RSS Feed for This PostCurrent Article

Refereeing Controversy Hyundai A-League Grand Final »

The Newcastle Jets are the Australian Hyundai A-League 2008 Grand Final champions after defeating the Central Coast Mariners in Sydney last night, 1-0
The [tag-tec]Central Coast Mariners[/tag-tec] started the game cautiously while the [tag-tec]Newcastle jets[/tag-tec] came out very quickly and confidently. About half way through the first half the game settled down into a very even contest. Both teams had opportunities to score, however Newcastle jets had more possession in the first half with a 60% possession compared to the Mariners 40%.

The second half continued the same as the first with neither side threatening to score until the 64th minute when a Central Coast Mariners defender turned over possession and Newcastle seized the opportunity to score. Mariners threw everything they had at Newcastle in the remaining minutes, however the Newcastle Jets defense stayed resolute. In the final minute of the game, there was a scramble in the Newcastle Jets penalty box after a corner kick and Central Coast Mariners players appealed for what looked like a hand ball by a [tag-tec]Newcastle Jets[/tag-tec] player, however the referee, in what has proven to be a controversial decision, did not award a penalty and sent the [tag-tec]Central Coast Mariners[/tag-tec] goalkeeper off for dissent. See below for video of the goal and the controversial hand ball incident.

A telling statistic out of the game was that the Mariners had 19 attempts at goal with 4 on target while the Newcastle jets had 7 attempts at goal with 3 on target.

Mariners Football Manager Lawrie McKinna summed up the Mariners performance after the match when he said “We didn’t play well, we knew that Newcastle would come at us the first twenty minutes, which they did and we held on quite well.” McKinna then went on and said “We kept them honest in the last few minutes and with a bit of luck we could have got the equaliser, but it never came.”

Congratulations to the Newcastle Jets for taking out the [tag-tec]Hyundai A-League[/tag-tec] Grand Final and commiserations to Lawrie and the Central Coast Mariners. You have been great ambassadors for the central coast all year and have had what can only be described as a tremendous year. We look forward to seeing the Central Coast Mariners going one step further next year by taking out the double.

Trackback URL

  1. 3 Comment(s)

  2. By Colin on Mar 19, 2008 | Reply

    Looked like the Mariners’ goalie hit the referee’s hand and (deservedly) picked up a long suspension. Even if it was an awful decision not to give the penalty, you can’t go about slapping refs.

  3. By Muz on Mar 20, 2008 | Reply

    Hi Colin, thanks for your comments. Yes I agree you certainly cannot hit a referee in any shape or form. He deserves to be penalised for it and he has suffered the ultimate penalty in missing out on the chance to represent his country.
    The Mariners original appeal was dismissed, however they have decided to appeal again and the appeal is based around the inconsistency of the lengthy suspension when compared to decisions handed down in the past for similar offences. I will keep you informed of the outcome.
    Thanks again for your contribution.

  4. By Harvey A Foster on Oct 31, 2008 | Reply

    There are so many good referees and linesmen out there that officiate in such a way that they have very little effect on the game and yet are in complete control. so it is very disapointing when a referee can have such an effect on the game that he not only contributes to the final result of the game, he literally destroys what should have been
    such a fantastic game.

  1. 3 Trackback(s)

  2. Feb 24, 2008: Soccer News Aggregator » Refereeing Controversy Hyundai A-League Grand Final
  3. Feb 25, 2008: Soccer » Refereeing Controversy Hyundai A-League Grand Final
  4. Feb 27, 2008: Sonata Reviews from the Net » Refereeing Controversy Hyundai A-League Grand Final

Post a Comment