The highlight of the campaign has to be the outstanding performance of the Junior Girls, Terra Australis, coming in second after the Japanese. Their pool results were a mix of strong wins and tough losses. They were only beaten by the Japanese (That look set to take out the overall points score) and the Colombian team. They faced up against the Colombian girls team in the semi final in what must have been a daunting mental situation. This was a team that had already beat them twice in this tournament. However, each time the Terra girls got closer and closer to the Colombians and in the semi they managed to build on the lessons learnt from the previous games and bested the Colombians to earn themselves a spot in the final. It also seems that Terra is in line to take out the Spirit competition, contributing to a really strong double medal performance that should be the inspiration of any ultimate team. I can't wait to sit down with Fatty and some of the key players on the team and get a feel for the methods of success the team employed. (Aside from Ellie/Cath throwing it to Ellie/Crystal)
While the girls certainly achieved beyond expectation, unfortunately some of the other teams just did not. The Thunder boys team had some great results, including beating Canada and Great Britain at least once each but once again were bitterly beaten in their last game. The Taipans, our Masters team, also had a great start, cleaning up Japan and GB on the first day and stream rolled through the middle of the tournament but came unstuck at the end of the tournament, losing their last two games to take 4th place. Finally the Dingoes had a shocking loss to the British Mens team in the quarter finals. Report indicate that the Brits were firing and the Australian team lost grip of the game after the second half, as the 'all-star' line was called on to stem the flow of turn-overs and opposition goals. After a tough loss, the team did rally and won their last two games, to come in 5th in the Open division. All three teams looked reasonably strong in the early or middle of the tournament but just had a bad run in the final days. Again, I'm keen to hear all about the insider perspective from these teams and those that watched their game.
The other good news stories are the improvement in results for the Womens and Mixed teams. Both teams had good wins through the tournament, struggled with injuries and improved their results from last Worlds by one place, to 4th. Hopefully future teams will be able to build on the success of their campaigns this time round and come home with some bling.
In other Australian International sporting news, I watched some of the first soccer games at the Olympic games yesterday. Australia Vs Serbia was the first match in the double header and unfortunately it was a sloppy affair, particularly in the first half. Lack of touch on the ball, lazy long ball options, teamwork miscues and slow pace soccer was the order of the day. Obviously the heat was taking its toll on the players. The second half was better and the Australian's scored first, off a short cross into the goal box, which about 4 players from both sides had a bid at and missed. I think it was number 13 that slammed the ball in the net after its long and tense (.3 of a second) journey across the Serbian goal face. While our last quarter defence was quite strong, we alloed too many chances at goal, conceding 14 corners and 14 shots on goal. They were destined to break though eventually. The Serbian's answered not long after our own goal, mid way through the second half, with a great cross and header. The final score was one all.
In contrast, the second game of the Argies Vs Ivory Coast was a festival of amazing football. Fantastic touch, pace and control from both teams offenses made for an absolute joy of an experience. The Ivory Coast "scored' first but had the goal denied by the linesman. On the replay shown at the stadium, I thought it was clearly not off side and that the Ivory Coast boys were robbed. The first half ended nil all after a sweet bunch of football. The Ivory boys managed to punch the ball into the net first in the 2nd half, with a long cross from the right wing, finished by a high header which didn't give the goalie a chance to save. Messi, a highlight of the whole experience for 70% of the stadium, answered soon after, running down a sharp mid-range pass and besting the keeper one on one. Messi was also the architect of the game winning goal, after a sneaky quick play-on from a foul committed just outside the penalty box deep on the left flank of the Ivory Coast half. He slipped into the box and shot at a oblique angle, with the deflection being put away by a team mate whose name escapes me. Final result 2-1, great football.
Ok, food time!
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