THE FFA must have invested in gold dust recently. The Socceroos’ World Cup campaign started successfully, Frank Lowy is on FIFA's World Cup organising committee - and now they've beaten the Media All Stars team 3-1.
The 11-a-side match bought together FFA and their media counterparts for an exhibition match in the grounds of Sydney University.
FourFourTwo was suitably represented through Andy Jackson, Mike Hemmingway and Dean Mangnall.
However it was the FFA who drew first blood after Ben Hirschfeld, who - after a mazy run through the Media defence - applied a fierce finish from close range.
Media All Stars came out with a refreshed focus after the break and it wasn’t long before the scores were level. A breakaway stretched the FFA backline and News Limited's Tom Smithies was on hand to score a hugely deserved leveller from six yards.
With momentum on their side, it looked to be Media All Stars’ moment to shine, but a strike of cruel fate enabled the FFA to take the lead once again. This time Joel Petrovic got on the score sheet after a close range finish in a crowded penalty box.
Not even an injection of further FourFourTwo talent in Jack Snape and Trevor Treharne could stop FFA. Snape, deployed as a sweeper, attempted to baffle the FFA players by implementing an excessively high defensive line. In fact, he managed to avoid setting foot in his own half for the duration of his run.
Surging forward looking for an equalizer, the Media All Stars were left short at the back and local lad made good, Leszek Ratajczak, added a third with a quality finish in the top right hand corner to send the scorers’ spellcheck into overdrive.
2008 may belong to the FFA, but with talk of next year already on the cards, revenge could and will be sweet for Australia’s football media.
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