By Paul Frederickson
Wow, a 4pm Sunday game, my team has 35 shots and draws 1 all besides a plethora of chances. But enough of my team, I hope your weekend was full of football joy.
THE GOOD
Giovanni Trapattoni's men will take a 4-0 lead into Tuesday night's play-off second leg with Estonia at home after one of the greatest wins in the country's rich footballing history. Unless the unbelievable occurs Irish eyes will be smiling in Poland and the Ukraine next year. Honourable mentions: England beat Spain 1 nil, Brisbane Roar played their 34th unbeaten game in a row after a 1 all draw against Wellington Phoenix.
THE BAD
The standard of refereeing in the A-League has been a bone of contention in recent times. The standard is not good enough and the decisions from game to game are hard to fathom at times. The FFA spend a lot of money on the teams, advertising and player development, this must be extended to the refereeing ranks. The referees are an integral part of the game, if we are not talking about them then they are doing a great job. At least they are not like the referee in the following clip, but the man can run!
THE DOWNRIGHT UGLY
Turkey are a proud footballing nation with a well respected and successful manager in Guus Hiddink. Over two legs of a Euro 2012 qualifying campaign against Croatia the supporters were quietly confident that the team would perform well. But once the whistle to the first leg was blown it all went horribly wrong. A 3 nil loss at home to Croatia is not insurmountable but has seen their qualifying campaign take a dramatic hit. A hit that the passionate Turkish fans cannot bear, and the potential sacking of Hiddink dominates Turkish footballing forums. It could get even uglier when they play the second away in Croatia.
What do you think? What were your weekend's Good, Bad and Downright Ugly?
