final round on a even 72 to win the tournament 10 under par.
In the opening round of the Super 14 season , the Western Force were still unable to earn a win at home, going down to the Highlanders to the miserly score of 8-7. In other games, the Blues beat the Crusaders 34-25, the Waratahs thumped the Lions 25-16, the Brumbies edged out the Chiefs 21-15, Eddie Jones scored his first victory coaching the Reds, winning 25-16, the Sharks beat the Bullls 17-3, and the Cheetahs secured the first upset of the round, beating the Stormers 27-9.
With so much sporting action occurring around the world at the moment, it is still a fantastic point that Melbourne was able to hold a one day cricket match against Australia and New Zealand plus a major semi final against Melbourne and Adelaide on Sunday with no loss of supporters. Both were fantastic matches, but more interesting is the fact that 48,000 attended the one day match at the MCG, whilst at the same time across the city the Telstra Dome held over 47,000 people for the A-League final. That means that over 93,000 sports fnas were watching a fantastic match of some sort at the same time, and proves once more that Melbourne can really be considered as the sporting capital of Australia.
Until next time, sports minds.
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