The Matildas enjoyed all the headlines on what was a positive weekend for the game, but further north there was another reminder of what makes Australian football so unique.
There’s little doubt the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will be one of the biggest sporting events either country has ever hosted.
The fact that more than 15,000 spectators turned out in wet weather in Parramatta on the back of Sydney’s lengthy lockdown suggests there’s still plenty of desire to watch live football.
Australia’s 3-1 win over Brazil takes some of the pressure off new coach Tony Gustavsson, who hasn’t exactly set the world on fire since taking charge in September 2020.
The Swede has been on a charm offensive all week, delivering enigmatic press conferences, donning a Matildas scarf at the game and gushing about “the vibe” of his first-ever trip to Australia.
Perhaps the most pleasing element of the win – aside from the three well-worked goals – was the fact the Matildas regrouped after Alanna Kennedy’s slip in her 100th game allowed Adriana to haul Brazil back into the game and halve the deficit at 2-1.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
That Emily van Egmond could come off the bench to side-foot home with ten minutes remaining suggests there’s much to be positive about heading into the second clash with the Brazilians on Tuesday night.
No doubt Football Australia were desperate for some positivity because the abuse allegations levelled by former star Lisa De Vanna simply cannot be allowed to be swept under the carpet.
We all want the Matildas to do well and the Women’s World Cup to be a huge success – but not at the expense of the safety and well-being of anyone who plays the game.
There was a bit of scrutiny on Queensland NPL side Lions FC in the build-up to their FFA Cup tie with Brisbane Roar on Sunday as well.
With the old Queensland Lions having effectively spawned the A-League side, it was a competitive fixture many football fans in Brisbane had been wanting to see for years.
But when the tie was announced, it was originally scheduled to take place some 30-kilometres west of Richlands at North Ipswich Reserve.
That came as a surprise to many, and a few folks got on Twitter to suggest as much, including myself.
Lions in turn insisted on Twitter the decision had nothing to do with potential ticket sales and everything to do with COVID capacity restrictions, which would have seen them limited to selling a total of 2,250 tickets at their compact Richlands home.
It was a happy coincidence then that those COVID restrictions were lifted just a day later, prompting Lions to quickly announce that the fixture would, in fact, take place at Richlands.
In the end, a total of 2,465 fans filed through the gates on a sweltering spring afternoon to watch the Roar run away with a 4-0 win from a genuinely absorbing clash.
The result didn’t exactly do Lions FC justice because the Queensland NPL heavyweights – spearheaded up front by former Roar striker Jean Carlos Solorzano – turned in a spirited display in what was a predictably fiery contest.
It wasn’t until Roar striker Cyrus Dehmie bagged his first just after the interval that the visitors really started to take control, and Dehmie put some squad pressure on injured recruit Juan Lescano by finishing with a second-half hat-trick.
Standing right on top of the action in front of packed stands was an old-school football experience we don’t always get in the A-League, but too often we’re willing to throw it away for some spurious logic.
The FFA Cup will soon have a new name, but just as helpful would be some rules that make it as practical as possible for lower-league teams to only host fixtures at their home grounds.
There’s a genuine appetite for football in Australia. We just need to make it as easy as possible for fans to access it.
jbinnie
Guest
Waz- I was not questioning your figure but rather appealing to your obvious logic in trying to explain away the rate of progress made at the Richlands complex when one considers they took a block of dirt from grass to a reasonably performed NSL team in 25 years , one capable of drawing a 3000 crowd in 1981, and yet in the ensuing 40 years have not yet increased the potential attendance at the stadium, It should be added that the complex itself has been greatly enhanced by the addition of what could only be described as a top class members club which openly boasts a huge membership, one much greater than the football grounds capacity. Any explanation?. Cheers jb.
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
I like the Idea of the FFA Cup but I really hate that my Club is not allowed to play home games at all for the competition not even against A-League opposition through because of the delay this may be the 1st and only year we might actually take the cup seriously I do like that the non pro sides get hosting rights over the A-League sides as it allows them some much needed match day revenue because 9 times out of 10 there going to lose anyway they might as well get something out of it This will be unpopular but I like the Regionalized draw because Australia is a big place and expensive to travel across plus most of the teams in the Cup aren't professional so it does make sense in that regard but there needs to be at least 2 A-League teams per region group, the Chatham Cup NZ's Cup competition doesn't go national until the Quarter Finals and NZ is a lot smaller then Australia
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
Brentford are the operators of the Brentford Community Stadium for the next 250 Years and they sub lease the ground to London Irish but Hounslow Council owns the ground similar to how the Brisbane City council owns Perry Park but the YMCA operate Perry Park who in turn Sub Lease it to the Strikers
Buddy
Roar Rookie
I was hoping you would say you loved Brian Clough, Trevor Francis or perhaps Archie Gemmil or even Peter Shilton.
Waz
Roar Rookie
I’m basing that 3,000 figure on a tweet by Lions FC last week that stated that capacity. Having been there a few times now with crowds of around 2,500 there isn’t much spare capacity so looks about right.
chris
Guest
lol - Im sure winning 2 Euro Cups would have helped you over that shock : )
Maximus Insight
Guest
Ben, appreciate the constructive engagement. I think in addition to the nature of the sport, the concept of cup competitions are also (unlike Australian football) deeply cultural feature of soccer. Distant is also a historic and to a lessor extent ongoing factor. Australian football's attempts to develop cup competitions have invariably fallen flat or fizzled even if there was early modest success. Not sure about South Australia but AFL Victoria has a large number of the leagues having one or two representative matches against each other to determine rankings...my understanding is it gets far less crowds and interest as regular club games. In terms of "underdogs", again it comes down to competitive balance. There is no "magic" in a contest where one team is guaranteed to win 100% of the time. Even the FA cup, despite all the prestige and history, has lost quite a bit of lustre in the hyper professional age. That's not to say Australian soccer shouldn't have a cup competition or even promote it as a point of difference. It is just that there seems to be a pattern where some people (not you) think that imitating English soccer is some kind of panacea
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
As a kid I fell for Nottingham Forest because I really like Robin Hood. You can imagine my disappointment when I found they played in red, not green.
chris
Guest
And get thrashed by the amateurs from Ireland lol. Best take that off the calendar so we can continue the illusion of how good we are at it.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Every large organisation all started with government funding for research. I'm sure Ajax with it's massive infrastructure would be self funded, but I'm sure you will find that initially they would have got government funding. However, I'm not talking about Ajax alone, I'm talking total football grassroots infrastructure & not all clubs are like Ajax & Government funding for football would far exceed Australia's funding. You would find all European countries would invest in Football. Take a look at this huge sport in Melbourne, AFL & you would be astounded about the amount of Government funding it gets, you would think with it's massive infrastructure in Melb, Perth & Adelaide it would NOT need any government funding, but no they get more then any other sport in this country put together & yet does not have a national team to represent us.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
These are all very good points. I do wonder how much the Dutch Government would put into football. I'm guessing a massive club like Ajax, which would own all its own infrastructure outright, and which historically has produced half the NT, would not be receiving a cent of government money. Since the demise of the AIS, arguably we are going to have to rely on a similar model in Australia.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Not entirely, Stu. A lot of the timing of games were designed for Fox Sport’s television audience, not to suit those wishing to attend a game in person.
chris
Guest
This is the reason why the proposed super league flopped so badly with the fans. Take away their chance of eating at the big table, and you'll get a revolution. We need pro/rel here and the sooner the better.
chris
Guest
Exactly right Buddy. You can almost guess the ages of people in this country who follow Liverpool and who follow Man U. A lot of 'pool fans are a little older as they were successful in the 70s and 80s while Man U fans are a little younger as they were successful in the 90s.
chris
Guest
Rodger - without getting to philosophical here...that's like saying we shouldn't work, or invest or have hopes and dreams because none of us are going to be rich like Gina Rinehardt or be the next PM. The Brentfords and the Swindons and the Leicester cities are just as important as your Man City, Liverpool and Chelseas. They all have the same dreams and opportunities to make it to the top.
jbinnie
Guest
Waz- For your eyes only. I have in my possession the "Lions Roar", a match programme for June 28th 1981, when Lions were playing at Richlands against South Melbourne, and the Lions line up included the England striker Bob Latchford. South Melbourne at the time were league leaders and Lions beat them 2-0 on the day. The crowd for that match was listed as 3000. With your assertion in this comment that the crowd for the recent " local derby" was ----3000, are we to assume that nothing has been done to increase the potential capacity at Richlands in the past 41 years. If so----why???? .jb.
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
Nothing better than mucking about with the nephews in the backyard at Christmas. The second youngest is a keeper, we get him to stand on the edge of the pool and we place them just left and behind or right an behind so that he can practice is keeping technique. Totally agree Rob, loads of fun
Football is Life
Roar Rookie
I feel for you mate. You are painting a picture that says you are completely and utterly bereft of something enjoyable in life. If the lockdown has had an effect it's a stronger man who asks for help. Whatever the problem is, talk to someone. And in the meantime, maybe another forum might be more positive, maybe this one is not for you.
Punter
Roar Rookie
I'm not the one circling wagons. You are the one who visits the football tab, a game & especially the A-League a competition you don't really enjoy. You find people in the football tab talking big about their sport (it's the biggest sport in the world) & occasionally talking not so nice things about other sport (your sport) & you get upset & comment with 'AFL being the most successful competition in the country' & you wonder why people say, why are you here. Imagine if I went on the AFL tab & ad nauseam stated that Football is the biggest sport in the world & AFL is not that big outside of 3 states. I wonder what my reception would be. I get you don't like the A-League, the bloggers on here do, we do like to talk it up on the football tab, like some posters do in the AFL tab, 'that AFL is big in Sydney' & that there is 'AFL competitions elsewhere in the world' & that 'AFL invented women's sport'. Who is circling wagons?
Punter
Roar Rookie
Yep I know huge sports in Holland but totally unknown in Australia. Likewise with AFL, huge in Melbourne but totally unknown in Holland. However, the huge difference is 2 things; 1. The Dutch sports don't have to share stadiums with football. 2. The Dutch Government understands which is the International sport (football) & they fund it accordingly, the Australian government has no idea & funds the wrong sport with no International importance. Problem with being so far away, caught up on our own importance.