Tuesday, January 31, 2006
A way to go
My article from the programme for ECFC v Accrington Stanley 30/1/06
Sport is unpredictable, which is why so many people love it and why the bookies make so much money out of bets placed on it. At the Australian Open tennis Grand Slam in Melbourne last week, Rodger Federer, undoubtedly the world’s best player, faced a 4th Round match against the German Tommy Haas, ranked 41st in the world. In the normal scheme of things, this is not the kind of game that Federer loses (although Haas does have a reasonable record against Federer). And it was looking like it would all go to plan when Federer won the first two sets 6-4 6-0.
The odds on a shock comeback at that stage would have been very long indeed. Federer was looking unstoppable, and while Haas wasn’t playing that badly, it seemed there was nothing he could do to stop the Fed Express. A straight sets defeat looked inevitable.
Suddenly, something clicked and Haas broke Federer’s serve to love and held out to win the 3rd set 6-3. Had the great one cracked? Haas was back in with a chance and Federer wasn’t looking happy. Another break of serve in the 4th set and Haas levels it up at 2 sets all. What had looked like a routine three-setter for the world number 1 had turned into a 5 set marathon, which he eventually scraped through 6-2 in the decider. While the result may have been what everyone expected, the match was full of unexpected twists and turns to keep those watching on the edge of their seats.
Another game with a number twists and turns was last weeks Carling Cup Semi-Final second leg between Arsenal and Wigan at Highbury. Wigan held a 1-0 lead from the first game and knew that it was a tough ask to hold Arsenal out for 90 minutes. The game was a great one to watch: Arsenal were skilful, passing and moving and at times turning Wigan into spectators. Wigan on the other hand were working hard to hold onto their lead, with their goalkeeper pulling off a great save from a Reyes penalty (as well has creating a number of good chances and having 2 good penalty claims turned down).
They held out until the 65th minute when Henry headed home from 6 yards, and with Arsenal taking a 2-0 lead with 12 minutes of extra time left to play, it looked like it was all over. But they didn’t give up and grabbed a late away goal, to send them through to the final.
What is my point (there is one somewhere!)? Our visitors tonight hold an 8-point lead at the top of the Conference table and have a game in hand. They’re also playing well and are currently on an 11 game unbeaten run in the league. When you couple this with our well-known problem with playing live on TV (played 10, won 0) things don’t look too good. However, the unpredictability of sport means anything could happen.
Whatever does happen tonight, there is along way to go until the end of the season, and there are bound to be many twists and turns for all teams between now and then. While this evening’s game is important for both sides (the classic “6-pointer”), nothing will be decided tonight. We need to find some consistency and a run of good results, especially with the race for the play-offs being so tight (we shouldn’t forget about that while trying to catch Accrington). So let’s get behind the lads tonight and help them get the win to start a run!
Sport is unpredictable, which is why so many people love it and why the bookies make so much money out of bets placed on it. At the Australian Open tennis Grand Slam in Melbourne last week, Rodger Federer, undoubtedly the world’s best player, faced a 4th Round match against the German Tommy Haas, ranked 41st in the world. In the normal scheme of things, this is not the kind of game that Federer loses (although Haas does have a reasonable record against Federer). And it was looking like it would all go to plan when Federer won the first two sets 6-4 6-0.
The odds on a shock comeback at that stage would have been very long indeed. Federer was looking unstoppable, and while Haas wasn’t playing that badly, it seemed there was nothing he could do to stop the Fed Express. A straight sets defeat looked inevitable.
Suddenly, something clicked and Haas broke Federer’s serve to love and held out to win the 3rd set 6-3. Had the great one cracked? Haas was back in with a chance and Federer wasn’t looking happy. Another break of serve in the 4th set and Haas levels it up at 2 sets all. What had looked like a routine three-setter for the world number 1 had turned into a 5 set marathon, which he eventually scraped through 6-2 in the decider. While the result may have been what everyone expected, the match was full of unexpected twists and turns to keep those watching on the edge of their seats.
Another game with a number twists and turns was last weeks Carling Cup Semi-Final second leg between Arsenal and Wigan at Highbury. Wigan held a 1-0 lead from the first game and knew that it was a tough ask to hold Arsenal out for 90 minutes. The game was a great one to watch: Arsenal were skilful, passing and moving and at times turning Wigan into spectators. Wigan on the other hand were working hard to hold onto their lead, with their goalkeeper pulling off a great save from a Reyes penalty (as well has creating a number of good chances and having 2 good penalty claims turned down).
They held out until the 65th minute when Henry headed home from 6 yards, and with Arsenal taking a 2-0 lead with 12 minutes of extra time left to play, it looked like it was all over. But they didn’t give up and grabbed a late away goal, to send them through to the final.
What is my point (there is one somewhere!)? Our visitors tonight hold an 8-point lead at the top of the Conference table and have a game in hand. They’re also playing well and are currently on an 11 game unbeaten run in the league. When you couple this with our well-known problem with playing live on TV (played 10, won 0) things don’t look too good. However, the unpredictability of sport means anything could happen.
Whatever does happen tonight, there is along way to go until the end of the season, and there are bound to be many twists and turns for all teams between now and then. While this evening’s game is important for both sides (the classic “6-pointer”), nothing will be decided tonight. We need to find some consistency and a run of good results, especially with the race for the play-offs being so tight (we shouldn’t forget about that while trying to catch Accrington). So let’s get behind the lads tonight and help them get the win to start a run!
