Loyal adventures — Ground Hopping

Saturday was a road trip to Wollongong to see Wollongong Wolves Football Club host Canberra Olympic Football Club in the NPL Finals Series. The Premiers of NPL Capital Football playing the Premiers of Football NSW.The scene was Albert Butler Memorial Park, and I got my first glance as I sped past on the highway, Google maps telling me my destination was on the left - unfortunately the exit was waaay further left (like behind me!) and after a bit of exploring I found the bumpy little dirt track leading to this gem of a ground. It's even cooler that it has a 'hidden' entrance, like the Bat...

I headed up the highway again to take in some FFA Cup magic as Sydney United 58 FC hosted Western Sydney Wanderers FC in Campbelltown. Was not disappointed, although I was hoping for a closer contest. It ended up a very comfortable win for the Wanderers but that doesn't reflect the passion on display.    I reckon it was about 50:50 in supporter terms, heaps of families as well as two of the stronger active support groups in the country. Lots of noise from both SUS and RBB at either end of the stands and it lasted all game no matter what the score. Still impressed by...

The early goal on Wednesday night was tough for Marconi Stallions FC to manage. The teams were fairly even across the park and I especially liked the solid home defence, Melbourne City FC had to work hard for their chances.    The late Stallions goal gave them a big boost though and boy they went close to forcing extra time. Some might disagree but I thought the main difference between the two sides was that extra polish, fitness and consistency that comes from fulltime football. Top match to be part of.   

On the weekend I joined up with Ryan from Australian Football to road trip it over to Wollongong to see the Wollongong Wolves Football Club host Sydney United 58 FC at WIN Stadium. Wolves have been tearing it up, sitting on top of the league with new goal scorer Thomas James scoring for fun. United didn't turn up to muck around though and it was a juicy match in front of a pretty big crowd. An injury time heart breaker stopped the Wolves run, although I thought they had the bestof the chances, a 2-1 victory to the visitors. The Wolves put on a good home...

I was really excited to head out to Seiffert Oval on Thursday night to see Canberra United Football Club host Melbourne Victory in the Westfield W-League. I used to go to Seiffert to watch the Raiders play when I was back in primary school and although I'm not much into rugby league anymore I still have fond memories.    As you know the game was a washout, but I still took the time to soak in the atmosphere of this retro ground. It's been upgraded by the Queanbeyan Council in recent years with new seating and a lick of paint, but the 'old schoolness' was still...