sidelined

The Socceroos motor along at the top of their group, seven of the minimum ten points already in the bag and nine more up for grabs. After a patchy victory over Iraq we now travel to Dubai for the first of two night games played in searing 26-degree heat.
Iraq, needless to say, won’t be [...]

Sanity prevails.
Iraq’s WCQ campaign is now officially on soapie melodrama turf but tomorrow it switches to full on Sports Movie triumph-of-the-underdogs mode. “Two Teams. One Grudge. On a rainy night at a sold-out Lang Park, the universe hangs in the balance”, etc.

With the notes of last night’s cultural activities lingering in the ears, time to get serious regarding the weekend’s action.
The bye has a rest this round allowing the full compliment of games. Only four points separates 1st and 11th place so a few teams aren’t out of the race just yet. But a loss for [...]

Last night @SFS wasn’t a game for the ages, but in broader strategic terms there was a fair bit going on.

Any other Sideliners going to the Ghana match on Friday? I got my China ticket a while ago and was going to skip this one but I figure Our Harry will probably break his leg between now and then so I should grab my chance.

State of Origin I is almost upon us folks. Just one sleep to go for the big day. And what better time to give a preview of the game.

The calm before the Origin storm. A full round this week and the big questions is how the teams hit by Origin duty will fare? I’ll be heading out to the Storm v Cowboys game on Saturday night at the great Bluetongue Stadium here in Gosford. Don’t care for either team but I love watching [...]

Saturday dawned and I started to count down the hours. I couldn’t wait till 7:00pm when I would attend, not just my first A-League game, but my first ever local football fixture at Gosford. And it promised to be a beauty. The Central Coast Mariners versus Sydney FC.
One thing did seem amiss. During the night [...]

The business end of the season is on us and the battle for the top four starts to mean more than just a hype gimmick. Adelaide have taken top perch off the Mariners with help from their old boss, the cellar dwellers battle for respect and a mathmatical shot at finals glory, while the teams [...]

First up: this is the highest-scoring round this season and possibly ever (I’m not tragic enough to check). A demolition masterclass from the best attacking team this season, another enthralling 3-3 draw, a showdown between the league leaders and Revolving Door FC. Oh, and Melbourne’s luck finally ran out