Caulfield Cup
Before I go, in case you missed it, the Caulfield Cup was run and won today by Boom Time, a horse with the kind of name that makes once-a-year-punters sit up and go “hmmmm”. The 50-1 David Hayes-trained outsider, ridden by Cory Parish, gave Sir Isaac Newton (the nag, not the renowned scientist who’s been dead for nearly 200 years) a 12-length head start with 1000m to go. But from within the pack, which consumed Sir Isaac Newton like Time, Boom Time snuck through one off the rail with 100m to go to finish ahead of Single Gaze and Johannes Vermeer.
Given the Wallabies got up over the All Blacks, it’s been a day for the outsiders.
And with that I will take my leave. Thanks for having me.
Cheers.
Rugby
In a massive, and very welcome, boilover the Wallabies have come from behind to beat the All Blacks 23-18. It’s their first win over the Kiwis in two years and goes a long way to suggest that maybe, just maybe, the Australians are on their way back up.
One swallow doesn’t make a summer of course, just as one swallow doesn’t make an Alfred Hitchcock film, but you cannot begrudge the Wallabies a night of celebration.
Cricket
WA have indeed won the domestic one-day cup beating SA by six wickets (and with six overs to spare) in Hobart. SA’s 9-248 was just not enough, especially with Mitchell Marsh in form, his 80 off 80 earning him man-of-the-match honours.
Sydney, I’d reckon, will be the happier of the two teams tonight. They were outplayed in the first half and looking up against it. But they steadied in the second, helped, it must be said, by a penalty decision that Wanderers fans will be disputing long into the night — and into next week as well. Nevertheless, Sydney picked up the pace in the second half and may have won it had Matt Simon better directed a late late header. As it is, it’s a point each and both sides remain undefeated.
Full-time: Sydney FC 2-2 Western Sydney Wanderers
It’s all over at the Sydney Football Stadium. An entertaining game has ended all square after Sydney came back strongly from a 2-0 deficit.
90 + 4 min: Risdon again taking so long over a throw you’d think he was a chess player trying to get out of check. Sydney finally get their mitts on the ball but in their efforts to go long quickly they are called offside.
90 + 3 min: Risdon taking his sweet time with a throw-in which tells you which team has the momentum.
90 + 1 min: Ninkovic, outside the area, scoops a lovely cross to Simon who rises high to head back across goal and just outside the right post! That was so nearly the winner!
90 min: There will be five mins of added time...
89 min: But here’s Sydney driving on and they’ve won a corner on the left. Buijs takes it and it skims off someone’s head in the six-yard box like a flat rock over still water. Wilkinson meets it on the other side, but he’s unable to keep his acrobatic half-volley down.
88 min: It’s become suddenly cagey, no-one wanting to lose at this late juncture.
87 min: Phil Withall writes in to offer his take on some creativity, as it were: “The ability of players drawing free kicks from minimal contact has been the low point of an otherwise entertaining game.”
86 min: A sub for each team. Sydney’s Matt Simon comes on for Brosque. For the Wanderers, Santalab, at long last, comes on for Riera. This is made for Santalab, isn’t it? A late winner?
84 min: A ball goes over the top to Bridge who is just half a step behind the ball allowing Redmayne to beat him to it. Moments later, Risdon measures a nice ball in behind Wilkinson to Riera. From a tight angle he tries to turn the ball towards goal but he mishits it.
82 min: Route one from Sydney: Redmayne goes long to Bobo who heads on to Brosque but Hamill cooly nods back to his keeper.
The RBB are now giving it the ol viking clap.
The crowd? A healthy 34,810.
81 min: Sydney with the sub: Carney off, Kalik on.
79 min: Cejudo in space snaps off a shot but Zullo’s knee send it up and over the bar. The corner falls to Baccus who has time to take a touch and measure a shot - which would have beaten Redmayne and flown into the top right corner had it not been, you know, a yard too high.
76 min: Sydney passing around at the back comfortably before a long ball from Wilkshire is nodded on by Carney into the path of Brosque. The Sydney captain goes down under the challenge of Cornthwaite and he gets up demanding a penalty. Nothing in it, except a corner.
Carney whips in a speedy, low corner but Riera intervenes to head clear.
How come Brosque falling over isn't a penalty??
— M4KS (@MEMBER4KS) October 21, 2017
The VAR does know it Sydney FC who would benefit from the call??#Joke#Farce#SydneyDerby
73 min: The Wanderers are looking tired now, the zip they showed in the first half all but missing. Time for some subs surely.
71 min: Brillante, inside the right edge of the box, almost gets a double, finding the roof of the net with Janjetovic beaten after Carney crosses. Brillante wasn’t even facing the goal and though it might have been an attempt to find a player at the far post he would have been delighted had it dropped in under the bar.
69 min: Cejudo does well to bend a cross behind two defenders when he seemed to be contained. Wilkinson does so well to keep Riera off the ball as Redmayne cleans up a deflection off Wilkinson’s boot.
Updated
66 min: The ball breaks to Bobo who leathers a half-volley... straight to Javjetovic! A few inches either side and that was a goal! Sydney surging.
64 min: This game is zinging now. And Carney almost puts Sydney ahead, his goal bound drive blocked by Cornthwaite!
62 min: Wonderful work by Brosque in that goal which has the crowd pumping! Great stuff.
I don't say this often, but...
— Robert Cox (@Chosen_Chaos) October 21, 2017
That was a fine piece of refereeing to play advantage like that #SydneyDerby
GOAL! Sydney FC 2-2 Western Sydney Wanderers (Brillante 61)
Brosque, having won the ball back, feeds Ninkovic who sets off upfield. Ninkovic slips the ball back to Brosque just as Ninkovic is fouled. Advantage played! Brosque finds Bobo on the edge of the Wanderers’ box, he slides a ball wide to Brillante, who has time to measure a shot. It takes a deflection off Llorente and beats Redmayne!
Updated
60 min: Sydney defend a Wanderers counter and set off upfield after Brosque wins the ball back.
57 min: Llorente and Bridge combine well to get Bridge into the Sydney box. He cuts back for Bonevacia who attempts to steer a left-footer into the bottom right corner. But he shoots wide! That was a decent chance.
54 min: Brosque, surrounded by three Wanderers and pinned on the sideline, does well to draw a foul from Baccus. A needless foul. The freekick, from Buijs, catches the slick hair of Brosque but despite the slight deflection Janjetovic makes a comfortable save.
52 min: Bonvacia holds off two Sydney players before finding Llorente on the overlap. He attempts to cross into the Sydney box but Carney clears for a corner. The corner is too deep but, in any case, Herd is pinged for a foul on Redmayne.
49 min: Maybe Foxe saw this coming... a long ball from deep finds Ninkovic who pulls up on the left edge of the Wanderers’ box and executes a lovely reverse pass into the path of Zullo. From an angle he tries to beat Janjetovic at his near post but the keeper dives to push it around the post (though Zullo’s drive might not have been on target).
48 min: Hayden Foxe, in a black tracksuit, gets up off his seat on the sideline to rouse his team. Does he think they’re looking sleepy?
Peeeeeep!
46 min: We’re back on at the SFS and it’s an early corner to the Wanderers. But Cejudo can’t beat the first man.
Thoughts on the penalty? I came across a close-up of Carney leaning into Herd, his elbow driving Herd’s nose sideways. Now I’m thinking it shouldn’t have been a pen. Ask me again in five minutes and I’ll have changed by mind again.
Updated
Rugby
I should have waited a second. Israel Folau has scored on the half-time hooter, though the conversion was missed.
At halftime in Brisbane, the All Blacks lead the Wallabies 13-12.
Cricket
WA are on the verge of winning the state one-day title. Chasing SA’s 248 the South Australians are 4-233 in the 42nd over. Just 16 to win off 53 balls. Mitch Marsh not out 72 (off 76) after Cameron Bancroft’s 76 (off 83).
Rugby
In Brisbane, the Wallabies are making a fist of this, trailing the All Blacks 7-13 on the verge of half-time.
Don’t forget you can follow the game with Kieran Pender:
Half-time: Sydney FC 1-2 Western Sydney Wanderers
Oranges! The Wanderers obviously the happier of the two teams. Not only due to the score but they’ve had the better of the contest so far, that “controversial” penalty aside.
45 + 2 min: Bobo turns on a dime to shoot but his effort is deflected out for a corner. Buijs takes it but Riera meets it with a header as heavy as Thor’s hammer and he clears the ball from the post code.
45 min: There will be three mins of stoppage time. How did the Wanderers fans take that penalty decision? With great vengeance and fuurrrrrious anger?
Displeased. pic.twitter.com/xz0SxR51et
— Adam Peacock (@adampeacock3) October 21, 2017
43 min: Llorente, on the left, whips a nice cross in to the Sydney box but O’Neill gets his noggin on it, which is just as well as there were two Wanderers sweating on it.
This is turning into an exciting game.
40 min: Needless to say the Wanderers, led by Herd, protested that penalty decision vehemently. For mine, as they say, it was a penalty, which isn’t to say Carney didn’t play a role in convincing the ref to give it.
GOAL! Sydney FC 1-2 Western Sydney Wanderers (Bobo 38)
Cool and calm, Bobo drives a low spot kick into the bottom right corner! Sydney back in it!
Penalty to Sydney!
36 min: Zullo slips a great ball into the path of Carney. Suddenly okay Carney runs into the box and hears Herd thundering behind him. Carney slows his run, Herd doesn’t, and Carney takes the impact and allows himself to fall. Penalty given!
Here's the penalty decision that has @SydneyFC back with a chance in the second half. Thoughts? #SydneyDerby #ALeague pic.twitter.com/THGFYY1vp6
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) October 21, 2017
Updated
35 min: Carney is down being treated for a knock to his right leg. Now Riera is getting treatment, leaving the pitch.
But before Wanderers fans reach for their smelling salts Riera makes an about face and waits by the sideline for his call to resume play.
33 min: Sydney look shellshocked. They conceded four home goals during the entirety of last season. Suddenly they’ve dropped two in just over half and hour.
GOAL! Sydney FC 0-2 Western Sydney Wanderers (Hamill 31)
And that’s two to the visitors who are as delirious as their fans! Cejudo directs an inswinging free kick to the six yard box where Hamill escapes Brillante to head into the right corner of the goal. Head? It all but came off Brillante’s shoulder. Like Hamill will care.
Updated
30 min: Bonavacia loses the ball ahead of him but Wilkshire, coming across in cover, can’t pull out in time and he knocks Bonavacia over. Cejudo steps up to take the free kick about five metres out from the left corner of the Sydney box...
Updated
29 min: Risdon, is so much space on the right he could set it up as long term airport parking, gallops towards the Sydney box and clips a cross towards Riera rushing in. But he overhits it and Redmayne makes an easy catch under little pressure.
27 min: A monster of a tackle by Zullo upends the Wanderer who’s number I didn’t catch as he all but cartwheeled in the air. All ball, it seems.
Sydney had been dominating possession since the goal but the Wanderers have come back into it these past five minutes.
25 min: From the freekick, Riera nudges a cushioned header into the path of Bonavacia who slips into the box threateningly before Wilkinson intervenes in the nick of time.
24 min: A few strong challenges going in, as you’d expect in a derby. And here’s Bobo taking a flying leap at a midfield header, missing it, and smashing into the back of Cornthwaite. The ref thinks hard but keeps his cards in his pocket.
22 min: Bobo finds himself in the Sydney box but he’s swarmed by defenders. Like flies on a sweaty shirt back in down town Katherine. Bobo wriggles about trying to find a blue shirt to pass to but he’s effort to do so is smothered and a deflection leads to a Wanderers goal kick.
19 min: A midfield header falls into the path of Brosque but just when it appears he has space to work in Llorente boots it out for a Sydney corner.
Buijs takes it with his right foot but somehow manages to bend it back in towards the goal and out for a goal kick.
17 min: Zullo scoots away and is heading into the Wanderers’ box when Risdon pops up out of the ground and nicks the ball away from him just as Zullo was surveying his options one of which, surely, was a shot.
14 min: Josep Gobau spotted in the crowd by the cameras and the commentators muse if he’s the man to step into the Wanderers’ coaching jacket (in place of interim coach Hayden Foxe). What, I wonder, is such a jacket made from? Polyester, corduroy, linen? Leather!
12 min: Ninkovic goes for a killer ball, from deep, into the path of Wilkshire running the right channel. But he overhits it and sends it out for a goal kick.
11 min: Riera, blood pumping from his goal, yells at the ref for penalising him for leaning all over Buijs as if the Sydney man was a Jason recliner.
9 min: A long throw by Sydney into the visitors’ box is met by Risdon who, deliberately I think, in mid dive, directs the ball into the hands of Janjetovic with the back of his head. That could have gone so wrong.
6 min: Sydney drive forward, stung by that early goal and desperate to make immediate amends. Bobo has a shot blocked before Brosque is cut down by Hamill outside the box. The freekick strikes the wall.
5 min: Got to love an early goal in a big game! And that’s Riera’s third goal in as many games. Could he be the one the Wanderers have been looking for?
GOAL! Sydney FC 0-1 Western Sydney Wanderers (Riera 3)
Risdon tiptoes down the right wing, evades a diving challenge from Ninkovic, and runs unopposed towards the byline. Before getting there he chips a square ball to Riera who peels away from Wilkinson and directs a perfect header into the far corner! Redmayne had no chance! What a start!
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images) Photograph: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images
Updated
Peeeeep!
1 min: Away we go, and after a mess of close-in tackles in midfield the Wanderers pass back to Janjetovic and the former Sydney keeper is roundly booed.
Both teams are on the pitch, hands have been shaken, and deep breaths are being taken.
And here’s a little kid in white picking the match ball off a plinth and handing it to ref Jarred Gillett. He, in turn, flips it to Bobo and the Sydney striker will kick this one off presently. Sydney in sky blue, the Wanderers in black and red hoops...
The crowd are in fine voice tonight and the SFS is a sight to see, even from one’s loungeroom.
The Cove is doing its best to respond to the boisterousness of the Red and Black Bloc, a synchronised clash of clapping arms. As part of that the lads and ladettes in the Cove are holding up a banner: He Who Laughs Last Laughs Longest. I assume that’s an obscure reference to the fact that while the Wanderers were the last winners of the derby that came in a season when Sydney won the premiership-championship double.
A-League
At half-time of this one, I’ll remind y’all what happened earlier today in the Caulfield Cup, Supercars and MotoGP. But let’s head to tonight’s A-League derby, a game that has become one of the biggest domestic football fixtures (of any code) on the calendar.
Tonight’s match, from the SFS, will be the 16th Sydney derby. So far Sydney have the wood of the Wanderers, having won seven games to the Wanderers’ four. If that doesn’t make the Wanderers hungry how about this: they’ve won just one of the two teams’ last 10 clashes, although that win —like a long draught of beer after a mowing the lawn on a 38 degree C afternoon — came about the last time they played, in February.
It’s early days of course, with just two rounds played, but for the record both teams are undefeated so far this season, Sydney with two wins, the Wanderers with a win and a draw.
Sydney will need to win again tonight to keep pace with Melbourne City who have just beaten Wellington 1-0 at AAMI Park to keep their perfect record alive.
Teams:
LINEUP | Here's how your Sky Blues shape up for tonight's clash!! What do you make of the squad? #SydneyIsSkyBlue #SydneyDerby pic.twitter.com/sAoLg8Gd8p
— Sydney FC (@SydneyFC) October 21, 2017
Here's how we'll be lining up tonight in the #SydneyDerby! #WSW pic.twitter.com/L6b8J8JuiR
— WS Wanderers FC (@wswanderersfc) October 21, 2017
Rugby
Tonight, in Brisbane, the Wallabies face New Zealand in the third and final Bledisloe Cup clash of the year. Can the Wallabies crawl out from beneath the cruel boot heel of the All Blacks and smite them down … or (as is most likely) will the merciless men from across the ditch run another sword through the self-esteem of Australian rugby just when the Wallabies have got up off their knees after draws against the Boks and a win over the Pumas?
All the answers can be found over on our other, er, channel, where Kieran Pender is live-blogging the match:
Basketball
There were two WNBL games played today, Dandenong v Townsville and Adelaide Lightning v Bendigo Spirit.
In the first...
FINAL | Your Jayco Rangers have got their first win of #WNBL18, grabbing a big 17pt victory over @TownsvilleFire! #WatchUsFly #GoRangersGo pic.twitter.com/e2zNVHJvfT
— WNBL Jayco Rangers (@JaycoRangers) October 21, 2017
In the latter fixture, Lightning won 79-74 in overtime after the Spirit gave the home team a scare coming back from 15 down at 3QT to send the game in OT.
In the NBL, meantime, Adelaide, boosted by the news that the 36ers have signed Josh Childress (who will join as their third and final import), took Sydney to school:
The @Adelaide36ers have bounced back in #NBL18 in a big way with the blow-out 114-84 win over the @SydneyKings #SYDatADE #NBL18 pic.twitter.com/jWMioRTd8O
— NBL (@NBL) October 21, 2017
Thanks Jonathan, and evening all.
Paul Connolly (contact details to your left) here, taking you through to stumps. But before we turn our attention to the big A-League derby between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers let’s go a-wandering around the grounds.
Cricket
In the domestic one-day final in Hobart, Western Australia set South Australia a target of 249 after being held to 9-248.
In reply, SA are 2-118 off 24.2 overs. Shaun Marsh and Michael Klinger are back in the sheds, with Cameron Bancroft (44 n.o.) and Mitch Marsh (36 n.o.) looking fairly comfortable.
SA need 131 off 154 balls. At the moment WA’s total looks a bit skinny. Here’s AAP’s report of their innings:
Tight pace bowling has helped Western Australia restrict South Australia to 9-248 in the domestic cricket one-day cup final in Hobart.
Returning from international duty in India, spearhead Nathan Coulter-Nile and Andrew Tye were among four bowlers to finish with two wickets apiece before the Warriors began their chase on Saturday.
Opting to bat first, in-form SA openers Alex Carey (16) and Jake Weatherald (4) were gone inside the first five overs.
Callum Ferguson smashed seven boundaries in a quick 37 but fell to a spectacular one-handed catch by ‘keeper Cameron Bancroft off Coulter-Nile.
Part-time leggie D’Arcy Short picked up two wickets in the middle overs, including the big scalp of heavy-hitter Tom Cooper for 63.
Cooper combined with all-rounder Cameron Valente (38) for a 45-run sixth-wicket partnership but holed out in the deep in the 42nd over, leaving the score at 6-209.
AAP
Summary
Melbourne City become only the seventh team in A-League history to win their opening three matches. Their third lot of three points weren’t pretty, coming in a smash and grab raid at home to Wellington Phoenix in a forgettable encounter enlivened by a thundering goal.
Warren Joyce laid out his team to keep a clean sheet and though that was achieved the lack of cohesion in attack left plenty to be desired. City were second best for long periods and it took Ross McCormack’s long-range free-kick to force the breakthrough.
Phoenix will feel hard done to with the result but they had enough chances to force a positive result, Kaludjerovic in particular missed one golden opportunity. Despite their dominance of possession there was a laboured nature to Wellington’s play and a lack of ambition in the final third. I fear that may be a recurring theme this season.
Time to move on as quickly as possible to what promises to be a far more exciting Sydney Derby. For that I will hand over to Paul Connolly.
Melbourne City 1-0 Wellington Phoenix
City go three from three.
90+3 min: Fitzgerald almost finishes a City hustle of a move but his shot is wide of the far post.
90+2 min: The pattern of scrappy midfield turnovers resumes, and it suits City with plenty of stoppages milking time off the clock.
90 min: City really hanging on now, failing to clear their lines convincingly and just handing possession back to Wellington. The Nix don’t seem to have the craft to unpick such a massed, deep defence though. They’re trying their luck with crosses but there are too many big blue bodies to allow a clear header on goal.
Three minutes of stoppage time to be played.
88 min: Phoenix continue to press and again make hay down the left, Doyle this time working his way into the box only to see his shot blocked. Schenkeveld has been excellent in the last few minutes putting his body on the line.
85 min: HOW DID WELLINGTON NOT SCORE!? Parkhouse makes an immediate impact, ghosting beyond Muscat down the left onto Paracki’s excellent pass. He cuts inside, finds Watson who feeds Krishna who smashes a shot against the post, and back to Watson on the rebound but his header creeps wide of the same upright. City escape.
Updated
84 min: Wellington are trying to move the ball quickly but City’s defensive structure is sound and the home forwards are working hard to force turnovers.
Abbas makes way for Parkhouse.
81 min: McCormack adds a yellow card to his goal with a very rash challenge, diving in to rescue a poor Fitzgerald touch and clattering into Paracki. It’s the Scotsman’s last action of the day as he’s replaced by Tim Cahill.
79 min: Another Kamau cross is cut out without much effort from Wellington. It has been a feature of the game and an obvious area of the City youngster’s toolkit that needs work.
His interplay is sharp though and his invention creates a half-chance for Fitzgerald but Smith is out well to smother. Brave goalkeeping from the teenager.
76 min: Brattan has slotted into the more advanced midfield role vacated by Mauk. Be interesting to see him operate so high up the field after spending so long as a no. 6 in recent seasons.
Watson is replacing Ridenton for Wellington.
Melbourne City is very strong this year. Big defense. #MCYvWEL
— The Jets France 🇫🇷 (@JetsFrance) October 21, 2017
73 min: Wellington have responded well, upping the tempo of their play and fashioning a headed chance for Kaludjerovic but he can’t get good enough purchase and it skims wide.
First sub for City - Brattan for a tired looking Mauk.
GOAL! Melbourne City 1-0 Wellington Phoenix (McCormack, 69)
Bosh! From the free-kick that earned Ridenton his yellow card McCormack thumps a daisy cutter 30m diagonally from right to left that crashes into the net off the inside of the post. Superb strike, big question mark about the wall - or lack of. Still, a goal it is - exciting times finally!
67 min: Better from the Nix and McGlinchey in particular but La Rocca does well to interrupt Krishna in a dangerous position. Krishna persists though and eventually forces a corner when his ball to Vidosic takes him into the box.
The corner is scrappily punched away by Galekovic, scrappily scuffed back towards goal by Mullen and then scrappily cleared by City.
The game finally starting to open up somewhat with City upping the tempo and the skiddy surface encouraging the ball to race on.
Ridenton the first name in the referee’s book for a soft foul on Kamau that seemed barely worthy of a yellow.
65 min: This remains turgid. Subs please.
My 1st game this season -I've jinxed @MelbourneCity! Very lethargic. Mauk looks unfit & tired. Too many lazy turnovers. Time to sub #MCYvWEL
— Paula B (@Paula_la71) October 21, 2017
64 min: Wellington look to have the more expansive strategy at the moment but lack speed of thought and execution. City look laboured, especially in midfield where Malik and Jakobsen is not an eye-catching combination for a home fixture such as this.
60 min: Best chances of the match! Huge opportunity first to Kaludjerovic. City’s defence caught flat footed, Vidosic plays in his striker but he can’t get clear air between him and La Rocca and what should have been a straightforward one-on-one with Galekovic ends something uglier and the eventual finish is deflected wide of the post.
From the corner Vidosic rises smartly to head towards goal but Galekovic is well placed to claim the ball.
You're kidding Kaluđerović... That chance had goal written all over it. #MCYvWEL
— Ned Zelic (@NedZelic) October 21, 2017
59 min: Slaloming run from Krishna engineers space for Abbas on the left but his long-range wallop is way off target.
This game continues to disappoint.
I like the effort Ross McCormack puts in - he's a busy player. #MCYvWEL
— Ned Zelic (@NedZelic) October 21, 2017
57 min: City first try route one and attempt to feed off the scraps and then go for the patient build up, but neither works with Wellington defending resolutely. A cheap turnover in defence invites another City attack but the final ball into the box is met with a meaty foreheaded clearance.
55 min: Andy Harper on TV makes a salient point about how City attack seemingly out of sync with the runs of McCormack. The loanee has played well and moved smartly but not yet on the same wavelength as his teammates. This is especially the case when you consider how lacking City are in a schemer on the field. I’d lobby to see Carrusca sooner rather than later, in place of one of the two defensive screeners.
52 min: Krishna felled about 30m from goal but McGlinchey’s pitching wedge free-kick can’t find a teammate. City counterattack dangerously and after Jakobsen and Fitzgerald link well Jamieson fires a low cross across the six-yard box.
50 min: Wellington again composed in possession in defensive areas but City’s pressure off the ball looks to have raised and they’re forcing tunovers higher up the field than in the first half. From one a shot looks imminent but McCormack opts to stepover with nobody behind him.
48 min: City starting the second half much better than they did the first. McCormack fires the first shot of the term over the bar after a neat turn on the edge of the box.
46 min: Second half underway at AAMI Park. Wellington have made a change during the interval with Rossi replaced by Doyle. The Italian suffering a recurrence of his groin injury.
HALF TIME SUB | #Nix Rossi comes off with a slight niggle - replaced by Doyle #MCYvWEL (0-0)
— Wellington Phoenix (@WgtnPhoenixFC) October 21, 2017
In the V8 Supercars, Chaz Mostert and Jamie Whincup made ground on championship leader Fabian Coulthard after the first race of the Gold Coast 600 weekend.
RACE 21 | RESULT 🏁
— Supercars (@supercars) October 21, 2017
1⃣️Mostert/Owen 🏆
2⃣️Waters/Stanaway
3⃣️Slade/Heimgartner
4⃣️SVG/Campbell
5⃣️Caruso/Fiore
6⃣️Whincup/Dumbrell#VASC
Meanwhile over in Hobart, WA have lost an early wicket and are 30-1 chasing SA’s 248.
HALF TIME | @MelbourneCity 0-0 @WgtnPhoenixFC. No goals so far at @AAMIPark. #MCYvWEL #ALeague pic.twitter.com/VJXppjNagC
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) October 21, 2017
Half-time: Melbourne City 0-0 Wellington Phoenix
No stoppage time at half-time - that tells you everything you need to know about the action, or lack thereof.
What a terrible half of football. 😴#MCYvWEL
— Alvin Ng (@AlvinNg) October 21, 2017
44 min: From that Smith claim Nix go from one end to the other with more purpose than we’ve seen for most of the half and Vidosic rips a decent hit from a narrow angle across the face of goal.
42 min: Time for City to do what Phoenix have been doing, building slowly without much intent. Eventually a spell of possession ends with Smith confidently claiming another decent Muscat centre.
City regain possession quickly though and a smart turn and release from Kamau gives Fitzgerald something to run on to but Ridenton tracks well and concedes a corner. Again Smith commands his box with authority. Very impressive for a guy still at high school.
40 min: That was tidy. Muscat with a long deep cross from the right and McCormack angles his body for a flying volley that he connects with well but skews off target.
Rain falling now upon AAMI Park.
315 - @WgtnPhoenixFC have made 315 passes after 38 minutes, their most in an opening half in the last six @Aleague seasons. Rise. #MCYvWEL
— OptaJason (@OptaJason) October 21, 2017
38 min: Rossi looks a bit proppy, and he may not see out the half. Looks to be a recurrence of his groin injury.
Thomas Sørensen har fundet vej til stadion. #MCYvWEL pic.twitter.com/cyxaWCk41b
— A-LeagueDK (@ALeagueDK) October 21, 2017
35 min: Nix still dominating possession but it all looks and feels like the last few minutes of a match in which the result and the crowd have long gone.
Fitzgerald picking Ridenton’s pocket gets the crowd off its feet briefly, but his cross is to nobody.
Jesus this is horrible #MCYvWEL
— Wintermute (@_Wintermute) October 21, 2017
32 min: Save! First proper save of the day! Galekovic forced to dive to his left and paw away a solid right-footed drive from Abbas. Wellington on top again, in the manner of that opening spell where they control possession but at a slow tempo in innocuous areas.
City’s control of the ball and regular turnovers would be a concern for Joyce.
29 min: In the cricket, WA have been set 249 runs to win the JLT Cup final. Chaz Mostert won the V8 Supercars on the Gold Coast.
26 min: Mauk is emerging as the game’s pivotal force. City’s midfield play and combinations involve him somewhere in the triangles and he’s taken responsibility for threading through-balls, a task he has completed with aplomb. One such should have created a shooting opportunity but Fitzgerald was sloppily offside.
23 min: Much better chance for Fitzgerald who lashes over the bar from 10-yards out after more neat work down the right. The ball bounced a bit on him but she should have hit the target from there.
Oh, there’s now a trumpeter somewhere in the stands. Even he’s parping out a mournful tune though. Reminds me of Portuguese Fado, of which this game could be a footballing representation.
21 min: Mauk releases Kamau with a lovely ball in the channel. The winger’s cross is just behind Fitzgerald in the centre of the box and his diving header - sort-of backwards - flies harmlessly over the bar.
19 min: It’s one of those crowds that either reflects the game or is part of the reason the action is so moribund. After some early noise from the stands you can now hear the players shouting at each other on the pitch and the sound of coaches barking instructions from the touchline. It’s been an issue for Heart/City ad infinitum and you wonder how the silence affects the players’ alertness.
16 min: After that spell of City pressure Wellington have regrouped. They don’t look convincing in the final third though, players always looking around for an extra pass with nobody in black looking to take the game on and beat their direct opponent. They’re maintaining attacking territory courtesy of their pressure though, forcing City into turnover after turnover in midfield.
14 min: City growing into this game now, earning another corner, from which Fitzgerald tests Keegan Smith from range and the teenager is up to the task with safe hands.
12 min: City’s first attack is a nice one with Mauk, Malik and McCormack all involved around the penalty area. They eventually fashion a shooting chance for Jamieson and his shot is deflected behind for a corner.
The first couple of entries into the box are cleared but never far, handing Jakobsen an opportunity to square towards a bunch of players but again it’s smuggled away for a corner.
9 min: Blood and thunder this is not. Wellington continue to ask a few polite questions but it’s a game yet to get out of first gear.
A corner not dealt with cleanly by Galekovic could have turned into something dangerous for City, and Krishna unleashed a snap cross-cum-shot, but if you ‘ve arrived late you’ve missed nothing.
7 min: See below. Wellington knocking the ball around like the home side but lacking penetration. City operating like they’re the defensive group in an attack vs defence simulation.
5 min: Still not a lot to report in a scrappy opening passage dominated by Wellington’s pressure and City’s willingness to concede territory and allow the Phoenix to build slowly from the back.
2 min: Bright start from the visitors, pressing City into their own half during the early contests.
For the home side Jakobsen is again marshalling the midfield alongside Malik with Mauk pressing higher up and supporting the front three.
Updated
Peeeeeeepppppp!
Jonathan Barreiro blows his whistle and gets us underway at AAMI Park in the first A-League contest of the day.
The two sets of players are on their way out onto the AAMI Park turf. It’s chilly, dry and breezy in Melbourne.
City are in their home strip of sky blue shirts, white shorts and sky blue socks. Phoenix are in their away kit of all black with yellow trim, the perfect canvas for that award-winning new badge.
It’s six years since Melbourne City backed up a derby victory with a win. Remember they won 2-1 last time out against Melbourne Victory.
Also, City are bidding to become only the seventh team in A-League history to win their opening three matches. Five of the previous six reached the grand final.
Some stats, courtesy of Opta:
- Melbourne City have won six of their last seven games against Wellington Phoenix, including each of their last four by a combined score of 11-2.
- Wellington Phoenix’s only previous win against City in Melbourne came in December 2013, picking up just two competition points in such fixtures since (D2, L3).
- Melbourne City have kept three clean sheets in their last four games on home soil, including their season opener this campaign.
- Melbourne City boast a passing accuracy of 71.8% on passes ending in the final third this season, better than any other team in the competition.
- Wellington Phoenix have scored two headed goals this campaign, no other team has scored more than one.
- Nick Fitzgerald has already notched three assists for season 2017/18, not only is this the joint-most of any player thus far, but it’s his joint-most ever in a single A-League campaign.
Wellington Phoenix XI
Couple of changes for Wellington, both in defence. Andrew Durante is out for an extended spell with an adductor injury so Marco Rossi comes in for him. Ali Abbas replaces Tom Doyle with Scott Galloway shuffling from left to right back.
TEAM NEWS | Here's your #Nix starting XI and bench for tonight!
— Wellington Phoenix (@WgtnPhoenixFC) October 21, 2017
Don't miss a second, kick-off 7.35pm (NZT) @skysportnz 2. #MCYvWEL #COYN pic.twitter.com/JPyOcuE3GD
Melbourne City XI
Warren Joyce has named an unchanged team as Melbourne City go for three wins in a row to open their season.
The bench looks absurdly strong, and that doesn’t include the now fit Neil Kilkenny, or the injured Bruno Fornaroli and Fernando Brandan.
Our team is in for today's clash with Wellington, kick-off 5.35pm. #MCYvWEL pic.twitter.com/UVhR1DBxZp
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) October 21, 2017
Final check on the Supercars before we turn our attention to the A-League, and it’s good news for Chaz Mostert who has capitalised on the safety car to retake the lead.
30 MINS TO GO ⌛️ | TOP 10
— Supercars (@supercars) October 21, 2017
1⃣️ MOS - 4.6sec lead
2⃣️ WAT
3⃣️ SLA
4⃣️ CAR
5⃣️ WHI
6⃣️ SVG
7⃣️ LOW
8⃣️ WIN
9⃣️ BRI
🔟 FCO#VASC pic.twitter.com/JnvGXzdefC
WA continue to turn the screw in the one-day cup final.
Caught. It was slow going for a few overs and now Valente (38) is caught at short mid on. SA 8/216 in the 47th. #JLTCup
— West End Redbacks (@WestEndRedbacks) October 21, 2017
Have you read David Squires’ latest cartoon yet? No!? What’s wrong with you!?
One of the thorniest issues of the sporting week was the decision to deny transgender footballer Hannah Mouncey access to the AFLW draft. Kate O’Halloran unpacks a controversial issue.
It’s been a curate’s egg of an AFL Trade Period. A lot of huffing and puffing for not very much and then an avalanche of late deals. Craig Little - who better not be being traded from here anytime soon - has cast his eye over proceedings.
Staying with cricket, the first ODI in the women’s Ashes begins tomorrow in Brisbane. There is a stack of blinding content on the site to whet your appetite for what promises to be a compelling contest. Here’s a taste from the maestro Geoff Lemon.
However...
Chucking it down. No reserve day, so a lot will need to go right. Ground staff to work through the night with supersopper. #WomensAshes pic.twitter.com/lUwxWRasKQ
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) October 21, 2017
Another wicket for WA!
Richardson knocks over Mennie and the Redbacks are now 7-209 in the 43rd.
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) October 21, 2017
Live coverage here: https://t.co/nvGVjyPQZ7 #JLTCup pic.twitter.com/ITcBoSQbVl
A huge NRL rumour refuses to go away...
Big wicket at Hobart with Tom Cooper’s dismissal leaving the Redbacks in a bit of strife.
WICKET | Short gets the big one of Cooper (63), caught by Richardson.
— WACA (@WACA_Cricket) October 21, 2017
SA 6-209 (42.2) #JLTCup
LIVE: https://t.co/oeefgOJClN
Question: How difficult is it to pick some clothes that a group of athletes can wear to identify themselves as all belonging to the same team without making them embarrassed to want to own up to being in that team?
Answer: For Australia’s winter olympic set-up, very hard. Ahead of next year’s games the latest uniforms have been revealed, and true to form they’re upsettingly naff.
First safety car of the day in the Supercars after the chicane chi-went.
What will this mean for the race and the championship?
REPLAY 🎞@LeeHoldsworth has smashed the tyre bundle at the beach chicane after becoming unsettled on exit of the kerb. #VASC pic.twitter.com/dm8zddLiLZ
— Supercars (@supercars) October 21, 2017
Ben Simmons’ inexorable rise to becoming the superstar Australian sportsperson of his generation continued this morning with his second double-double in his second NBA start.
Believe the hype.
Ben Simmons is 1st rookie since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1969-70) & Connie Hawkins (1969-70) to record 10+ PTS, 10+ REB, 5+ AST in 1st 2 games, pic.twitter.com/CIqswx4ZUc
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) October 21, 2017
Today was qualifying day at Phillip Island for the MotoGP, one of the most spectacular audio-visual experiences on Australia’s sporting calendar.
And it was a great day for championship leader Marc Marquez who will start on pole for tomorrow’s race after a thrilling final qualifying lap.
RESULTS:
— MotoGP™🇦🇺🏁 (@MotoGP) October 21, 2017
1st row: #MM93 #MV25 #JZ5
2nd row: #AI29 #JM43 #PE44
3rd row: #VR46 #AE41 #BS38
4th row: #CC35 #AD04 #DP26 #AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/PJq58MyPZe
Here’s @jackmilleraus and @TitoRabat on track during @MotoGP practice at the #AustralianGP yesterday. Tune in on Sunday! pic.twitter.com/ODJEYPdHHO
— Team EG 0,0 Marc VDS (@TeamEG00MarcVDS) October 21, 2017
You’d be hard pressed to accidentally stumble across Australian cricket’s domestic one-day cup this year, so in case you were unaware, the final is taking place today in Hobart.
WA have dominated the competition so far and they are well placed in the decider.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, SA are 193-5 after 39 overs. Tom Cooper is unbeaten on 60 and the last of the recognised batsmen holds the key to the Redbacks posting a competitive total.
We’re approaching halfway in the Supercars in a race full of incident. How on earth they have the bravery to fang it around such a narrow circuit in pouring rain is beyond me.
Tim Slade is the race leader, while from a championship perspective Coulthard has limited the damage of qualifying, creeping up into tenth place, with Whincup dropping to sixth and Mostert fourth.
LAP 48/101 | TOP 10
— Supercars (@supercars) October 21, 2017
1⃣️ SLA - 9.8sec lead
2⃣️ WAT
3⃣️ JAC
4⃣️ MOS
5⃣️ CAR 📸
6⃣️ WHI
7⃣️ LOW
8⃣️ SVG
9⃣️ FCO
🔟 PER#VASC pic.twitter.com/Opo6SCBon5
Updated
It’s a big day in the V8 Supercars championship with the first race of the Gold Coast 600 weekend underway.
It’s wet and wild on the Queensland concrete canyon with Chaz Mostert and Jamie Whincup well placed after qualifying to heap pressure on championship leader Fabian Coulthard.
We’ll have updates from the Gold Coast throughout the weekend.
QUALIFYING RACE 21 | RESULT 🏁
— Supercars (@supercars) October 21, 2017
1⃣️ MOS - 1min22.54
2⃣️ WHI
3⃣️ SLA
4⃣️ CAR
5⃣️ RKE
6⃣️ PER
7⃣️ SVG
8⃣️ WIN
9⃣️ TKE
🔟 HOL#VASC pic.twitter.com/zGxxViVl9q
Boom Time wins the Caulfield Cup!
Cory Parish steered $43 outsider Boom Time to the Caulfield Cup ahead of favourites Single Gaze and Johannes Vermeer.
BOOM TIME WINS THE @CAULFIELD CUP!@lindsayparkrace wins the @Caulfield Cup with a massive performance from BOOM TIME!!!#7racing pic.twitter.com/ga0IBTroCa
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 21, 2017
It’s a significant day in the spring racing carnival with the running of the $3.15m Caulfield Cup. The mile-and-a-half group one race for three-year olds and upwards is the richest of its kind in the world and a marker for the upcoming Melbourne Cup.
I won’t pretend to know any more about what, to me, is one particularly shiny snowflake in a blizzard of horse races at this time of the year, but it’s a big deal to a lot of people, and it jumps in around five minutes.
Super Saturday Sportwatch
Good afternoon sports fans and welcome to a sportwatch so packed you could screw a lid on it and call it jam.
A couple of A-League fixtures act as the spine to proceedings, beginning with Melbourne City hosting Wellington Phoenix from 5.35pm, a prelude to the derby between Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers at 7.50pm (Paul Connolly will be with you for that).
The two home sides are the only pair in the competition with 100% records and both will be expected to maintain their strong starts to the season. The football community would benefit from a barnburner at Allianz Stadium following another week of congress wrangling, issues with Ange, and an eagerness to see the season explode into life after something of a subdued start.
Around those two fixtures there’s plenty more going on up and down the country.
Top of that list is the Caulfield Cup in Victoria, one of the jewels in the crown of the spring racing carnival.
In Queensland it’s a potentially decisive day in the V8 Supercars championship with the first of two races in the Gold Coast 600.
Hobart welcomes Western Australia and South Australia for the JLT One-Day Cup final.
Brisbane is the scene of the final contest in this year’s Bledisloe Cup. Kieran Pender will be live blogging that one on a dedicated page. Kick off there is 8pm.
And finally, with Bass Strait as its backdrop, qualifying for the MotoGP at Phillip Island will provide one of the most scenic sporting vistas of the weekend.
Here we go! The stage is set (and what a stage it is😍)
— MotoGP™🇦🇺🏁 (@MotoGP) October 21, 2017
Bikes on track for Q2! Top 12 spots on the grid up for grabs! #AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/JKVLtCOPrQ
We’ll catch up with all the other sporting news of the day, and keep an eye on what’s coming up as we transition away from winter sports and ease into summer.
As always you can join in throughout the day. My email and twitter details are at the top of the page and the comments section is open.
Updated
Jonathan will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a stock car driver getting shot by a stun gun after a road rage incident in the US. Just because.
Updated
