World Footy News

In the 1pm Reid Oval contest, Australian Football International Cup newcomers Finland and India got their best chance to register an inaugural win. It was the Finns that looked the goods, but then got a second quarter scare before stabilising the game for a gallant victory in adversity.

Coming into the tournament the Icebreakers had a fairly small squad of players - this has steadily deteriorated further, such that they started this match with just 18 men, some of whom were by no means in a fit state for footy. In fact in a remarkable scene Jani Saarinen took the field in what we think was protective eyewear, having allegedly had a night-time run in with a low tree branch the night before.

The first quarter was mostly Finland's, despite the breeze only favouring them slightly, particularly as Reid Oval is much more sheltered than the higher grounds. It was mostly one way traffic Finland's way, though the Indians looked to have a pace advantage, but more than counter-acted by superior skill and height by the Icebreakers. The Scandinavians sport at least two players of Irish descent and one of them, Sean Doherty, notched their second for the quarter. This was followed by long shot from Juha Nieminen which failed to make the distance, but as the ball rolled into the pocket he ran on and with a swing across his body booted the ball off the ground and through the goals for great soccer style kick. Ville Koivunen marked and goaled, but India answered with their second major of the tournament, via a mark to Vasanth Subramaniam. A 17 point lead at the quarter break was a just reward for the Icebreakers' superiority.

The rout was on in the second with two more Finnish goals after India had wasted several chances. Nieminen goaled from a handball receive, Koivunen scored again and the Finns looked the goods. But India had other ideas. With greater numbers on the bench, superior pace and seemingly better fitness, they suddenly began to get more numbers to the ball, and got them there first. The tide began to turn and the Finns looked tired. Subramaniam was kicking goals and half-time couldn't come quick enough for their opponents.

But the siren sounded and the Europeans used the break to re-group. Under the pump, short on numbers and facing an opponent growing in confidence, it would take a massive effort to hold back the tide. But that they did. Using the slight wind advantage the Icebreakers got the ball forward and kept it there until they goaled. Perhaps that broke the Indian spirit, as their swarming numbers dropped away, but the Finns didn't quite do enough to put them away. Prakash Kaliasanthan again looked good, carrying the ball around the wing, bouncing confidently. Saarinen marked about 45m out but handballed off as the siren went. 23 points was a good margin at three quarter time but an early goal would give the Indians hope.

It wasn't to be. Three quarter time saw the coaches implore the players to give just 17 minutes more, to make the right decisions after marks (go to the right players at the right time) and to fight through their injuries. Early on Tommi Oksanen lined up for the Finns, then had no difficulty with a bonus of a 25m penalty. An arm-wrestle followed, with no goals until Vishnu Rishie, in full black bike-pants, booted India's fourth.

It was too late to save the day and the Icebreakers had prevailed under duress to register their very first International Cup win, whilst the Indians had shown that under a little less pressure they could move the ball with precision and have a basis with which to go forward and improve.

India
Goal Kickers: V. Subramaniam 2, M. Shah, V. Rishie
Best Players: V. Subramaniam, M. Shah, V. Rishie, S. Chakraborty, M. Nathaniel, A. Gupta
Finland
Goal Kickers: J. Nieminen 3, S. Doherty 2, V. Koivunen 2, T. Oksanen
Best Players: V. Koivunen, J. Toivonen, J. Nieminen, K. Heikkila, C. Hammarberg, F. Romar