Really these 3/4 playoffs are little more than a consolation for
the losing semi-finalists. Deep down I believe that the loss to Brazil
weighed heavily on the Australians for this match, the more accomplished
England, far away from home, handled the loss to Ghana far better. I don't
wish to make excuses and in reality Australia wanted to win this game as
much as any other. If they won it would be the best Australian performance 
in a FIFA tournament, and one better than their 1991 predecessors. For
England the chance at revenge for countless Ashes losses (I recall the
headline 'Thatcher out' having 'lbw Alderman' added in graffiti)and League 
and Union defeats probably took second place to pride and going one better 
than the senior side in WC '90.

Australia : 18. Vincent Matassa, 3. Aaaon Holst, 4. Ante Juric, 5. Marc
	    Wingell, 6. Kevin Muscat, 8. Anthony Carbone, 9. Paul Agostino
	    10 Anthony Milicic, 11. Peter Tsekenis, 13. Ante Moric, 16.
	    Darren Iocca

England	: 13 David Watson, 2. Steve Watson, 3. David Unsworth, 5. Ian Pearce,
	  6. Andy Myers, 7. Chris Bart-Williams, 8. Darren Caskey,
	  10. Jamie Pollock, 11. Alan Thompson, 15. Julian Joachim, 18. Tony
	  Hughes.

Referee	: Mohamed Nazri Kathirveloo (Malaysia)

	Almost exactly coinciding with the kick off the rains came down, after
the day had been perfect. It was a little uncomfortable and my poncho allowed
some drops to land on my glasses, which kinda sucked. The rain gave Steve 
Watson trouble as the ball slipped out of his hands as he was about to take
a throw in, much to the merriment of the crowd. I guess I could say that the
rain suited England after the warm conditions during the day, but I don't
really think that was it. Australia and England I thought were evenly matched
and the early stages of the match seemed to confirm it. What really made the
difference was Australia's inability to control the ball in midfield. You
could say that England's bustling defensive style played a large part but
Australia have overcome such problems before.
	As it was the first minutes were a testing period for both sides. When
you have missed out on the final even a 3/4 playoff is a matter of honour.
Agostino, I thought, was far and away Australia's best in the first half and
much of the second (the MVP/MotM award eventually went to Milicic). He jumped
for everything in the air and chased tirelessly at the front.
	Meanwhile the rain also came with pretty lightning displays which
could be seen from the stadium and a few thunderclaps. Also a little aside
to the game I saw Eddie Thompson at the match, and yelled out to him. I think
he was ignoring me but I can live with that. The English fans were not quite
so numerous as they had been against Ghana, or perhpas less obvious. Several
beach balls were thrown about the crowd and when the security people
confiscated them the usual chants of "give us the ball back" echoed around
the stadium. There were no repeats of the blow up doll incident which was
incredibly funny at the World League Sevens tournament in February, but the
crowd had come to enjoy themselves and were determined to succeed. The 
Brazilian fans ready for the next game kept a very rhythmical beat throughtout
the afternoon and evening. Many flags adorned the stadium and even a couple
of banners made the occasion.
	Back at the game Pollock and Milicic fired opening salvos at the 
opposition goals. Overall the game was evenly balanced and there was a lot of
support for the Aussie fans, urging them on against the old enemy. I was 
unable to catch much of the action at the Aussie end because the English
bench in front of me took those big umbrellas you find at tables at sidewalk
cafes to keep their raincoats dry. I could say something about the English
aversion to water but I thought better of it. Jamie Pollock made himself
extremely unpopular with the crowd when he brought down Iocca. Obviously
incensed that Iocca had dared fall down after being tripped he let fly
with abuse and clearly called him a "fucking poofter". Now after the match
both sides were very friendly and that was good to see, and the heat of the
moment is always going to make you do a few things you might normally not do,
but swearing at players you've just fouled is just a bit much. This was not
an isolated incident either, much the same happened when Alan Thompson brought
down Anthony Carbone. Am I being naive or is this an English peculiarity?
	Well it was now getting to the interesting part of the match as
England outperformed Australia in the latter stages of the first half. It
took until the 43rd minute to make it count. From a cross into the centre,
by Caskey I think, David Unsworth was able to rise up to meet the ball
beyond the far post eventhough there were defenders in front and behind him.
Unsworth guided the ball just inside the post, narrowly evading Matassa's
attempts to keep it out. Credit to the English but it was a case of thinking
about the whistle rather than the game at hand for the Australians. Needless
to say I was very unhappy about these developments. In the remaining two
minutes not much of note happened.
	Right on half time the rain ended, much to my relief, and thankfully
didn't return at any stage. The pitch has excellent drainage and only the
surface was affected by the moisture, footing remained firm.
	After the restart little really changed, Jamie Pollock finally got
the yellow card he'd been hunting all game long after giving the ref some
lip after he called a foul committed by Pollock. I can't say I've heard such
a cheer for a caution in a long, long time. Thankfully it didn't take much
longer for the crowd to cheer for something more sustantial. I will admit
that the Aussie goal had an element of luck involved but goals are often 
a mixture of luck and skill. After some promising build up the ball fell to
Ante Milicic who took an oppertunistic shot at goal which David Watson had
covered until it took a deflection off Anthony Hughes. Frankly he had no
chance to pull his leg away or to make a better stop, still it was enough
to have Watson got the wrong way and the ball rolled into the net. The
goal was credited to either Milicic or Hughes depending on where you look.
Personally I think it was more Milicic's but feel free to make your own
interpretation.
	What followed was an effort by both teams to get ahead on the
scoreboard. I've seen Australia play better but again it also mattered 
that England didn't allow the Aussies to play better. I think that the
collective Premier league experience of the Poms really made a difference
on this occasion. Only Agostino has any real European league experience,
his commitment proved it. It was an indication of a broader problem of
Australian soccer. Although there is a National League it doesn't offer a
professional career enough to make a living in soccer. So good players
leave, thus leaving the league with no "big" names which might attract a
bigger crowd. Lack of large crowds then hamper the creation of a more
professional league. Maybe this will change, but I think it cost Australia
third place. That and their semi-final loss to Brazil of course.
	At about the 70 minute mark England should have got another goal
when Bart Williams did well to stay onside, and crossed the ball to Julian
Joachim who had a free header at goal. He put the ball over the bar and
his reaction went a long way to explain what he felt about this miss. The
only thing I can suggest is that he just wasn't tall enough to get on top of
the ball before heading it goalwards.
	Vince Matassa was having a very good time in the Aussie goal, he held
on to many dangerous crosses denying England a chance at shots at goal. The
Australian players were also showing better skills than in the first half, but
I felt that on a few occasions where a quick ball forward might have been 
an option the Australians opted to hold the ball up for support behind them
and the English defence could regroup and hold the Aussies out.
	English captain Darren Caskey was booked for taking a free kick
before the referee said it was Ok to do so, and remembering a similar 
incident between Portugal and Uruguay, I feared this might be a goal for 
England coming up. Caskey hit the ball well but Matassa held the shot at the
near post.
	The match was getting to the nail biting stage. Still there was little
between the teams although England had more than double the shots at goal 
compared to the Aussies. As was the case against Brazil, Australia showed
they were going to counter attack whenever they could. Myers, Joachim and
the ever present Bart-Williams really gave England some attacking spark.
Something they were desperately lacking in earlier games. Bart-Williams, on
the right flank, crossed the ball low into the Australian penalty area 
but the arrival of Joachim was fractionally late and the exposed Australian 
goal was not breached. I told my heart that it was OK to start beating again.
	Then, almost as if their long tried tactics of hoofing the ball
upfield were at last justified, a Thompson long kick found Joachim
on the left of the Australian penalty area. There were two defenders, one
marking Joachim directly, and the keeper trying to stop the one English
forward, the rest of the players were at half way. He passed Moric and Holst
in one quick turn and run, and then rounded the keeper who might just have got
the tip of his fingers on the ball. Then from a very tight angle now on the
right side of the goal he squeezed his shot in between the post and Wingell
who had arrived to stop the ball on the line, but was too late. David Burnside
wasn't making many friends with his gesticulation to the crowd but then again
I can understand what relief he must have felt. For myself my heart had stopped
and I really wasn't keen to have it start again, with 5 minutes to go
at the most this was the end. It was a class goal by the Leichester striker
and something he will probably never forget. What a bastard!
	The match yielded little more, the final whistle brought scenes of
celebration to the English bench and dejection on the Australian side. The
presentations were made to both sides. Fourth place getters Australia got
a medal as well which surprised me but also made me happy. In the end a massive
group photo of both squads was taken and I spotted Caskey and Matassa sharing
a joke. The only reminder of some parts of the match came as the crowd booed
Jamie Pollock when he got his medal. He smiled.

	England 2 (Unsworth 43, J Joachim 85) - Australia 1 (A Hughes og or)
							    (A Milicic 48)