I see the Aussies beat Uruguay 1-0 in the first leg of the WC play off

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Answers

A Penalty by Muscat in the 78th min. Still a lot to do in the 2nd leg

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Recoba was the only positive Uruguayan they'll struggle to score 2, he says tempting fate

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Not an attractive game of football, Oz had the best chances yet Ug had more shots. Most of these however were from outside the box.

Ug played with 3 full backs, 2 wing backs and 3 defensive midfielders and 2 up front. They had 2 defenders on Kewell, Viduka and Emerton every time they got the ball.

I do not think 1-0 will be enough, I fancy that at home Ug will show more flair. On the odd occassion they attacked they looked pretty good. Having said that though they only created a couple of "good" chances. The Oz defenders did ok.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Was Emerton any good then?

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Never mind the score. How many broken legs??

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Why wasn't the game on the TV, if BBC can show Eire v Iran why not the Aussie game, they have more British based players than most.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Emerton didn't really do much. He was effectively marked out of the game.

The team jetted off this morning for Montvideo. The Ugs are not leaving for a couple of days?? They may suffer through limited preparation time in Montevideo.

I saw on the news this morning that angry supporters in Uraguay had torched cars and the like!!

It should be a hot reception for the Aussies.

I thought Australia looked quite good. Especially when Kewel moved back to left midfield and Agostino came on up front. I wonder if Farina will do the same on Monday morning.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

It was quite interesting to see the Aussies celebrate after the final whstle as if they'd already qualified. Lot of football still to be played and they may well come to regret that. The Uruguayans certainly didn't create much going forward, but that was clearly their game plan from the start - concentrate on not conceding a goal. They almost managed it because the Aussie penalty was a very poor decision. They'll obviously have a different approach to the return leg because now they know they have to score - will hopefully make for an entertaining game. Changing the subject slightly, you all might be amused to know that last week a sportswriter over here wrote that Harry Kewell has possibly the best left foot since Maradona. Not sure if he's watched either of them play, but as far as I'm aware Kewell, great player though he is, doesn't even have the best left foot at Leeds. I also chuckled this morning to read that Kevin Muscat is "the most hated and despised player in England". Now it's been over a year since I last set foot in England, but if memory serves journeyman division 1 players rarely reach such notoriety. Are the Aussies getting a bit carried away again, or can someone back home tell me different?

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Emerton looked better when he tucked inside rather than playing down the wing. Still don't see him as the defensive midfielder we need. Ozzy coverage was as appaling as ever. I didn't see a single replay of the penalty decision. But maybe I had my face full of food and missed it.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Youre right Nick. Coverage was appauling. Do they cut to adds in the middle of international matches in the UK ?

For what its worth, I thought the Pen was a fair decision (without the benefit of a decent replay).

I think the reason for the Aussies delight at winning was because of the ghosts of 97 (Iran at home) being laid to rest and the fact that Australia has never won one of these qualifiers at home (final Qualifying game that is).

Interviews with the players post match showed they know that the job is only half done and they have to get a result in Montevideo.

Monday will be a stern test of Australia's defence.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Will Shane Warne be playing on Monday. He's awesome.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

In the UK, there are no adverts during the game. Obviously BBC has no adverts at all. ITV will put stacks of adverts on at half time. The thought of interupting the game with an advert would cause mutiny. They put adverts on during the F1 Grand Prix and viewing figures nosedived.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

The new Premiership highlights package in the UK is apparently stuffed full of adverts and people hate it and are turning away in droves. And that's not even live. Makes you appreciate UK TV.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

ITV are maintaining their usual high standards on the sports headlines: "Liverpool are humbled by mighty Barca" reads the announcer and this point is illustrated by YMO scoring against them...any suggestion that Granada's stake in LFC has any bearing on this is surely ridiculous as is any snidey remarks that since their entire breakfast format is aimed at housewives and 10 year olds they thought pictures of lovely Michael would please their chosen audience.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001