Socceroos top of group
Fri 24 October 2008
Thomas Threadingham, Journalism
The Socceroos breezed by the Qatar defence in the world cup qualifier despite threats from a fierce electrical storm early in the night to win 4-0 and secure a spot on the top of their group.
The match held at Suncorp Stadium on October 15 was set to be a thriller with the announcement of a large but strong squad consisting of 35 men, which was later cut down, including Tim Cahill, Craig Moore, Brett Emerton and Josh Kennedy.
After weeks of anticipation the day of the match finally arrived. Reports of an approaching storm early in the day worried me, but my friends and I chose to ignore them and remain hopeful for a dry and action packed match.
We caught an early train from Caboolture as it was agreed that it would be the quickest and less stressful route to Suncorp Stadium. The train was initially empty which had me confused as I thought it would be full of cheering and excited fans like myself. However the closer the train snaked its way towards the stadium the more people poured on at each stop.
On arrival it was pouring rain and my friends and many hundreds of other fans were completely drenched by the time they reached their seats. The game to our disappointment was delayed half an hour to begin at 8pm.
Despite a wet pitch the Socceroos found their way almost effortlessly through the Qatar defence. Tim Cahill scored an early goal which fired up the Socceroos who continually were on attack. A penalty against Qatar shortly after Cahill’s goal allowed Brett Emerton to slot one away.
The second half didn’t disappoint either with Emerton and Kennedy scoring another two brilliant goals past a baffled Qatar keeper to put the end score at 4-0.
Although cold and wet my friends and I, and I’m sure many of the other cheering thousands of fans, left happily satisfied and proud of the Australians effort.
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