Sunday, February 01, 2009

Matildas 2 v Italy 2

In a number of ways the Matildas surpass the Socceroos. There is an uneasy cross promotion between the womens and mens versions of our code. Both teams play Dutch. But the most capped Australian player is Cheryl Salisbury who ended her 15 year national career yesterday.

And yesterday the Matildas outplayed the World's 12 best, Italy. It was a small crowd made look smaller by being played in the day-time and having the cameras focused on the opposite side to the crowd - with both at Parramatta park avoiding the steaming afternoon sun.

The Matildas played a flowing full pitch game, while Italy pressed on the counter. But the big difference was the game was shown in high definition on free to air. Something, and an audiance, the Socceroos will not get until the 2010 World Cup. And the pictures in HD were fantastic - better than regular Foxtel - and added the atmosphere of a great game. Lisa De Vanna was fantastic.

The only negative was the ABC broadcast on delay - not sure why - a daylight saving quirk?

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