B-grade conditions at the A-League

When Sydney FC defeated Adelaide United 4-1 last week, their latest import Benito Carbone set up two goals and scored a late one of his own, instantly impressing me more than previous "marquee" players Dwight Yorke or the hard-working Kazuyoshi "Kazu" Miura. I was keen as a condiment to see him play live.

Fast-forward to today, when I'd arranged to meet CM, AM and PB2 at Aussie Stadium to watch SFC take on Queensland Roar. (My own team, the Newcastle United Jets, were at home to Melbourne Victory, but there was zero chance of me making the trek up there when I'd have to return the same night.)

It was 30 degrees as I was preparing to leave, so I applied sunscreen for the first time in months. Unfortunately, no sooner had I met the lads and we taken our seats in the stadium than the weather went topsy-turvy. By the end of the game, it was overcast, extremely windy and <20 degrees.

And me in a Hawaiian shirt! :-)

To cut a long whinge short, a combination of the inclement conditions, poor play from second stringers filling in (sometimes out of position) for team-mates in the Socceroos squad or injured, plus inconsistent refereeing, made the 1-1 draw forgettable apart from Alvin Ceccoli's cannon blast of an equaliser for Sydney.

I've no doubt Benito will achieve more before he farewells the A-League, however, this wasn't to be his arvo. He was on the receiving end of some shocking rulings, such as when he was fouled just outside the Roar box and should have been awarded a free kick - only to be yellow carded for diving!