Well, yesterday started on an optimistic note with a report in the Wail that one of the Cranny kiddies (I think the more muscular one) had been successfully head hunted by the Beenleigh Rummers. He was pleased that he will be receiving a pay cheque 52 weeks in the year and that he will be on twice what the poor impoverished STRIKERS could offer. No doubt he will be transformed into a goalscoring superstar and return to haunt us, Tullamarine style, for three next five or ten seasons!
There was plenty of room for the four starters at the Irish Connection and the stand of Suncorp looked nastily barren as we strolled down Caxton Street to the ground. There was a Latin American trio doing a good job in the pre-match entertainment and we looked around in vain for Tony Moran.
Frank was playing for the first time for a while and for the first 20 minutes or so he was almost back to his old form, but I suspect he was not match fit and, after a sharp run into the box, quickly ended up hand on hips. The STRIKERS knocked the ball around nicely at times but the game was played at a very liesurely pace (why stuff yourself up when bottom is playing third bottom with only three more games to go ?) and eventually took the lead with a good goal from Gwynne, MOTM for me. It was soon 2-0 as Brownie scored his sixth for rthe year. That makes him our top scorer for the year - last year both he and Frank knocked in 13 apiece. Sadly the champions could not sustain the effort even against the bottom side in the comp and, almost inevitably, they allowed the Canberra side back in the game and few seemed either surprised or upset when first one, then the equalizing goal were scored. The second one may well have been blamed on Bolton who managed to get himself into no-man's land yet again.
Towards the end the STRIKERS had a few long range shots which were well saved by the Canberra keeper and OHY missed an absolute sitter from within the six yard box.
The ground announcer insisted in giving progress scores from the Olyroo game which I suspect half the crowd were recording at home and hoping to see it without knowing the result.We managed to block it out with the help of my rattle, but some git just in front, knowing that we were trying to avoid the score, deliberately told us what it was. John Croft was unimpressed. (Note to Bonnie - if these circumstances occur in the future, and if you have any say in it, will you please try to prevent this from happeneing ? I always thought it would be good to give cricket or even other football code results during the match, but not when a national team is involved).
As we left the ground a guy in an old (Charlie George vintage) Arsenal shirt for some reason or other wanted to talk to me about English football. Funny he's never felt constrained to do so before!
CC = who cares?
PS. We are back where we should be now - the game didn't even rate a mention on the ABC TV news tonight. I suppose the Olyroo game DID occupy half a minute, so we shouldn't be greedy should we?