Halfway Howl

Bahrain 1 v UAE 2

Canberra Stadium

Thursday 15 January 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

Fairly uneventful mid-group game. It ain't a 38 game season. It ain't an immediate knock out cup game. It was made more eventful by UAE scoring after 15 seconds. But even then, it just plodded along. UAE had won their first group game. So, it becomes a case of they hang on, they're probably through.

It spices up near the end as UAE need to hang on & Bahrain need to nick an equaliser. Histrionics. Writhing. Pointing & shouting. You know the drill.

Canberra Stadium is used by two major sports teams. The Rugby League Raiders & the Rugby Union Brumbies. It's mainly open air, only parts of the two main stands under cover (from the rain & sun). You can walk all the way around on a mid-stand promenade level. Main issue there is trying to keep tabs on how many Aus football fans are NOT wearing Barcelona shirts. They love a replica shirt here in Canberra. The rule is a) Barca b) anyone else c) definitely NOT the actual teams on the pitch.

Great to see the fans though. Although the poor weather hasn't helped. Nice mix of locals & ex-pats from the competing nations. Cheap ticket prices (starting at maybe 8 quid). Some free transport to the games from different points of the compass.

Pompously, there is a little bit of Halfway Howl. A sort of giggly high pitched whine every time a team brings the ball over the halfway line. Tell tale sign of new fans not really understanding the passage of play. No worries, everyone starts somewhere.

Despite that a nice set up and experience.

73/177