Beautiful game shines in Gosford

Far out Brussel sprout!

All you hear from the folk ignorant of the 'beautiful game' is: 'there isn't enough goals'; 'it's so slow'; 'they'd be better off getting rid of the offside rule' and 'the goals aren't big enough'.

Now I can give you many reasons why I disagree with all of those statements but I want to specifically target 'there ain't enough goals'.

If you rate the Central Coast v Sydney FC game at the Central Coast's Blue Tongue Stadium in Gosford as the best match of the season then I havn't got a leg to stand on. To say it had everything is an understatement. If I was there, I would have gladly paid to get out as well as get in.

It was an epic encounter that had the twist of a 93 minute penalty to Sydney FC, giving the Sky Blues a 5-4 victory after scores were locked at 4-4. The penalty wasn't exactly taken under the same sort of pressure as John Aloisi's World Cup qualifying spot kick but, for the travelling fans, it must have felt like it.

Midfielder Ufuk Talay stood 12 yards from a goal that is eight yards wide and eight high. If you mark it out, it looks easy but if you put a 6'2' goalkeeper in the middle of it with arms spread wide it quickly becomes 7, 6 and then 5 yards across. He scored his goal, Sydney got the three points, the fans got the bragging rights and everybody marveled at the goal feast.

I was involved in such a game in Newcastle back in the good old days of the NSL.

Playing for Canberra Cosmos we beat Newcastle Utd in Newcastle 6-5. As I was walking off, I got the feeling their fans didn't know whether to cheer for the 11 goals or hurl abuse at their sides' lack of defensive prowess. Some at the Blue Tongue stadium may have felt exactly the same, stunned.

The consequences for Sydney could spell a return from some fickle Sydney fans. It could be the moment that got the club into the finals, win the grand final and therefore qualify for the Asian Champions League.

My ignorant friends would have yelled: 'we told you so, more goals equals a better game', but for me it was the way the players got it to that stage that makes the result so memorable. It was fast, frustrating, passionate, committed, gutsy, skillful, disciplined, undisciplined, imaginative, nerve racking, exhausting and above all enjoyable for players and fans.

Both teams seemed to have the 'they might score 10 but we're gonna score 11' mentality. So often it's quite the opposite as teams play a 'don't lose possession of the ball 'cos if they haven't got it they can't score' style of play.

This was a classic created by the players, not one created by the size of the goal etc.

The rules were exactly the same, the difference was the players approach.

It might have been the fact it was a derby or that Central Coast would further grip the minor premiership. But, whatever it was, everybody left satisfied that they had been entertained to the max and then some.

I'm not saying every game should be like this, for I've got just as much pleasure out of a 0-0 scoreline at times, but I wouldn't expect the uneducated to understand that just yet.

We'll keep trying though, hey?