This was a game we didn't have priority parking for which meant we used the park-and-ride system they have in operation for Ellis Park matches. The stadium is based in the middle of a residential area so lacks the surrounding open spaces the newly built stadia have which could result in total gridlock if all vehicles were allowed in the immediate vicinity of the stadium. In trying to get into the park-and-ride area we took a wrong turn and had a short detour through one of the poorer suburbs of Johannesburg. It was an insight into the quality of life (or lack of it) that is everyday life for many black South Africans however in spite of the clear poverty these people were living in the majority waved at the bus with big smiles and children played in bare feet in the street almost exclusively with a football. It did make me wonder what the legacy of the World Cup will be for people like this who will be largely untouched by the tourist or FIFA sponsor dollars.

A short ten minute trip on a bus saw us dropped off at the edge of the exclusion zone for the stadium and we headed off to find the media centre. Most grounds are now in the control of the police following on-going pay disputes between the stewards, the local organising committee and FIFA. We eventually found the media centre, picked up our tickets with no fuss at all and headed back out into the public areas to soak up the atmosphere as the crowd began to swell. It was a bright, sunny day quite different to our last visit for to Ellis Park a few evenings before. There were large numbers of American fans all in great spirit, many going to great lengths to dress up for the occasion. I've been really impressed by the numbers and level of support from the Americans with large numbers of whole families making the trip and very few examples of the stereotypical brash "U-S-A" brigade. As we were making of way around the stadium to our seats we spotted Shaka Hislop who was happy to pose for a picture with us as I handed my camera to the bloke Shaka was with. Only as I got my camera back from said bloke did I realise it was Ray Stubbs, who now commentates with Hislop for ESPN. So thanks Ray, I've given you the credit in the photo gallery!

  

We took up our positions in the media section and for the first time I had my own little workstation area complete with TV monitor on account of this not being one of the more over-subscribed media games. It was an interesting vantage point for the game although I found myself having to lean over the TV monitor to view big parts of the pitch. The game itself was probably the best of the tournament so far with Slovenia racing into a 2-0 lead at half time with two well taken goals - the first, a long range effort by Birsa was the pick of the tournament so far. An early goal from Landon Donovan seemed to shock the Slovenians and all of a sudden the fluency and confidence they displayed in the first half disappeared and the USA dominated the play and got a deserved equaliser through Bradley in the 82nd minute. The major talking point was the disallowed winning goal for USA that was wrongly ruled out by the referee for pushing in the box. My TV monitor finally came in handy to review the incident where if anything the pushing and holding was by the Slovenians. The USA were denied the distinction of being the first ever team to come back from 2-0 down at half-time to win at a World Cup finals.

Back on the bus our minds turned immediately to Cape Town and hoping the journey back wasn't too traffic affected. Luckily it wasn't and we arrived at our local pub an hour before kick off. We found a quiet corner tucked away from the Algeria-supporting Aussie contingent to watch the match in our England shirt. What followed was another 90 minutes of garbage from England with players like Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard, so dominant at EPL level, unable to break down a well-organised and motivated Algerian side to leave England on the brink of an embarrassing group stage exit. We trudged back to the hotel, heads down and tails between our legs and went straight to bed to prepare for our early departure to Rustenburg for the Socceroos next game against Ghana.